Chapter Twenty-Five
Wednesday, 22 nd November
Stacy was behind the computer in the reception office by half past seven – it was going to be a busy day. The newly installed tubs were to be plumbed in and the water supply tested, and she and Karen were interviewing for the beautician job, with Rico there on Skype. The woman Karen had found was the only candidate, so she’d need to have something spectacularly wrong with her before they could afford to reject her. Stacy printed out Viola Amman’s credentials, and took the laptop through to the restaurant to get set up for the interview at nine.
Her phone rang while she had both arms full. Ooh – was that Martin? They’d exchanged a couple of funny, flirty texts since she’d called on Saturday to thank him for the flowers, and her stomach did an expectant little jump every time her phone pinged or rang. She was back in the dating game with a vengeance, and it felt good. They were going out to dinner in St Gallen tonight – her treat – and he’d mentioned a nightclub that had live music until twelve during the week, so it could turn into a late night for her.
Whoever it was hung up after five rings. Stacy laid the laptop and papers down on the interview table and fished out her phone. The call had been Rico, which wasn’t what she’d expected, given that they’d be on Skype in an hour. She connected to his phone.
‘Morning – how’s Lugano? Are you okay for nine o’clock?’
‘Lugano’s foggy, and yes. I found Viola Ammann on a couple of social media sites, and she seems a nice person. Comes over as genuine and not someone who shoots off about anything weird.’
‘Okay. I’m setting up for the interview now, so we’ll get to you about five to nine?’
‘Great. I’ll be ready. Um, that’s all.’
He rang off, and Stacy shrugged. He could easily have said all that before the interview. Or… maybe he’d bottled out of saying something else. Eek.
Viola Ammann was a small woman in her early thirties with long dark hair piled on her head and the kind of cheekbones you saw in women’s mags. Her make-up, as you’d expect, was flawless, and so were her nails, which were her own and not so long they made you nervous every time she did something. In spite of her reservations, and to be honest she only had these because Karen had found this poor soul, Stacy liked her. Viola gave all the right answers to their questions and was interested in the English hotel part of Lakeside, too. And Karen was beaming like a Cheshire cat, and Rico on Skype was all smiles too.
‘Thank you for coming. We’ll be in touch in a day or two.’ Stacy shook hands, then Karen took Viola out and she turned back to Rico on the laptop.
‘Are we taking her, then?’ It was his decision, in the end.
‘I think so. Are you okay with that? I know you were hoping for Kim.’
Stacy shook her head. ‘She’s offered to jump in if we needed her. I think Viola would fit in well, and Karen isn’t going to disagree.’
‘Then that’s settled. I’m coming home on Friday afternoon, by the way. Dad’s driving me up in my car, and he’ll stay for the weekend.’
Stacy smiled. ‘Brilliant! Are you fully fit for work?’
He waved a hand round in front of his chest. ‘Still a bit achy, but better every day, and I’m bored here. How’s your week going?’
Oops. He wasn’t asking about the build, and how on earth was she supposed to answer him when she didn’t know if he was still gazing at her with his tongue hanging out, metaphorically speaking, or if he’d got over that and it was a normal kind of question one friend might ask another. And while she didn’t want to hurt him if it was the first, she didn’t want to lie to him either. After hesitating for three seconds that felt like three hours, she went for truth, trying to look cheerful and neutral. Face calls had their disadvantages.
‘I’m going for dinner with Martin tonight, but that’s all. I’ll have food ready for you and Ralph on Friday, shall I? Anything in particular you’d like?’
‘That chicken thing you made once would be good. Oh – Dad’s home. See you on Friday!’
He was gone.
***
Kim stood in the dining room doorway, tears pricking in her eyes. In spite of all her efforts, it still felt as if her life was in a mess. Tobias was at work. Eli was at kindergarten, and Ben was at Marianne’s playing with Oskar. And she was stuck here at home because her husband was scared his children might come to harm if they didn’t have a stay-at-home mother. And admit it, she’d been scared about that at first too. She hadn’t let Eli out of her sight, the first few weeks after he came home from hospital. But they couldn’t go on like that, and she was back to normal, as far as looking after the children went – even if she did keep an ultra-careful eye on them when they were down by the lake.
