The Promise of Provence (Love in Provence Book 1)

by Patricia Sands

  “Well, the feeling sad part is awfully big of you,” said Katherine. “I just say thank goodness that’s over with.”

  “Holy Mary, Mother of God, you are so flippin’ right, and I’m relieved it wasn’t some weird, smarmy dude.”

  “Right. Yeah, me too. It was pretty scary there for a while.”

  “I have to go to the police station tomorrow to fill out some more papers. They are going to lay charges.”

  Both sat quietly for a moment. Molly shook her head, saying, “How do these things happen to seemingly normal people? It boggles my mind.”

  “It’s a crazy world these days,” Kat agreed. “I’ll go to your place after work and help you clean up. Don’t go by yourself.”

  “Thanks, Kat.”

  She got up and gave Katherine a warm hug.

  “No problem. Oh, it’s time for Downton Abbey. Let’s go watch.”

  “Good idea. Time for a change of pace.”

  32

  The following week Katherine was in Dr. Henderson’s office reviewing some new reports with him when he rose and shut the door.

  Looking up in surprise, she was unable to recall the last time that door had been closed.

  “Is everything all right?”

  He shook his head as he sat back down, and a look of sadness crossed his face. “I’m afraid not, my dear. The government has announced we are not going to receive our usual funding this year, and our offices will be absorbed into the hospital’s pain research department. The economy is taking its toll on health services, as you know.”

  Katherine was stunned.

  “This is terrible. What will happen to all the work we’re doing? All your research?”

  “Our work will simply move into the hands of the research department. You know how closely we’ve worked with them over the years and how much everything we’ve done is valued.”

  “Yes,” Katherine agreed, “they’ve always been clear about that.”

  “They’re not happy about losing us, not to mention adding a huge increase to their workload.”

  Katherine’s voice was filled with concern as she asked about the job situation, wondering if they all would be redundant.

  He took a deep breath before answering. “Well, that’s why I wanted to speak to you before I tell everyone on staff about this. There will be a few positions some of us can move into. However, I’ve decided it’s time for me to retire.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely! You know I’ve considered it from time to time.”

  Katherine nodded. The subject had come up a few times.

  “But I love my work here and just never felt ready to walk away from it,” he added. “This is the perfect opportunity, and it feels right.”

  Katherine sighed, looking down at her tightly clenched hands.

  “Dr. Landman, the chair of the hospital department, has already asked if you would be willing to work with them. They’re hopeful you will say yes.”

  Looking up, Katherine shrugged. “This is all so sudden. I don’t know what to think. What about the rest of the staff?”

  Dr. Henderson stood and slowly paced behind his desk. “Katherine, the position would be a good one, but I have a suggestion for you. This has been a difficult year for you. I think you should take some time off and go on that home exchange.”

  Katherine’s jaw dropped. “Pardon?”

  “It’s none of my business, but . . . actually, it was Susan’s idea.”

  Katherine smiled. Susan was his wife and one of the most upbeat and energizing people she knew. Confined to a wheelchair and living with MS for as long as Katherine had known her, she had always been very fond of Katherine, and the feeling was mutual.

  Susan spent one day a month in the office reviewing the small accounting issues their office generated, and over the years the two women had developed a warm rapport.

  “I had told her about the exchange and even suggested we might do it, under the circumstances, knowing I would not be working anymore.”

  “Well, why don’t you? That’s a marvelous idea!”

  “It’s a more marvelous idea for you! We couldn’t go away from our grandchildren for that long a period. As soon as I mentioned that, Susan realized I was right.” He laughed. “Besides, as she so astutely pointed out, there undoubtedly would be narrow, steep stairs involved, although we hadn’t actually looked at the listing.”

  “Stairs and cobblestones,” Katherine confirmed. “I know how Susan feels about cobblestones after your last trip!”

  The Hendersons had never ceased to be intrepid travelers, often including their grown children and spouses in their travels. Katherine admired their sense of adventure, strong family connection, and the many trips they had taken renting houses in Spain, France, Italy, Costa Rica, and other exotic locations. Throwing a wheelchair into the mix had not slowed them down for a moment.

  “So what do you say, Katherine? You have done nothing but rave about France since your return, and the positive effects of that trip on your psyche have been obvious to all of us. This is the perfect opportunity, and what a coincidence all of this is.”

  Katherine looked off out the window. Everything was happening so fast. The thought of the office closing jolted her. The routine that had governed her life for so long was being seriously dismantled.

  It had been one thing when her personal life had shattered, and now her professional one was going to transform. Her whole life appeared to be unraveling. But was that necessarily a bad thing? That thought seemed to be working its way into her head.

  Dr. Henderson’s voice broke through her distracted thoughts. “Obviously you don’t have to make a decision this moment about the job, so think about your options. I’ll receive the official letter in a few days and then will break it to the rest of the staff. I’m only telling you now so you can answer the exchange inquiry if you want to.”

