Chapter Sixteen #2
‘Monica is making glühwein,’ said Nate. ‘I’ve just seen her upending bottles of Merlot into a giant saucepan. Apparently it will keep us warm.’
You could keep me warm, thought Lucy, wondering if Gunther and Monica ever actually fully sobered up until spring. Maybe that’s how you coped with living on top of the world.
‘Chantal, Andrea – come and join us,’ said Lucy, waving them over. She and Nate had pulled two deckchairs over to join Alex and Willem in the patch of early afternoon sun.
Lucy noticed Felix appear from inside the Guntherhütte and make a move to follow Andrea, but Monica put her hand on his arm and held him back.
Lucy couldn’t understand the whispered conversation between them, but the sentiment was clearly ‘leave her be, and let her hang out with the young people’.
Felix nodded grudgingly, and filled his glass.
‘More pizza,’ said Gunther, appearing with a plate of steaming slices from the wood-fired pizza oven at the edge of the terrace.
The toppings were a slightly eclectic mix of leftovers, but the dough and tomato sauce had been retrieved from Monica’s makeshift outdoor freezer, so it tasted fresh and delicious.
Monica herself followed with a jug of steaming glühwein and topped up everyone’s glasses, and Lucy tucked into both in a state of bliss.
She had sunshine and fresh air, she’d done some exercise, and now she had delicious hot food and wine in a stunning winter wonderland.
She’d put on her sunglasses so the glare didn’t hurt her eyes, which also meant she could check out Nate without him knowing.
The only thing that would make today better was the news that rescue was on its way and there was a soft bed waiting for her in Geneva, rather than a hard floor in the attic.
‘Everybody, listen,’ said Gunther. ‘It is now two o’clock, I don’t think we will be rescued today.’
‘Why not?’ gasped Alex, looking aghast.
‘Because it will be dark in a couple of hours,’ he said. ‘If the rescue vehicle was coming, they would be here by now. A sunny day after a snowstorm is very dangerous for avalanches, but I’m sure they will try again tomorrow.’
Lucy took another sip of wine, trying not to feel too disappointed. It wasn’t like they were suffering, and today had actually been a lot of fun so far. She looked around at the others, who were clearly suppressing the same urge to complain.
‘Let’s play a game,’ said Alex with a resigned shrug as Gunther headed back to Monica and Felix. ‘I ask somebody a question, and you have to tell the truth. But then you get to ask another question to someone else.’
Lucy looked around the group, assessing how drunk everyone was. Monica had been continually topping up their glasses for some time, and nobody was abstaining, so it was reasonable to assume everyone felt as plastered as she did.
‘I would rather not be on your TikTok,’ said Chantal.
‘I promise not to video,’ said Alex. ‘This is just for us. Lucy, I’ll ask you a question first.’
Lucy looked at Alex doubtfully. ‘This feels like the kind of game you play at a sleepover when you’re thirteen.’
‘It is,’ said Alex with a grin. ‘That’s why it’s fun.’ He looked around the group, clearly picking up on everyone’s reluctance. ‘Fine, you can refuse to answer if you like.’
‘Whatever,’ said Lucy, still not remotely sure about this.
‘Good,’ said Alex, rubbing his hands together. ‘Which of your two boyfriends is better in bed?’
Lucy shot a look at Chantal, who had the decency to look mortified. ‘I’m obviously not answering that,’ said Lucy. ‘Ask me something else.’
‘Ugh, fine,’ said Alex, rolling his eyes. ‘How old were you when you lost your virginity?’
‘Jesus,’ laughed Lucy. ‘What is your obsession with my sex life?’
‘It’s a fascinating question, it tells you a lot about someone.’
‘I was sixteen,’ said Lucy with a sigh. ‘A friend of my brother’s. It was messy and unpleasant.’
‘The first time is always messy and unpleasant,’ muttered Willem.
‘You have a brother?’ asked Chantal, visibly perking up.
