“Try what again?” Henry asks, confused.
“Our secret plan.”
“Oh! Right!” he says with a hard blink.
“Now listen carefully. This is important. Okay?”
“Okay.” Henry looks at him and nods with wide eyes and his lips pressed in a hard line.
“Once me and Uncle Adrien leave you and your dad to go skiing, you need to ask your dad why your mom hates me. Can you do that?”
“She doesn’t hate you,” Henry assures.
“She might not,” Sergio says. “But we need to know for sure. Can you do this?”
“I can do this!” Henry says louder than necessary. He hits Sergio in the nose when he thrusts two very enthusiastic thumbs up high above his head. Sergio’s vision blurs, and his eyes start to water.
“You can do what, Henry?” Holden asks from the front seat.
“Ask you why Mommy hates Uncle Sergio.”
Sergio, clasping his aching nose, groans into his hands.
“Uncle Sergio! Wake up!”
“Oof … morning, buddy.”
“Hiss …”
After breakfast, in the car, the radio on and playing the song Sergio can’t escape, Sergio looks at Henry and says slowly once again, “Alright, Henry. I need you to listen to meverycarefully.”
“Okay.” Henry looks at him and nods with his most serious face.
“Once me and Uncle Adrien leave you and your dad to go skiing, you need to ask your dad why your mom hates me,” he says, then adds with haste, “Not before. Alright?”
“Alright,” Henry agrees.
“What are you agreeing to back there?” Holden questions.
“Nothing!” Sergio yells out before Henry can ruin the groundwork he’s laying … again.
“Well, that didn’t sound suspicious at all,” Adrien says.
“Yeah …” Holden catches Sergio's eyes in the rearview mirror. “You’re not turning my son against me, are you?”
“I would never,” Sergio says, holding a hand over Henry’s mouth.
From the top of the mountain, eager to get back down to the bottom so he can find out if Henry has anything to report, Sergio takes a deep breath and says to Adrien, “Adrien. You know I love you, but I think it’s time for you to stop working for me.”
“Are you firing me?” Adrien asks, his face lighting up in a genuine smile.
“Afraid so,” Sergio says, gives him a salute, then skis off, taking the slope in wide swoops and curves, enjoying the momentum he builds while his day so far goes according to plan.
It’s funny; now that he’s found some success on the ice thanks to Jeremy’s daily lessons, his skiing has improved as well. He’s more balanced and more aware of the subtle movements in his legs and how they can change the trajectory of how he skis. He’d never thought the two sports would or could correlate. The only thing he ever thought they had in common was that in both sports, falling on your ass at some point was a guarantee. But even that was different, as falling on ice skates meant hitting your ass on ice laid over hard concrete as opposed to landing in fluffy piles of cushioning snow if you went down on skis.
The connection he’s made makes him wonder if Jeremy ever gets on skis. He supposes not. It’s likely something he’s given up to maintain his broader health and to keep him able to do the things that he does love. And as much as Sergio would like to see Jeremy’s wind-blown cheeks soaring down the slopes besidehim, Sergio has to admit that Jeremy looks far too lovely on skates to ever give that up completely if he doesn’t have to.
“Did you guys have fun?” Holden asks them once Sergio and Adrien make it to the bunny hills.
