‘Bear was actually Jill’s dog originally, I adopted him after she . . . you know.’
‘You saved him.’
‘Well, I couldn’t save her.’
Marco hesitated, seeming to weigh up whether to say his next thought out loud. ‘You know, in my job I am always trying to save lives. And I can’t always do it. It can be a pretty heavy weight on you and make you very sad when that happens. But sometimes the person, or the situation, or the conditions, or the accident mean that it’s out of your control. You just have to know you did everything possible and be peaceful with that.’
‘How do you ever know if you did everything possible?’
‘I don’t know. You just have to trust yourself. Be kind to yourself.’
Alice looked up at him. He got it. She felt a sparkle connect between them and she didn’t know if he felt it too, or if it was her body desperate to hang on to the closeness of another person, but she felt it as clear as the cold mountain air, as big as the blue sky above and the peak of the Eiger, but as delicate as the snowflakes that hugged their calves.
She moved in for another hug, uninvited but needed, and they were silent for a moment, while she tried to organise her chaotic thoughts.
From her position scrunched against his chest, she looked at the stick he’d been using, now seeing it was an extendable aluminium rod with bright flashes of colour at various intervals, and a measurement running up the length of it. ‘What’s that?’
Marco turned his head to see what she was looking at. ‘That’s my penis ruler.’
Alice felt a big bubble of laughter break through her, bringing her back to reality, and a real warm fondness flooded her veins for this man.
‘Just kidding,’ he grinned, sheepishly. ‘It’s an avalanche probe. Look.’ Marco removed his arms from around Alice and stepped through the snow to retrieve the probe, then showed her how it collapsed and extended. ‘This spiky end goes in the snow, and you measure how deep it is really quickly, if you’re in a rescue situation. It’s part of an avalanche kit I left here last year, and I was just testing out all the bits of equipment to make sure nothing was broken or rusted.’
‘Wow. Should I have an avalanche kit?’
‘You said you’ve never been skiing or snowboarding before, right?’
Alice shook her head.
‘You probably don’t need one, at least not at the moment. It’s definitely essential if you’re going off-piste, but maybe learn on-piste first.’
‘Okay.’ She hadn’t really made any plans to try skiing or snowboarding, which seemed silly now that she thought about spending six months in a ski resort. Maybe she’d look into that.
‘Vanessa probably has some of the kit in her chalet, actually, maybe ask her this weekend. Just in case you go snowshoeing in the backcountry or something.’
‘That is actually something I’d like to do!’ Yes, plodding around a vast, empty, flat vista strapped to a pair of tennis rackets was up her street, and she was quite serious about that. Bear could come along to that. Although she’d probably steer clear of anywhere avalanchey. ‘Do you do a lot of off-piste skiing?’
Now the conversation had lightened, the two of them, plus Bear, whose fur was becoming crystallised with chunks of wet snow, ambled back around the side of the chalet, chatting.
‘You mean outside the job? I do some,’ said Marco. ‘But with Air-Glaciers it’s often a requirement, because many of the rescues involve the chopter dropping you somewhere on the mountain away from the normal runs. They have all the equipment if we get a call-out, but I like to keep my own set nearby in case of an emergency.’
‘So you’ve saved people who’ve been caught in avalanches?’
‘That, and other situations. All sorts of things can happen up a mountain when you mix snow, ice, freezing temperatures, confident holidaymakers and a little too much après-ski mulled wine.’
She mulled that over. ‘I think I’d like to hear more about it sometime.’
‘Are you interested in joining the team?’ he smiled.
‘Not quite, just interested in general.’ But there was something comforting to her, at this stage in her life, about listening to stories of people being saved.
Marco was about to answer when the two of them heard a loud squeal.
