Page 43 of Snowed In with You

‘And what is your type exactly?’ said Lucy playfully. Mature women with executive powers and designer handbags?

‘Not Chantal,’ said Nate firmly, standing up and holding out his hand. ‘Come on, time for Gunther’s breakfast briefing.’

Lucy took his hand and hauled herself up, clamping her lips together and turning her head so he didn’t get a waft of coffee and hangover wine breath.

‘Another day in the mountains,’ she said brightly, feeling oddly excited about what the day might bring. ‘I wonder if we’ll get the power back? I could charge my phone.’

‘Hopefully our last day in the mountains,’ said Nate cheerfully. ‘Let’s make it count, shall we?’

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

‘We have a very important job to do today,’ said Gunther, standing in the middle of the room as everyone picked at the breakfast bits on the table. Monica had knocked together a Swiss smorgasbord of bread, cheese, cold meat and various jams, and once everyone had wished Lucy happy birthday again, they’d piled in like it was their last meal on earth. By ten, Lucy was three coffees in and melting under Chantal’s laser glares. Even with a couple of windows cracked to let some fresh air in, the bar smelled of last night’s party and nine unwashed bodies, and the walls were closing in.

‘Have you fixed the generator?’ asked Alex, his phone glued to his hand as usual. Lucy’s mouth twitched in Nate’s direction, both of them recognising the social media equivalent of a crack addict who needed his next fix.

‘No,’ said Gunther. ‘I have tried, but I think it needs a new part.’ He gave Monica a shamefaced look, and got a steely glare in return. Lucy could only imagine the months of conversations about a replacement part for the generator that Gunther had ignored.

‘Why don’t you have solar panels?’ asked Lucy, gesturing at the blue skies outside the window. ‘You wouldn’t get much power in January, but it would be enough to charge some phones and power your Wi-Fi.’

‘This is also on my list,’ said Gunther awkwardly, Monica’s eyes now resembling tiny slits. Chantal rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee, having clearly been a spectator to this parental beef for some time.

‘Anyway, today we are going to dig a path,’ continued Gunther, pointing at the front door. ‘From the entrance door to the piste. So if the rescue vehicle comes today, they will be able to reach us. The space between the piste and the door is too narrow for a snowplough, so we need to do this by hand.’

Everyone nodded, clearly keen to get active and expedite their rescue as quickly as possible. ‘Are they coming today?’ asked Alex, who evidently kept a full make-up bag in his backpack because he looked immaculate, whilst everyone else looked like they’d slept in a bus shelter. ‘Have you heard anything?’

‘There is no way for anyone to contact us,’ shrugged Gunther, avoiding Monica’s gaze. ‘But the weather is clear, so there will be a team looking at the avalanche risk and deciding if it is safe to clear the path. So maybe they will be here this afternoon. If not, they will try again tomorrow.’

Alex paled, clearly appalled at the prospect of another night on this mountain without social media validation.

‘If we clear some space now,’ added Monica, ‘there will be some time when the sun is above us and we can be outside. Maybe we can light the outdoor pizza oven.’ She smiled as everyone in the room visibly perked up at the prospect of sunshine and pizza.

‘Count me in,’ said Lucy, desperate to get outside in the fresh air after a whole twenty-four hours indoors.

‘It is your birthday,’ Gunther protested. ‘You do not have to work.’

‘I definitely want to,’ said Lucy firmly, as Nate looked away and covered his mouth to hide his smile. ‘Really, I’d like to join in.’

‘Then we will work hard, and work together.’ Gunther clapped his hands like he was convincing his troops to fight for their country. ‘We will each dig for a few minutes, then swap with the next person. It is hard work, so this is the best way.’

‘I will not be digging,’ said Monica. ‘I will keep you supplied with drinks and snacks and encouragement.’

‘Maybe you could dig and I could film?’ asked Alex hopefully. ‘I feel like it’s very important to capture all of this for when they make a dramatic movie of our adventure. And also in case there is ever a time I need to make a claim on my travel insurance for post-traumatic stress counselling.’

‘You can give me your phone,’ said Monica firmly. ‘I know how to make a video.’

Alex handed it over, looking mutinous. ‘Use the pre-set filters,’ he said grumpily. ‘And make sure you get plenty of shots of me working hard.’

The group started to move around, draining coffee cups and stretching, anxious to get going with their task for the morning. Gunther pulled on waterproofs and gathered them all around the doorway so he could demonstrate the correct digging technique, the blast of icy air and the blinding wall of snow taking Lucy’s breath away. Monica bustled around, finding ski trousers and jackets for those not appropriately dressed.

‘I’ll go first,’ said Nate, after Gunther had shown them how to dig a V-shaped path with a secure bank of snow on each side. Lucy pulled a pair of waterproof trousers over her jeans and watched Nate from inside the door, not entirely unaroused by the sight of him digging furiously, his hair flopping over his eyes.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Chantal, leaning on the other side of the doorframe in a full ski suit and snow boots that made her look more mountain-Heidi-wholesome than ever. ‘What I said last night was bad. I was drunk, but it wasn’t cool.’

‘No,’ said Lucy. ‘It wasn’t. But forget it, it doesn’t matter.’

‘He is a very good singer,’ said Chantal, hungrily watching Nate dig. ‘Did you know?’

‘No.’ Lucy’s tone was curt. ‘As I said yesterday, we don’t know each other very well.’