Read sample Christmas at the Lakeside Hotel

Chapter One

Did she have everything? Carol Peterson squeezed a pair of tennis socks into the larger of her two suitcases and went back to the list on the chest of drawers. Her swimming gear would go in the Switzerland case, so the one she was taking to Australia was finished, and just as well, because you couldn’t get another thing in there. Now for the smaller one, and blimey, packing for seven days in a Swiss spa hotel followed by four weeks in boiling hot sunshine in Perth meant she had to cram almost her entire wardrobe into these two cases. And that was before you even thought about Christmas presents for the grandchildren and the obligatory two tins of tomato soup, the kind the kids loved but was hard to get in Australia.

She slid her winter boots into a plastic bag and put them in the bottom of the small case – and now it was half full already. Maybe she should wear them on the flight? Oh, dear… Maureen’s suggestion of the spa week first ‘to make you even more beautiful for your family Christmas in Oz’ was maybe a good idea, but the logistics were complicated. They were booked in for seven days of pre-Christmas indulgence in the Lakeside Hotel and Spa, which Maureen’s sister had raved about last summer. Afterwards, Maureen would come home to London and Carol would continue her journey to Perth.

And how wonderful it would be to see Barry and Diane and the children again. Carol hugged herself, then sighed. It was such a long time since her last visit – Emma, her little granddaughter, would be four soon, and Carol had never seen baby Jonny in real life. He wasn’t even a baby now; he was fifteen months old and she’d never cuddled him. It was tough when your family was so far away. Bursts of intensive visits plus Skype didn’t make up for the lack of regular contact. Barry had wanted her to go with them when they emigrated five years ago, but it hadn’t felt like the right time to Carol. Her life was here in London – or so she’d thought at the time. Now, with the reality of growing grandchildren she never got to hug, Carol wasn’t so sure. If Barry asked her the same question again, and it was odds-on he would, what would she say this time? It was the million-dollar question, and really, there could only be one answer. She’d saved up six weeks’ holidays and decimated her bank account for this trip, and when she came home at the end of it, she’d be confronted with another year and a half before she could afford to go again. Carol lifted the photo of Emma and Jonny, and pressed it to her heart. Eight more sleeps and she’d have them in her arms.

She wound a strap round the Australia case before organising the waiting piles of clothes into the Switzerland one, pressing her meds bag in at the top. Fingers crossed she wasn’t going to need any of these. Had she packed the nasal spray? No, she hadn’t – and oh, if only her ears behaved themselves this time. The six weeks after the last flight home from Australia had been filled with pain and antibiotics followed by more pain and more antibiotics. Talk about the ear infection from hell… Carol shivered. Imagine if she was sick for her whole lovely visit. Please, no, that mustn’t happen.

‘You’ll be fine,’ she said aloud, determinedly stamping down the insistent little whisper in her head. You haven’t been on a plane since. Supposing you’re not fine?

She zipped up the second case, thinking determinedly cheerful thoughts. She had saved every penny she could for this trip, and she was going to have a good time if it killed her. It would be fine. This time tomorrow, she’d be sitting in the dining room at the Lakeside Hotel, eating whatever they ate for dinner there. What did they eat in Switzerland? Schnitzel? Fondue? This was her first visit there and she was going to enjoy it.

A car horn tooted outside, and Carol grabbed the large case and bumped it downstairs.

Maureen was on the doorstep and the taxi was waiting by the gate. ‘Ready? Good – I’ll take your case, shall I? Make sure you lock up properly!’

Carol hid a smile. Typical Maureen. They’d known each other since their schooldays, when Mo’s nickname had been Boss Cow. She hadn’t mellowed much, either…

Grinning, Carol ran back up for the smaller case, grabbed her hand luggage, and carefully locked the house she wouldn’t see again until next year. Heathrow and the evening flight to Zurich, here she came.

