Fraser Mountain - Living the snow life

Chapter Two

Five hours later, I have to wonder where it all went wrong. Having sent my oddly-absent boyfriend numerous text messages saying that I have some great news and where the hell is he, a not-very-sexy-at-all version of Henry stumbles through the door at midnight, heaving his large frame onto the sofa. Henry and I met during our final year at University. If there had been an award for ‘least likely couple’ we would’ve won it. Henry, the captain of the Uni Rugby team and the skiing club, the tall and charming boy that had all the girls giggling, and somehow interested in me – a music-obsessed art student that wore a lot of black and wouldn’t be seen dead at foam parties in our Student Union. Yup, I was charmed alright and I loved that we were so different. I guess it was a case of opposites attracting at first, but over the years, we’ve grown together and changed for each other. Well, I like to think so anyway. My best friend Evie seems to think that I’ve done a lot of changing and Henry is still the same.

He’s still charismatic, clever and his floppy fringe falls over his piercing blue eyes in a way that still makes me feel a little bit wobbly, so I’ll forgive him the beer gut that seems to have developed over the last year. I bend over to give him a quick kiss, immediately assaulted by beer and cigarette fumes. Yuck. I aim for his damp cheek instead.

‘Didn’t you get my texts? I sent about four.’ I ask, trying not to sound like a nag. Henry hates it when I nag.

‘Nah, sorry hon. iPhone’s been off all night. With the boys y’see…’

It’s only then that I remember our hurried conversation at the bus stop this morning, where he’d given me a quick peck and said something about meeting his friends who generally see more of him than I do.I bash my head in mock-forgetfulness and sit next to him, clutching a mug of tea and wishing we had a bottle of wine in the fridge instead.

‘Oh…. yup, sorry. Totally remember now. What a mad day… I’ve been trying to get hold of you for ages. Something crazy happened at work.’

‘Really? Did Susannah tell you off again for using the wrong colour blue?’ he asks, absent-mindedly picking something off his pink silk tie. ‘God. I’m knackered…’

‘Not exactly, hon… Although you should’ve seen her today. First off, she swore.’

Henry, bless him, reacts in exactly the way I’d hoped.

‘Susannah swore? Blimey. What happened?’

I smile smugly, before imparting my exciting news. ‘Don’t freak out, but we’ve all been made redundant. Isn’t that bloody brilliant! No more Bostock bollocks. Natty Shoreditch design agency, here I come!’

There is a dramatic pause. Henry’s mouth opens and closes. First, he goes a little bit pale. Then, his cheeks get pinker. And then a bit pinker, until his face goes purple.

‘What?!’ he cries. ‘That’s bloody terrible!’ He gets up and starts pacing the room, before turning on his heel and giving me an exasperated look. ‘How are we going to afford to buy our own place now? Honestly, this is SUCH bad timing… so bloody typical…’ he starts muttering to himself as he endeavours to wear a hole in the carpet.

At first, I am touched by such a heartfelt reaction – he must really, really care about my feelings. I’m a lucky girl indeed.

‘But Henry, it’s fantastic when you think about it.’ I smile up at him, keen for him to realise how good I’m feeling. ‘I’m going to get some redundancy money – about ten grand I think - and I can get a new job. You know I’ve always hated working for those idiots. Now I can do something much more creative, like I’ve always wanted to. I’ve been so miserable there lately.’ I say, my face lighting up with excitement. I cannot wait to tell him all my ideas and plans.