Tobias still had a way to go before he would agree to her working for an employer again, though, so she would have to make the best of it in the meantime. The frustrating thing was, it was raining beautician jobs at the moment. Her old employer in Rorschach had called on Monday to ask if she’d be interested in a fifty per cent job after Christmas, ‘now that the boys are older’. Kim dabbed cold fingers on her cheeks. Self-pity was the worst. And here was Stacy, bang on time for some German conversation.
‘Hello! No Ben today? Hey – what’s up?’
Kim closed the door behind Stacy. ‘Say that in German and I’ll tell you.’
Stacy recast her greeting, though Kim had to supply ‘was ist los?’ for ‘what’s up?’. When you thought about it, it was a pretty necessary phrase for someone who was going to be working as spa nurse in a few short weeks, so her self-pity hadn’t been entirely in vain.
‘Okay,’ said Stacy, when Kim had poured out her woes – in English. ‘Let’s have ten minutes English first. From what you say, an outside job isn’t going to happen for the moment, though I do think you should continue that conversation with Tobias. Maybe a good time to start a job would be after the summer holidays next year? And in the meantime, how are you going to organise your business here at home?’
Kim sniffed. ‘Ideally, I’d like a permanent working space, but unless you can build me an extension, that’s not possible.’
Stacy went to look into the dining room. ‘How often do you eat in here?’
Kim joined her in the doorway. ‘Twice a month? We only use it when we’re entertaining. And for my manicures.’
‘You need a little nail table,’ said Stacy.
Kim moved further into the room. ‘Yes! If we put the dining table at that end, sideways to the wall, and the sideboard over there…’ She wagged a finger at Stacy. ‘Enough English. We’ll do this part in German.’
By the time Stacy’s lesson was finished, the dining room had been transformed.
‘I can have my nail table sideways on to the window, and if I get a little cabinet for my equipment, that can sit by my chair. It’s makeshift, but it won’t be forever. Thanks, Stacy. I feel I’m more in control of my career now.’
‘Where will you get your table?’
Kim grinned. ‘If you can manage tomorrow afternoon after kindergarten, that can be another German lesson. There’s a store this side of St Gallen that has a fair selection of furniture that doesn’t cost the earth. We’ll have to take the kids with us, but as you know, they’re very, um, vocabulary-enriching.’
Stacy went back to the kitchen for her bag. ‘See you tomorrow at four, then. I have to go – it’s date night!’
‘Ooh – you can tell me all about that tomorrow too!’
Kim waved Stacy off. It was lovely, how comfortable they were with each other. Stacy was at least eight years younger, but that didn’t make a difference. They were friends. Kim hugged herself, and went back to look at the new dining room. Correction – the new nail salon.
***
The builders were leaving when Stacy arrived back at the hotel, and she put her head into the small spa area, where Andi was checking the day’s work. The three little rooms were almost finished, and she tried to imagine them with hairdressing equipment and oh dear, the other would have a nail table, probably pretty similar to the one she and Kim would look for tomorrow. Viola had talked about facial massage this morning too, would that need a trolley bed, or a special chair? She added it to her mental list of things to find out about, then locked the front door after Andi and set off upstairs. Hot date coming up, and for tonight, she would put Lakeside right out of her head and concentrate on her evening with Martin. Dinner and a nightclub in St Gallen, and wow – her first time out clubbing in Switzerland! Emmy would be proud of her.
Upstairs, she pulled out her trousers to give them an iron, then polished her stilettoes. Good job Martin was tall, these were pretty high heels, and he might be the kind of bloke who wouldn’t enjoy his partner towering over him. Dancing partner, that was. But never say never… Okay, a nice soak in the bath, then–
Her phone interrupted her plans, and she lifted it to see Martin’s name on the screen.
His voice rasped in her ear. ‘Stacy, I’m going to have to cancel on you. I’ve been trying to ignore it all day, but I think I’m coming down with something.’
Stacy sagged. ‘Oh, poor you. You do sound a bit croaky. Here’s hoping an early night will put you right.’
‘I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you.’
He ended the call, and she stared out into darkness beyond the kitchen window. Okay, she was home alone tonight after all. Ah, well. But ‘make it up to you’ sounded interesting, didn’t it?