Seek the barman's help.

The bartender took notice when Arakaya suddenly perked up and showed a keen interest in the other guy’s phone call. “What is it?” he whispered to her while trying to make as little sound as possible so that she could listen in.

“Hilde Swanson is my friend. I think he might be talking about her,” Harry told him. She desperately wanted to know if it was her but their conversation had moved on and she wasn’t mentioned again.

“Want me to ask him for you?” the server kindly offered, “I mean you don’t speak any English after all.”

Arakaya nodded earnestly as the arrogant stranger hung up his call and came back to the bar.

“Another Jonny Blue Label and don’t make it so weak this time,” he said imperiously.

The barman started to comply before pausing to ask, “hey so you know Hilde Swanson? I heard you talking and was just wondering.”

The man looked like a toad had just climbed out of a pond and started talking to him. “Yeah. Not that she’d know the likes of you.”

He **** himself to bite his tongue at the pleading look from Arakaya and tried again, “it’s just you said something about her dad and I was wondering if you knew where she was staying in town.”

“No, I certainly wouldn’t tell you. Now, are you getting me that drink or not!”

Well, he’d tried. “Ooooh looks like we just closed. I can’t serve you, sorry!” Yeah, sorry, not sorry.

“What! While you stood around talking like a lazy piece of crap! That is unacceptable. I demand to speak to your manager.”

“Sure. By all means. You see that door over there,” he said from behind the bar, pointing to a ‘No Public Access’ door across the corridor from the Bar’s entrance. “Just go through there and follow it all the way to the end. My manager’s office is the last door on the right. You can’t miss it.”

“I hope you like having no job tomorrow!” he puffed and stormed off.

Arakaya was instantly distressed at the thought of this kind stranger losing his job over her. “You won’t get in trouble over me?”

The cheeky Aussie just laughed. “No way. That’s a restricted area of the airport. Airport security will catch him and turn him over to the cops. He’ll be lucky to not spend a night in jail.”

Arakaya felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She also admired the way he had dealt with the person's rudeness so efficiently.

Following on he told her, “just give me a minute and I’ll lock up.”

Arakaya stood around while he went back out behind the bar and started to turn the lights off inside. When it was almost entirely dark, he came back and lead her to the front doors while he locked after setting an alarm. Standing there as it armed, he held out his hand for her.

“I’m Max by the way. Max Lloyd.”

“Arakaya Yesskermesova,” she said shaking hands.

“Arrraaaaah?” Max said trying to follow the quick string of syllables Arakaya had just put out.

“Call me Harry,” she said. It made her feel so smart and sophisticated to tell him to call her by that. Like she was a real part of America now.

“Harry. I like it, much easier,” he smiled. It was a cute smile too she thought.

Max helped Arakaya to carry her bags as he led her to an employee car park area of the airport. Max had a tiny little hatchback of a car that looked like it was twenty years old and barely big enough to fit her bags inside, let alone the two of them. It was cold and it took ages for the heater in the car to start working. The engine idling as Arakaya first told Max about her trip to America and then Max about why he was in the states.

Max was on a gap year before university in Australia. Originally from Melbourne. He’d grown up in the Australian Alpine and loved winder sports. While it might be summer and nearing 35 plus degrees in Australia, Max loved the cold and there was nothing better than snow in his eyes. That and beautiful women from Eastern Europe!

When it was halfway warm, Max drove the two of them away from the airport at last and Arakaya get her first true look at Aspen. It was beautiful. The warm orange lights of the town nestled at the foot of the mountains. Harry’s heart sored! How she longed to be upon those hills gliding her way down the runs. If only she could find Hilde and then everything would be alright.

Max was staying in the old worker’s housing units at the Aspen Chalets. It looked like an old run-down motel from the sixties. Built back when the ski fields hadn’t been a place for rich trust fund kids on holidays and the town hadn’t been overrun with wealth.

Lifting her bags from the rear of the car, Max had to shoulder bump the door to get it to open. Inside it was nearly as cold as it had been outside.

“Every damn day with the heaters!” he cursed to himself. His landlord and employer would go into the workers' rooms and turn off the heating when they weren’t around to save money on electricity costs. That and about a hundred different ways in which to cut costs and wring as much money out of his staff as he could. Greedy bastard.

“Sorry. It will start to warm up soon. I promise. Just put your bags down anywhere,” Max said as he fiddled with the controls on the thermostat.

Arakaya rubbed her arms to stay warm as she looked around the small room. There was an old square box of a TV, a counter with a kettle and some cups on it, a double bed and a single armchair. The walls were a faded shade of beige that looked like all life had long ago drained out of it. At the back was a single door that Arakaya guessed lead to the bathroom and shower. All up it would probably be a very nice apartment. In Russia!

Arakaya didn’t know what to do so she sat herself down on the armchair. She wasn’t alarmed or anything, so far Max had been nothing but the very nicest to her, but she became aware that she was alone in a room on the other side of the world where no one knew where she was, with a near-complete stranger and only the one single bed.

{Author's note: Newest chapter based on everyone's ideas. Your probably getting sick of me saying it but it's all based on where you guys want things to go. I just need 4/5 suggestions in the comments and I will go from there. I'm actually having so much fun with this.

One big thank you to Thrakaboo too for the Ko-fi so generously donated to me. It helped lift my spirits out of a bad mood and given me so much motivation to write today. Thank you!

Dacia xoxo}