The Vineyard in Alsace

by Julie Stock

  ‘And now Didier has retreated back to the château with Chlöe. He took her to and from nursery himself today, which is understandable because he’s trying to ease the burden for Sylvie, but it’s still bound to make her feel guilty. I’m worried she’s in pain after her accident too.’

  ‘Why don’t you go and see her? I’m sure she’d appreciate it.’

  ‘I might do that. I just don’t want anyone to think I’m interfering. Anyway, the other thing is that before all this happened with Isabelle, Didier asked me to move in with him. But now I don’t know if he still wants me to after all.’

  ‘What was your reply going to be before Isabelle intervened?’

  ‘I hadn’t made up my mind. I love this little cottage and as much as I love Didier, I’m worried it’s all too soon after Paul, especially after the way I reacted yesterday. Do you know what I mean or am I just being silly?’

  ‘Listen, if this is how you feel, it’s never stupid. Moving in with someone is a big decision and you have to trust each other to do it. I’m still worried I’m doing the right thing by moving in with Henri.’

  ‘I’m sure you and Henri will be fine. At least you only have each other to think about. Maybe Didier and I just need more time. In my heart, I know I trust him but everything feels so fragile still. He needs to deal with his divorce, and to settle down with Chlöe if the courts decide to give him full custody. Then when everything is calmer, we could talk again about moving in together.’

  ‘Hmm. Well you’ll need to talk to him about it in a few days. What about Lottie? What’s she doing now?’

  ‘That’s another thing I need to speak to Sylvie about - whether she has found a job for Lottie. She needs to have something to do once the harvest is finished or she really will have to go home.’

  ‘How’s it going with her and the winemaker? What did you say his name was again?’

  ‘Thierry. She’s out with him now. She’s not said much about it, just that she likes him. Anyway, have you got a date yet for coming over? I’m desperate to see you now.’

  ‘I have got a date, yes.’ She paused dramatically.

  ‘When is it?’

  ‘I’m going to come on Sunday!’

  ‘Brilliant! I can’t wait. Does Henri know?’

  ‘No. I’ve only just confirmed it finally with the landlord today but I’m pretty much packed up. I’m just going to take Saturday to do last minute bits and set off early on Sunday.’

  ‘I am so pleased you’ll be here at last.’

  We rang off shortly after that. I gathered my coat and keys while I was still motivated to do so, and left the cottage to go and see Sylvie.

  I pulled my coat tight around me as I walked along the path to the village. The nights were still quite light but it was definitely getting colder. I approached Sylvie’s house from the front, not wanting to frighten her by suddenly appearing in the back garden. I knocked lightly and waited for her to answer.

  ‘Sylvie, c’est moi, Fran.’

  ‘Oh, Fran, I’ll meet you in the garden.’

  I walked to the back garden, entering through the gate. Sylvie was waiting just inside the doors. She still had her neck brace on and from the stiff way she was holding herself, she didn’t look back to normal as yet. She let me in and we exchanged kisses gently.

  ‘Would you like a drink?’ she asked. ‘I have a bottle of wine open if you’d like a glass.’

  ‘Yes please but let me get it. You go and sit down.’ I brought two glasses and the bottle in and sat down opposite her.

  ‘It’s lovely to see you,’ she said. I poured her a small glass until she gestured to me to stop, and then a larger one for myself. ‘I was worried when you didn’t come back last night. Didier didn’t really explain why Isabelle had come back again either.’ She looked pointedly at me but I didn’t take the bait.

  ‘I’m fine,’ I replied, trying not to give anything away. ‘I was just tired out after everything that had happened with Isabelle. Seeing her again was a shock to us all but she just wanted to check up on Chlöe.’ I consoled myself with the fact that I was telling the truth about most of that at least. ‘I was worried about you, though,’ I continued. ‘It’s been a tough couple of days for us all. So how are you feeling? Are you in pain?’

  ‘I do feel better. I probably ought to leave the brace off tomorrow, just to see how I get on.’

