Chapter Nine
Monday, 30 th October
Stacy dusted her hands down her jeans and closed the storeroom door behind her. It had taken most of the afternoon, but the room was now empty and ready to be transformed into a massage room. The shabby old chairs and tables that had served in the terrace bar in summer were exiting Lakeside for good, and she’d stacked them at the side of the hallway and chucked the smaller items like old crates and odd stools into the skip on the front drive. Sorted. She put a small pile of still-okay-ish cushion sets on the reception desk to talk to Rico about, and went into the small conference room to make a start on the cupboard there.
It was behind the chairs which she and Martin had occupied that morning, and Stacy screwed up her nose, remembering how he’d ever so casually inched closer as he translated what the others were saying. In one way it was flattering, but his aftershave had almost knocked her out. She was still getting the odd whiff of it now, hours later. He hadn’t been wearing it at the pizzeria – did that mean anything? Stacy opened the window before starting on the cupboard, her sense of humour resurfacing. Martin was like a very good-looking dog trying hard to ingratiate itself with its owner. An Alsatian maybe, or a husky. Alpha male kind of thing. But she liked Alsatians, didn’t she?
She was heaving boxes of old files onto the floor when the lift doors pinged open and Karen’s voice rang through the hallway.
‘For goodness sake, Stacy, surely you’re not throwing all these things away? And where are the rest of the cushions?’ She appeared in the conference room doorway, clutching one of the seat cushions, her face flushed and indignant.
Stacy felt the hairs on her arms rise. This woman sure knew how to stress people out. She swallowed a sharp retort and replied mildly. ‘Rico’s taking it all to the recycling tomorrow. And yes, we’re getting new bar furniture.’
Karen waved the cushion she was holding. ‘There’s nothing wrong with this. Why on earth should we throw it out?’
Stacy made a big effort. She was not going to start a barney about seat cushions, of all things. ‘The rest are too worn to save, and we’ll need matching sets for next season. I was going to ask someone what we should do with these good ones – is there a charity shop nearby that would like them?’
Karen cast her eyes heavenwards. ‘Charity shop! You’re not in England now.’ She muttered something in Swiss German that might well have been ‘more’s the pity’, judging by her sour expression, and marched off into the restaurant.
Angry tears welled in Stacy’s eyes. Karen was older, around the same age as her mother, in fact. They could have had a really nice relationship, and to be honest, that was what she’d been hoping for when she arrived. As things were, this would turn into open warfare if she wasn’t careful. Still, she had held her own there, and politely, too. She was being a lot more grown up about it than Karen was. Stacy swallowed the frustration, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Time to finish those cupboards.
By half past four she’d stacked the boxes on the table for Rico to look through, and vacuum-cleaned a thick layer of dust from the cupboard floor. She glanced outside – it would be dark soon. A quick walk down to the lake would clear her head, and Rico’d said she could stop when the cupboards were done. She ran upstairs to fetch her jacket and set off, leaving the building through the out-of-use terrace bar, and walked along the path that led to the boathouse. A bitter wind was blowing across the lake – the Bise wind, apparently. Stacy stood at the little jetty and gazed across to Germany. Last night she’d seen the lights over there twinkling through the darkness as she listened to the magic of Peter’s alphorn. The magic was gone now, leaving a cold autumn day, and this was a different Lakeside to the summery, holiday one. And somehow, all she could see were problems. Her German wasn’t good enough, her boss liked her way too much, and apart from Kim and the hotel people, she didn’t know anyone within five hundred miles. And it was certainly too late to pull out of the job.
Stacy shook herself. She should stop all this introspection, have her walk and get ready for her meal out. Kim was expecting her at six for cheese fondue. It would be good to meet the family again under better circumstances; she hadn’t seen Tobias Burri since the day she’d saved Elijah. And after her encounters with Karen, not to mention Rico gawping at her whenever he thought she wasn’t looking, an evening with people who wanted to be with her for the right reasons would be – relaxing.
She was drying her hair when a message from Emily pinged into her phone .
Can we Skype?
Stacy messaged back.
Five minutes.
She finished her hair, then sat down with her laptop. Emily’s face flashed onto the screen, her eyes bright with excitement. ‘Hi! How’s the job? Have you met lots of people? And oh, Stace, I’ve had such a good idea!’
Stacy felt literally lighter. A chat with Emily was exactly what she needed. Rico hadn’t returned yet, so she was able to vent her frustration about Karen as well as filling her friend in on the hotel plans and the progress this far.
‘Golly,’ said Emily. ‘You haven’t been standing still, have you! But what a cow that Karen woman is – ignore her as hard as you can. Any nice men around? Apart from Rico, that is?’
‘Hush – he could come in any moment, and he’s going to be a problem, Em. He likes me more than I want him to. There’s an accountant called Martin, as well. Nice bloke, terrible aftershave kind of thing.’
‘Buy him some new stuff. Seriously, be careful, Stace. You don’t want to hurt Rico.’
Stacy sighed. She didn’t want him mooning around after her, either, but point taken.
‘I won’t. What’s your good idea, then?’
‘My class – in fact the entire school – is having a project week next week. Part of it involves clambering around the moors, so me and my ex-wonky knee have been signed off for that bit. How about I come and visit you for a long weekend?’
Fierce longing stabbed through Stacy. ‘That would be brilliant! This coming weekend, or the one after?’
‘The one after. It would be only me. Alan has an exam coming up so he’s swotting every spare minute. I’ll get onto checking flights, and let you know before I book.’
