A French Affair

by Jennifer Bohnet

  Belinda was in the office with Alain, both of them intent on some papers spread out over the desk as Fern opened the door and walked in.

  ‘Hi, you two. Am I interrupting a busy morning? Anouk virtually threw me out of the house this morning for a walk,’ Fern said, looking at her friend and noting the puffy eyes and tiredness etched on her face. ‘Can I drag you away for a walk down to the river?’ She saw Belinda hesitate and look at Alain.

  ‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ Alain said. ‘You can grab a croissant from the shop too, since you didn’t ’ave any breakfast. This can wait until later,’ he added, looking at Belinda and gesturing at the plan.

  ‘You sure? Thanks,’ Belinda said. ‘Come on BB,’ and she clipped his lead onto his collar.

  Fern waited outside the shop with the two dogs while Belinda bought a couple of almond slices and together they ambled down through the campsite towards the river.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Fern asked quietly. ‘You don’t look too good, if I’m honest.’

  ‘Didn’t sleep very well last night,’ Belinda admitted. ‘Did Anouk tell you what she told me?’

  ‘Just the barest outline of your dad being married before he met your mum.’

  ‘Did she also mention my father is still alive and living back in our old family home with his wife – the one he was legally married to while supposedly married to my mum,’ Belinda said bitterly before sighing and biting her bottom lip. Fern realised she was struggling to find her next words. ‘The fact that he is dying is another “something” that has added to my angst.’ She was silent for a few seconds. ‘Do I go and see him or not?’ Belinda turned to Fern. ‘Alain has offered to take me but…’ She wiped tears off her cheeks. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘Will you regret it if you don’t go and see him?’ Fern asked.

  ‘There’s already a long list of regrets in my head concerning him. Adding one more to the pile won’t make a difference.’

  ‘Possibly not, but the fact that this particular chance will never be there again once he’s dead is inescapable,’ Fern said.

  ‘But I can’t even be sure that he’ll want to see me,’ Belinda muttered.

  They walked along in silence for a few moments until they reached the gate in the hedge. Belinda pushed it open and they went through and stood on the river path for a minute until they both turned and sat on the nearby wooden bench.

  Fern glanced at the paper bag in Belinda’s hand. ‘Might be a good idea if we ate those almond slices before you mangle them completely.’

  Belinda glanced down at the bag. ‘I’m not very hungry,’ she said, holding the bag out to Fern.

  ‘You need to keep your sugar levels up, especially as you didn’t eat breakfast according to Alain,’ Fern insisted, opening the bag and waiting until Belinda had given in and scooped out a few pieces of broken cake.

  ‘The thing is, I’m so angry with him for not being honest with Mum and me that I’m scared I’ll lose it when I see him. The other things is, I’m not sure I’m brave enough to go the cottage when “she” is there – the last person on this earth that I want to meet.’

  ‘I can understand that might be difficult.’ Fern nodded thoughtfully. ‘Oh, Belinda, I honestly don’t know what to suggest as it’s a decision you’ll have to live with for the rest of your life and it’s one only you can make.’

  ‘It’s so hard to know what to do for the best.’ Belinda sighed. ‘And Chloe is coming for a visit soon. I have to tell her about her unknown grandfather.’

  ‘Why don’t you give yourself a twenty-four hour respite before you decide how to handle things?’ Fern said. ‘I know you won’t be able to stop thinking about it totally and it will still be churning away in your subconscious.’ She hesitated. ‘But, you never know, the decision may simply make itself apparent. I know I’ve agonised over problems in the past, but the moment I stopped giving them my full attention, consigned them to my subconscious, the solution came to me. I’m sorry if that sounds all a bit airy-fairy, but sometimes it can happen like that.’

  ‘It does a bit,’ Belinda said, giving her a watery smile. ‘Certainly worth a try though.’

  ‘Just remember, whatever you decide has to be the right decision for you. Nobody else. I’m always ready to listen, but I can’t make the decision, okay?’