  ‘You’d have to be extra careful but if you feel strong enough to try it, that has to be good.’ I took a sip of my wine and relaxed a little, hoping we could move away from the topic of Isabelle now.

  ‘I am very sad about everything that has happened. I can’t believe Isabelle would just plan to take Chlöe like that. And now I’m worried Didier is blaming himself for it all. I don’t like that one little bit.’

  ‘We don’t know for sure that Isabelle was trying to take Chlöe, to be fair. It’s possible that she just wanted to be involved in her care.’ I said it gently, trying not to take sides. ‘Didier’s just trying to make it up to Chlöe now. He’s not upset with you.’

  ‘I know but I hate it when he shuts himself away. He did it when his father died as well, and when he split up with Isabelle originally. There have been other times too.’

  ‘Like when I left, you mean?’ She nodded, looking pained. ‘He needs to sort things out for himself in his own time,’ I went on, ‘but he’ll come back round.’

  ‘You’re right,’ she said with a sigh.

  ‘Changing the subject, I wondered if you had managed to ask around about a job for my sister before all this happened?’

  ‘I did ask but no-one had anything. Something will turn up but you might have to be patient for a while longer.’

  ‘Thank you for trying.’

  ‘Will she go home to your parents’ house if nothing else comes up?’

  ‘Yes, she’ll have to.’

  ‘Would you miss her if she went?’

  ‘Oh, definitely. It’s been lovely having her here with me and it’s been good for both of us too.’

  ‘And Thierry would definitely miss her. She’s been good therapy for him after what happened before.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right, Sylvie, although I don’t know what happened to Thierry before. I’m not sure whether Lottie does yet either.’

  ‘If Thierry hasn’t said anything, that’s because he isn’t ready. It was a terrible tragedy, Fran, and it’s not my place to talk about it. I’m sorry.’

  ‘No, don’t be. I didn’t mean to make you feel awkward but I think Lottie should know everything if there’s going to be a future for them together. Maybe he has told her now and she just hasn’t had the chance to tell me.’

  ‘Anyway, we’ve talked about your sister but what about you? How’s everything going with you and Didier?’

  I took a deep breath before answering. I definitely didn’t want to reveal my trust issues of the previous day but I would have to say something in reply to her question. ‘Didier asked me to move into the château with him.’

  ‘And what was your reply?’

  ‘I said I needed some time to think about it.’

  I was uncomfortable discussing this with Sylvie when I hadn’t had the chance to talk to Didier about it again.

  ‘I see,’ she said but I wasn’t sure she did. It was all still very complicated in my own mind, let alone hers.

  Didier

  After dropping Chlöe off at the nursery the next morning, I went to the office to call Alain and fill him in on what had happened. He listened carefully as I explained the situation and then came straight to the point.

  ‘Have you had any thoughts about where you want to go from here?’

  ‘I still want to push for full custody, but I do want Isabelle to see Chlöe as regularly as she wants to. I don’t want to fight with her any more and I hope she feels the same way, although I do want you to emphasise that Fran is not to blame for our marriage falling apart.’

  ‘Yes, of course. I’ll send them a reminder b
y email today and ask for quick processing if possible.’

  I rang off and made my way to the vineyard, thoughts swirling round my head. With any luck, my divorce would come through fairly quickly, with all my assets from before my marriage intact, and I would have Chlöe with me most of the time. And Fran’s name shouldn’t even come up again. I half hoped Fran would come down and see us later in the day but she didn’t appear. I wanted to talk to her about moving in as we hadn’t had the chance to talk about it since I’d first mentioned it to her. She hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about the idea and I was plagued with doubts about her commitment to me all over again. Seeing her on the brink of leaving me again the other day had only increased my fears.

  Before falling asleep that night, I decided to ask my mum to pick Chlöe up for me the next day if she was feeling up to it. Perhaps if we shared responsibility for the rest of the week, I would begin to feel more relaxed about releasing control again, as well.

  After dropping Chlöe at school in the morning, I was back in time for breakfast at the courtyard. My mum was busy serving but she glanced at me as I approached.

