Fraser Mountain - Living the snow life

Chapter Twenty Six

I’m almost nodding off in my chair when I hear the curtain being pulled back and a tall man I don’t recognise appears.

He looks at me quizzically. ‘Oh… I didn’t realise he had a visitor…’

I get up and put my hand out. ‘I’m Lexie…er, a friend.’

He shakes my hand a little cautiously. ‘I think Lisa’s mentioned you. I’m her husband. The name’s Jim.’

‘Hello, Jim. I would say it’s nice to meet you, but under the circumstance… Anyway, how’s she doing? Aaron woke up and he was in a bit of a panic so I asked a nurse to find out what was happening.’

‘Yeah, I thought I’d better come down and check on him. She recognised my face when she woke up, so I hope that’s a good sign… For a minute there, I feared the worst.’ He gives me a weak smile and I can see his hands are shaking. I pull out a spare chair for him and ask if he’d like a seat. He must have been through hell and back in the last hour or two.

‘Can I get you a drink or something?’ I ask. ‘I think there’s a vending machine somewhere.’

‘No, no. I’m good.’ He shakes his head and nods towards the bed. ‘How’s he doing?’

I look over at Aaron, who is still completely zonked out. He’s a very quiet sleeper, not even snoring or groaning in pain.

‘Apparently, he’s got some broken ribs and a lot of scratches and cuts but on the most part he’s doing alright.’ I explain. ‘They gave him a lot of pain-killers but a nurse came in a few minutes ago and took him off the drip.’

‘Lucky son-of-a-bitch. He coulda died… Thank God he hit the tree before Lis.’

‘Was she awake enough to tell you what happened?’

‘Not really… and I’m not pushing her to either. I spoke to Pierre and he said they were checking a weather station...’

‘Pierre is the Patrol Supervisor, right?’ I ask. ‘I think I’ve met him?’

‘Yup. Can’t believe he’s not here.’

I nod in agreement. ‘I was thinking the same thing. Why aren’t any of the patrollers here?’

‘They’re busy sorting out the mess on the mountain. I don’t know what Pierre was thinking, sending them both up to that weather station. Crazy fool.’

‘Aaron came in for a coffee this morning and mentioned they were worried about avalanche risk.’

He runs a hand through his hair before leaning forward and clasping his hands together tightly. ‘Man, I was a mess earlier. That area of the mountain is so darn dangerous… If Pierre does turn up I may regret my actions.’

For a moment I think he’s going to lose his composure as he puts his hands over his eyes. I give him an awkward pat on the shoulder.

‘Are you a patroller too?’ I ask.

He pulls his hands down from his face and smiles ruefully. ‘Hell no!’ he laughs, all the worry lines on his face melting away for a second. ‘I work at the Mine, eh.’

‘Then you must know my friend… Aussie Tim?’

‘Yeah, I know Tim. Decent guy, eh. Hell of an engineer too.’

‘He’s a really great bloke.’ I agree. ‘I think he’s hoping to stay once the winter’s over too… his plans are a bit more long-term than most us in town.’

‘Well, the Foreman seems to like him so I reckon he might be able to, eh?’

‘Oh, that’s good.’ I smile. ‘I know there are some mixed opinions about us foreigners coming over here and making a nuisance of ourselves. But we’re not all bad.’