Chapter Eleven
Lucy checked her battery again, which was now down to twenty per cent. She looked over at the two Dutchmen – Alexander had stood up, so she walked over. ‘You guys OK?’ she asked.
‘I’m going to do a video for TikTok,’ said Alexander. ‘I have over a million followers.’
‘Really?’ asked Lucy, glancing at Willem for clarification. He rolled his eyes and nodded.
‘They will be worried,’ said Alex. ‘But also it’s fabulous content. Are you happy to be in it?’
Lucy shrugged, not really sure but also not wanting to be pegged as the uptight British woman.
She fished out her lip balm and applied it liberally, conscious that she looked a bit of a mess and quite a lot drunk, but maybe that would help with adding some real-life authenticity.
She’d experienced an avalanche, not a hot stone massage and a glycolic facial.
Will Nate want to be part of this? she thought, looking up at him.
He was still on the phone, pacing in circles and raking his hand through his hair.
Who is he? she wondered again, trying to reconcile the moody, closed-down Nate she’d known before this trip with the confident, sexy version who she’d seen emerging from Sasha’s room in the early hours.
And now she’d peeled back another layer to find a third Nate – a man with an anxiety disorder that clearly consumed him when things felt out of his control.
Like Leo, he was complex and unfathomable, and Lucy found herself both wary of that connection and eager to find out more.
‘Hey guys, I’m in Zermatt in Switzerland for the weekend,’ announced Alex, snapping Lucy back into the bar. Willem was holding a phone up so Alex could smile into the camera, and Lucy marvelled that he hadn’t stuffed a ring light and tripod in his rucksack.
‘So,’ continued Alex breathlessly. ‘I came up to this bar on the mountain for lunch, but just before we were about to leave we had two avalanches, and now there are nine of us stuck here in a mountain bar for the night.’ He paused and widened his eyes for drama, and Lucy wondered how many thousands of followers were already hanging off his every word.
Everyone in the bar had stopped talking to watch, including Nate, who had finished his call and sidled back to the table to sit next to her.
‘It’s called the Guntherhütte,’ continued Alex, pronouncing it far better than Lucy could have.
His English was also immaculate, but with a slight American twang that suggested he’d watched a lot of US TV.
Willem walked around Alex in a slow, steady circle so anyone watching could get a three-sixty view of the bar and the awkwardly waving guests, then stopped so Alex could continue narrating.
‘It’s a really cool place. But anyway, I’m just checking in to say that we’re all safe, and hopefully we’ll be heading back down to Zermatt tomorrow.
There’s a HUGE storm outside, but since, incredibly, there is still Wi-Fi in this bar, I thought I’d introduce you to my fellow mountain refugees. ’
Alex took the phone and turned it to face Willem, who was clearly used to being both a cameraman and an extra in one of Alex’s videos. ‘So, first up in the Guntherhütte, lots of you already know him – it’s Willem.’
‘Hello,’ said Willem, waving at the camera.
‘I also come from Amsterdam, and I’m WillemMulder84 on TikTok and Instagram.
’ He spelled out his name, clearly not wanting to miss the opportunity to milk this ludicrous situation for followers.
‘I just want to tell my family and friends that we are very safe here right now, and as far as we know nobody was hurt in the avalanche. So there is no need to worry – we have beer and food and good company, and hopefully we’ll be home tomorrow! ’
Alex gave him a thumbs up and handed back the phone, taking the opportunity to reset his stance with a tilt of the chin and a pout that accentuated his cheekbones.
‘I can see from the comments just now that some of you are new here,’ he said, which made Lucy wonder how quickly the news of Alex’s avalanche drama was spreading.
‘You can find me on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, so don’t forget to follow me.
I’m BaronAlexJansen across all social media channels.
’ Lucy rolled her eyes at Nate, whose mouth twitched into the tiniest of smiles.
She noted the ‘Baron’ in Alex’s handle, wondering if that meant he was genuine Dutch aristocracy, or if this was one of those titles you could buy online for a couple of hundred euros.
Regardless, he was undeniably good at this.
‘Tell us what the avalanche was like,’ said Willem.
‘Oh wow, it was scary,’ said Alex. ‘We were literally, like—’ He stopped suddenly as the keyboard guy from the band appeared from nowhere and thrust his beaming face in front of the camera, dragging the singer along behind him.
‘I’m Felix,’ he said, earning an outraged glare from Alex.
‘This is Andrea, and together we are Night Fever. We keep the wonderful sound of the Bee Gees alive.’ Willem raised his eyebrows in question at Andrea, as if to say Do you actually want to be part of this? and got a tiny headshake in return.
