Chapter 8
SARAH
Sarah had known Auntie Meg was coming, but when she went downstairs with her dressing gown tied around her torso, her wet hair wrapped in a turban, it was pretty clear that Meg hadn’t expected her niece to be here.
Her grandparents, as well-meaning and kind-hearted as they were, had managed to set them all up for a fall now because Sarah had no idea how her mum would react when she knew her sister was here too.
Chrissie never talked about Meg. Her name only tended to come up when they were with Grumps and Nanna.
The sisters weren’t in touch despite living in the same country.
Sarah had always thought that when she was older her mum would tell her why they were estranged.
But she never had. And after a while she’d given up asking.
Sarah had come back upstairs with the phone charger Grumps found for her, put her phone on charge, and plugged in her travel hairdryer.
As she was finishing off drying her dark hair which was silky smooth thanks to the conditioning treatment she’d put in, her phone pinged.
It was Rhys again. She tried to read his message with her head sideways as the heat blasted some more, but when she zoned in on the words, she put down the hairdryer.
Your mum called me.
She sat on the edge of her bed to read the rest of the message.
I think she’s worried about you. She thought we might have had a fight.
Her mum was worrying everyone and Sarah hated it.
All she’d wanted was to get her head straight, know that she was doing the right thing getting married.
But knowing her fiancé and her mother were talking, she wasn’t sure whether that made her feel guilty or furious.
Why couldn’t her mum let her sort this out herself?
She’d said she would be back after Christmas and she would be.
She just wasn’t sure whether she would be coming back ready for a wedding or not.
She’d had breakfast with Rhys the morning she left England.
‘Don’t they have decorators in Switzerland?
’ he’d asked jokingly as they ate. He’d wanted to drive her to the airport, but she’d insisted it was easier for her to get a taxi, and he wouldn’t have to worry about taking time off work when he was so busy.
‘They do, but Grumps recommended me. He trusts me.’
‘And your boss really was all right with it? You’ve got time off for the wedding and for the honeymoon already.’
‘We’ve just finished a big job and my boss agreed the timing works. She knows how close I am to Grumps and Nanna, and that they can’t come to the wedding. And she always says family first.’
‘I like your boss. Family is important.’ He put a hand to her cheek. ‘You’ve been working really hard. I’ve been worried about you, you seem worn out. Work and getting ready for the wedding is a lot.’
She felt a flutter of panic at the thought of what was going to be a bigger wedding than she’d ever anticipated, with a long guest list and all eyes on her, the bride.
She’d never liked being the centre of attention, and every time she thought about it she felt her heartbeat increase and her palms start to sweat.
‘You have work and the wedding too,’ she said.
‘You don’t need to worry about me,’ he’d told her.
But the whole way to the airport she was worried.
Worried about what to do, worried about whether she was going to break her fiancé’s heart if she decided she really was too young to get married.
Was she going to be this way for evermore?
When she was in her thirties, married, with children, what would happen then?
Would she be a crappy mum and run for the hills just like she was doing now?
She put on a soft beige jumper with jeans and went downstairs. Grumps and Nanna were in the lounge, and it sounded like Meg was in the kitchen.
‘She’s making us a hot chocolate,’ Grumps announced.
That was one thing Sarah did know about her auntie: she was a chocolate expert. What must it be like to work with chocolate all day?
Meg had come up behind her as she hovered in the doorway to the lounge. ‘I heard you coming, so I made you one too.’ She passed over a mug with silky chocolate liquid inside. It smelled divine. ‘I assumed you liked chocolate.’
‘Of course.’ Sarah took her mug into the lounge and sat in the chair next to Grumps, who was closest to the fire. She thought about her mum, how she would feel if she knew she was with Meg, acting as if everything was normal in this family.
Meg had gone back to the kitchen and came back with two more mugs, then finally returned for her own before she perched her bottom on the ottoman.
Sarah wasted no time enjoying the beverage as Nanna argued with Meg that she should sit on the sofa and Meg insisted the ottoman forced her to sit up properly.
‘This is really good,’ said Sarah to Meg. ‘Do you make hot chocolates at your chocolaterie?’
Meg looked surprised at the question then shook her head. ‘No, no hot chocolate.’
‘Just delicious treats,’ said Grumps and looked over at the sideboard near the table. ‘She brought us plenty of those from The Cocoa Cupboard.’
