Five Ladies Go Skiing: A feel-good novel of friendship and love. Karen Aldous

I love Will, he’s so driven. It’s a good quality. Maybe he can find something similar in Europe and teach Rob a thing or two.’

      We chuckled.

      Will’s dedication to his current work and research, and the wellbeing of cancer patients, was admirable, and why I fell in love with him. We were both driven to curing and caring for our own reasons. Of course, I took pity on him when he revealed his motivation to succeed as a cancer specialist. Losing his mother to breast cancer at twelve and recognising he had the power to discover hope for others seemed extremely mature and gallant to me.’

      ‘I know. I should be grateful. And tolerant. It’s a great purpose to have.’

      ‘And, why you love him,’ Angie added, draining her glass. ‘More wine?’

      ‘Yes, and yes please.’

      Mine and Will’s connection and chemistry had been evident to everyone except me. We were young, and no one was more surprised than me when this attractive new doctor gave me so much attention. Every one of our colleagues noticed his flirting, and even some of the patients did. Apparently, our sexual energy charged the hospital air. Within just two weeks of meeting, we couldn’t bear to be apart. We bought our first flat together in London and remained a strong couple.

      Until now, that was. As much as I still loved him, things had changed. I had changed. The arguments about when and where we would retire had created a lot of tension. And a couple of months ago, after another heated discussion, I threatened I would return to Europe alone if I had to, telling him he could join me when he was ready. That was a sad moment. A moment I regretted. I hurt him deeply and to be honest, I didn’t know how he was still talking to me. Will could have washed his hands of me, so I was grateful for the way he dealt with it.

      ‘At least you’re honest,’ he’d said. ‘And if you need to go, then I can’t stop you. I committed five years to this project. Do what you need to do, and I’ll join you.’ Naturally, guilt ripped into me and I wondered if I could really go without him. The angels must have been looking down on us though. He kissed me and assured me that our love was strong enough to deal with it. I breathed out a sigh of bliss and thanked the angels for my state.

      These last few years, I have discovered my spiritual side through doing yoga and meditation. So many patients of mine have trusted their guardian angels, I now find myself doing the same, and as always, I add my gratefulness. I believe Ginny and her mother were mine. It’s only since meeting these beautiful Flowers that my life has changed for the better. OK, the blip was the years Will and I waited for the twins, but sometimes, I feared it was too good, and at any second it could all go tits up. But here we were, together, and I was going to enjoy it.

      ‘More wine, anyone?’ Angie was asking the girls, seeing their wineglasses drained.

      I caught the waiter’s attention and he smiled as he came across to our table. I pointed to a bottle on our table. ‘Encore le vin rouge, s’il vous plaît?’

      ‘Oui.’ He nodded.

      ‘Carafe d’eau, s’il vous plaît,’ Angie said turning to the waiter, then back to us. ‘Phew, not sure if it’s the sun or the altitude that is dehydrating me already.’

      ‘Probably all that stress driving and making sure we all got here in one piece,’ Ginny said.

      Cathy tousled her hair parting, then her crown, making her bob soften her face. She then held out her glass. ‘I think you deserve a toast for getting us all here safely. Thank you, Angie. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride from Geneva and along the lake, but that last bit had me gripped in terror, I confess; it was scary. So well done, and cheers to you.’

      ‘Cheers, Angie,’ we chorused.

      ‘My pleasure girls.’ Angie gave an embarrassed smile. ‘All good practice for next time, eh?’ Her eyes checked each of us for approval but was met with apprehensive stares. ‘OK, we’ll take a snow check on that one,’ she sniggered. ‘It’s given me an appetite though. I think it’s the perfect time to order lunch.’ Her suggestion was met with smiles. ‘Then we can go to the lift station to buy our passes ready for the morning.’

      Ginny nodded. ‘Absolutely.’ Then she turned towards the valley, the tension smoothed from her face.

      ‘So lovely to see you happy and full of energy,’ I told her, hoping it was true.

      ‘So lovely to be here with you all.’ Ginny gazed at me then, squinting her eyes, she sat back in her chair. That jarring feeling shot through me again, making me wonder if she did know about Mike and if she could sense I was hiding something.

       Chapter 3

       Ginny

      With stomachs stuffed of either saucisse de veau and frites or saffron risotto with Gruyere, we crossed the road to buy our lift passes then made our way to the car to collect our suitcases. Our chat and excitement was heady with far too much red wine, so it was a relief to stretch our legs following the road along part of the village before heading down a narrow icy path towards our chalet while singing ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland’.

      Angie stopped us briefly to point the chalet out. It was truly breath-taking, nestled on the hillside that overlooked the valley and surrounded by thick fresh powdery snow with miniature pine trees poking their heads up here and there. It was smaller than I expected but the smell of new wood was as welcoming as the warm air as we entered. The entrance porch was furnished both sides with racks for skis and boots, and ample hanging space for wet ski-wear.

      ‘We’ll soon fill this up,’ Angie said, kicking off her snow boots.

      ‘It’s nearly new, isn’t it?’ Lou said pushing open the door to the living space.

      After removing her boots, Angie followed her, wriggling her case as she held the door. ‘Yes. This is its first season. Harold and Jean-Paul only finished it in October so we’re probably first for the ski season.’

      Behind Angie, I pulled off my boots and wheeled my case to my other side and waited until Cathy and Kim were in stockinged feet and inside before Kim closed the door.

      ‘Is there an alarm, Ang?’

      ‘No idea, Harold never said.’

      Kim rattled the door handle, inspecting the workings inside its structure and counting. ‘Oh, at least there’s seven locks on here. You’d think they would have a security alarm and cameras.’

      ‘Maybe they don’t have any crime here,’ Cathy said.

      ‘Seriously.’ Kim appeared indignant. ‘You can never be too careful.’

      We sniggered. ‘What are you like!’ Angie laughed.

      ‘I know. I know. I can’t shake the habit. It comes naturally when you had a father like mine and had to keep looking over your shoulder.’

      ‘Lose it, sweet, he’s six foot under now,’ Angie said.

      Kim shrugged. ‘I wish I could.’

      Although the sun was now sinking behind the mountains above us, the living space was airy and bright. Flames from the ready-lit log burner gave a warm homely glow.

      ‘This place is beautiful.’ Lou ran and flopped onto one of the three olive-coloured loungers. ‘Oh, this one is too hard.’

      Running across to the next and diving into a pile of faux-fur cushions and soft-looking throws, she closed her eyes. ‘This one is too soft.’

      We watched and giggled waiting for her to try the last sofa.

      ‘So I’m staying here, Flowers,’ she said, wrapping herself in a throw and tucking up her feet.

      ‘Darling girls,