Lifting her chin, she smiled at Bernhardt, determined to hide the dull ache that dogged her. ‘One more wall and then we’re done. The kitchen goes in on Monday and the last few snagging bits are due to be done by the flooring guy, the builder, and the tiler next week. She had no doubt they would all turn up on time because Johannes was rather fearsome with his clipboard and checklist. He’d been an excellent project manager. Although she knew what she wanted, she’d never managed any building work before.
‘Are you really going to open next week?’
‘I don’t see why not. Providing the kitchen is in.’
‘It will be quiet here soon,’ observed Bernhardt, as he went back to his painting. ‘What will you do then, when the ski season finishes?’
Mina frowned. ‘Johannes says there are lots of hikers and tourists. And I think the chalet will be busy. Amelie already has bookings for May, June, and July.’
‘Yes, but what about April? Won’t you be lonely?’
‘I’m sure there will be lots to do.’ She deliberately made her voice bright and cheerful, as if being lonely had never entered her lexicon of emotions.
‘You might like to come to Zurich for a visit. I can show you round the city.’
‘That’s kind. I’m going next week actually.’
‘You are?’
‘An Ikea trip. I’m moving into an apartment in the building behind.’
Bernhardt nodded as if that was completely normal, which of course it was. Amelie had thought nothing of suggesting the five-hour round trip. They were borrowing a van from someone in the village and making the trip together.
Mina applied more paint, listening to the satisfyingsh-shof the roller over the wall. She only had a tiny bit more to do and Bernhardt had almost finished the final section of skirting board.
‘Nearly there,’ she said, stretching her back, already looking forward to a long hot soak in the bath.
‘Yes.’ Bernhardt looked out of the window with a hopeful expression on his face which made Mina pat him on the arm.
‘Yes, you can go back to the slopes tomorrow.’
‘Come with us. There won’t be many more chances, and this is nearly done.’
Mina bit her lip, tempted by the offer. This last week she’d barely left the chalet and if she was honest, she was a bit sick of her own company. When Luke had first left, she’d thrown herself into helping to run the chalet and getting as much skiing in as she could, even if it was just a quick hour cross-country skiing in the afternoons, but Amelie had quickly re-established control over the kitchen, insisting that she would die of boredom if she weren’t allowed to cook. Under Johannes’s watchful eye, Amelie spent most evenings toasting her toes in front of his wood burner with one of his wonderful bottles of red wine, and although they often invited her, Mina didn’t want to cramp their style.
God, it was tempting. Maybe it would do her some good. Stop her being so bloody miserable. There: she’d said it. Who knew she was such a fantastic actress? While on the outside she greeted the world with her typical everything-is-wonderful attitude, inside the world felt dull and brown, curling up at the edges, and she found it harder and harder to keep up. A day out might lift her out of this annoyingly persistent fug.
What was stopping her, really?
Amelie wouldn’t mind. Franzi and Giselle worked on Sundays doing the housekeeping in the mornings and serving in the dining room in the evenings, and Amelie would cook, and tomorrow night’s plans for dinner included a hearty stew, which would be easy, and an apple strudel, one of the ones Dave had made and frozen a few weeks before. If Mina got up a little bit earlier, she could bake the lovely squidgy chocolateGotthelftortefor afternoon tea, which she’d perfected last week.
‘OK,’ she said, feeling a sudden release of tension. It would be good to get out for a change, and she’d just go to bed a bit earlier this evening; it would relieve the loneliness that she hated having to admit to, even if it was only to herself.
After a dull cloudy week, the sun blessed them with a magnificently brilliant appearance, chasing away the sense of gloom that had settled upon her over the last few days. Serendipity, she thought, the word flitting annoyingly into her brain. Ignoring it, she sucked in a deep breath and looked down the mountain, already anticipating the swish and bump of her skis over the fresh snow.
‘Perfect conditions. You ready?’ asked Bernhardt, pulling down his googles and rearranging the poles into his hands.
‘Yes,’ she said, confident that she’d be able to keep up this time. She had pent-up energy to burn. She pushed off first, immediately feeling the adrenaline firing through, along with a burst of relief. The swish of skis on snow soothed her and she quickly relaxed into a smooth rhythm, gliding over the surface, her body in sync. Even the boots seemed almost comfortable today. She couldn’t imagine going back to Manchester again. Ian had accepted her resignation, and the very next day booked a trip out to the chalet in June which had tickled her. She’d obviously done a good sales job on him.
Even Miriam and Derek, to her absolute astonishment, had agreed that it was a good move.
‘You’ve always needed to spread your wings,’ said Miriam in a tearful phone conversation, ‘But we’ll always be here for you. And we’ve sold the house.’
Derek, chipping in on speaker phone, told her all about the bungalow they’d found with the loft space for his trains and the most wonderful cottage garden. Their excitement about their own change of circumstances made her feel a lot less guilty about moving away.
Bernhardt came racing past her and she laughed out loud. Clearly his patience with her pace had run out. She watched his elegant competence, wondering if she’d ever be that good, although just being out here was enough. She’d never get used to the spring freshness of the air, that was for sure.
The slopes teemed with people in high spirits, all anxious to get as much skiing done as they could before the season ended. By the time Mina reached the bottom, to find Bernhardt waiting for her, she felt exhilarated.