‘The Cocoa Cupboard is in Camden, is that right?’ Sarah asked even though she knew full well that it was.
Because she’d been there. Not that she’d ever told her mum.
It was about five years ago, and she’d tried asking more questions about her auntie after she heard Chrissie talking on the phone to Grumps, but her mum had put an end to the topic like she always did.
Sarah had got so curious she’d wanted to see Auntie Meg for herself and so went to The Cocoa Cupboard one day.
She’d got cold feet though, and instead of going inside she’d left and gone shopping at Camden Market instead.
‘Yes, that’s right,’ Meg answered. She seemed surprised that Sarah knew this much and perhaps she thought Chrissie might have told her, but she hadn’t – everything Sarah knew about Meg had come from her grandparents.
‘Do you love working there?’ Sarah asked.
But it seemed Meg didn’t want to talk about it any more because she got to her feet and offered top-ups of hot chocolate for anyone who was interested.
Sarah declined. ‘I might not eat my dinner if I have any more.’
Astrid held her mug out. ‘I’m eighty-two, no chance of me saying no to seconds.’
Meg sat on the ottoman once she’d delivered the top-ups. ‘I hear you’re staying for Christmas, Sarah.’
‘I am. I thought it would be nice. We haven’t come here in the winter for a long time.’ She hesitated. ‘Last time I was here for Christmas was with my dad.’
Meg set down her mug. ‘I’m sorry you lost your dad. It must’ve been really hard on you. And on your mum.’
‘Thank you.’
The room quietened until Meg gathered up the empty cups as though she didn’t want to sit still for too long. ‘Why don’t I make dinner tonight?’ she said to Nanna, the mug handles looped between her fingers.
‘Oh no!’ said Nanna. ‘It’s my fondue.’
Meg laughed. ‘In that case, I couldn’t possibly. Nobody makes it like you do.’
‘We don’t have it as often any more,’ said Nanna. ‘It’s not great for my heart, but a little bit of what you love in life is good for you.’
Sarah smiled. ‘You’re so right. And your fondue is the best.’
‘It sure is,’ said Meg, a connection, albeit a tentative one, forming with her agreement and casual glance in Sarah’s direction. ‘Are we having it the naughty or not-so-naughty way?’
When Nanna laughed, Sarah asked what she meant by that.
Meg explained, ‘Mum would always make me and Chrissie have veggies first before we really got stuck in with the cheese. These days she’s not such a stickler for those rules.’
Sarah revealed, ‘Nanna always lets me have the bread straight away.’
‘She’s relaxed in her old age,’ said Grumps. ‘I’ve done us each a garden salad to start with though, don’t worry.’
‘You have not,’ said Meg with more than a hint of amusement in her voice.
Grumps looked serious until he found it impossible. ‘Of course I haven’t. Give me the naughty version.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘I’m already looking forward to it.’
Less than an hour later Meg and Sarah were both trying to help, but in the galley kitchen there wasn’t enough room. In the end, Sarah insisted she be the one to stay there. ‘You’ve been travelling today, Meg. Let me do this.’
‘Fair enough,’ said Meg. ‘I’ll go chat with dad and keep him company.’ But she was hovering.
Without looking at her daughter, Astrid picked up a piece of Emmental and held it in Meg’s direction. ‘Now off you go, leave us to get on. You could lay out the fondue set on the table if you like.’
‘Will do.’ Satisfied, Meg whisked up her glass of wine and left them to it.
Sarah took out the day-old bread and cut it into cubes while Nanna rubbed garlic around the pan on the stove.
Being here at the chalet, especially in the kitchen, Sarah felt more relaxed than she had been in a long while as she grated the cheeses – Emmental, Gruyère, plus Appenzeller, which had a fruity, nutty flavour according to Nanna.
Nanna had already added white wine and lemon juice to her pan, and she waited for it to simmer.
In went the cheeses. The smell was incredible as the mixture thickened nicely and Nanna removed it from the heat before stirring through a splash of cherry brandy.
The fondue was out of this world. It tasted just as good as its intense smell with the garlic and boozy aroma.
Fondue was a sociable meal with each of them dipping their speared pieces of bread on the end of their long-handled forks into the cheesy, smooth, slightly bubbling mixture in the pot in the centre of the table.