Page 55 of Love In Provence
‘So, tomorrow is your first night?’ she asks.
‘It could be our only night if no one comes,’ I say.
‘They will come,’ she says confidently.
Thebrocantecourtyard is beautiful. I take some pictures on my phone.
‘Get it across social media,’ says Carine.
‘Let me help.’ Jen takes my phone. Her thumbs work fast for a few moments. Then she hands it back to me. ‘There!’
‘Wow! That was quick!’
‘I wish! Young people are so much better at it, with nimbler fingers than mine. I’m a dinosaur, a slow one trying to keep up with the pack.’
I hear a ping and JB takes out his phone. Then there’s another: Carine’s. They both start typing.
‘Shared!’ Carine beams.
‘Done!’ says JB.
A warm sensation fills me. Maybe, just maybe, this will work.
Later, back at the farmhouse, I check my phone. There are lots of likes and comments on thebrocante. We’re ready for tomorrow night, the big event. I go to bed and fall asleep.
Damn! I missed a call from Fabien last night. I call him back but it goes straight to voicemail. It’s earlymorning and I know he’s probably not awake yet. He called me late last night. I’ll ring him after the supper club, tell him how it went. I carry on mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, as I wonder about tonight’s event.
And then I see a picture Fabien has posted of him and the band. At first it makes me smile. Then I look closer. The woman, with blonde hair and cowboy boots, short skirt and tight white T-shirt, has her arm firmly around Fabien’s waist and is leaning in to him. She must be Monique.
My hackles rise. I have no idea why. She’s just an old friend. But she’s there with him, when I want him to be here with me. I know that if I carry on like this, I’ll drive him away.
Outside, by the barn, Samuel is waiting with two others.
‘Is it okay?’ he asks tentatively.
‘Of course! We need all the help we can get, what with our supper club starting at thebrocantethis evening.’
They smile and I show them where to leave their bags, then the outdoor kitchen. I take them to the shed for secateurs and show them how to cut.
I spend the next couple of hours out on the field, cutting and gathering lavender. As the sun rises high in the sky, I call time on the picking. And as we go from the field to our showers, it can mean only one thing. It’s time to get ready for tonight’s supper club.
Jen and Maria are back from the market. They’ve been shopping and handing out leaflets for the supper club with lavender biscuits that Stephanie has made. Stephanie takes leaflets with her on her morning rounds and Keith has joined her to help – with little Louis more than anything.
Jen has made a Facebook page for Henri’s pop-up restaurant and there are lots of likes and comments. ‘We met so many people who wanted to talk about the food,’ Jen says excitedly, when she and Maria get back from town. ‘And they loved the biscuits! I must tell Stephanie.’
‘I have to let Marco know I’m back,’ says Maria, and heads towards the accommodation barn.
‘He said he was coming to town to find you,’ I tell her. ‘Just as I went to meet the bakery van. Said he wasn’t up for working in the field today. I presumed he was coming to help you. Didn’t you see him?’
She frowns. Then, her excitement seeping away, she stares at her phone. We watch and say nothing.
She reaches out a hand. Rhi and I move forward to catch her arms as she wavers and guide her to sit on one of the chairs on the terrace. Jen grabs a glass, fills it with water and puts it in front of her. I think we all know what’s coming.
‘He’s gone.’ She lets out a long sigh and drops her hands with her phone into her lap.
We suck in our breath.
‘We had a row last night that was still going on this morning. He wanted to move on. I wanted to stay for the supper club. He said he’d go anyway. I didn’t believe him. I didn’t think he’d really go without me. But he has.’
