THE ALPS
“You look like you’re about to fall
asleep,” said Gaston, “It’s late.”
Jack started a little. He had been
dropping off. He felt so comfortable slumped in this big dusty old armchair in
front of the fire in Gaston’s little farm house. “I am.”
The room was fairly big, though
nothing compared to the monster space Jack had become quickly accustomed to in San
Francisco. It was a kitchen, dining room and lounge all in one, most of the
space dominated by an eight seater table in the centre of the room whose
surface flowed like a calm river with gentle bumps and troughs. The only light
was from the flames in the hearth. They made Gaston look younger than he was.
“It must be the beer,” said Gaston.
There were half a dozen empty half size beer bottles next to each of them. “And
the altitude; the change in air.”
“The altitude?”
“Oui. It happens to visitors every
time. This high up in the mountains the air and
pressure are different. You will probably feel drowsy for days. And that
isn’t to mention the change in time zones.”
Jack stretched long, pushing his legs
out straight in front of him and linking his hands high above his head. He
groaned. “I am sleepy.”
“Perhaps you should go to bed? We can
talk more in the morning.”
Jack started to reply but his words
became a broad yawn so he nodded, covering his mouth with his palm.
“I’ll show you to your room. You’re
upstairs in the attic space. I hope that is okay.”
“That’s fine.” There were only two
floors.
Gaston led him to the narrow corridor
that went off the room. The first door concealed a steep set of steps climbing
into darkness. Gaston surprised him by flicking a light switch. It was so
rustic out here in the mountains Jack had started to imagine they were in a
different time.
“Before I show you your bed,” said Gaston
with a grin and a flash of his eyes, “are you sure you want to risk going to
sleep in a house with a man so obsessed with murder? It is always possible that
I could come and slit your throat while your eyes are shut.”
Jack smiled gently back. “Maybe you
should be the one who’s worrying. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
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