Page 94 of The Village Cafe in the Loire

Becky laughed. ‘No. Not that she won’t love you of course. But… well, it’s something else.’

Out of the car, the sunlight on their skin, the smell of flowers and foliage in the air from the well-stocked front garden, they made their way to the entrance. Now familiar with the layout,Becky signed them in, then ‘Come on,’ she said, leading Amber to the room where Maud would likely be at this time of day.

And she was. Sitting in her habitual chair, with its garden view. Amber could see the back of Maud’s head, her grey hair pulled into its usual bun. What she didn’t expect to see was a man sitting on a wooden chair, pulled so closely it was almost touching Maud’s cushioned one, holding a sheaf of papers.

‘Oh!’ she said, stopping so abruptly that Amber bumped into her.

‘What is it?’

‘It’s Georges.’

‘The mayor?’

‘Yeah. I mean, I know he visits Maud but…’ She looked over. Something seemed odd in his demeanour. He looked purposeful. Businesslike. He was showing her a document and talking earnestly.

As Becky debated whether to cut and run, Georges turned, saw her – a look of surprise flitting over his face before he quickly replaced it with a wide smile. He stood up. ‘Madame Becky!’ he said warmly.

Maud turned her head a little and saw her too. Becky had no choice but to walk over there. Amber stayed back, uncertain of what to do.

‘Hi,’ Becky said, ignoring Georges’s proffered hand and leaning in instead to hug Maud. The old lady’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. She smelt of lilies; perhaps a new eau de toilette. ‘Just thought I’d pop in on my way back to Vaudrelle.’

There was an awkward silence, none of them quite knowing what to say. In the end, it was Becky who broke it. ‘So, Georges, what’s all this? Are you writing a book or something?’ She’d already seen enough of the layout on the paper to see that it wasa legal document, but feigning ignorance made it easier to ask the question.

‘This?’ Georges flushed slightly and lifted the hand holding the papers as if he’d quite forgotten they were there. ‘Oh, it is nothing.’

Maud looked at him. ‘I don’t think it needs to be a secret, Georges?’

Georges smiled awkwardly. ‘Perhaps not.’

Maud looked at Becky. ‘Georges here would like to buy the café for thecommune,’ she said. ‘He wanted to see what I thought first, before contacting you.’

‘Yes, forgive me.’ Georges made a little bow. ‘I did not realise you were going to come back.’

‘Well, I did. So, I guess that’s your answer!’ Becky looked at the papers pointedly.

‘Oui, I suppose. But I would like to speak to you, in any case.’ He glanced at Maud who nodded.

‘I want you to think carefully. Because it is wonderful that you want to take on Maud’s legacy. My worry is that you are new here. You do not speak very much French. And perhaps you have already come to love Vaudrelle, but you do not know the place. You do not know what people need, maybe.’

‘Pascal has already…’

‘But Pascal is leaving, soon,non? His future is also not in the café.’

‘Well, he’s going to be back. True, he won’t be working there any more, but?—’

‘And so you will be alone, perhaps with your English friend,’ he nodded at Amber. ‘But I worry that this will not work. That you will change your mind again and the village will suffer.’

Maud was looking at Becky. ‘What do you think? I mean, I’m thrilled you want to run the place. But is it truly what you want? Because if it isn’t, this is a chance to… make another choice.’

‘I—’ Becky began.

‘With Maud,’ Georges interrupted, ‘she came to the village and knew nobody. And I am not sure of her level of French.’

‘Awful,’ Maud interjected.

Georges smiled. ‘OK, so she too had the awful French,’ he said. ‘And I think the local people, when she opened the café, were not sure about it. But she since spent so many years here. And now people see her as part of the community. But it took a long time.’

Becky nodded. ‘I understand, but I am hoping that won’t be an issue,’ she said. ‘I’m going to get lessons, work hard. But there’s something else.’ She moved forward and crouched in front of Maud. ‘Maud,’ she said, ‘the reason that I’m here is to ask you a question.’

---