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‘I wanted to ask the three of you to start thinking about our end-of-season party,’ Genevieve said, looking at each of us in turn. ‘Chalet Blanchet has always been legendary for its finale dinner party, and I want this year to be no exception.’
‘No problem,’ Xavier said. ‘Is it a sit-down meal?’
‘Platters of food, Champagne and fine wine, a DJ and dancing, maybe some fireworks – use your imaginations to make it fabulous.’
‘Can Bella DJ?’ Liv asked.
‘Of course, if she’s available – she’s the best DJ in Verbier.’
‘I’ll speak to David about the wine and Rachael about the cakes,’ I said.
‘And I have a fabulous menu in mind,’ Xavier said with a glint in his eye.
‘Excellent,’ Genevieve said smiling, ‘I knew I could rely on you all to finish the season with a bang.’ She flounced out of the lounge, leaving the three of us perched on her perfect sofa.
‘Wow guys, I can’t believe we’re already planning the end of season party. It feels like I’ve only just got here.’ I looked around at the art-directed shelves, the magazines that hadn’t been opened, the candles that hadn’t been lit. It was the beginning of the end and somehow, I didn’t really feel like I’d even started.
*
George:Hi Hols, good news– we had an open day on the house and 15 couples viewed it. We’ve had 3 offers already, so I’ll email the details over and we can decide if we want to accept one or hold out for more xx
Me:Let’s wait a week to see if any other offers come in, then accept the highest x
Thirty
29th February
The alarm went off and I could already see Liv at the bottom of the bed, fully dressed in her boarding gear. She put her finger to her lips as I switched off the loud honk coming from my phone. My bed felt so snuggly and warm. I’d been mid-dream, racing Basil in a triathlon and had just made it onto the bikes. I closed my eyes briefly, to rest them and…
‘Hols?’ Liv whispered. ‘Come on, get up.’
I slowly opened them again. Was I in some sort of alternate reality? I hated getting up early, I hated the cold, and I could just about get down a blue on skis without breaking my neck. A moonlit ski was a triple-threat bad idea, but Liv was beside herself with excitement and I didn’t want to ruin her buzz.
‘Give me five minutes,’ I said, closing my eyes again.
‘Noooo,’ Liv pulled my duvet back and threw my thermals at me, ‘it’s now or never – Xavier is already in the ski room.’
It didn’tfeellike never was really an option, so I switched my pyjamas for thermals, slid into my ski pants and layered up with two extra fleeces, a balaclava, and a pair of under gloves. Now I had to get outside before I overheated and fainted. Silence was the best communication from this point on. I felt like a baby who had just been born and hadn’t quite realised they were out in the world. I didn’t want to think about going outside, so probably best to just deny it was happening until absolutely necessary. We walked to the ski room in our socks, where Xavier was waiting patiently. He yawned and waved as Liv and I grabbed our boots and pulled them on. The three musketeers were ready to ride or die. Literally. We stepped outside, quietly shutting the door behind us, straight onto the piste where we started crunching our way up the freshly hoovered snow. The piste bashers had cleaned the snow carpets, giving us a perfectly flat path to the top of the mountain. The moon sat golden and bright in the sky, lighting the way, while the floodlights stood dark and useless, watching us through the gloom. We weren’t the only night-time skiers, and several small groups of pilgrims trudged their way up the mountain ahead of us, each one hoping to experience a rare moment of euphoria on an empty mountain with only the moon to guide the way.
‘It’s a lot of effort for a ten-minute ski,’ I grumbled through my balaclava, as I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
‘What do you mean? This is amazing,’ Liv said, her eyes to the starry sky, hot breath puffing smoke into the night air as she looked around in awe. ‘The whole experience is once in a lifetime, Holly, starting half an hour ago. It’s not just the skiing part.’
‘When else in your life will you live on a mountain and have the chance to do something like this?’ Xavier added.
Oh. This bit was supposed to be fun as well then.
‘True. Sorry, it’s because I’m lazy and worried about being cold.’
‘And are you cold?’ Xavier looked at me quizzically.
I took a moment to connect with my body as I carried on the mountain march and realised that I wasn’t actually cold at all. If anything, I was too warm.
‘Just my nose, I think,’ I said, smiling.
Xavier pulled a red nose out of his pocket and offered it to me.
‘Would this help?’ he asked.
