Walking hand in hand with Ben around Cannes Marina admiring the boats, Jodie felt ridiculously happy. Ever since he’d finished his book, life with Ben had been good and this weekend down on the Riviera had been magical. How could she ever have thought she’d made a mistake in marrying Ben?
‘How about we buy a boat to live on rather than a house?’ Ben said now as they stopped in front of a yacht with a for sale notice attached to the chain stretched across its gangplank. ‘We could travel the world. Go wherever and whenever we felt like it.’
Jodie shook her head. ‘I’m the world’s worst sailor, I’m afraid. I prefer terra firma. Travelling does sound fun, though.’
‘A camper van then,’ Ben said as they walked on.
‘Maybe but I think we need a house first. Somewhere to put down roots.’
‘Tomorrow we’ll start house-hunting seriously,’ Ben said. ‘Do you like the thought of staying up in the country or would you prefer to move down here?’
Jodie didn’t have to think twice. ‘I love where we are. And you won’t want to move too far from Annette, will you? Although she does have lots of friends – and Thierry,’ she added, watching Ben’s face darken as she mentioned Thierry’s name.
‘Least said about that man the better,’ Ben said.
‘That’s a bit OTT,’ Jodie said. ‘He’s a perfectly respectable man and your mum likes him a lot.’ Remembering the conversation with Annette she said, ‘You should be pleased she has a friend like him. She must have been lonely after your dad died.’
Ben sighed. ‘I know. But it just seems too convenient. Dad dies and, within a year, Thierry moves back. Why didn’t he return when his wife died a few years ago? Why the sudden need to find his roots again?’
‘Maybe because he’s getting older, or maybe it wasn’t the right time then to return. What did he do down in Toulouse?’
Ben shrugged. ‘Not sure. Something to do with aviation, I think. It’s a big centre down there for technology and planes.’
‘Anyway, your mum likes him a lot. She wants everyone to be friends,’ Jodie said, choosing her words with care.
‘Being friends is fine. It’s what he might do next that worries me. Mum can be pretty naive.’
Jodie smothered a laugh. ‘Annette is so not naive. She’s one of the most savvy people I’ve ever met. Besides, naive or not, if it’s a mistake for her to be friends with Thierry, it’s her mistake to make – not yours. Personally, I don’t believe it is a mistake. If she were my mum I’d be happy for her.’
She fingered the pendant chain around her neck. ‘For years I wanted my mum to meet someone, to have someone special in her life other than me. We’ve got each other now to spend the rest of our lives with. Why would you want to condemn Annette to living a lonely existence for the rest of her life?’
Ben had the grace to look ashamed and squeezed her hand before saying, ‘You’re right. I’m being selfish. Thierry and Papa were best friends from school so he can’t be all bad if Papa liked him at one time.’ He hesitated. ‘I can’t tell you why they fell out but I suppose, as it was so long ago, it’s best forgotten. I promise to be nicer to Thierry next time I see him. Now, I think we’d better start to make our way home before the autoroute gets clogged with afternoon traffic.’
Two hours later, as they approached the turnoff for the village, Ben said, ‘Are you coming to Mum’s with me to collect Tess? Or do you want me to drop you home first?’
‘Can you drop me at The Taste of the Countryside, please? I need a couple of things for supper. I’ll walk up afterwards.’
‘Sure. Invite Nicola and Gilles up for supper one night next week?’
Nicola, talking to a tall, fair-haired man as she packed his purchases in a bag, called out ‘Bonjour’ as Jodie pushed the door open.
Not wanting to interrupt, she took a basket and began to place the few things she wanted in it. Local apple juice, honey and a bottle of tomato sauce for the spaghetti Bolognese she intended to make for supper later.
As she approached the counter to pay, the man was asking Nicola the way to a village up in the higher mountains and scribbling down the directions as she gave them to him.
‘I thought my French was pretty good,’ he said. ‘But nobody around here seems to understand me.’ He laughed. ‘My Aussie twang must confuse them.’
‘You need a sat nav,’ Jodie said.
‘Sure do. The hire car was supposed to have one but…’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Still, it’s not like the Outback here – plenty of people to ask. Hope I can pick up the road to Calais and the tunnel easier, though, when I make tracks for London next week.’
‘It’ll be better once you’re back on the bigger roads,’ Nicola said. ‘Mind you, it’s a long drive up to the Eurotunnel.’ She handed him back his credit card.
‘Yeah, it would have been quicker to go direct to London but I couldn’t come to Europe and not check up on my old mate and his new French wife.’ He picked up his box of goods and moved towards the door. Jodie quickly went and opened it for him.
‘Merci beaucoup,’ he said. ‘There, you understood that, didn’t you? G’day to you both.’
Jodie closed the door behind him. ‘Do you get many Australians up here?’
‘A few. Hope he finds his friend’s place before dark. He said he didn’t like our narrow roads and there’s a real horseshoe pass on the way to their village.’
‘I’m sure he’ll be fine. He looked like a competent sort of guy,’ Jodie said, placing her basket on the counter. ‘Would you and Gilles like to come for supper one evening? Preferably next week and definitely before Ben gets too involved in his next book.’
‘That would be great. I’ll check with Gilles which evening and let you know.’