  ‘Bonjour, Maman,’ I said gently, as I came and stood beside her to help. She only nodded in reply and I knew then I had upset her. ‘I hope I didn’t upset you yesterday. I was worried about how you were feeling but I was still spooked after what happened with Isabelle too. That was nothing to do with you. I just wanted to be in control of things myself.’

  ‘I understand,’ she said, her rigid frame relaxing a little.

  ‘How are you feeling now? I guess you feel better now you’ve taken the brace off?’

  ‘A bit better, yes, but I’m trying not to overdo it.’

  ‘Mum, if you’re sure you’re feeling better, I wanted to ask you if you would pick Chlöe up today for me, please. I thought perhaps we could share taking and collecting her this week, just until things settle down again.’

  I waited patiently for her reply, knowing she’d say yes because she loved Chlöe so much.

  ‘All right. Do you want me to take her home with me or bring her here?’

  ‘Would you bring her here, please? Maybe I could make you dinner for a change?’ That merited a smile.

  ‘That would be lovely, thank you.’ She reached out and patted my hand, and I knew we were all right again. Now all I had to do was speak to Fran.

  I caught sight of Fran as everyone walked across the courtyard to go back down to the vineyard after break. I didn’t call out to her, not wanting to draw too much attention to us. Instead, I weaved my way in and out of the pickers, saying hellos as I went and smiling to encourage them to let me pass.

  ‘Hey,’ I said as I finally came up alongside her, puffing from the effort of getting through the crowd.

  ‘Hello.’ She gave me a tentative smile.

  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t see much of you yesterday. I wanted to give my mum a break until she felt better and to reassure Chlöe that everything was okay.’ I pushed my hand through my hair.

  ‘I understand,’ she said, slipping her hand into mine. ‘I appreciated how you were feeling after what happened…and I don’t think I helped by the way I reacted.’

  ‘I didn’t mean to shut you out. I do have a bit of a habit of doing that. I’m sorry.’ I gave her hand a squeeze.

  ‘Have you sorted things out with your mum?’

  ‘I think so. I’ve asked her to collect Chlöe this afternoon and then come round for dinner. I wondered if you’d like to join us.’

  ‘That would be lovely.’

  ‘I know we still need to talk about everything,’ I said after a slight pause. ‘But I don’t want you to feel under any pressure.’ I wished I could have stayed and spent the night with her when she was having doubts.

  ‘We need to be on our own to have that conversation. Let’s not talk about it tonight.’

  ‘Is everything okay between us now though? No more thoughts of leaving?’

  She was biting her lip. I tugged gently on her hand to get her to stop walking and look at me. I reached out and touched her cheek, trying to reassure her but only reminding myself how much I’d missed touching her these past few days. Her breath caught, and all of a sudden I wished we were somewhere far more private. I dropped my hand and looked down at my feet, forgetting the question I’d just asked her.

  ‘No, honestly, I’m fine,’ she said, bringing me back to what we’d been talking about.

  ‘Will you stay with me tonight?’ I whispered in her ear. My voice sounded husky even to my own ears and I imagined my desire for her written all over my face. Her throat bobbed.

  ‘Didier…’

  I pulled her to me, needing to feel her body against mine. She nodded and I pulled away from her to kiss her lightly on the lips. I didn’t trust myself with anything more. I let her go but we stood staring at each other for a few minutes longer, both of us overwhelmed by our need for each other. For my part, I wanted with all my heart to take her home with me right now and to show her just how much I loved her. As it was, I had work to deal with. Our passion would have to wait until later.

  Fran

  Didier gave me one last rueful smile and walked away, leaving me feeling like my body was on fire and in no doubt of how he felt about me. How was I supposed to get through the rest of the day? I craved his touch and his look. Surely it would make sense to move in together, despite my need for independence pushing me to stay in the cottage? Deep down, I was just afraid to take the final step of giving myself to him completely.