‘Are you on TikTok?’ asked Willem, keeping his focus on Felix rather than Alex’s sulky face.
‘We’re on Facebook and YouTube,’ said Felix. ‘Just search Night Fever Bee Gees Tribute Switzerland. We are from Zurich, and we—’
‘We will definitely do that,’ interrupted Alex, who was clearly getting cold out of the spotlight. ‘Now let’s meet our hosts,’ he continued, heading over to the bar and wafting his hands at Gunther to indicate that he should get involved.
‘Hello, I am Gunther,’ he sang, waving at the camera with a beaming smile.
‘I own the beautiful Guntherhütte here in Zermatt, and we will be making sure everyone is safe and looked after tonight. There is a lot of snow and it’s pretty wild out there, but we are all fine.
Tonight we will sing and dance and party! ’
He picked up an empty beer glass and mimed drinking from it just as Monica elbowed her way in front of him.
Lucy tried not to laugh, not sure if it was because she wanted to be on camera, or was keen to shut Gunther up before he made an idiot of himself.
‘Hello, I am Monica, I am Gunther’s wife and also run the Guntherhütte.
This is my daughter Chantal, who is twenty-six and does not have a boyfriend. ’
Chantal stared wide-eyed at her mother, looking mortified, then smiled as Willem turned the camera in her direction. ‘Hi,’ she said with a feeble wave. ‘How many followers do you have, Willem?’
‘About five thousand,’ laughed Willem. ‘But Alex has over a million.’ He turned the camera back to Alex, who was smiling modestly, as if Willem shouldn’t have mentioned it.
‘And finally, our new friends . . . what were your names again?’ said Alex, walking over to Lucy and Nate’s table.
‘I’m Lucy, and this is Nate,’ said Lucy with an awkward, two-handed wave. ‘We’re work colleagues from Bristol.’
‘Sure you are,’ smirked Alex, prompting a blush from Nate. ‘Are you on TikTok or Instagram, Lucy?’
‘No,’ said Lucy, feeling undeniably lame. ‘But Nate is.’
Alex turned the camera to Nate, who raked through his hair with one hand and held up the other.
‘Hi,’ he said, his voice sounding weak and husky.
Lucy couldn’t help thinking that even with dark circles under his eyes and a slightly dishevelled air, he probably looked great on camera.
‘I’m not on TikTok, but I’m NateLambert89 on Instagram. ’
‘And how’s your day been so far?’ asked Alex, a definite air of flirtatiousness in his voice. Clearly he’d noticed how great Nate looked on camera too.
‘Um, bit weird,’ laughed Nate. ‘I only came up here for pizza and wine.’
‘And now you’re spending the night on a Swiss mountain,’ laughed Alex. ‘You OK with that?’
‘Ha,’ said Nate, looking a little flustered.
‘I’m not sure. We haven’t worked out the sleeping arrangements yet.
’ He smiled shyly, and Lucy wondered how Sasha would feel if she somehow saw this video.
Somebody would tag a LUNA person in it eventually, or more likely Jonno would be searching for anything tagged #ZermattAvalanche right now.
Conversations about sleeping arrangements were unlikely to go down well.
‘And how are you feeling right now?’ It was a big question, for Nate in particular, and Lucy prepared herself to rescue him if things started to spiral.
‘I’m OK,’ said Nate, his brow furrowed thoughtfully.
‘The avalanches were pretty scary, obviously. But we’ve been well looked after, and nobody is hurt, so I’m trying to pretend this is all a big adventure.
And I couldn’t ask for better company.’ He gestured vaguely with his hand at the rest of the group, but his eyes were fixed firmly on Lucy.
The dark intensity of his gaze made her shiver, and for a moment it felt like they were the only people in this bar.
He means me, she thought, which made her feel both breathless and confused at the same time.
The shifting sands between her and Nate were all mixed up in wine and Sasha and Leo and this insane situation.
She’d attempt to unravel it later, no doubt whilst getting zero sleep on the floor of this bar.
Willem held the camera on Nate for a second, until Alex cleared his throat and it deftly swung back for him to wrap up.
‘So that’s the situation in the Guntherhütte,’ he announced.
‘I’ll shoot some more video later, so keep checking back.
We’re all fine here, and hopefully we’ll be safely back down the mountain tomorrow.
Thanks for watching!’ Willem ended the video as Alex struck a final, preening pose in the spotlight of a Guntherhütte ceiling lamp.
It had a brown floral shade with a lacy edge and gave Alex’s face a sickly glow, but apparently it would do.