Going Off Piste

Chapter Five

Author's note: Warning - This chapter contains scenes of an explicitly sexual nature. If you are not of an appropriate age or are offended by such content, please do not read on.

The next morning, Frankie stayed in bed, pleading a headache. She had barely slept, her mind endlessly flitting between the horrible scene with Betty and her reckless behaviour with Reuben. In the feverish small hours of the morning where all sense of perspective seemed to have abandoned her, Frankie's behaviour in the bar and later back at the chalet seemed only to justify her daughter's poor opinion of her. She cringed inwardly and couldn't face spending the day with Betty. She was also afraid that she would give herself away if she was near Reuben in the others' company. She'd never experienced such a powerful attraction and it excited and terrified her in equal measure. Frankie was in a state of excitement and alert, her stomach wound into twisted knots. She was also saddened to acknowledge that, having reached the age of almost forty, a life of putting her own needs last appeared to have spectacularly backfired. Her daughter, who had grown into an emotionally stunted, selfish drama queen, evidently hated her and her marriage was in the process of coming to an end.

And so Frankie stayed in bed.

Simon was in a frenzy of remorse, pulling the curtains across the window to keep out the daylight and fetching painkillers and menthol rub that she didn't need. For a while, Frankie was worried Simon was going to insist on staying with her all day, bringing cool cloths for her head and fussing with the room temperature but in the end she managed to persuade him that Betty was likely to be feeling pretty awful too and needed him more. He finally left her alone, making one last heartfelt apology as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

A few minutes later there was a soft tap and the door opened a little, letting a chink of light into the bedroom.

"Simon, I told you, I'll be fine. Just let me sleep. I'll see you later."

"It's not Simon," said Jules, "Can I come in?"

Frankie sat up, throwing back the bed covers.

"Has he gone?"

"They've all gone," said Jules.

"Yes, come in," said Frankie, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and crossing to the window. "There's nothing wrong with me, physically at least, I just couldn't face Betty and Simon is driving me absolutely bonkers. I need some time out."

"Thought that might be the case," said Jules, "that's why I dug these out for you." She threw a beach towel and a pair of flip-flops onto the bed.

"Isn't it a bit cold for the beach?" frowned Frankie.

"We're not going to the beach, you buffoon! We're going to a thermal spa. It's over the border in Switzerland so you'll need to bring your passport. I've been meaning to check this place out for our guests for some time and this seemed like the perfect excuse. What do you think? You up for it?"

"Give me half an hour!" said Frankie.

The spa was in a remote village, at the end of a winding road that brought them down the side of a mountain to the deep valley below. It could be seen from some distance, the turquoise outdoor pools glittering and steaming in the cold winter air. Only built a few years previously, it was all tasteful blond wood and stone and being in Switzerland, everyone was spared the embarrassing French dress code of tightly fitted Speedos for any man venturing into the pool area. The spa consisted of a main indoor pool housing various water massage therapy jets and spouts with a large Jacuzzi area set in the centre. Along one side of the pool was a row of underwater beds, each equipped with high-pressure water jets for bathers to lie on for a full body massage. In a separate area behind the pool were a series of steam and sauna rooms as well as a suite of treatment rooms.