‘I’ll cope,’ he said, laughing as she managed to scoop her second attempt into her mouth.
‘Well, you’ll be kissing a lot of people if you are tempted to use fresh bread,’ said Amelie. ‘I cut and cubed yesterday’s bread this morning and left it to dry out. It keeps its shape much better, otherwise it does fall from the fork, often in the pot. I remember my mother doing that once. She thought it would be better to serve fresh bread, she was worried what people would think if she served stale bread to them.’
‘Mmm, this is so delicious,’ murmured Mina, already dipping another piece of bread. ‘I’m going to have to buy myself acaquelonto take back.’ She could already imagine setting it up on a winter’s evening in her flat, with a few select friends that wouldn’t include Belinda or Simon – except now the thought of going home didn’t hold so much appeal.
‘And easy,’ sighed Amelie sitting back in her chair, stifling a yawn. Mina was glad they’d persuaded her to join them. She suspected Amelie might not have eaten this evening if she hadn’t insisted she join them.
‘Monday nights are my favourites,’ said Luke. ‘And Sundays actually.’
‘Not school nights?’ asked Mina, as she’d got teacher friends for whom Sunday nights were filled with dread.
‘No.’ Luke batted a hand as if pushing that idea away. ‘You can chill after a good weekend. Reflect on how great it’s been, and then you have the promise of a bright shiny new week ahead. A chance to start again, put things right, or just look forward to new experiences.’
‘That’s a lovely attitude, Luke,’ said Claudia.
‘Very positive,’ said Mina, quite struck by what he’d said.
‘As long as you’ve had a good weekend,’ said Frank a little gloomily, although Claudia tapped him on the forearm in rebuke.
Luke shrugged. ‘Bad things happen, but you can’t let them scar you. You can’t stop them, but you can choose how you react to them. You can choose to be positive or negative, happy or sad, angry or calm. None of us have any control over what life is going to throw at us, but if we respond in a positive manner we can make our lives so much better.’ He paused as he realised that everyone was hanging on his words.
Mina wondered if perhaps she ought to be listening to him, rather than her self-help book.
‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to get on my soapbox.’ He smiled at Mina, ‘I’m really looking forward to the week ahead.’
She smiled back. Snowboarding. Going shopping with Amelie. Just being here in the mountains. Her week was looking pretty good too.
Chapter Twelve
Mina stood and stared. Her eyes scanned the broad shopping aisle, trying to take it in, every square inch of every single shelf devoted to chocolate. Never, in her entire life, had she seen so much chocolate in one place. Every variety, size, and type of bar possible was represented: chocolate bars with hazelnuts, rice crispies, honeycomb, and raisins; chocolate bars flavoured with orange, mint, and coffee; chocolate pralines; chocolate sticks; chocolate tiles; big bags, small bags; chunky bars, slim bars. The plethora of brands in rainbow colours was mind-boggling, some of which she’d never heard of, as well as the familiar; the purple packs of Milka, the boxes of Merci, and the airport favourite, Toblerone.
She turned open-mouthed to Amelie, unable to say a word.
‘Why don’t I leave you to explore for a while? I’ll go and do some shopping.’ Amelie gave her an amused smile.
They’d set off early, leaving breakfast out for the guests, and Johannes on call if they needed anything, and driven to Brig in Amelie’s big VW Passat estate to stock up for the week at the wholesalers, Prodega.
Visiting an overseas supermarket ranked high as Mina’s idea of heaven as she loved seeing the different products. Coming back on the channel tunnel from the very occasional camping trip to Normandy, she’d always insisted that her parents stop at the big Carrefour just so that she could get her fix. They would sit patiently outside with a bottle of beer each while she prowled the supermarket, fascinated by different-shaped pastas, weird and wonderful tinned vegetables, incredible salamis and cheeses, bowled over by the sheer selection of yoghurts and desserts.
The sight of all that chocolate strengthened her resolve to talk to Johannes – she wanted to know more She had to persuade him to let her watch him making his products. There was nothing like first-hand experience when you wanted to learn about something. She’d been on dozens of courses, sourdough breadmaking, fish filleting, French patisserie, knife skills, as well as the more dull hygiene and environmental health courses – you name it, she’d done it. This was her chance to learn about chocolate.
She caught up with Amelie in the bakery section, which smelled tantalising. ‘This place is amazing. Everything looks so good.’ The shelves were packed with glistening loaves ofZopf, a soft egg-washed plaited bread that Amelie served for breakfast, along with seed-topped loaves, golden rolls and a range of flaky croissants and other pastries.
‘It is. The quality is excellent and it makes my life easier. I sometimes cheat and buy their fresh baked goods because their pastries are excellent, although I try not.’
‘I don’t think that’s cheating. You can’t do everything.’
Amelie lifted her shoulders but didn’t say anything. Once again Mina thought she looked tired.
‘Seriously, if the quality is good, you should give yourself a break sometimes. Why make life more difficult for yourself?’
Amelie laughed. ‘You’re quite right. I am my own worst enemy. Silly. I don’t know why I can’t let go, sometimes.’
‘Because it’s your pride and joy, and your reputation rests on it,’ said Mina, inwardly sympathising. It was hard to let go when you’d worked hard at something.
‘It was a dream for so long.’ Amelie sighed and rubbed at the bar of the shopping trolley. ‘One that I never really thought would come true, if I’m honest. Dieter and I talked about it, but I’m not sure we’d ever have left Basel or have been prepared to make the changes to make it happen. It was one of those “one day” ideas. When we were retired, or ready to retire. The truth is, I think if we’d retired we would have been less likely to move, to leave our friends, the life we knew. It makes me sad that Dieter never saw it, and that he died too soon. He was only fifty-seven.’ She shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears. ‘I do miss him. But then again, if he hadn’t died when he did, I wouldn’t be here. His dying was the impetus to make me move, open the guest house, and do the things we talked about, even if it took me a few years to make it happen.’
Mina put her arm around her godmother. ‘I know he would have been very proud of what you’ve achieved. All the guests love the chalet. That’s why they keep coming back.’