‘Yes,’ said Lucy, glancing at Nate. ‘But he’s unavailable. Do I get to ask the next question?’
Alex nodded.
‘Chantal,’ said Lucy, making her jump. ‘If you could swap this mountain for living anywhere else on the planet, where would it be?’
‘London,’ said Chantal, without hesitation. ‘It looks very beautiful and historic, and I think in London people know how to have fun.’
‘I’ve lived in London,’ said Willem. ‘It’s a very dirty city. Amsterdam is nicer.’
‘Hmm . . .’ Chantal didn’t look entirely convinced. ‘OK, my question is for Andrea.’ She paused for dramatic effect, then leaned in to whisper, ‘What do you actually think of the Bee Gees?’
Andrea snorted with laughter, glancing round to check Felix wasn’t listening. ‘I do not love the Bee Gees,’ she said. ‘But I love Felix, and that is all that matters.’
‘What a lovely answer,’ said Lucy, feeling suddenly a little tearful. She had no idea what that kind of love felt like, where you would compromise on your own passions to make someone else happy.
‘My question is for Nate,’ said Andrea, after thinking about it for a minute. ‘If you had all the confidence in the world to stand on stage and sing the songs of any artist, who would it be?’
‘That’s easy,’ said Nate. ‘I’d sing Elton John. No, George Michael.’
‘Ooh,’ said Chantal. ‘I would like to hear both.’
‘So would I,’ Lucy agreed. ‘Maybe later?’
‘Absolutely not,’ said Nate. ‘I’m not nearly drunk enough.’
‘Well, that’s easily fixed.’ Lucy grabbed Nate’s glass and tipped half the glühwein from her glass into it. The pan was still steaming on the gas stove, so there was plenty more where that came from.
‘It’s your turn to ask a question, Nate,’ said Chantal.
‘So it is,’ said Nate. ‘Who’s left?’
‘Willem and Alex,’ said Andrea, who was clearly the most sober one amongst them.
‘OK, I’ll ask Willem. When you leave here, who do you hope you will see again one day?’
‘Hmm,’ said Willem, thinking about it for a moment.
‘All of you, obviously, we are mountain friends for life now. I’m expecting us to meet every year, right here in the Guntherhütte.
’ He looked at Nate and smiled shyly. ‘But I think maybe you and I would be friends if we’d met in different circumstances, so I’m going to say you. ’
‘I think so too,’ said Nate, returning Willem’s smile.
‘So, that means my question is for Alex,’ said Willem, looking suddenly nervous. ‘I had a big exciting plan for today, we were going to . . . well, it doesn’t matter now. But since I have this opportunity, maybe I will ask the question anyway.’
‘What question?’ asked Alex, looking confused.
Willem levered himself out of his deckchair, colour rushing to his cheeks and his hands visibly shaking as he took a few deep breaths.
He rummaged in his coat pocket for a small black box, then dropped to one knee on the snowy terrace.
‘Alex Jansen,’ he croaked, the words catching in his throat and his eyes brimming with tears.
‘Oh my God, wait,’ gasped Alex, flapping his hands and thrusting his phone at Lucy. ‘Video this.’
Lucy swiped the screen and started a video as quickly as she could, her hands shaking more than Willem’s. ‘OK, go.’
‘Alex Jansen,’ repeated Willem, prising open the box and turning it slightly so Lucy could zoom in on a platinum ring with two bands of inlaid diamonds. ‘I love you so much, and there is nobody on this planet I would rather be on this mountain with. Will you be my husband?’
Alex held one hand to his chest and carefully wiped away a tear with the other, pressing his lips together while he got a hold on his emotions.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Yes, I will be your husband.’ Lucy held the phone steady as everyone on the terrace whooped and cheered, conscious that Alex would never forgive her if she messed up this momentous video.
She zoomed in on them both as they kissed, a stunning vista of snow-laden trees, mountains and blue sky behind them.
It was, by any standards, one of those perfect and beautiful moments in life that Lucy knew she would never forget.