Quickly and methodically, Mina gathered up clothes, a dressing gown, and toiletries, putting them all in a stylish navy leather holdall. On impulse, as she was locking up, she darted across the hallway to the other apartment. It was completely different from Amelie’s; the lounge and kitchen were open-plan with a small wood burner in the corner. Wide French windows opened on to a wide balcony filled with empty window boxes. The two first-floor apartments had been built into the slope just above the chalet, and so looked out over the roof of its neighbours, affording another wonderful view. Mina could immediately imagine living here, and wondered where the nearest Ikea was. With cushions, throws, and lights, it would be easy to make this room look really homely. The kitchen was a decent size and already contained a fridge, cooker, and microwave. But she needed to stop getting her hopes up: she had to speak to Amelie first.
By the time Dave’s delicious Victoria sponge, sitting in lofty splendour on a cake stand, was ready to be served at four o’clock, Mina had got dinner under control, and couldn’t believe where the day had gone. She was a little nervous about the rosti potatoes because the only time she’d made them before at home, they’d been a little raw. Hopefully Amelie’s method using potatoes cooked the day before would be foolproof. Now all she had to do was greet the new arrivals and make sure they all felt welcome. Whether she could encourage everyone to mix over coffee and cake the way that Amelie did was another matter, but she was determined to do her best. There’d still been no word from Johannes, which was worrying her, and she wished she’d thought to ask for his mobile number or for the name of the hospital.
She let Dave carry his latest masterpiece out from the kitchen, because quite frankly anyone whose sponge rose quite like that deserved every last bit of praise.
Its arrival in the dining room was perfectly timed, as Sarah and her friends had just returned.
‘Wow, Dave, that’s a big one,’ said one of them.
‘Isn’t it just?’ said the other with a roguish snigger.
Sarah, who was quite prudish, blushed and exchanged a private look with Dave that made everyone take a second look at him.
Dave, quite unperturbed, grinned. ‘That’s what all my women say.’ He winked at Sarah, who ducked her head shyly and didn’t say another word.
Mina hide a wry smile at the unexpected rise in Dave’s status. As the skiers shed their layers, she left him to serve the cake and coffee while she went to the little cubby hole in the reception area where Amelie did her admin. Thankfully she relied on pen and paper, and there was a good old-fashioned A4 desk diary with neat pencilled lines splitting each page into eleven sections, ten of which were the room numbers. To Mina’s utter relief the system wasalmostfoolproof, and she could see exactly which rooms had been allocated to today’s new arrivals – thankfully all the rooms had been cleaned and made ready when people had departed earlier in the week. She could also see who was arriving and how long they were staying. The bookings for the weekend included Bernhardt and Kristian, who were sharing a room, a couple and their two children – who Mina thought must be the Italian family with the two teenagers, who’d been here last weekend – and one other couple. All that was quite straightforward. What wasn’t obvious was the annotations next to each name. AT, U, LC. Mina didn’t have a clue what they signified, least of all because they were probably in Swiss-German. There was no point even trying to fathom them out. She’d have to ask Amelie.
Taking the keys for the rooms, she ran up the stairs and double-checked, just as Amelie always did, that they were clean and ready. To her relief they all looked pristine, and she sauntered down the stairs to find the Italian family group she’d met the previous weekend arriving.
‘Hello,’ she said, greeting them with a big smile. ‘Nice to see you again.’ She said a silent prayer in thanks for the way in which Amelie ensured everyone was introduced to each other during their stays. She was able to greet them with perfect friendliness.
‘Hello, Mina,’ said the father of the group. ‘Where’s Amelie?’
‘I’m afraid she’s not very well, so I’m standing in for her this evening.’ Before they could make any comment, she added, ‘Your rooms are all ready for you, and you have your usual ones, if that’s OK? Can I just ask you to sign in?’
As they were regulars, they happily took their keys and headed up the stairs.
Mina glanced at the desk diary and the initials and numbers next to the names. She’d worked out that the numbers related to how many times the guests had been before. Luke had stayed here a grand total of ten times, making him the most frequent guest. Bernhardt and Kristian six times. As for the initials, she suspected, given Amelie’s fussiness about who she allowed to stay, that they might be ratings on the guests themselves. What did they translate as? Next to Dave and Sarah’s names were the initials. BSH. Next to Kristian’s, BVH. And next to Luke’s, FM. A fanciful thought crossed her mind. For Mina?
As she was studying the diary, the door opened, bringing in a fresh set of faces, two of which were reassuringly familiar.
‘Mina,’ cried Kristian, and gave her a gangly wave, his long arm almost side-swiping Bernhardt next to him. ‘You’re still here.’ Like a small lumbering elephant, he dropped his boot bag and his overnight bag with a crash, making heads in the lounge on the other side of the fire turn.
‘Hello, Mina,’ said Bernhardt, a lot more calmly and smoothly, giving her a warm, appreciative smile. ‘Lovely to see you again.’
They’d shared a taxi with the last of the arrivals, an English girl, Jane, and her French friend, Matilde. It was their third visit, and they were very sorry to hear about Amelie’s absence, as were the two men. Once they’d completed the paperwork, they all opted to leave their bags by the desk and join the others for cake. Jane and Matilde seemed, like most of the guests, quite happy to dive right in and join everyone in the lounge. Mina nodded to herself; Amelie had got the right recipe for success. She chose her guests well. How many visits were allowed before someone was accepted or blacklisted? It wasn’t exactly a sensible way to run a hospitality business but then, Mina realised with a sudden flash of insight, this was also Amelie’s home. She clearly didn’t use the apartment apart from for sleeping in. The chalet was her whole world. No wonder she only wanted nice people staying here.
With everyone checked in, she joined everyone in the lounge and immediately noticed that Kristian was standing awkwardly with a plate of cake, eyeing it as if he were contemplating mounting an expedition to climb Everest. As well he might: Dave servings went beyond generous, and with the cherry filling oozing out, they definitely needed a dessert fork, as well as firm foundations for the bottom. He was on his own, as the French girl Matilde was happily chatting to Frank and Claudia, along with the Italian family, and Bernhardt talked to Dave and Sarah. Jane, the new arrival, had tucked herself into the corner nursing a cup of coffee.
‘Kristian, why don’t you come sit here,’ said Mina indicating the seat next to Jane. ‘And I’ll get you a fork for that cake.’
‘Jane, would you like some cake?’
‘Er… um, yes. Not so big.’ She looked at Kristian’s towering slice.
‘Would you like some of mine?’ With puppy like enthusiasm, he shoved his plate towards her and almost stuffed the cake up her nose. She reared back looking slightly terrified.
‘I’ll get you a slice,’ interrupted Mina, wondering how on earth Amelie made her interventions look so smooth. ‘Just sit, Kristian.’ He looked grateful to be told what to do.
Now that the room was full, and dessert forks had been handed out, it was easier to guide people into seats and offer more coffee, and soon the room was humming with quiet chatter, and everyone had someone to talk to.
‘Well done,’ murmured Luke, coming up behind her. Immediately she was grateful for his presence, even though everything appeared to be running smoothly.
‘Thank you. Amelie makes it look so easy, you’re not even aware she’s doing it. She must have eyes in the back of her head.’
‘She also knows her guests well.’
‘You would know. I see you’ve stayed here ten times.’
