‘Beer?’ asked Bernhardt with an impatient huff, as the girl serving approached them.
‘I think I’m going to have hot chocolate. Mina?’
‘That’s a good idea.’ she replied, doubly grateful to him – having alcohol on top of the shock probably wasn’t very sensible. She still had to get down the mountain, and although the cable car was there, she wasn’t sure where it went to and how much more skiing she would have to do from there. She had a sudden memory of Luke poring over the ski map with her, explaining exactly where they were and how to get back from Eggishorn.
Having placed and received their orders, they made their way to a table, Mina and Kristian both protectively cupping the tall glasses of whipped creamed and chocolate shavings as if to shield them from harm.
‘How do you find that run?’ asked Bernhardt.
‘Terrifying.’ Mina grinned.
‘Well done for getting down. It’s quite challenging.’
‘Hmm,’ said Mina, keeping the fixed grin in place. She could see Kristian about to say something, but before she could nudge him under the table, he decided against it and applied himself to the cream on his drink. She smiled: he was learning.
After a sandwich, she excused herself. ‘There are a few things I could do in the café and they’re preying on my mind.’
‘Do you need any help?’ asked Kristian.
‘No, I’m fine.’ There wasn’t actually anything to do, she just wanted to go and potter in the café and revel in being there. Her boxes of china were due to arrive any day, thanks to Hannah painstakingly packing it all up, and she couldn’t wait to be reunited with them and see them in situ.
‘All work and no play,’ said Bernhardt, once again showing off his command of English.
‘I guess I don’t really think of it as work, and that’s when you know you’ve made the right decision,’ and as she said it, Mina felt a satisfying sense of contentment settle over her.
To her delight the china had arrived while she was out, and one of Amelie’s neighbours had kindly collected it from the depot to save the driver a job.
‘Isn’t it pretty?’ cried Amelie in delight as they knelt on the pretty new cushions on the floor of the café, unwrapping sheet after sheet of newspaper to reveal tea plates, cups, saucers, and cake stands. Mina stroked the gilt pattern of one of the plates, relieved that it had all made it in one piece.
‘Yes, I’ve been collecting it for a couple of years, although I’m not quite sure I’m going to have quite enough.’ As a last resort she’d have to buy some of the very plain white china that was sold in the wholesalers, but in the short term she could be borrow plates and cups from Amelie.
They stacked the china in haphazard piles on one of the rustic tables, one of eight that Johannes’s cousin, Pieter, had provided. He made furniture, and these were unsold pieces that he’d let Mina have at a heavily discounted price. She’d ordered spindle backed chairs and cushions in shades of green, yellow, and white, embroidered with traditional Swiss cross-stich patterns to create a fresh bright colour scheme.
Mina stepped back to survey the room, which despite being full, still looked huge. The big barn doors had been replaced with a large picture window, and on either side were heavy double-glazed bi-fold doors, which would fold back in the summer to give access to a terrace. The groundwork for that couldn’t start until the spring thaw, but in the meantime customers had a wonderful view from behind the glass. The café area with the kitchen and the chairs and tables took up three quarters of the space, but the final quarter was partitioned off with one of the original rustic wooden walls that would have penned in the cattle. Here Mina, with Amelie’s artistic direction, had created an improved tasting and display room for Johannes’s chocolate range, with further space for other local products which Mina still needed to source. She just hadn’t had time.
‘Now I have a surprise for you. My opening gift for the café.’ From behind the counter where the kitchen would be installed, Amelie pulled – or rather dragged – out a huge parcel, nearly two metres long. ‘I have a friend in Gluringen who works with wood.’
Mina fought her way through the brown paper and yet more layers of bubble wrap to reveal the carved swirling letters painted in green to match her feature wall.
Tears sprang to her eyes. ‘Oh Amelie, you didn’t have to do this. It’s beautiful.’
‘I hope it’s alright, but I didn’t place the order with the signwriter like you asked me to. As soon as you said what you wanted to call the café, I thought of Gregor.’
Mina traced the S at the front of the sign. ‘It’s perfect.’
‘I’m still curious why you’ve called it that.’
Mina’s gave her a tearful smile. ‘One day, I’ll tell you.’
Rather than plague her for an answer like some people would have done, Amelie nodded. ‘When you’re ready.’
Mina prayed that the day would come. Until then she could only hope.
‘It’s nearly time for cake and coffee, do you want to choose a cake stand for theGotthelftorte?’
‘That’s easy. The one there with the gilt edges and the tiny pink flowers and green trailing ivy design. It will go perfectly with the raspberries. That is one beautiful chocolate cake, I think you make it better than me.’
‘I’m sure I don’t.’