  I wasn’t ready to go down to the vineyard so I turned round to go back to the office to check on the post and any messages. I’d forgotten it would be so cold within the brick walls of the office and I shivered as I opened the door. I flicked the switch on the manual heater, turning the dial as high as it would go.

  I put the pile of post on my desk and switched on my computer, intending to check my emails. There weren’t many new ones, thank goodness, but there was one from the builder to say they would like to start work on the Visitors’ Centre the next Monday, if we were in agreement. They estimated it would take twelve weeks to complete the centre. They also suggested that a smaller team get started on the château at the same time, if we had the funds. I was going to have a lot to talk to Didier about at lunchtime.

  I started sorting through the post, which was made up of bills for the most part, then I noticed a large brown A4 envelope with the name of Isabelle’s solicitors stamped on it. I turned it over in my hands, aware of its importance. I didn’t really think I should wait till lunchtime to tell Didier about this one.

  ‘There’s a letter in the post today from Isabelle’s lawyers. It looks official.’ Once the text was sent, I continued sorting through the remaining post.

  Didier burst through the door a few minutes later, making me gasp.

  ‘God, you must have run at real speed to get here that quickly!’ He couldn’t reply because he was so puffed out. I passed him the envelope and studied his face while he opened it and examined the contents. He got to the end of both sheets of paper and went back to the beginning to read it more carefully.

  ‘What does it say?’ I asked, when I could stand the suspense no longer.

  ‘It’s Isabelle’s reply following my request for a divorce and custody. She will not be pursuing any of my assets, after all. She agrees to a divorce, citing irreconcilable differences between us, with the blame only being between ourselves. She also accepts my suggestion that Chlöe should live with me, as long as she has “reasonable” visitation rights.’ He looked up at me, his handsome face etched with concern.

  ‘That sounds like it’s fair, doesn’t it?’ I asked, unsure as to why he still seemed so worried.

  ‘It would seem so at first glance. What I’d like is to talk to Alain, just to make sure she really is agreeing to everything I’ve requested.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘If it is really is true then I’m very happy about it all - especially the divorce and the custody, of course.’

/>   He came towards me and pulled me up from my chair and into his arms for a kiss. He touched my lips lightly and then the kiss deepened.

  ‘Now we are free to be together.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Didier

  Waking up next to Fran’s beautiful, lithe body stretched out in my bed was the best feeling. I reached out to touch her soft skin, and memories of the wonderful night we’d spent together came flooding back. Before I knew it, my body was heating up in all the right places but there was no time to explore those feelings now. I jumped in the shower instead, to help me cool off.

  By the time I went downstairs, Chlöe and Fran were chatting away as normal, as though everything was…well, normal. We would both have to be sensitive in the way we explained things to Chlöe but she already knew we cared for each other, and so this was the next step. I gave them both a hug and a kiss, noticing Chlöe was already dressed and eating her breakfast.

  ‘Papa, can Fran take me to nursery today?’ Her little face was absolutely serious, while Fran was wide-eyed at the precious gift she was being given.

  ‘Of course, if you’d like that.’ Fran would look after her as if she were her own and she needed to know I trusted her. I kept the smile pasted to my face, despite my inner turmoil. Fran mouthed ‘thank you’ at me and gave me a warm smile.

  They set off not long afterwards, leaving me alone in the house to ponder a few things. Fran had told me honestly the previous evening that she wanted to be with me, but she was also frightened of taking the leap and moving in with me. The incident with Isabelle had also unsettled her, even though I’d reassured her there was nothing between the two of us any more. I didn’t know what else I could do to convince Fran how much I wanted to take that next step with her and that it was the right thing for both of us.

  I pulled on my coat, scarf and hat and left the house for the office to try and get some work done there before everyone arrived for breakfast. I switched on the heater, followed by my computer and then the coffee machine. Finally, I prepared an email for Alain, explaining that I wanted him to move ahead with the divorce, and seeking his advice about how to approach the issue of custody. As Isabelle moved around so much, it wouldn’t be easy to come up with a regular arrangement that would suit us all.