Chapter Thirty-Eight
Saturday, 20 th January
Stacy ran downstairs, excitement prickling in her middle. This was it – Lakeside was open for business today, and their first hotel guests were expected any time after two o’clock – ten minutes to go! She checked the large spa, where Margrit, the other spa nurse, was overseeing the handful of locals in the tubs, then looked into the rooms in the small spa, where Viola was working on someone’s make-up and Ruth the hairdresser was snipping away.
Rico was on the reception computer, and she gave him a thumbs-up. ‘Ready for action? I wish Karen was here. What a time to get flu.’
‘We’ll manage,’ said Rico stoutly. ‘But I’m glad we’ll only be three-quarters full this week. It’ll give us a chance to get started gently – I hope.’
Stacy joined him at the desk. At least he hadn’t bitten her head off. He’d been in a weird mood all week, but he wasn’t telling her anything about it, though she’d asked him twice what was wrong. Roll on Tuesday and his new scan, because if that was what was worrying him, the sooner he had it behind him, the better. She squinted at him as he scowled at the computer. Please, please, this had to work out well for him. And for Lakeside. There was little use hoping it would work out for them, because there was no ‘them’, but two out of three would do.
She turned to glance outside. A fair bit of snow had fallen during the week, but the main road was clear, and Rico had gritted the car park this morning. They were ready.
The thought had barely entered her head when a white Ford rolled to a halt in the nearest parking space. Stacy’s pulse quickened. She held the door open as a middle-aged couple trundled two suitcases into the reception area. Rico signed them in, and they vanished upstairs in the lift.
‘Two down, a lot more to go,’ said Stacy, going back to the glass door. From here, she could see the entrance gates. ‘And here are another two cars!’
‘You’d better get ready to be assistant receptionist,’ said Rico. ‘We don’t want a queue in our first half hour. You can take the computer, and I’ll take the iPad. I’ve synced them.’
This was where his IT expertise came into its own. Stacy slid behind the desk, her heart rate rising. Her job really had started now.
The next hour was busy, with a steady stream of guests clocking in, wanting details about this and that, and coming back down to explore the spa area and the restaurant. By half past five all the Swiss and German guests had arrived, though the two couples coming from England wouldn’t be here until after seven.
Rico nodded to Stacy. ‘You can go on up. I’ll wait until Maria arrives.’
Maria was the new evening receptionist, due to work from six o’clock until nine on weekdays as well as the weekends that Karen wasn’t on duty.
‘Okay. I’ll make some spag for–’
The lift doors pinged open, and a middle-aged man strode to the desk, a hotel brochure clutched in one hand and a dark frown on his face.
‘I don’t see any gym facilities here – surely you must have a fitness room?’
Stacy’s stomach lurched – an irate guest already. They’d talked about a fitness room beside the sauna in the cellar, but decided to postpone it until spring. Maybe that had been a mistake.
Rico swept into action. ‘Herr Brunner, yes, I’m afraid the fitness room isn’t open yet. That’s one reason our prices are so competitive this month. However, there’s a large gym less than ten minutes away by car, and if you bring your receipt after your visits there, we’ll refund you half the price.’ He produced a map of the area and pointed out the gym, then opened its website to show Herr Brunner, who looked slightly – but only slightly – mollified.
‘I see. Fair enough. Should I book sessions there in advance, or…’
Relieved, Stacy looked on as Rico explained the procedure. When the man returned upstairs, she raised her eyebrows at Rico. ‘Were you thinking on your feet there, or had you worked all that out beforehand?’
To her surprise he laughed. ‘I was thinking on my feet, and wow – your German’s coming on, isn’t it?’
Stacy stood still. She hadn’t even noticed that she’d understood the entire conversation – and in Swiss German, too. It had all been quite automatic. Wow. Thanks, Kim and Ben. She went on upstairs feeling both virtuous and positive. Rico was going to be a great hotel manager, and now that she could understand enough to get by, life was going to be so much easier – and more fun. If his scan result was clear, that was. But it would be. Although… She swallowed the little niggle of fear.
He was losing weight, wasn’t he?
***
Rico stared out at the banks of snow on either side of the track as the train sped through bleak whiteness. It was Tuesday the twenty-third, the day of reckoning. His scan appointment was in less than an hour. They were almost at Chur, which was only about a hundred and fifty metres higher than Grimsbach, but the proximity to the mountains meant the snow here was ten times the amount they had by the lake – and they had plenty. He glanced across at Stacy, who’d started the journey trying to get him to chat, but had now sunk into silence. He’d wanted to come to his appointment alone, by car, but Stacy had insisted on coming too. Once upon a time, it would have delighted him that she wanted to go anywhere at all with him, but today her insistence made him think she was expecting the worst. This morning’s snowfall had been the last straw, as far as Rico was concerned. No way did he want to drive through kilometres of snow with a diagnosis of God knows what hanging over him.
