Sophie was waiting down by the lifts.

She looked him up and down.

“You do have a bit more snow on you,” she said.

Wind brushed at his jacket. It didn’t help much.

“Another one of your controlled falls?” said Sophie. “Like when you lose both skis at the last gate, grab them, drag them across the finish line, and then say it still counts?”

“Something like that,” said Wind.

Sophie looked at his poles. One of them was bent in the middle.

“And well,” she said. “You could ski giant slalom with these poles now. This one, at least.”

Wind didn’t say anything else. His knees were still shaking. He hoped she didn’t notice.

Sophie didn’t notice.

But she did notice that, for the rest of the day, Wind skied in her tracks.

She kind of liked that.