The Hike(5)

Ginny gingerly shuffled up the bed, propping herself up on the pillows, and grabbed the pack of paracetamol and the bottle of water she’d thankfully had the foresight to leave by the bed. As she tipped her head back to swallow the pills, the room spun and a wave of nausea swept over her, only subsiding when she managed to suck in a few long, slow breaths.

Right, so mixing the drinks had been her idea. The rest of them had protested, saying they needed to be fresh for the morning, and that it was the night after the hike they could get properly stuck in and let loose. They’d be well up for it, Paul had said, after all the exertion of the hike. But then Tristan had bought the shots – some supposedly good-quality tequila, and definitely the wrong thing to drink the night before a five-hour hike. He was used to it, though, being much more of a regular drinker than any of them. Ginny had been surprised at Cat suddenly going along with it, lining up a row of vodkas for herself. Her sister was such a bore these days, with all her healthy eating and exercise. OK, yes, Ginny did spend a lot of time taking pretty photos of healthy food and she did have a devoted following who loved the way she made it all look so easy. But funnily enough, Insta life wasn’t real life, was it?

Ginny spent hours making those dishes, but she often survived on cheese and toast because it wasn’t about the eating; for her, it was the charade of the perfect household. It was no wonder she didn’t have any time to do the boring little work tasks that Cat tried to get her to do.

Cat was good at her job, but it didn’t really interest Ginny particularly, so most of the time she didn’t bother to do what her sister asked. It’s not like Ginny needed the money, what with Tristan’s ridiculous income – and there was her secret little fund squirrelled safely away. Just for her.

Tristan appeared out of the bathroom, towel around his waist and a healthy pink glow in his cheeks. He was smiling. Clearly he’d forgiven her for spoiling his fun earlier.

‘Are you not getting up? We’re meeting for breakfast in ten minutes. We need to go through the plan for the day.’

‘Ten minutes? Why didn’t you tell me?’ Ginny leapt out of bed and into the bathroom, pausing for a moment with a steadying hand on the towel rail as the room spun again. ‘You could’ve left the shower on for me at least.’

‘See you down there,’ he called, and the door slammed shut behind him.

She swallowed back her irritation and blasted herself with ice-cold water. It caused her to momentarily stop breathing, but it was the only way to clear her head and get on with this absolute pain of a day. Why had she let Tristan talk her into it? She’d told him point-blank that she had zero interest in hiking in the Alps, and his attempts to suggest that the scenery was worth it and that the fresh air would do her the world of good had just made her laugh. She was not a fresh-air kind of girl. She much preferred driving to walking, and if she managed to even turn up at the yoga studio once a week, it was a miracle. She always made sure to snap a couple of pics for Insta, though. She looked good in her expensive workout gear, even if she only used it to sit around drinking coffee in.

Then he’d changed tack . . . telling her there were world-class massage therapists, and a hot tub that contained some sort of mountain spring water that would make her look younger. Something to do with the minerals, he said. Good shops, too, he’d said. Designer gear you won’t get back at home.

That had swung it. She’d even agreed to let Cat take her shopping to get the clothes and equipment they needed for the weekend. It was quite possible that Cat had something else up her sleeve. After their showdown at her thirtieth a few months ago, Ginny had kept expecting some further fallout – but her sister had been uncharacteristically fun last night.

Well, whatever. Ginny had given in. The magic mineral spa would at least provide some new fodder for her followers, even if she had to filter the fuck out of herself for the foreseeable, to make it look like the water had indeed performed miracles.

When she made it down to breakfast, half an hour later, the other three were smiling and laughing; a table full of croissants and cheeses and fruit in front of them. Ginny sat down and grabbed the coffee pot, slopping liquid over the sides of the cup and into the saucer as she attempted to pour with a shaking hand.

Cat raised an eyebrow over her glass of orange juice. ‘Sore head, love?’

Paul looked at Ginny with sympathy. ‘I was a bit rough too, but the food has sorted me out. It’s so nice to be able to help yourself to a lovely breakfast buffet again, isn’t it? I’ve really missed all this.’

Cat nodded. ‘It’s weird though, isn’t it? I was so desperate for normal things, then when things started to normalise, it was almost like it never happened. I was lucky with the business, with most people postponing their events rather than cancelling. But it’s been non-stop trying to fit everything in lately. I’m so glad of this break.’

‘Well, I’m just glad all that working-from-home nonsense is over,’ Tristan cut in, taking a bite out of a croissant. ‘Worst eighteen months of my life, being stuck at home with the missus.’ He laughed hard and pinched Ginny’s arm, to let her know he was joking.

She gave him a weak smile. ‘Wasn’t a barrel of laughs for me either.’ She picked up a hard roll and ripped it apart, pulling out the soft centre and stuffing it into her mouth. Actually, she’d quite enjoyed the lockdowns. They had given her plenty of time to come up with new ways to grow her followers. It wasn’t like she spent much time with Tristan anyway. He spent most of his time in his office at home with the door locked. He slept on his sofa bed in there most nights, too – citing late-night meetings. She had a feeling he was spending more time chatting on Messenger, but he never left his phone unattended for long enough to even attempt to snoop. ‘Can we drop the pandemic chat? We’re all still here, aren’t we?’