‘I wish I’d arranged to have this done at the hospital in St Gallen,’ he said, as the train slowed down into Chur station. ‘Look at the state of these streets. I don’t remember when we last had such a snowy winter. This is the pits.’
Stacy gripped his arm. ‘It’s better to be seen by the people who treated you in the first place. Come on. The taxi up to the hospital’s on me, and you can get the coffee after your appointment.’
He could tell that she was trying to sound brisk and matter-of-fact, but it wasn’t working.
‘Depending on what I hear, I might need something a whole lot stronger than coffee.’ Rico thrust his hands into his jacket pockets and stomped towards the taxi rank.
They arrived at the hospital with ten minutes to spare, only to be told that the scan room was running half an hour late.
‘Let’s have coffee first,’ said Stacy. ‘There’s a café on the ground floor.’
Feeling as if he was on his way to an exam he hadn’t prepared for, Rico allowed her to lead him back downstairs, where they sat down at a sticky table. Stacy fetched coffee and chocolate chip cookies, and Rico sipped and nibbled unenthusiastically. Twenty more minutes.
‘Oh, Rico, don’t look like that,’ said Stacy. ‘I know it’s easy to say, “don’t worry, it’s going to be fine”, but–’
He glared at her. ‘You’re right, it is easy. And something’s not fine. I’m losing weight every day now.’
She shook her head. ‘You’re not exactly scoffing the calories, are you? You barely touched dinner last night, and – what did you have for lunch?’
He looked away. Lunch had been a coffee and half a biscuit.
‘Stress can make you lose weight as well as illness. Chances are they’re going to take one look at the scan and chuck you out on your ear.’
He fiddled with his teaspoon. ‘Doubt it. But we’ll soon know who’s right, won’t we?’
‘Yes, we will.’ She blinked at him. ‘It’ll be over soon. The wait, I mean.’
An elderly couple sat down at the table to Rico’s left. The man seemed to be the patient, and the woman fussed around getting coffee in much the same way Stacy had. The pair sat chatting about the weather in Swiss German, until the woman exclaimed, ‘Mon Dieu!’ and rummaged in her handbag. She produced a letter, and conversation between the two continued in French.
Stacy smiled at Rico. ‘I wish I could do that, in German and English!’
Tears flooded into Rico’s eyes. Imagine sitting opposite Stacy in fifty years’ time, both bilingual, one supporting the other after a lifetime spent together. It was the impossible dream, but he would give everything in the world to make it come true.
Stacy’s eyes widened, and she reached a hand across the table. ‘Rico–’
He shoved his chair back; he couldn’t stand this any longer. ‘I know. Time to head back upstairs. Won’t be a minute.’ He escaped to the loo to recover his composure, then rejoined Stacy, who thankfully made no further attempt to talk.
Upstairs, she waited outside while he had the scan, then they walked along an echoing corridor to see the doctor. Rico sat fiddling with his phone in the waiting area while Stacy made the odd encouraging remark and fiddled with hers. Dread and despair filled Rico’s head. This was so crap.
At last his name was called.
Stacy was on her feet before he was. ‘I’m coming in with you.’
Rico shot up, glaring at her. ‘You are so not.’
She grabbed his arm. ‘Rico, I am coming in with you.’
Short of making a scene in the corridor, there was nothing he could do. They followed the nurse into an empty consulting room and sat down.
‘The doctor will be here in a moment.’ The nurse gave them a bright smile, and was gone.
***
Stacy glanced across at Rico, shaking in the chair beside her. His hands were clasped on his lap, and his knuckles were white. That look he’d given her downstairs, as if the only thing in the world he really wanted was right out of grabbing distance. Could that thing be – her? Before she could think of anything to say, the doctor came in, a tablet computer in one hand. He shook hands with them both, then sat behind the desk and spoke to Rico. Stacy had to concentrate to follow; he spoke in High German, but his accent was very different to Rico’s.
‘How have you been? Did the antibiotics have you feeling better quickly?’
Rico explained that he hadn’t actually felt ill when they’d discovered there was a problem.