  Belinda nodded. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Now, in an effort to take your mind off things for five minutes, do you want to tell me more about the kind of cakes and food you’re thinking of for the café?’

  Belinda turned to Fern delighted. ‘You’re going to do it? Brilliant news.’

  ‘Hang on. I haven’t agreed yet, despite Anouk telling me I need to do it.’ Fern smiled.

  ‘Come on. I’ve got the keys to the café in my pocket. I’ll show you round. You won’t need to cook up here because your kitchen in the auberge is fully up to standard, but I want to tell you about the kind of set-up we hope to create.’

  Belinda glanced at her friend. ‘And I’m hoping too that you’ll do more than provide some of the food.’

  Fern looked at her, eyebrows raised.

  ‘I’ll explain more in a moment,’ Belinda said.

  36

  After Fern had left to walk back to the auberge, Belinda returned to the office.

  ‘Good you’re back,’ Alain said, pushing some papers into a briefcase that Belinda had never seen him use before. ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go out for an urgent meeting. Will you be all right for a couple of hours?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Nigel phoned. Said he’s going to call you after lunch.’

  Puzzled, Belinda looked at him. ‘I had my phone with me. Why didn’t he phone me? I’d better call him back.’

  ‘Non. Wait for him to phone you,’ Alain said, giving her a look she couldn’t interpret. ‘Think he’s a bit busy for a couple of hours. Right, I’m off. Wish me luck.’

  ‘Why do you need luck?’

  ‘I’ll explain when I get ’ome,’ and Alain was gone.

  Belinda gave a little laugh. His words about getting home made it sound as though they were living together. Which they were, of course, but not quite in the way it had sounded.

  The rest of the day trundled on routinely. When Marie arrived to take over reception for a couple of hours, Belinda took her laptop and returned to the cottage. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and she opened the sitting room French doors and went out onto the small terrace. She was sitting out there working yet again on the website when Nigel phoned.

  ‘Hi, Nigel, how’s things? Molly?’

  ‘Molly is much better, thank you. And things, well things here have changed.’

  She heard the troubled note in Nigel’s voice and instinctively responded. ‘Nigel, please tell me you’re not ill now, are you?’

  ‘No, it’s nothing like that, but…’ He sighed. ‘This is a difficult conversation to have on the phone, but the truth is, I’ve accepted an offer for the rest of the business, lock, stock and barrel as they say.’

  Belinda sat in stunned silence. The thing she’d been worried about had happened. Nigel was actually selling the other two hotels.

  ‘You still there?’ Nigel asked. ‘I’m sorry to break it to you over the phone, but it’s happened so quickly, I’m still spinning myself.’

  ‘You never mentioned the possibility of this when I was over,’ Belinda said, dazed, trying to gather her thoughts and work out what Nigel’s news meant for her.

  ‘It hadn’t kicked off then. It was when word got out about Moorside being sold that I started to get enquiries for the other two. Molly and I talked about it and decided that it was too good an offer to refuse and now would be a good time for us to retire to our place in Cannes and enjoy some sunshine.’

  ‘Can’t see you retired somehow,’ Belinda said. ‘I give you six months and you’ll be running a club somewhere on the coast.’

  ‘Don’t think Molly will let me,’ Nigel said. ‘With this health scare of hers, she’s det
ermined we’re going to take things quieter, enjoy life. Now, Belinda,’ and Nigel’s voice changed.

  Belinda tensed, dreading what was coming next.

  ‘The new owners are happy to keep you on as manager for Riverside and for you to live in your apartment until New Year. But in January they intend to review the situation.’

  Belinda suspected there would be a hidden agenda in there. Use her expertise and pick her brains and then, come January in all probability, they’d ‘restructure’ the business and she’d lose her job and her home. Maybe it would be better to leave before she was pushed.

  ‘Can I have time to think about it before agreeing to stay on? Perhaps it’s time for me to have a change too,’ Belinda said. ‘When is the sale due to be completed?’

