I was at a friend’s chalet. He was a professional chalet chef and was cooking a group of us burgers. We had finally found a group of locals that were our age that we could hang out with. We were all excited for a relaxed evening after a long day of work, skiing and more work. Suddenly I got a call from my boss.
“It’s over” she said. “The ski lifts will be closed indefinitely from tomorrow morning. We have no business and you will all have to leave.” We were gobsmacked. A wave of gratitude washed over me as I thought about how my two co-workers and I made it up to the slopes that day, despite being very hungover. It was the last skiing day of the year, but no one even knew it. No one could have predicted how suddenly the lockdown was imposed, all bars, restaurants and non-essential shops were ordered to be shut by midnight that night by the Italian government. As the evening progressed everyone was receiving more information from their friends and colleagues about what life will be like post-lockdown.
After not much sleep, me and my co-worker (and best friend) returned home to start our breakfast shift. Amy, our boss, was nowhere in sight. It was a very busy and stressful shift, everyone wanted to know if they could check out early to return home before the boarders shut or other similar questions. We were frustrated as we didn’t know the answers.
After an hour of no contact we began to worry, no texts or not responding to calls was unheard of. Her car was parked outside, and her dog was in the apartment, but it was locked. It didn’t make any sense, but we were trying give Amy the benefit of the doubt, keep breakfast running and await contact from her. After almost two hours of serving breakfast and dodging any questions we called our boss’ uncle, Jo, he also lived in our small resort town in Italy. He understood the gravity of the situation immediately and headed over to help us.
Amys’ ex-boyfriend (Mike) was the only person we knew with spare apartment keys – what if my boss had choked on something in the night? The news of the lockdown brought huge business pressures for her, who knows what happened the night before? We had to get in and find her, which meant calling Mike. Amy and Mike had a difficult relationship, with many heated arguments, however we didn’t know what else to do. Mike worked as a lift operator and was halfway up the mountain when we called, luckily (as there were no customers) his services was not necessary, and he was able to leave work instantly.
Another hour has now passed, and something has flipped for Jo; he has decided there is no more time to waste. He raids the tool-box and begins removing the apartment lock by force. In the breakfast lounge we could all smell smoke and hear the heavy machinery. We smile to our customers “we have it all under control, don’t worry.” But this is a lie, we are extremely worried.
Suddenly, the huge black St Bernard appears, and we sigh in relief, Jo has successfully broken into the apartment, it must all be okay. Not true. He pops his head through the door, ghostly white. We follow him to privacy, where he tells us “The apartment is open but there is no sign of Amy. Go and double check.”
We are so sleep deprived and stressed at his stage that all I can picture is her dead body in a cupboard or corner of a room. We comb the apartment. No sign of her or clues to her whereabouts. Finally we decide to open every door in the hostel – a last resort as we didn’t know which rooms were occupied by customers. What do we find in room number three? – a curled-up mess with a grumbling demeanour. Her phone was by her head and out of battery, and she was fully clothed from the night before, right down to her shoes. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’VE PUT US THROUGH?!” We shouted. Just a groan in response as she pulled the covers over her head. “Well thank goodness you are alive…”
She made it downstairs after a few minutes and sorted out the client’s payments and any outstanding questions. Luckily for Amy, we had two dogs playing in the garden that kept the mood light – no one can be too angry around such a delightful scene.
However, not long after the clients were dealt with, who shows up? Her ex that we called down from work. He was not happy to say the least. We’ll leave our boss to explain that one…
For the purpose of anonymity some names and locations have been changed.