Page 19 of Just Like the Brontë Sisters

Chapter 12: Jo Beth

It was only days after Christmas, but Jo Beth felt this urgent need to return to South America. The feeling nagged at her like she’d left the stove on in her apartment, even though in Santiago Jo Beth lodged in a brightly painted hostel and the only stove was in the communal kitchen adjacent to the deck and lounge area. So, she knew her anxiety just stemmed from her new life calling her back to Brazil. “I met this really great girl named Magda and she and I have started a business,” Jo Beth told Skylar. “It’s such a great investment opportunity. We’ll run day-trips to the coastal towns and do adventure tours along the Rio Maipo Gorge.”

Jo Beth could almost hear the alarm bells going off in Skylar’s head. Great investment opportunity and really great girl. Skylar probably thought that Jo Beth’s new BFF was soaking her for a ton of money, because—well, Jo Beth was pretty loaded. When she’d won the silver, she’d scored a lot of big endorsements and Dallas’s dad had found her a savvy financial advisor. Thanks to some well-timed investments in Apple, Jo Beth would never have to work another day in her life, not if she didn’t want to.

But she did want to work. Jo Beth needed something to fill the skiing-shaped hole left inside her and running adventure tours with Magda seemed like the perfect solution. Jo Beth had met Magda in a trendy Santiago nightclub and they’d formed an instant bond. Now Jo Beth told Skylar about how she and Magda went shopping at the Central Market together; how they had a blast drinking together at La Piojera; how they had gone salsa dancing at Ile Habana. And how it was Magda who had come up with the idea to start a business together. Jo Beth showed Skylar all the goofy selfies that she and Magda had posed for during their various adventures. Magda was laughing in each; her shiny black hair was always sleek; her dark, almond-shaped eyes were always wide with wonder.

“She looks like the sort of girl who never worries about following rules or keeping up her GPA,” Skylar commented.

Jo Beth gave her a sideways scowl. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Skylar’s words seemed to just burst from her lips. “She could offer you real advice if you ever have guy problems and I’m sure she understands all your dirty jokes. I bet she tells even dirtier ones herself. How can I possibly compete?”

Jo Beth just shrugged. “It’s not a competition.”

“What is it, then? Are you two, like, involved?”

There it is, thought Jo Beth. After all her anti-romance indoctrination attempts, she’d known that someday Skylar would wonder if Jo Beth actually preferred women.

“What if we are?”

“I’d feel better,” Skylar answered. “I get that one day you’ll have a significant other; what I can’t deal with is being replaced as your best friend.”

Jo Beth scooted on the couch, closer to Skylar, and ruffled her hair. “That will never happen, Sky. You’re my favorite. I love you best of all.”

They dropped the subject and soon Jo Beth returned to Santiago, where Magda made it her mission to get Jo Beth to go skiing with her at Portillo, a resort a couple of hours from the city. “I can’t believe you haven’t been there yet.” she said. “It’s only the best skiing imaginable.” Jo Beth couldn’t say no, but there was a pit in her stomach the morning they drove up to Portillo. Magda was oblivious, navigating the curvy mountain roads, sipping coffee, and singing to the radio. “We’re going to have an incredible time,” she said, between bellowing out lyrics to Spanish pop songs. “And we can crash at my friend Mitch’s place. Wait until you see the swimming pool deck!”

Jo Beth just nodded and stared out the window. The snow-covered mountains were set against a bright blue sky and a distant, bright yellow hotel sat nestled in the hilltops. Soon enough they arrived and Magda pulled into the resort parking. The whole place was small and seemed untouched, like you had to be a member of a secret society to even know about it.

Magda and Jo Beth got their lift tickets, put on their gear, and took the lift up the mountain.

“This slope will blow your mind.” Magda cried. “Come on! Follow me!”

A year ago, no way would Jo Beth have let someone else take the lead, but now she was happy to have Magda in front. Jo Beth kept her eyes on Magda’s purple parka rather than on the sharp rocks that were more plentiful than the patches of snow along the slope. Images of Tenderhook Ridge’s stony ravine, the one that had been her undoing, flashed behind Jo Beth’s eyes. She felt the mountain air pressing her down, like it wanted her to fall again.

They reached a narrow path along a low cliff. It overlooked a glacial lake and when she looked down, Jo Beth trembled with dizziness. She figured there ought to have been a sign at the beginning of this slope, For Skinny People Only, maybe with an image of an obese skier and an x through it. Because seriously, if she moved half a foot to her left she’d push up against the cutting edges of the mountain. If she moved half a foot to her right, she’d topple over a thin wire fence and then she’d tumble about one hundred feet into the frozen glacial lake beneath.

Would she crash through the ice, or would she just bounce, like she was on a cold, slick trampoline?

No. The ice would crack and Jo Beth would sink—skis and all—into the frozen depths. With this knowledge came a weight on her chest and her knees buckled. Was her still-weak ligament acting up? But both her knees were threatening her, so no. No. It was all due to her nerves, to her craziness.

Jo Beth took a deep breath and told herself to get a grip.

“Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?” Magda cried.

“Amazing!” Jo Beth yelled back, surprised she could find her voice.

She dared to look to her right. The frozen water was so clear that the craggy mountain on the opposite side of the lake was reflected, almost like there was a second mountain growing beneath the water, into the bottom of the earth. She’d seen a lot of mountains and she’d skied thousands of slopes, but if she could reach past her anxiety she’d have to admit that no, she’d never seen anything more beautiful.

It was literally breathtaking.

Jo Beth closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, felt the wind at her back and velocity pulling her forward. You’re safe, she told herself. When she reopened her eyes, there was Magda’s purple parka, still ahead of her. And although Jo Beth was now navigating the narrow slope with ease, she thought, I can do better. Heck, even Skylar could do better. Soon the slope widened, they were away from the glacial lake, and the whole mountain stretched before them in a steep, precarious, wonderful mess. Jo Beth pulled ahead of Magda. “Race you to the bottom!” she cried.

Jo Beth was going too fast to hear whether or not Magda answered. It didn’t matter. Jo Beth still won.

The only hotel in Portillo was a bright yellow building, which looked as if it been airlifted and magically placed into the tiny groove between two enormous, snow-capped mountains. Jo Beth marveled how civilization could exist around so many steep slopes and glacial lakes, but there it was: a locally-run resort whose one dining room was large and cafeteria-like, where guests and staff ate together, family style. But dinner wasn’t until late, so Jo Beth and Magda went swimming first, in the outdoor pool, a little oasis smack in the center of rugged ice and rock.

“I’m heading straight for the hot tub,” Magda said, as they reached the triangular shaped swim deck. The hot tub was in the corner, its bubbles casting out steam over layers of snow beyond the fence.