Tucking a few stray curls into a red woolly hat, Stacy Townsend left the flat at the top of the Lakeside Spa Hotel and clattered down four flights of wooden staircase to the ground floor, checking her gloves were in her jacket pocket as she went. Tomorrow was the first of December; not the time of year to go outside without full winter gear, or not when you lived in north-east Switzerland, anyway. Just ten minutes to go; she’d miss the action if she wasn’t quick. This was going to be amazing – Rico, her fiancé and her job-partner too, as he was hotel manager at Lakeside and she was his assistant as well as head nurse in the spa, was going to switch on the brand-new Christmas lights display on the façade. Today was the start of the first ever Lakeside Christmas celebrations and it was going to be the most festive three weeks the old chalet had ever experienced, so heaven help them if this first part didn’t go with a bang. Not literally, of course. A quick glance down from the living room balcony five minutes ago had revealed at least fifty people gathering in the darkness in front of the hotel, waiting for the spectacle of the lights, and no doubt waiting for the mulled wine and nibbles that were coming afterwards, too. Thankfully, the weather was doing its bit. No atmospheric snow, true, but the rain the weatherman was threatening them with hadn’t arrived yet.

Stacy stuck her head into the hotel kitchen to make sure the mulled wine was on schedule.

‘Ooh, that smells fabulous! What have you put in it?’

‘Honey, cinnamon, oranges, cloves, and a few other things. And wine, of course. It’s my own recipe. Try some.’ Rob the chef handed her a spoon, and Stacy dipped it into the steaming cauldron on the stove and sipped.

‘Yum. It certainly beats making it with the spice sachets you buy in the supermarket.’

As she expected, he rose to the bait. ‘Did you think I’d – oh, very funny. It’s five to five, Stace, you’d better get out there. I’ll join you with the cauldron in ten minutes.’

Stacy fled, switching off the hallway lights as she went to join the gang on the front drive. The front of the hotel was in darkness now, and the waiting crowd fell silent in anticipation. A biting north wind was whistling across Lake Constance on the other side of the building, and Stacy zipped her jacket right up to her chin. Brr, she was looking forward to warming her hands as well as her insides with a nice mug of Rob’s mulled wine. Two minutes to go now, and where was Rico?

He was talking to a reporter from the local paper, the remote control for the lights in one hand.

‘Good, you’re just in time,’ he said, waving the remote at Stacy. ‘The timer’s set, so they should go on automatically, but I’ve brought this just in case!’

A car horn blared from the gate before the car it was attached to jerked to a halt at the end of the driveway, and Ralph, Rico’s father, leapt out and raced through the crowd to join them.

‘Thought I was going to miss the excitement,’ he said, hugging Stacy and slapping Rico’s shoulder.

Stacy could hardly believe her eyes. Last time she’d heard, Ralph was in his home in Lugano, several hundred kilometres to the south.

‘I didn’t know you were coming!’ She turned to Rico. ‘Did you?’

‘No – and it’s time for the countdown!’ He stepped up on the wooden plant container by the door and yelled in Swiss German, ‘Ready to count down! With me – ten, nine–’

Stacy joined in, her fingers and toes metaphorically crossed. ‘–four, three, two, one…’

A pause that felt like eternity hung in the air before lights blazed on the front of the hotel. A long ‘Ooh!’ came from the crowd, then clapping. Rico jumped down, a huge grin on his face.

Stacy grabbed his arm, hot tears in her eyes making the lights go blurry. Oh, how amazing – the hotel looked like something out of one of those lovely corny old Christmas movies. In place of summery red and pink geraniums in window boxes , they had moving cascades of silvery-white lights, with blue and silver snowflakes dotted irregularly here and there. A large-sized star shone out on each side of the roof, and little clusters of illuminated silver snowflakes were running down the slates from the middle of the top peak. Somehow, Lakeside was managing to look both festive and tasteful.