His voice was shaking, but the doctor was concentrating on his tablet and didn’t notice. Before she’d thought twice, Stacy had reached out and gripped Rico’s hand. He held on for dear life.
‘Here we are…’ The doctor looked up and smiled. ‘No problems now, you’ll be glad to hear. You’ll soon be as fit as you were before the accident.’
Rico was squeezing her hand so tightly it hurt, but Stacy could tell he had no idea he was doing it. His voice was still shaking when he replied. ‘That’s great. Does this mean I don’t have to come back?’
‘Exactly. If anything worries you later, go to your own doctor. But I’m sure you won’t need to.’
‘Thank you. How – how is the other bloke who was injured with me?’
Tears rushed into Stacy’s eyes. He’d been given his life back, and the first thing he did was ask about a stranger; not only that, it was the stranger who’d been the indirect cause of his injuries.
The doctor’s face fell, and Stacy held her breath.
‘I can’t give you details, but he went home last week. Good luck!’ He shook hands again and was gone.
Stacy pulled Rico to his feet as the nurse held the door open for them. His face was frozen, and all she wanted was to get him out of the hospital. All the fear and dread he had gone through – it had been partly her fault. If she’d been able to convince him right at the start that the danger of anything being seriously wrong was minimal, he wouldn’t have been in such a state today. This was why acute nursing wasn’t for her. She couldn’t detach herself enough.
‘Rico, I feel terrible. You probably saw I was worried too, and I’m so sorry if it made you worry even more.’
His eyes were glittering, and he was still gripping her hand. ‘Stop. I was worried before I set eyes on you, the day I learned about the abscess. But hey – it’s over, and I’m beginning to feel like I’ve won the lottery. Come on, I saw an Irish Pub on the way here. Let’s go in for half an hour before getting the train. The prosecco’s on me.’
Stacy laughed shakily. ‘Trust you to spot a pub!’
He winked at her. ‘That’s the English half of me.’
Leaving the hospital, he let go of her hand while they both zipped up jackets and pulled on gloves, but then he held his hand out again in an invitation for her to take it. Stacy’s breath caught. Gazing into his face, she reached out and gripped hard.
***
It was nearly nine o’clock before they arrived back in Grimsbach. One prosecco had led to another, so they’d had hamburgers to mop them up – and then more prosecco. And all the time they’d talked – about hopes and fears, about their childhoods and parents and friends, about British and Swiss politics, and travel and religion and favourite food and Swiss trains – about everything under the sun, except their future plans. But Stacy was content. Every second that passed she was seeing more of the real Rico, and she was seeing it because he knew she wanted to. They left the train at Grimsbach and started along the snow-covered pavement towards the hotel, hand in hand.
Stacy glanced between the trees on her left. There was the lake, moonlight flickering across dark water, the lights of Germany on the opposite bank and stars twinkling above. Winter lake, and she didn’t want to be anywhere else on earth tonight.
‘What’s your opinion on love at first sight?’ said Rico suddenly, as Lakeside loomed in the distance.
Surprised, Stacy pulled a face. ‘Well, it exists, I suppose. Look at Alan when he met Emily. But some people need more time.’
He slowed down. ‘It took me less than two days, I think, last summer. But you were still engaged.’
Warmth surged through Stacy. He was saying he loved her – he had loved her for months. And because of that, it was somehow important that she said the words first.
‘I love you now, Rico. I’m not sure when it started, but one day it was just there.’
He stopped, and put a gloved hand on her woolly hat. ‘We spent a lot of time not communicating, didn’t we?’
‘We did, but we’ll never do that again. Come on, let’s get inside.’
‘Wait.’ He pulled her close for a cold kiss, and stars swirled around Stacy’s head and warmth filled her gut. This was it, oh, this was definitely it. Forever.
Headlights from a passing car illuminated them, and they broke apart, laughing, though Stacy knew tears weren’t far off. How could she have been so blind for so long? They dawdled along the pavement and turned in at the hotel gates.
Rico’s voice was hoarse. ‘Let’s be happy together here, Stace. Like Mum and Dad were.’
Stacy giggled. ‘Steady – that sounded dangerously like a proposal!’
He kissed her glove. ‘A proposal will have to wait until I have a ring for you in my pocket. But you can watch this space.’
Stacy gripped his hand. Tonight, Lakeside was an island of warmth in the snowy garden. Lights were shining all through the building, and already she could hear a buzz of talk from the restaurant. The old chalet was alive again, and she was a part of it. Happiness surged through Stacy. Tonight, she had come home.
The End