Chapter Eleven #2
‘Some things we need to organise,’ said Monica, clapping her hands like a teacher trying to get a class to quieten down.
She was in her late fifties, with a short, cropped haircut that looked usefully low maintenance for a woman who probably didn’t get to the salon much.
She reminded Lucy a little of her own mother; the same all-seeing, all-knowing look, like she had eyes in the back of her head.
And a similar lean physique too, bordering on too thin; for Shirley that was the result of decades of nervous energy and an unwillingness to sit down in case stillness let the darkness in.
The group gathered around in a loose semicircle – Alex and Willem perching on one of the pine tables, Alex’s phone primed for content opportunities, and Felix and Andrea from the band on stools over by the bar.
Gunther was next to Monica, his arms folded, and Lucy and Nate stayed in the booth where they’d been sitting all afternoon, followed swiftly by Chantal.
Lucy nervously wondered if Sasha had seen Alex’s TikTok yet, and if she was already planning Lucy’s slow and painful death.
‘Gunther and I have talked about sleeping plans for tonight,’ said Monica. ‘Andrea and Felix, you are OK to share Chantal’s room? It has a double bed, and she can sleep on the sofa in our room.’
‘Yes,’ said Andrea, looking relieved. ‘We are married,’ she clarified for the rest of the group, like there might be some puritans in the building.
Since Felix was at least twenty years Andrea’s senior, and at least six inches shorter with four strands of hair and a straggly beard, Lucy had to assume that he was either a) very rich, or b) hung like a chandelier.
Her thoughts briefly drifted to Anthony’s message, and she wondered if she should use any of her precious remaining battery to reassure him and Marco that she was OK.
What was the protocol there? In the year and a half she’d known both of them, situations of mild peril had never been explored.
‘You two? You are a couple?’ said Gunther loudly, interrupting Lucy’s disconnected train of thought.
It occurred to her that she was currently a bit hot and sweaty, which she could attribute to getting lunchtime pissed.
Probably not ideal for sitting this close to Nate, but hopefully she’d be able to have a shower at some point before she started to smell like Swiss cheese.
‘No,’ said Nate quickly, and Lucy was gratified to see that, up close, he didn’t look entirely sober either.
‘We work together, but we’re definitely not a couple.
’ You can calm down, thought Lucy, mildly offended by how fervently he was making this point.
Your secret girlfriend isn’t about to storm the Guntherhütte.
‘But you are OK to share a room, yes? We have a storage room in the attic that we can put airbeds in. It is nice and warm.’
‘Absolutely not,’ said Lucy, conscious that Sasha’s level of understanding of their situation might be tested if they were sharing a bedroom.
‘We hardly know each other.’ After everything that had happened today – the bus ride, the conversation about Leo and Nate’s anxiety, the avalanche – that didn’t feel strictly true any more.
But if Nate had remembered he had a hostile girlfriend and was trying to create some space between them, Lucy wasn’t going to let anyone think she cared.
‘Ah,’ said Gunther. ‘Well, this is maybe a problem.’
‘It’s fine, I’ll sleep on the floor down here or something,’ said Nate mildly. ‘Lucy can have the room.’
Lucy felt several pairs of judgemental eyes glaring at the demanding British woman who seemed to be insisting on having a room of her own.
The only exception was Chantal, who was looking at Nate like she’d happily vacate her sofa in favour of his hard floor.
‘No,’ said Lucy quickly, feeling her neck get hot.
‘Nate and I can share. Are there two beds?’
‘Of course,’ said Gunther. ‘They are the kind you inflate, we use them for our grandchildren. If these two gentlemen don’t mind sharing the sofa bed in our family room?’
‘We are actually a couple,’ said Alex, tilting his chin defiantly. ‘I hope nobody has a problem with this.’
Gunther gave them a beaming smile and held his hands wide.
‘You are in Switzerland, my friend. We have sex with anyone who is respectful enough to take a shower first.’ He glanced at Lucy while he said this, and gave her the tiniest wink.
Maybe it was better to share her room after all, even if it was with Nate.
‘Hopefully it is only for one night,’ added Monica, shooting another laser glare at Gunther. ‘And they will clear the piste tomorrow.’
Lucy nodded and tried to look amenable, deciding not to mention the update from Jonno about the incoming weather and closing the road out of the village. They all had phones and would find out soon enough.
‘There are some things we need to do,’ said Monica. ‘Ladies, maybe you could join me in the kitchen to prepare some cold food for everyone? We should save the gas for hot water. Then the men can help Gunther bring in some firewood.’
Lucy started to voice a complaint about gendered division of labour, then realised it would mean she didn’t have to go outside in a snowstorm and decided not to die on that frozen hill.
‘When we are done, we can relax,’ said Gunther happily. ‘We have plenty of food and drink and music. We are all safe, and nobody is hurt or missing in the avalanche, so we should celebrate.’
Lucy sighed heavily, wondering whether anyone would mind if she went up to her frozen attic and read a book. It had been a long and stressful day, and the idea of partying with a bunch of strangers suddenly felt exhausting. Apparently her hangover was definitely kicking in.
‘My grandmother is Dutch,’ said Nate as the group started talking and moving around again.
Lucy shook her head, wondering if this was some kind of spy code. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘You asked earlier how I knew that Willem-Alexander is the king of the Netherlands. It’s because my grandmother is Dutch and a huge fan of the royal family.’
‘Really? Ours? Or theirs?’
‘Both, actually. She came to the UK and joined that big queue when the Queen died.’
Lucy raised her eyebrows. ‘Did you queue with her?’
‘Yes,’ said Nate, the set of his mouth daring Lucy to take the piss. ‘For ten hours. I’m a good grandson.’
‘I’m sure you are, Nate,’ said Lucy with a wry smile, wondering how on earth she’d ended up trapped on a mountain in Switzerland with Nate Lambert and this random bunch of strangers.
She picked up her phone and checked for messages, but there was nothing new.
Who would message? she thought sadly. Jonno and her parents knew where she was, Anthony and Marco only tapped her up for sex, and there wasn’t anyone else.
There hadn’t been anyone else for a really long time.
Lucy shook her head and put her phone in her pocket, noting that Alex had unearthed a charger from his bag and already plugged his in at the next table.
She’d ask to borrow that as soon as he was finished, thinking that she might even make her own video later.
She wouldn’t post it anywhere, obviously, but it might be nice to have a memory of this adventure before everything went back to normal.
She glanced at Nate, who was pulling on his coat ready to help Gunther and the others bring in wood for the fire, and wondered what normal would be like for them when they were back in Bristol on Sunday.
Would he be keen for things to revert to how they were before, with them barely acknowledging each other?
Or would they have a new connection, forged over wine and confidences in the Swiss mountains, that would lay the foundations for some kind of friendship?
Something had definitely shifted between her and Nate today, and even though Lucy didn’t know what that meant, it wasn’t something she could un-shift.
And, she realised with a jolt of surprise, I don’t think I’d want to, even if I could.