Chapter Thirty-One
It took nearly the entire ski lesson for Emme to get back to Chalet Stern and try – and fail – to locate Jenny’s skis.
They hadn’t been in any of the cupboards and they weren’t in the family locker back by the ski train station.
Emme didn’t want to disturb Lexy at work so she rushed to the ski hire shop next to the mountain train, where it was taking a painstakingly long time to hire skis, boots and a helmet.
The man checked her height and weight, asked what level she was (‘pretty much beginner’) and asked her how long she needed the skis for.
‘Oh I don’t know. Just a couple of days until I work something out.’
The man took a little too long with his screwdriver, setting the bindings.
‘Please, how long is it going to take?’ Emme cursed herself for not taking Cedric’s number. She thought it was enough that he had hers down as the emergency contact. She didn’t think she would be the one throwing a curveball today. Emme hated being late.
‘You’re from London, right?’
Emme sighed, what did that have to do with anything?
She watched the man with black eyes sort her skis slowly, biting her tongue so he didn’t slow further.
‘Where are you from?’ she asked, trying to place his accent and relax into a smile.
‘Egypt. Alexandria is my home. Mo Salah is my king,’ he said. Emme smiled, genuinely this time. She noticed the Liverpool FC crest on his fleece top.
‘Nice.’
It worked, he got a little faster with the screwdriver.
‘All done,’ he said. ‘That’s …’ he pressed some numbers into a till. ‘One hundred and seventy francs please.’
Shit.
‘Great – thanks!’
‘Keep your helmet with you but there’s a locker room downstairs you can leave the skis/poles/boots in at the end of the day,’ he said. ‘You can leave your shoes down there now if you want?’
‘Great, thanks,’ Emme said, handing him her trainers as she typed in her PIN to pay and rushed out.
Snooty London woman, she imagined him thinking.
Snooty London woman, he thought, as he watched the beginner skier rush out. He hadn’t even had a chance to show her how to clip them on.