A Season in the Snow Read online

‘I don’t know. If we took a puppy I guess it would make sense to do more a countryside, beach, mountains-kinda tour than a bunch of cities strung together.’ She paused and drank some wine. ‘But that’s definitely not a bad thing.’

  ‘Could we do it by car? I don’t know the logistics of taking puppies on planes.’

  ‘A car might be a bit tight, but we could think about a campervan?’

  Jill looked at her friend, a smile on her lips. ‘Are you serious? Would you really be happy doing this plan with a dog in tow?’

  Alice shrugged. ‘What could go wrong?’

  ‘Absolutely nothing.’

  ‘It could be pretty funny.’ A campervan filled with two women and a puppy, making their way around the Continent. It wasn’t quite what she’d had in mind when she’d walked into the bar, but she was open to it. ‘I think we should do it.’

  ‘I think we should too!’ Jill cheersed her glass. ‘We have a lot to think about and plan. Where do we even start?’

  Alice looked around, super-casual. ‘Ohhhh, I don’t know. I guess we could go over to that travel agent’s and get some brochures?’

  Chapter 3

  Alice and Jill’s travel plans were coming along nicely. They’d leave in September, when the sun was still warm but the French and Italian coasts had taken a breath after the August heat. Their route would then take them for a jaunt through the Croatian mountains, then up through Slovenia, Austria, Germany and the new puppy’s home country of Switzerland.

  Alice was working hard from her desk in the Funny Pack office, where the air conditioning was broken so all the windows were wide open letting in what little breeze there was on this stifling June day. She was on overdrive trying to get as many illustrations in the bank as she could so that the impact of taking two months off at the end of the season wouldn’t be too noticeable. With the political unrest at home and overseas, plus the changes in the air from ever-growing social movements, she had plenty of material.

  ‘This is your fault, you know,’ Kemi said, calling her out of the blue.

  ‘What did I do?’

  ‘You wished for a long, hot summer,’ she panted down the line. ‘I just tried to go for a lunchtime run and have had to stop for a Frappuccino.’

  ‘I take full responsibility for global warming,’ Alice replied, taking a drink from her water glass and leaving yet another red lipstick print on it. Today was an endless cycle of hydrating, weeing and putting lipstick back on. ‘Hey Kemi, have you heard about that outdoor concert they just announced for the summer?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’ Kemi took a long slurp. ‘What is it?’

  ‘It’s being put on by a women’s rights charity in Brookwick Park in the first week of August. I thought I might go. Shall I ask everyone?’

  ‘You can ask, but I think Bahira and her family are away that week.’

  ‘Ah, they couldn’t get a week outside school holidays in the end?’

  ‘No, she said that was wishful thinking. But send over the date and info and we’ll see.’

  Alice hung up and sent the details straight over to her circle of friends. She was feeling fuelled by the same optimism she’d felt way back in January, but she just couldn’t put her finger on what she wanted to do about it.

  As it turned out, Bahira was away, Theresa didn’t want to splash out on the ticket and Kemi had a family barbecue pencilled in with all her relations that day. Jill, though, good old Jill, was more than happy to chip a bit off their travel fund to go along with her. Before either of them could change their mind, Alice bought the tickets. Now she had something fun planned for August, before the big something fun that was planned for September.

  Okay, back to the grind . . .

  Alice had a car that she kept parked on a quiet street near her home that was used once in a blue moon. So the following week she was designated driver to head over to Tunbridge Wells with Jill for the first puppy visit, along with Theresa, who’d begged to come too.

  ‘On a scale of one to ten puppies, how excited are you?’ asked Alice on the journey.

  ‘A million puppies. Apparently the mum had three, two girls and a boy, and the girls are going to family members. So ours will be the little gentleman.’

  ‘Ours?’

  Jill laughed. ‘Yes, ours.’

  ‘How old are they now?’ asked Theresa from the back seat.

  ‘About five weeks. I’m so sorry if I cry my eyes out or just make a run for it with all three.’

  ‘Well, don’t leave us there,’ answered Alice. ‘I don’t know these people. Are you sure it’s going to be okay you being away for the evening of the concert?’