‘Wow – you’ve done yourselves proud.’ Ralph squeezed between them and put one arm around each of them. ‘Right – where’s this mulled wine I’ve been hearing about?’

Rico clapped his father’s back. ‘Right here! And it’s great to see you!’

Stacy sipped her mulled wine and nibbled one of Rob’s mini pesto pastries while people practically knocked each other over in the rush to tell them how fabulous the first set of Christmas lights on the façade of the Lakeside Hotel looked. This was the life. Everyone was here – hotel guests and employees, friends and some of the locals from Grimsbach too, as well as half the town council and two regional newspapers. Free advertising, just what they needed to kickstart the festive season. Until this year, the hotel had remained closed all December, but the new spa concept meant that people were queueing up for a long or short wellness break around Christmas. This would do their list of regular hotel guests all the good in the world.

Eventually, the promised rain arrived, and the party dispersed.

‘I suppose I can bunk down with you?’ said Ralph, as they followed the last of the guests inside.

‘’Course you can,’ said Stacy. She linked arms with him as they waited for the lift. ‘Our spare room is yours, you know that.’ Which was fair enough, as Ralph had spent all his married life in the top-floor flat before gifting the hotel to Rico last Christmas. Now, after a year of hard work, they were running a very profitable business, in spite of the floods and dramas of the previous summer.

Stacy glanced at Ralph as the lift went up. The little smile playing round his mouth told her how pleased he was to be back in the hotel, but… he was thinner than last time she’d seen him, wasn’t he? And those shadows under his eyes, what was causing them? He’d gone through a bad time after the death of Rico’s mum three years ago, but semi-retirement and relocating to the south of Switzerland to be near his brother Guido and sister-in-law Julia had put the spring back in Ralph’s step. He hadn’t had baggy eyes like this for a long time. Definitely, it was something to find out about.

‘Tell me all the news,’ said Ralph, when they were sitting round the kitchen table eating the salmon steaks Stacy had defrosted in honour of Ralph’s visit.

Rico leaned back, grinning at his father. ‘We’re pretty much booked out all December. Two women are arriving from England later tonight, then we’ll be full until the changeover next weekend. We have a great Christmas programme planned for the guests, with everything from the Gala Dinner every Thursday to a weekly Christmas biscuit-making demo.’

‘Not to mention my nursey talk on creating a New Year Healthy Eating Plan,’ said Stacy, giggling.

Ralph roared with laughter. Stacy watched him, only partially convinced he was well. His behaviour seemed no different, but he did look drawn.

He leaned back in his chair, still chuckling. ‘You’ll go far, you two. I thought I’d stay until mid-week, if that’s okay? I wanted to see your lights go on, and I may not manage north again this year. My car’s on the way out, but the new one won’t arrive until January, and when Guido and Julia come back, we’ll have a load of Christmas stuff to do in Lugano.’

His eyes were bright at the prospect, and Stacy patted his arm. Guido and Julia had been on an extended visit to Berlin, where their son Michael lived with his daughter Salome. Two months was a long time; Ralph must have missed the company. Was that the reason for the change in him? He didn’t seem ill.

‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Rico, and Stacy was touched to see how soft his eyes were as he looked at his father. ‘But remember, trains exist too! We’re hoping you’ll come here for some of the Christmas hols as well. We close to guests on the twenty-second, so after that we’ll be celebrating Christmas with family and friends. And we want to see more of you and the new car in January too, okay? I won’t have much time for gadding around when I start my master’s degree in February.’

‘You’re the boss,’ said Ralph, and Stacy hugged herself. What a lovely family she was marrying into.

