After they left, David went to the advanced slope and skied alone for two hours. Skiing had always centered him, calmed him down, but today he felt a slow burn as he played over what had just transpired, how easily Anton had called it quits, how effortlessly Delores had enabled him. He had always been proud of Anton, of his strength and equanimity, but today, for the first time, he was embarrassed. The boy was a quitter. No wonder he was failing at school.