  ‘End of June. Whatever you decide, I promise Molly and I will see you all right. We’ve already earmarked a healthy bonus for you from the sale proceeds. A reward for all you’ve done over the past few years.’

  ‘That’s so good of you, Nigel, thank you. Have you sold the campsite as well?’

  ‘Still under negotiation, but yes, the idea is to sell that too.’

  Briefly, Belinda wondered how Alain would feel about that. She knew how she felt as Nigel ended the call. Sick at the unexpectedness of it and shattered as yet another problem reared its head in her life. It seemed as if her whole world had started to implode since she’d arrived back in Brittany.

  Belinda was still sitting outside when Alain got home, playing an aimless game of solitaire on the laptop while trying to get her head around the three major problems life had hoisted on her. First, there was the problem of her father. Should she go and see him while she was over here in France? Or would it be too painful for both of them? Second, should she stay, keep her home and work for the new company until the end of the year – or leave? And last, but not least, was Chloe’s imminent move to Vendée. Go with them? Or not?

  She could hear Alain moving around in the kitchen and the oven being slammed before he appeared on the terrace.

  ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘How did your meeting go?’

  ‘Good. Fancy a slice of pizza in about five minutes?’

  ‘Just a small slice. I’m not that hungry,’ Belinda said.

  Alain looked at her. ‘Where do you want to eat, out ’ere or in the kitchen?’

  ‘Here please. I’ll come and get plates and glasses,’ Belinda said.

  Five minutes later, Alain placed the pizza on the table and pushed it towards her. ‘Eat.’

  Belinda picked up the smallest slice she could see and dutifully started to eat. Three mouthfuls in and she realised she was in fact starving and she devoured two more slices while Alain watched her in amusement.

  ‘Nigel phoned,’ Belinda said between mouthfuls. ‘Did he tell you he’s sold the other two hotels and probably this place?’

  Alain nodded.

  ‘Apparently the new owners will keep me on in Riverside until the end of the year, if I want to stay. What about here? Are you going to stay and work for the new owners if this place sells?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  Belinda looked at him. ‘Aren’t you worried about them? Don’t expect them to be as easy-going as Nigel has been over everything here,’ Belinda said darkly. ‘And what about Bernie. You’ll have to warn him. Where will he end up if he has to move?’

  ‘I make sure Bernie will be okay and the village will rally around to ’elp. Don’t worry. Everything will work out,’ Alain said. ‘More pizza?’

  Belinda stared at him, puzzled. How could he be so laid-back about this latest turn of events? What if the new owners insisted on major changes like, heaven forbid, Alain’s dreaded pods being installed. No, she figured, Alain hadn’t yet thought it through properly. It was nothing to do with her, she didn’t even live here, but she felt sick at the thought of the possible changes that the new owners would want to make to the campsite. There were sure to be unforeseen effects spreading out like ripples on the river.

  37

  The next morning, Belinda phoned Chloe and told her about the hotels being sold as well as, probably, the campsite. ‘If I don’t agree to stay on until the end of the year, my job and home will disappear in a few weeks.’

  ‘Oh, Mum. What are you going to do?’

  ‘Right this moment, I have no idea.’ Belinda sighed wearily. ‘I hadn’t planned on changing my job or losing my home this year.’

  ‘If you decide not to stay with the new owners you can come and live here until we move or you could find a new place.’ The hesitation was clear in Chloe’s voice as she added, ‘It would mean you’d be free to come to the Vendée with us without worrying.’

  ‘I might need to take you up on the offer of moving in with you for a few weeks, so thanks for that,’ Belinda said. ‘But as far as the Vendée is concerned, I’m still not sure about moving there permanently, although I might come for a couple of weeks and help you settle in.’ Belinda paused. ‘Chloe? You are still coming to stay with the twins at the campsite, aren’t you?’

  ‘Of course. Looking forward to it. Why, is there a problem?’

  ‘No, not a problem for you as such. It’s just that something important has happened recently here in Brittany.’

  ‘You’re not ill, are you?’ Chloe said.

  ‘No, I’m not ill. It’s just something I need to talk to you about when I see you.’

