Page 35 of A Winter in Wonderland
‘OK.’ Alexander sat back, so slowly it was like he was doing tai chi.
‘Right.’ I shuffled forward and looked down to where he’d dug.
‘It just keeps slipping further down,’ he explained.
Digging my bare fingers into the snow, I pinched them around as carefully as I could, while Anna and Alexander snogged above my head. Eventually I gripped something small and hard, and pulled out my arm like I was King Arthur himself, holding the snow-covered ring high.
‘Oh, it’sbeautiful!’ Anna exclaimed, holding her hand out to me. I shuffled on my knees to face her and started to place the ring on her outstretched finger when Alexander cleared his throat.
‘Oh, um, maybe I could do that?’
‘Gosh, sorry,’ I said, scrambling up and handing him the ring, regaining my place as official photographer instead.
And returning to the serene silence, with the lilac light glinting off the snow, I snapped away as Alexander placed the ring on his bride-to-be’s finger, and they kissed, and hugged, and squealed, and then all of us quickly put our gloves back on.
That was pretty special. Not a bad first day of work.
I was feeling good. Today was a good day because:
1. I made it through day one on the job without losing anyone, losing myself, breaking anything, or ruining anybody’s holiday.
2. I spent the whole day in Lapland and managed to avoid all hints of Christmas.
3. Oh, other than my brief encounter with an elf first thing.
4. And the fact Anna and Alexander asked my opinion on which engagement photo they should have printed into two hundred Christmas-slash-announcement cards for all their friends and family.
5. Two hundred, though??? If I did that, I’d have about one hundred and eighty-four cards left over.
6. We found the ring! Thank GOD.
7. I also made it through the day without dwelling on past Christmases too much, which is a good sign of things to come, I think.
Back in my room, I sat on Esteri’s bed wrapped in a towel, having just treated myself to a sauna in our secret sauna, and a hot shower to boot, and I was now inspecting my feet for blisters but they seemed to be OK.
I checked the calendar on my phone. Roughly five and a bit weeks to Christmas. I wonder if I could speak to Daan and ask to be put on snowshoe tours all the time. I mean, I was basically a pro now I’d done it once. Though … I only had one tour to give today, and judging by the fact everyone else was still out, the staff lodge seeming almostdeserted, I think most days I might be much busier. But think of the thigh muscles I’d go home with at the end of January! That would show Shay.
Five weeks to Christmas. Could I stay in one piece until then?