  Then he added with a broad smile, “Susan insisted.”

  Done.

  Katherine hit “Send,” exhaled loudly, and pushed her chair back from her desk. She had gone directly from Dr. Henderson’s office to her computer.

  Thank goodness it’s the end of the afternoon. My concentration is shot.

  Her response to the Browns was on its way. She was going to do it.

  That’s if someone else has not already accepted the offer, she thought with a bit of paranoia.

  As she drove home, Dr. Henderson’s suggestion was the only thing on her mind. Katherine phoned Andrea and Terrence immediately to ask their opinions. She knew by the time she walked in the front door of her house that she was going to go if the offer was still good. It was no surprise to her when they fully supported her feelings.

  “Do it, Kat. Take a chance and step outside your comfort zone again,” Andrea encouraged.

  “Go for it!” Terrence agreed.

  “Oh my gosh!” Andrea exclaimed. “You’ll still be there when we do our exchange! We’ll come to visit you!”

  The thought added to Katherine’s already growing excitement.

  For some reason Molly was not answering her phone or texts. Katherine sent her an e-mail and then went to the kitchen to make some dinner.

  It had been a cool, rainy day, so Katherine decided soup was in order and began clearing out the fridge. Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and celery were quickly chopped and tossed into onions and garlic lightly sautéing in butter. After adding chicken broth and herbes de provence, her attention drifted.

  Three months in the South of France. The French Riviera. La Côte d’Azur. The words tumbled around her mind. In nine months, my life has changed in ways I would never have imagined. I thought the end of my marriage was the door slamming on my life, but instead it turns out to have opened the door of opportunity.

  Looking out at the garden, she thought of her parents and the hours they had lovingly spent there. She considered where they had come from, what they had experienced, and how they had changed direction with their lives, nev
er looking back.

  Why can’t I? There’s absolutely nothing keeping me here. Andrea and Terrence and their family will always be mine no matter where any of us live. Molly’s friendship will always be there. My colleagues at work will move on in different directions. Lucy and I will probably stay connected, and e-mail allows that so easily now—and that’s it. There’s just nothing to lose by leaving for three months.

  When she considered the empowering experience she had in Provence for just two weeks, she was certain much more lay before her.

  Giving the soup a stir, she turned it down to simmer and returned to her thoughts.

  I’ll join a cycling club. I’ll have to really get in shape for those hills! I’ll go hiking. I’ll take French lessons—and maybe even a cooking course.

  Now her pulse was racing with excitement.

  I’ll have to budget, but I know my savings can cover this without a problem. I just have to make sure I have a good cushion when I get back until I find another job.

  She tried Molly’s phone again and felt a little uneasy that she wasn’t hearing back. They had come to rely on each other, and to Katherine’s surprise, Molly was extremely dependable about responding. Katherine realized she was Molly’s only family, apart from her absent brother. She felt badly now that they had not been closer when she was married.

  James had always been clear, right from their early days together, that he considered most people to be duplicitous and untrustworthy. Obviously he didn’t have a problem getting close to what’s-her-name.

  He had come from a large family and was completely estranged from all of them since before Katherine met him. In spite of her urging in the early days, he refused to speak about it.

  He always said it was so wonderful to have Kat because he could believe in her, confide in her, and never be let down.

  Huh! Was I an idiot or what? And guess what, I never did let him down.

  Her thoughts went back to their anniversary and all that had occurred in those horrific days. The pain was still there, but it was far less acute.

  Taking the pot off the element, she plugged in her food processor. She had decided to make a cream soup today, but it would have to cool for a while before she could purée.

  Still with no response from Molly, Katherine decided she must be singing somewhere unexpectedly, since that was really the only time Molly couldn’t find a minute to text a few words.

  She checked her e-mail, hoping somehow there might be a reply from the Browns, even though she was well aware it was the middle of the night in England. She would simply have to be patient until morning.

  33

  Katherine was out of bed well before her alarm. The suspense had kept her in a state of fitful sleep, with a single thought repeating: Don’t let me be too late.

  The reply from the Browns was sitting in her inbox. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clicked on it.

  They had been thrilled to receive her message. It was a go.

  Now they included more detailed information with regard to their daughter and her husband and asked if their son-in-law could come over to see the house. Katherine was only too happy to agree and wrote that she would call him.

  Andrea e-mailed to see if the exchange was on and, if so, suggested Kat ask the lawn-mowing company to add garden maintenance to their contract with her for the time she was away.

  “That way there’s no pressure on the exchange people to do it. It might not be something that interests them. I know you and I would be out there weeding anyway, but not everyone is that crazy. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else.”

  Getting dressed, Katherine was already thinking about being back in France when her cell rang.

  “Hey.” It was Molly.

  “Hey back. Are you all right?”

  “Yup, just got home too late last night to call. I was asked to help judge a music competition at the Royal Conservatory when one of the judges suddenly took ill. We actually had to turn in our cell phones. Hilarious or what?”

