Being inspired, maybe – 39

A picture paints ... well, as many words as you like.  For instance:



And, then, the words:


I don't think I'd ever actually seen a real castle made out of ice.  I'd heard about ice castles, ice hotels, ice bars, one of which was near the ice castle at the hotel we were staying for several days.
No surprise the castle lasted the whole of winter because right now, it was 21 degrees below zero.
Beyond the castle was the lake, also frozen solid, and was awaiting the more adventurous of the group, what the guide called 'going on the Scott experience'.
All it needed, he added, was a storm, with snow, icicles and gale force winds.
Right.
What idiot would prefer to be there than inside the hotel eating, drinking and being merry?
I guess I didn't have a choice.

My daughter, a wise and erudite 40ish herself, told me I was going through a change of life, one, apparently I missed when I turned 40.
Either that or I was going mad.
Why else, she asked, would I 'take up' with a woman younger than her.  
It was not as if I was married and having an affair.  It was just Genevieve came along and she dragged me out of the doldrums of approaching old age and gave me a new lease on life.
My daughter thought she was a gold digger.  She probably was, but the gold mine wasn't all that rich.  My son was just disappointed.  She was going to spend what little inheritance there was left.
From the outside looking in and judging from some of the looks I got at the hotel, the last place I expected to be judged, it was probably a correct assumption.
But, Genevieve, was nothing like that.  Genevieve was my first daughter, from when I went out briefly with what I thought was 'the one'.
It didn't work out.
But...
She had a daughter, mine, and didn't tell me about her.  How did I find out, after her mother died she was given a letter.  Find your father, or not, the choice was hers.
She found me.

How did we get here?
She had never seen snow.  I'd never been to the Canadian Rockies, and here we were.
On a sled, ready to head out into the great unknown.  I was not sure the blanket we were given would be of any use keeping out the cold.
One thing I did know, there was no containing the joy of the girl sitting next to me.
People could think what they like, I wasn't going to set them straight.
For a short while, at least, people were, at last, noticing me.

© Charles Heath 2019


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I've always wanted to go on a Treasure Hunt - Part 32

Being inspired, maybe – 57

Being inspired, maybe – 58