She ended the call, and Stacy punched the air. Emily was coming – they’d have long evenings to chat in, and maybe she could have a day off, too, as well as Saturday and Sunday. She danced through to the kitchen, almost bumping into Rico when he came in.
‘Emily’s coming for a few days in a week or two – that’s okay, isn’t it?’
His eyebrows rose. ‘You don’t need to ask. It’ll be pretty messy and dusty here by that time, though.’
‘Emily won’t care,’ said Stacy happily.
Tiredness gone as if by magic, Stacy set out for Kim’s home, clutching her phone with the map of Grimsbach on the screen. She bought a bunch of chrysanthemums on the way past the florist’s, then started up a side road. The houses here were detached with front and back gardens, and here was Kim’s, number twenty-eight. Stacy rang the bell, feeling excited. This would be the first Swiss home she’d ever been in.
Kim opened the door, the two dark-haired little boys behind her. ‘Come in! What gorgeous flowers, thank you! You remember Stacy, don’t you, Eli? We saw her at the hotel last summer when we went to say thank you for helping when you were ill.’
She spoke slow High German, but Stacy had to concentrate to understand. She was drawn into the untidy living room, where Ben produced an armful of soft toys for her to admire while Elijah, who was old enough to realise she didn’t speak his language, hung back behind his father. Tobias was a giant of a man, thick dark hair falling into his eyes as he handed Stacy a glass of white wine. Kim had vanished into the kitchen.
‘Welcome to our home, Stacy!’ He added something in Swiss German, and the children ran off after their mother.
Kim reappeared, took her glass, clinked with her husband, and pushed him towards the door. She beamed at Stacy and spoke in English. ‘Someone has to keep stirring the cheese! Come through, Stacy, and forgive us for eating the moment you get here. The children are used to an early meal at night.’
Stacy followed her into the dining room and sank into her chair. It was easy to relax here; it was so clearly a real family home, with toys here and there and photos in coloured wooden frames on the sideboard. This was the kind of home she wanted one day too. The layout was old-fashioned, with a separate kitchen and dining room, but there was love here. You could feel it.
‘I run my nail business from this table,’ said Kim, looking round the room. ‘I usually end up trawling ninety per cent of the toys out before the clients come, and bribing Ben to play quietly on the floor with the rest while I work. We had a bit of a contretemps today, though – he got hold of a bottle of nail varnish when I wasn’t looking and painted the table, and it’s an heirloom. Tobias isn’t happy.’
She pointed, and Stacy peered down at the smears of nail varnish. ‘Oh no!’
‘Oh yes. According to the internet, toothpaste and elbow grease will shift it, so that’s my job for tomorrow. Heaven help us if it doesn’t work, but enough of that – how are you getting on at Lakeside?’
Stacy took a deep breath and began. Kim laughed about Martin’s aftershave, and frowned when she heard about Karen’s rudeness. ‘I’m sure Karen will come round,’ she said. ‘But if she doesn’t, you should let Rico have a word, Stacy. Ah – food!’
Tobias came in with a pan of melted cheese which he placed on a burner in the middle of the table. ‘Have you had fondue before, Stacy?’
‘Never, but I love cheese.’
Tobias passed her the bread cubes they had ready, and demonstrated how to spear them on a long-handled fork and stir them round in the cheese mixture. ‘We have a family rule – the first person to lose their bread in the cheese has to do the clearing up,’ he said, winking at Elijah.
Stacy dipped and ate, and laughed with the family at Ben’s face when he tried some cheese.
‘He’s a banana for tea kind of kid,’ said Kim, slicing one onto Ben’s plate.
Stacy caught sight of another nail varnish smear on the sideboard door, and glanced at Tobias. It was a lovely piece of furniture, and obviously valuable. This table would be too, though most of it was hidden under a cloth tonight. It must be hard for Kim, running a business from home, even if it was a tiny one.
An idea sprang into Stacy’s head. They hadn’t found anyone for make-up and nails at the hotel, yet – maybe Kim would consider it? It must be better than working here with a three-year-old under your feet.
‘Do you do manicures only, Kim, or make-up too?’
There was a micro-second of silence before Kim replied. ‘Both – I’m a beautician. But I’m mostly a full-time mum while Ben’s still small.’
There was definitely an atmosphere now. Stacy was glad when Elijah caused a diversion by losing his bread in the fondue. Tobias fished it out for him, then took both boys out to help make dessert when everyone was finished.
Kim took a big swallow of wine. ‘Tobias is a brilliant dad,’ she said, leaning back in her chair, her eyes wistful. ‘He’s not keen on me working until Ben starts kindergarten, though.’
Stacy nodded. It seemed a little old-fashioned, but every family had to organise things like that for themselves, and clearly, money wasn’t an issue here. But she’d better wait with her ‘work at Lakeside’ idea until she had Kim on her own.
It was ten o’clock when Stacy left, feeling she had put down another tiny root in a part of Switzerland that wasn’t Lakeside. One day, yes, one day she would like exactly what Kim had: a husband she was crazy about and a couple of cute kids. The husband and children parts of the dream were hazy, but a house like Kim’s would be lovely – not too far from Emily and Mum and Dad, if possible. She was a home girl at heart. It was going to be so good to see Emily again.
The village was silent as Stacy walked through deserted streets back to the hotel, but it was a sleepy, comfortable silence. She came to the main road, and there was Lakeside, completely in darkness apart from the lights shining from the flat upstairs. The atmosphere at Lakeside was a happy one too, but it was a dim kind of happiness, as if it belonged to the past. Hopefully they’d be able to rekindle that feeling in the lovely new spa hotel. Stacy let herself in and climbed the four flights of stairs to the flat. She was back to burning off the calories.