  “Had you planned to attend?”

  “I went in the afternoon to support a couple of my students.”

  “With no break?”

  “I’m telling you, it was like a frickin’ closed meeting of the United Nations Security Council or whatever! They brought food in. We were escorted to the washroom. No talking. No cell phone.”

  “What was that all about?”

  “Well, these kids were competing for big scholarships and prestige, so they didn’t want any results slipping out or any collusion. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “They must have been talented.”

  “Awesomely! It was a pleasure to judge them, and you know how music feeds my soul. This was haute cuisine at its frickin’ finest! But never mind! What’s with you and all your messages? Are you okay?”

  “Um . . . yeah, I’m okay,” Katherine began in a restrained voice, before bursting with excitement. “Oh my God, I can hardly stand it, Molly! I’m going to take that three-month exchange in France, and I’ll be leaving in just over a month! Can you believe it?”

  “Wha-a-at the . . . ? Start at the beginning, please.”

  Katherine filled her in on the conversation at work and her subsequent decision. Molly’s excited and expletive-laced expressions of support put Katherine into an enormous fit of laughter.

  “Will you come to visit me if I get you a ticket on points?”

  Molly was speechless for a few seconds. “You are such a kickass friend! Are you serious?”

  “I still have tons of points, even after my ticket was booked. It would be so much fun for you to come over.”

  Molly said nothing again.

  “Are you crying?” asked Katherine.

  Molly squeaked out a weak-voiced reply. “I was the shittiest travel companion ever when we went to Chicago. Are you sure you want to risk it again?”

  “This is France, Moll. You can’t not love it. I’ll risk it!”

  Katherine had to plead and massage the subject to get Molly to agree to accept her generosity, but eventually was successful.

  In the subsequent weeks, everything began to fall into place.

  A veil of sadness slipped over the office when Dr. Henderson made his announcement about the funding cut. They had been a good team for a long time and felt proud of the contributions their work had made toward pain management in the hospital programs. Once the shock began to subside, everyone got busy assessing their future plans. Dr. Henderson was determined to retire and actually began to look forward to it now that the decision had been made.

  Katherine was relieved that the office was going to be open for several weeks after she left so she would avoid the final inevitable closing-up. They decided to have a farewell dinner before she left, and that would be difficult enough.

  Lucy was frantically studying everyone’s chart in the hopes of finding encouraging signs about the future. When Katherine announced her plans, Lucy went silent. On the way to yoga that evening, Kat summoned the courage to ask if everything was okay.

  “Oh, there’s really no problem. It’s just that sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the accuracy of my readings, and it frightens me. I knew you were going to be going away again and for a long time, but I didn’t want to say anything, and besides that, I couldn’t imagine what it would be. I was doing some further exploring to make sure I was right.”

  “So what else do you know, my clairvoyant friend? Do I have to wait much longer to find out?”

  “Not much. But I’m not quite finished. Tell me, is everything good in Molly’s life?”

  “For sure! Now that the perpetrator has been caught,” Katherine told her. “Why do you ask?”

  Lucy reluctantly said, “I’m seeing something in her chart that concerns me. The numbers aren’t working. Maybe it’s just a holdover from what she went through, but somehow I don’t think so. You know me, though—I’m afraid to say anything like that. Don’t tell her yet. I’ll work on it some more and talk to he
r.”

  34

  One month to go. Thirty-one days.

  July began hot and muggy, and Katherine fantasized about the Mediterranean breezes that would cool her in Antibes.

  The Browns e-mailed photos of their house, and their son-in-law also offered details, having visited there twice. When he came to see her house, he brought a map and more photos and was able to answer every question she posed.

  “You won’t believe the location. The house is in one of the oldest parts of the old town, built on what they call the Ramparts. There is just a road between you and the Med and a beautiful little beach. You are going to love it!”

  The property was even better than she had first understood, although perhaps not everyone would agree. A three-hundred-year-old maison de ville, or townhouse, meant relatively small rooms and narrow stairs—and to Katherine that meant charm.

  The ocean view she assumed would no doubt mean hanging your head out a window and craning your neck to see a sliver of blue in the distance. It turned out to be a window on each level that overlooked the sea and a rooftop terrace with a full view across to Cap d’Antibes. Could she get any luckier?

  The Browns asked if Katherine’s garage was useable, as they intended to rent a car. After discussing the situation with Andrea and Terrence, Katherine decided to include her car with the exchange even though the Browns did not have a vehicle in Antibes.

  The truth was, they explained, that you really didn’t need one in Antibes. The daily market was literally one minute away, as were the old-town shops and restaurants. The train station was a ten-minute walk, and you could travel anywhere along the coast, including Italy. No car was needed unless you wished to explore the countryside, and then a car-rental office was up the street.

  Katherine faced a sudden bout of mixed emotions. As excited as she was about her exchange, she was feeling stressed about her office closing. It had been such an integral part of her life for so long. Feelings of great sadness engulfed her for a few days.