  ‘In August? Yes, definitely. Sam will be home from uni then so I’m going to ask him to come and stay for a few nights.’ Sam was Jill’s younger brother, and little did he know he was being lined up to be a dog sitter.

  They pulled into the driveway of a large home, where they rang the bell and were ushered in by a grinning, but sleepy, gentleman who introduced himself as Max and showed them out into the shaded garden. He opened a door and out of the house came the most ginormous dog Alice had ever seen: glossy dark fur bouncing sunlight, paws as big as side plates and a tail like a plume of smoke rising from a chimney. Her chest was coated with the thickest white fur and she had orange splodges on each ankle and above her eyes.

  She woofed at the three women, a low, warning woof that echoed around Tunbridge Wells.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ said Max. ‘This is the mum, Betty. She’s just being a bit wary and protective because of the pups.’

  Betty woofed again and then went up to each of them in turn to have a sniff and peer up at them with big eyes that said, can I trust you? Alice sat on one of the garden chairs and Betty seemed to like this, turning her back to Alice and sitting a million kilos of dog on her feet.

  ‘You’ve passed the test,’ Max grinned. ‘Shall I let the puppies out now?’

  He opened the door again and three stumbling, chunky bear cubs tumbled out, their legs shorter than the threshold, their noses squished in and guinea-pig like. Jill almost fainted with happiness, and Theresa’s phone camera began working on overdrive.

  The puppies picked their way over the grass, bumping into chair legs and each other, clamouring over feet, chewing on each other’s ears and trying to climb on Betty, who’d flopped down to lie on Alice’s trainers by now.

  Max scooped up the roundest of the puppies who was barging his way through the bowl of water that sat outside. ‘This one’s your little lad.’ He handed the puppy to Jill.

  Tears popped straight into and out of Jill’s eyes. ‘Oh my God. Hello, you.’

  The puppy licked her face. Freckles were just visible in the folds of his snout, and he had a two-inch white splash of fur decorating the back of his neck, like somebody had spilt cream on him when they’d walked past.

  After he’d cleaned away Jill’s impromptu tears, the puppy wriggled free and scurried over to his sisters to push one of them over with his nose.

  ‘So they’re all healthy, they’re all okay?’ Jill asked Max.

  ‘They sure are. And by the time you pick him up in three weeks all their vaccinations will be up to date and I’ll give you a pack I’ve been putting together about his food and all that.’

  ‘That sounds perfect.’

  ‘Let me get you all a cup of tea,’ Max said. ‘And then you can get to know them all a bit better.’

  ‘You’ve changed your mind, haven’t you?’ Alice joked to Jill when Max had gone inside.

  ‘They’re just so ugly,’ she laughed back while one of the sisters chewed on the loose ends of Jill’s hair.

  Theresa stroked a passing fluffball. ‘I want one too.’

  ‘You can come over and play with this one whenever you want.’ Jill was rolling a tennis ball gently towards her soon-to-be-puppy and watching him approach it curiously. Alice watched her friend, happy for her.

  She looked down at the giant dog on her feet. It was a good j
ob Jill had a big house.

  Chapter 4

  On the seventh of July, Alice picked up Jill at eight in the morning, hoping to avoid being in the car while it was too hot while they brought home Jill’s new puppy. At eight weeks old, he’d grown into a squat little bear cub, with thick legs, round paws and a spindly tail. His nose, though still squashed, had distinct dots scattered on it and his fur was crumpled and plentiful.

  In the car on the way home Jill cooed and chuckled over him as he settled himself into the foot well by her legs without a care in the world.

  ‘He is possibly the sweetest puppy in the whole world,’ Alice commented, glancing away from the road for a second. ‘You’re not going to be able to go anywhere without people wanting to stop you and pet him.’

  ‘I know, but I get to have him all to myself for a month before I can take him out for walks,’ Jill replied, obsessively playing with his silky ears. ‘Oh my God, you are such a little bear.’

  ‘What are you going to call him?’

  ‘Bear probably, because that’s how I’ve been referring to him over the past two months.’