  ‘Can’t you tell me now?’

  Belinda hesitated. ‘I’d rather wait and tell you face to face. Explain things properly.’

  ‘Okay, if you’re sure,’ Chloe said. ‘I’ll try not to worry about what it is.’

  Belinda immediately began feeling guilty for worrying Chloe. ‘It’s absolutely nothing for you to worry about. It’s… it’s just some family history that has surfaced.’

  Finishing the call with Chloe, Belinda phoned Jane. As usual, Jane was bright and breezy when she answered the phone.

  ‘Hi. How you doing over there with the Serge Gainsbourg lookalike? Can’t wait to meet him.’

  ‘You need to visit fairly soon if that’s going to happen,’ Belinda said flatly, and gave her the news about Nigel selling up and retiring. Jane was suitably horrified for her friend when Belinda gave her the details.

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘The answer to that question is floating in the air somewhere and I have yet to catch it,’ Belinda said. ‘I’ve got a few weeks to sort something out. Anyway, right now I’d better go and do some work. Ring me when you’ve worked some dates out.’

  Working around the campsite for the rest of the day, Belinda struggled to concentrate on the various jobs she’d earmarked to do. By the time she’d finished work for the day though, she’d made one of three important decisions. She’d tell Nigel she’d decided she didn’t want to work with the new owners and would therefore resign. Apart from the fact that working for somebody other than Nigel and Molly in what for her would always be their hotels didn’t appeal, Belinda was starting to think that all her current problems were a sign. A sign that it was time she moved on with her life. The next two decisions would follow on from that one. She’d go home at the end of the month, pack the flat up and move in temporarily with Chloe. If she hadn’t found a new job and a place to live when they moved, she’d go with them for a few weeks and, after that, who knew? The Vendée might be the place for her too, although if she was going to live in France, she realised she’d prefer to live in Brittany. She just had to trust that she’d make the right decision when the time came.

  She was relieved too that Chloe knew she needed to talk to her when she came. As well as talking, she’d give her a guided tour of the places she’d known when growing up. It wasn’t fair to keep Chloe in ignorance about her grandparents; their history was part of hers and she had a right to know.

  Belinda sighed. Life was being a bit of a bitch right now, but at least she was making plans to sort things out. Besides, no one could ever predict what the future might hold, could they
?

  The next few days passed in a blur of work. Belinda and Alain left Marie in charge of the office and concentrated on getting the café and its kitchen ready for the inspectors’ visit. After her initial visit to the café and Belinda’s surprise job offer, Fern had agreed to become the part-time manager of the café as well as supplying cakes and some meals. Most days she joined them for a couple of hours, helping to get the café ready. Alain had put the word out in the village that they were looking for catering staff and Fern joined them when they interviewed the five or six people who applied for jobs.

  One afternoon, Fern arrived to tell them about a delivery for the next day and also to give them a broccoli quiche for supper. ‘It a different recipe – a bit spicier than I usually make it. Need to know what you think.’

  Belinda picked up a crusty baguette and prepared a salad to go with the quiche when she got back to the cottage that afternoon. Placing the meal on the table, she called out ‘À table’ to Alain, who’d gone upstairs to take a shower, just as her mobile rang. Fern. They’d only said goodbye half an hour ago.

  ‘Hi, Fern. Everything all right?’

  ‘I thought I’d let you know, Anouk heard from a friend this afternoon that your father has been moved into the hospice this morning. So, if you do decide to go and say farewell, you wouldn’t have to go to the cottage. You might still come face to face with Helena at the hospice though.’

  Belinda closed her eyes and sighed. The message was clear. Her dad was edging closer to the end. If she was going to see him alive one last time, then she would have to visit soon. She thanked Fern and ended the call as Alain came downstairs and she went into the kitchen for the wine to accompany the meal. She poured two glasses and handed one to Alain.

  ‘My father has been moved into the hospice.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Did you mean what you said about taking me? If you did, I think I’d like to go the day after tomorrow if possible.’