Chapter Two

Zurich Airport was all shiny floors and glass. Maureen bustled ahead, and Carol hurried after her, rubbing her left ear as she went. It had blocked almost as soon as they took off and was refusing to pop again, but at least it wasn’t painful. And glory, did Maureen think the luggage would appear quicker if she got to baggage reclaim before everyone else did? Carol gave up her pursuit and trailed along in the middle of the crowd of chattering passengers – not that she could hear the people on her left. Pity she didn’t have anything to drink, a couple of quick swallows might unblock this stupid ear. She caught up with Maureen at Passport Control, which thankfully wasn’t busy, and grabbed the other woman’s arm to stop her disappearing into the distance again. Baggage reclaim here they came… Their luggage started circling round on the carousel as soon as they arrived, and Carol grinned to herself. Timing was everything, wasn’t it? This must be your famous Swiss efficiency at work.

Luggage piled on a trolley, they made their way downstairs to the train station beneath the airport. It was something over an hour in the train to Grimsbach and the hotel, and they had to change at Romanshorn, another little town by Lake Constance.

Maureen pulled out her mobile as the train left the airport. ‘I’ve to text the hotel and let them know what train we’re on. They said they’d have someone meet us at Grimsbach station.’

Carol was impressed. ‘That’s a good service. A lot of places would leave their guests to get a taxi.’

She stared into the night as the train sped eastwards. Switzerland was like anywhere else in the dark, large and small stations with stretches of blackness between them, and oh, this stupid ear. Carol rubbed the side of her head. It was such a lopsided feeling when one ear was behaving as if it was at the bottom of a large tank of water.

Romanshorn station was open to the elements on three sides, and Carol stepped off the train and bent her head against the ice-cold draught that was blasting along the platform. She wrestled her cases off one train and onto the other, thinking wryly that this journey was as good as a day at the gym. She was going to arrive at the hotel looking as if she’d run all the way from the airport. The second train was tiny, and stopped at several equally tiny places as it meandered along beside the lake. Carol fastened the top button on her jacket as the doors whooshed open yet again and three more well wrapped-up passengers boarded in the middle of an Arctic gust. Oh dear, she should be wearing something on her head. Her poor ears…

Grimsbach station was little bigger than a bus stop, and the wind cut right through Carol’s jacket the moment she stepped out of the train. Heavens, going from this to the heat of Perth in the Australian summer was going to be a bit of a contrast. Sort of the reverse of coming out of the sauna and diving into an icy fjord, or something. Shivering, she pulled her cases to the end of the platform, where a young man was waiting beside a minibus.

‘Lakeside Hotel?’ he said, and seized Carol’s larger case when she nodded. ‘I’m Alex, Lakeside receptionist and general dogsbody. Good trip?’

His English was pretty much perfect, and Maureen immediately launched into a description of their journey. Carol relaxed into her seat in the minibus, glad that it was heated, and glad that the people at the hotel spoke such good English. A bracing week in wintry Switzerland would toughen her up nicely, then she’d be off to sunny Oz to relax. Christmas on the beach… Bring it on.

‘Oh, look, Carol! Isn’t it lovely?’

Maureen clutched her arm as they swung into the hotel grounds, and Carol jerked out of her daydream. The building was illuminated like something on a picture postcard, a traditional Swiss chalet set against a deep black backdrop that must be Lake Constance. Faraway lights on the other side were twinkling bravely, though the water was a black hole in the darkness. Surprise zipped through Carol – what a huge lake it must be. She’d see it properly tomorrow.

‘All we need is snow to complete the picture!’ Alex yanked the handbrake on and jumped out to deal with the luggage.

Carol followed Maureen into the warmth of the hotel, where a tall, undecorated Christmas tree was waiting to one side of a deep leather sofa, a crate of presumably decorations at its foot.

Alex nodded towards them. ‘That’s tomorrow’s job. Let’s get you ladies checked in and upstairs.’

Maureen wheeled the cases to the lift while Carol signed the form he produced and accepted two swipe cards for their room. She rubbed the side of her head again as they jerked up to the second floor. Her ear was buzzing now. Hopefully, it would pop soon and everything would be all right. You didn’t feel right with one ear blocked, did you? Carol shivered again.