  ‘Like when pregnant people call their unborn babies “bean” or “pip”?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Well, Bear certainly suits him,’ said Alice, and Bear stared at her and started hiccupping. ‘Hey, Bear, if you like this car journey, you just wait two months and you’re going to go in a campervan.’

  ‘That’s right!’ said Jill. ‘Bear, we have big plans for you. You’re going to see lots of the world, because Alice and I are having an adventure, and you’re coming too. Are you excited?’

  Bear looked up at her and yawned, before falling asleep against her ankles.

  ‘He’s excited,’ confirmed Jill.

  As July rolled forward, Alice took advantage of the long summer evenings to take her work outside. She loved summer in the city. Yes, the heatwave was prickling and the Tube was uncomfortable, but London was alive with tourists having a great time. Colourful outfits swirled in the streets, office workers made the most of short hours on a Friday, and ice-cream vendors popped up around the capital’s beautiful parks.

  And there was so much going on that she wanted to be a part of – film festivals, photography exhibitions, panel discussions, fundraising evenings – it felt like getting involved was always within reach here, and in such vibrant ways, and she loved it.

  Even more so, she loved the ever-closer extended holiday she and Jill were going to be taking. By the start of August all details were nearly finalised, and they were hanging out at Jill’s big home one late afternoon to choose the accommodation for their last stop in Switzerland.

  ‘I definitely think somewhere in the Bernese Oberland,’ Jill was saying as they got to her back door after taking Bear for his first ‘outdoors’ walk. ‘It would be a nice ending, you know? Especially if they had snow there already.’

  ‘Doesn’t Vanessa live somewhere around there?’ Alice asked.

  Vanessa was a girl she and Jill had met on their gap year, on a South American tour. They’d become close friends on the trip, and had stayed in touch since, but the ten-year gap between seeing each other meant they’d naturally drifted apart somewhat.

  ‘It would be so good to see Vanessa again,’ Jill enthused. ‘Let’s get in touch and find out exactly where she is.’ She entered the house and then laughed, her hands on her hips, while Bear sat down on his tufty, muddy bottom and grinned up at her. ‘Look at the state of you. It’s the middle of a beautiful summer and you found the one puddle of mud in all of London.’

  ‘You can’t even see the white blob on his neck any more,’ Alice said, gingerly moving some of his fur aside. He turned around and dug pin-like teeth into her hand. ‘Ow!’

  ‘Sorry, he’s chewing everything at the moment. He doesn’t mean anything by it. Just don’t roll your sleeves down, he’ll never let go.’

  ‘You’re a menace to society,’ Alice said, booping Bear on the nose.

  ‘There’s only one thing for it, mister, you need a bath. Will you help me bath him?’ Jill pleaded.

  ‘Sure . . . where?’

  ‘In the bath.’

  ‘Oh, in the actual bath?’

  ‘What did you think I meant?’

  ‘I assumed you’d use the hose or something.’

  Jill mock-gasped. ‘He wouldn’t stand for it! Come on.’ She picked up Bear, and he wriggled in her arms to make extra-sure she was covered in mud. ‘Ali, the dog shampoo and conditioner are in the cupboard under the kitchen sink. Don’t look at me like that because I have dog conditioner. Can you grab it plus a couple of those old towels?’

  Upstairs Bear watched with suspicion as they filled the bath a few inches with cool water. He was sure something fishy was going on, but he didn’t want to leave the action, so he paced about the bathroom, sniffing the air.

  ‘All right, you muddy little Bear,’ said Jill, picking him up at cooing at him as she lowered him into the bath.

  When his feet touched the water he stood stock still for a minute, and Jill took the opportunity to dump a splodge of shampoo onto his back. And that’s when all hell broke loose. Four slipping and sliding paws resulted in splashes flying and an instantly soaked dog. Mud splattered on the tiles. The shampoo bottle was knocked off the side and into the bath. Claw marks scraped trails into the porcelain of the tub as he tried to scramble out.

  ‘Oh shit shit shit,’ cried Jill. ‘Alice, turn the shower attachment on, we can’t let him out with all the foam on his back.’

  Alice obeyed but this just freaked out Bear more, and Alice made a snap decision.

