The
*
Raphael paced back and forth on
the platform of the railroad station of
Raphael was unhappy and tried to
hide his nervousness. The train
Z-821/822, expected from Martigny (
To make matters worse, the weather was miserable; the night had been rainy mixed with some snow; the mountain tops had disappeared in the clouds and the temperature was quite low. But all of that did not deter the many tourists who had come for their Easter vacation. Some were muffled up, but others confronted the weather by walking around in short pants.
Raphael got ready to call the
control service as soon as the nose of the red-and-white railcar appeared. At that same moment, the clouds tore open and
a brilliant sun came out. So the
afternoon had started well, after all. A
melody was heard from the public intercom service to introduce an announcement,
followed by a soft feminine voice: “
Raphael rushed up to the train’s conductor to learn about the delay. The reason was that an excessively large crowd at Buet Station had delayed the closing of the train’s doors there.
He felt somebody approaching and
quickly turned around. That was
certainly the one, just like his photo – a tall blond young man with small
glasses, white trousers, and blue polo shirt – very “preppy”! It was Hans, the grandson of Gerhard, whom he
had almost forgotten a moment ago. He
had arrived from
They left the station. Raphael had quickly changed. Now he was dressed in sports clothes. This made him appear less intimidating and also he would not risk being stopped by some travelers.
The terraces of the cafes had
filled up and the
Hans, who grew up in the flat
region of
They stepped into the entrance
hall. Clémence and Jacques readily
greeted Hans, who was a little shy, and led him to the upper floor. There, a large room with balcony offered a
view on the spectacular “Aiguille du Midi” mountain. One could barely discern the small cabins of
the cable cars that dared to rise up its flank.
On certain days, one had to wait four hours in line, commented Jacques
as he left the room, adding: “We invite you to come down to the living room at
When Raphael and Hans returned to the chalet, they discovered “John” in the entrance hall talking to Jacques. They did not realize how “He” had arrived! Hitch-hiking? This tall, husky, athletic young man with half-long brown hair, dressed in Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt emblazoned “Miami”, with a ravaging smile to let all girls faint, had arrived – directly from the USA – sent by his grandfather George.
A wave of nostalgia rose up in Raphael as he remembered his own grandfather, Antoine, who had passed away too soon. Raphael would so much have loved to reunite these veterans. Jacques, his father, noticed this and urged them all toward the stairs, saying: “let’s get together right away in the living room”.
There would be not a minute to lose, realized the young men. Otherwise “we will not even get dessert”. Certainly, that was a ridiculous thought!
Just as Hans’s room had been all cleaned up, John’s room next door was quickly turned into a mess. But, after all – and after a shower – he realized that he had to move on, since his new friend was already knocking at the balcony door to let him admire the scenery. The mountaintops began to turn pink in the declining light of the day, their peaks sparkling like rubies – and then all faded as the sun as the sun dropped below the horizon.
With the punctuality of a station chief, Raphael came to interrupt their contemplation because his “old man” did not like to wait. The three friends descended the stairs and rushed into the living room, at the same time as Clémence was entering from another door, causing a moment of surprise.
“But you stepped right out of my magazine” she said to John.
“Sorry, ma’am” muttered John, who had not yet mastered the subtleties of the French language. He had worked as a model for various American brands of clothing and had just been hired by a famous French couturier – and now, by having changed his clothing, had completely changed his “look”. Jacques, who had not followed, was left surprised. He asked everyone to sit down in order to serve the champagne.
At this moment, the door opened without a sound. The face of Raphael lit up, and “Isabella”, the “pretty traveler” entered. Hans was struck – this was the hostess at the Tourist Office! – while John did not know how to behave confronted by that much charm.
“Photo” announced Clémence, and, before anyone could react, a flash lit up the room while simultaneously the cork of the champagne bottle escaped Jacque’s hands and sailed across the room.
“To your health!” Champagne glasses were lifted and in an almost religious silence everybody dived with pleasure into the “wine of kings”.
The conversation began. Jacques and Hans each pointed out the merits
of the “Paris, St. Germain” soccer club and the “Bayern” of
The ladies took John aside to discuss the question of clothing, because they hoped to extract some secrets from him concerning the next fashion for winter, but he was not up-to-date on the topic. However, so as not to disappoint them, he suggested some ideas to them, which, by sheer luck, turned out to be correct later on.
Everyone moved to sit down in the grand dining room. Clémence had shown exquisite taste in decoration. Some perfumed candles threw a diffuse glimmer on the flower décor. The lady of the house presided, with John on her right and Hans on her left. Across from her were seated Isabelle, Jacques, and Raphael.
John felt like he was “floating
on a cloud” of happiness. This was his
first trip to
Jacques had brought ou a good
bottle of “Chignin”, a wine from the
The two young men had eyes only for Isabelle – so fine, so racy, and with a “look” to which Raphael had succumbed, which earned him a reproachful glance from the latter.
The dinner came to an end. Now it was time to move to the living room for coffee and to become better acquainted with each other.
Hans was a student of the
arts. He had attended the “School of the
Louvre” and had continued with an internship at the “Rijksmuseum”, in
Right away, he was urged to move to the piano. He delved with virtuosity into “The Preludes” by Chopin and continued with “The Blue Danube” upon general demand.
John talked about his exploits in
sports: rock climbing, surfing,
canyoning, and, as strange as that would appear to be, driving the steam
locomotive of a tourist train, “
The embers were glowing in the fireplace, as if the fire had turned sleepy. “Rak”, the dog, remained stretched out, motionless, at a safe distance since a malicious spark had once shot out and singed his snout. Nobody paid any attention to him. But with the arrival of the tray of coffee, Rak came forth.
“Look here!” said Jacques. “If you want to strike a new friendship, this is the moment”.
As matter of fact, the dog presented himself in front of the two visitors, each of whom held a biscuit in their hand, and seized them delicately.
“Alright” said the old man. “You know that you have important things to accomplish yet. Raphael will be your guide, since he has taken several days of vacation for that. You can ski, climb, take the cable car – but don’t forget the most important task. Now, before going to sleep, we will send the photos taken before dinner by internet to your respective grandfathers!”
Clémence and Isabella had already “taken leave”.
The bell from the church sounded eleven. It was late.
From their balcony, the two young men saw the sparkling lights of the village.
In the distance, they could observe the lights of a train – the last train of the evening.
The moon played hide-and seek with the clouds. The spruce trees stood as motionless guards.
The barking of a dog interrupted the stillness of the valley – then all became silent.
The mountains had disappeared. The night had dissolved them.
* * * * *
(End of the First Part)
5 Septembre 2005
Pierre DECEY,