They were lucky to live near one of the best parks in the city. One of the things Gold liked about Toronto was how many parks there were. You couldn't walk too far without finding at least some green space with play equipment for children. The park near their apartment featured giant toboganning hills and an outdoor skating rink.

Gold watched nervously as Bae went up and down the hill with his tobagan, worried he'd fly off his sled or hit a tree. He was glad when Bae was back by his side at the bottom of the hill.

Then Bae begged Gold to take him skating, but Gold vetoed that suggestion on the grounds that renting skates was too expensive. What Gold didn't say was that he couldn't skate himself and he was worried about Bae injuring himself out alone on the slippery ice. It was frustrating not being able to do everything Bae wished they could together. So often he worried about his son missing out.

"Dad, you never let us have any fun," pouted Bae as he stuffed his mittened hands in his pockets.

"Oh Come on Bae, there's loads we can do without skating!" said Gold glancing desperately at the snowdrifts around them for inspiration.

"Like what?"

"Uh, how about how about we build a snowman?

Bae took his hands out of his pockets. "Oh-kay."

So they ended up spending the rest of their afternoon in the park building a snowman. Mostly this involved Gold clumping snow together to make snowballs and rolling the balls in the wet packing snow to make the three large sphere-ish shapes necessary as Bae capered around trying to find appropriate rocks for eyes and buttons and singing "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Gold grumbled good naturedly that it was bad enough when those cartoon characters were singing it on TV without it happening in real life as well, but secretly he was pleased Bae was enjoying himself.

"Admit it, you liked it!" insisted Bae.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Oh that's it! Come 'ere you!"

But Bae danced away out of his grasp. "Aaah! It's the abominable snowman!" he shrieked.

Gold growled like the abominable snowman from the Rudolph Christmas special and Bae giggled as he hid behind a snow covered bush.

Gold began to whistle faux casually as he brushed some snow off the bough of a tree and packed it into a snowball.

Curious about his father's whistling Bae popped his head up above the bush.

"Gotcha!" crowed Gold as he threw the snowball, but the wind blew it back, spraying the disintegrating snow into his face.

Bae laughed so hard he collapsed in the snow.

"Dad help!"

Gold went over to make sure Bae was okay. Bae lay in the snow, pink cheeked and giggling, waiting impatiently for his father. As soon as Gold came up to look over at him he threw snow at Gold's legs and grabbed him trying to pull him down with him.

For a moment, Gold's gulped with fear, frightened of hitting the ground and hurting himself, but then he remembered the softness of the snow and just let himself go. Together, he and Bae fell on the pillowy snow, wrestling each other and laughing freely.

Once they exhausted this game, they lay in the snow covered field and made snow angels until their hair was soaked. If he hadn't started to grow cold Gold felt he could have fallen asleep right there. But now the sun was setting, the sky gone pink and blue above the silhouettes of the trees. With a sigh, the responsible adult in him knew it was time to get home.

Gold sat up and Bae helped him to his feet. More time was wasted looking around for Gold's cane which had ended up half hidden by a snowdrift.

They started to trudge home. Bae looked exhausted after all his exertions, pulling his sleigh slowly behind him.

Gold's heart softened at the memory of pulling Bae in the sleigh the winter before. Bae was smaller and lighter then of course and even then Gold had found it a bit tricky with his leg, but still not unmanageable.

"Hey, remember how I pulled you last year and we played sled dogs?" asked Gold. his eyes softening at the memory.

"Uh-huh," said Bae as he climbed over the high snow by the curb and there was a hopeful glimmer in his big brown eyes that Gold couldn't help but notice.

"Hey, you're tired, why don't you let me give you a ride," said Gold.

"But I'm a big boy now, you said I should pull it."

"Hey, even big grown-up boys need a break now and again."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely," nodded Gold. "Another month or two and you'll be too heavy, best do it while I still can."

"Okay!" smiled Bae and hopped on.

Gold tied the rope into a large loop which he cinched over his shoulder and across his chest. He kept one gloved hand under the rope to keep it from cutting into his shoulder and the other on his cane for balance. He was rather proud to make it all the way back to their flat without having to ask Bae to get off the sled, although it was slow going at times.

They lived only two flights up and there was no elevator. It was a small building with a parking lot and a small green space in the back. They tilted the sled against the fence to dry and they climbed the stairs to the second floor, Gold gripping the bannister a little more tightly than usual, hoping Bae wouldn't notice and think his old man had grown soft over the summer.

Inside the apartment they took off their wet clothes and Gold hung them over the heater to dry. He made them hot cocoas and microwave pizzas for dinner and put their wet clothes over the space heater to dry. Bae had had snowpants of course, but Gold didn't. No point spending money on something he might wear once a year. After being out in the cold for so long a hot soothing bath was bliss and Gold was pretty sure he would've dissolved into the tub water, if it wasn't for Bae splashing him and driving his plastic boats through his hair. A day spent playing like a ten year old romping through the snow over uneven ground in freezing wet trousers, pulling a sled- he knew he'd pay for it tomorrow, but it had been the perfect winter's day with his son, a special gift for both of them.