  Standing up she whipped off her jeans and climbed in the bathtub in her knickers and T-shirt. Bear scrambled up her like a totem pole, holding on to her for dear life against the evil pool of water below. The claws on his hind legs dug into her bare thighs and she wondered why the hell she hadn’t suggested Jill do this instead of her. Or why she hadn’t just kept her jeans on and put up with the horrid feeling of damp denim against her skin.

  ‘Shhhh,’ she soothed him as she scooped small trickles of water into her hands to remove the suds.

  Jill helped from the other side, gently cleaning his legs and the back of his neck, while he was distracted by licking the water off Alice’s face.

  When he was sud-free Jill lifted him from the bath and he went for a shaking rampage around the house, furiously rubbing his nose against anything and everything to dry it. Jill helped Alice out of the bath.

  ‘Thanks for that,’ she said. ‘Nice pants, by the way.’

  ‘Slightly regretting my life decisions right now,’ replied Alice, inspecting her arms and legs, now covered in tiny scratches.

  Jill laughed and held the towel out in the air for Bear to rocket face-first into as he sped back into the bathroom. ‘You’re going to make a brilliant dog mum one day.’

  Chapter 5

  A couple of days later it was Jill’s turn to come up to Alice’s flat in Islington, leaving Bear at home under the care of her brother, Sam.

  ‘Thanks for coming with me today,’ Alice said as the two of them got ready to head out to the concert in Brookwick Park that would start in the early afternoon. ‘I’m really looking forward to this. Shame the other three couldn’t make it, though.’

  ‘Let’s do something as a group next week. But maybe something indoors, I’m not sure how much more I can stand of this heat!’

  It was 37 degrees Celsius and the capital city was airless. Hot tarmac could be felt through sandals and even when people tried to stand apart there was an uncomfortable closeness in the air. Skin was permanently sticky, brows consistently furrowed against the sun, heads aching and noses pinked. Even the jokes about how British it was to complain about the weather being too nice had long since gone, burnt away like the blades of yellowed grass in the city’s parks.

  Alice finished layering on the factor fifty sun lotion and handed it to Jill. ‘You want to borrow a hat to wear?’

&nb
sp; ‘Yeah, I think I’d better, if that’s okay. It won’t really go with my outfit, but that’s probably not the most important thing.’

  ‘They’ll let us take in water bottles, right?’

  ‘I’m sure they will, in this heat. Or at minimum they’ll be giving them away.’

  ‘I know I am such a summer girl, but right now I would happily stick my head in a pile of snow,’ said Alice, slicking on her signature lipstick and then putting it in her cross-body bag. ‘Are we nearly good to go?’

  Jill faced her and nodded, smiling at her friend. ‘I can’t wait to push your face into the snow on our trip.’

  Alice laughed a happy laugh. ‘But first, we dance!’

  ‘But first we dance,’ agreed Jill.

  The concert was a much bigger operation than Alice had expected. Thousands of people swarmed over the parched grass of Brookwick Park, closing around the stage with its looming, black sound system and video screens. Food vans sizzled and spat hot smoke towards the queues of people, and enormous crates of bottled water stood unmanned, a last-minute free-for-all thanks to the organisers. Alice and Jill’s own water bottles had not been allowed in, so they’d gulped them down before entering, their throats already dry.

  But the atmosphere was electric, the pre-concert music thumping joyously out of the speakers and through the soil so you could feel it in your heart. Attendees fanned themselves and picked their hair off the back of their necks, but with smiles and excitement on their faces.

  ‘Shall we head towards the stage now so we’re as close as possible to the front?’ Alice said, shouting to be heard.

  Jill nodded and gave her a thumbs up. ‘Let’s just get a bottle of water first.’

  Alice was so, so pleased she’d come to the concert. This was the most stirring event she’d probably ever been to, and she knew she’d remember it for a long time. It didn’t matter that her make-up had run, or that her shoulders were probably tinting a little pinker than they should be in the unshaded sun. Right now, all that mattered was that she felt so lucky to be in one of the world’s greatest cities watching some of the world’s greatest artists, and she felt inspired.