Rosie's Little Café on the Riviera

by Jennifer Bohnet

  ‘You’ll sort something out,’ Rosie said. ‘And I’ll help. Starting now. Come on, let’s go talk to Isabella and then you can get off to Monaco.’

  She whistled for Lucky and both Isabella and the dog ran up the beach towards them.

  ‘Isabella, darling, I have to go and talk to Mummy. You stay with Rosie until I return, OK?’

  ‘Does that mean I’m not going home tonight?’

  ‘You’re staying with me for a couple of weeks,’ Seb said. ‘We’ll talk about it when I get back.’

  ‘OK. Can I have a swing before you go?’

  ‘Sure.’ And Seb picked her up and swung her round and round before hugging her tightly and gently setting her back down and dropping a kiss on her head.

  ‘I’ll see you both in a bit. Thanks, Rosie.’ Before she realised his intention he’d kissed her, too. Not on the head. On the lips. Briefly but still on the lips. What the hell did he mean by that?

  With Lucky-dog to play with, Isabella was happy on the beach for a while when Seb left, before running up to Rosie.

  ‘I think Lucky-dog is hungry.’

  Rosie glanced at her watch. ‘Well, it is time for her meal.’

  ‘Can I feed her?’

  ‘Of course. Let’s go up to the restaurant and find her some food. How about you? Are you hungry, too?’

  Isabella nodded.

  Back in the café Isabella happily filled Lucky-dog’s bowl with meat and biscuits while Rosie rifled through the fridge in search of something quick a six-year-old girl might eat.

  ‘You like pancakes?’

  ‘I can eat lots and lots of pancakes,’ Isabella assured her. ‘At least five – ‘specially if they’ve got maple syrup on them,’ she added, looking at Rosie hopefully. ‘Daddy makes good pancakes – Mummy doesn’t, though.’

  ‘Pancakes it is then,’ Rosie said, taking eggs and milk out of the fridge. ‘Are you going to help me toss them?’

  Isabella giggled. ‘I’m not very good at catching them when they come down. And once, once, I tossed one right onto the light!’

  ‘We’ll have to be extra careful today then – no way can I reach the light in here,’ Rosie said, looking up at the kitchen ceiling.

  An hour later, when she and Isabella had lost count of the number of pancakes they’d both tossed and eaten and the maple syrup bottle was disturbingly empty, Rosie said, ‘Right. I think it’s time you showed me your room in Daddy’s apartment and we got you into bed.’

  Isabella insisted on holding Lucky’s lead in one hand and Rosie’s hand in the other as they walked the short distance from the café to the hotel’s kitchen entrance. Rosie, having vetoed using the main entrance for fear of bumping into Terry, just hoped no one would see them taking the short-cut through the kitchen with the dog.

  ‘Quickly,’ she said. ‘Into the lift before anybody sees Lucky.’

  Once upstairs in Seb’s apartment, Isabella ran into her room while Rosie opened the French doors and let Lucky out onto the terrace.

  Isabella reappeared in her nightdress clutching a book. ‘Daddy always reads me a story,’ she said. ‘Sometimes two.’

  ‘We’ll start with one,’ Rosie said, taking the book. ‘Cleaned your teeth? Hop into bed then.’

  Settling down on the edge of the bed, Rosie opened the book, but before she could begin to read Isabella said quietly, ‘Mummy’s going away, isn’t she? That’s why Daddy’s gone to see her now. To say goodbye. Will she be coming back?’

  Rosie shrugged helplessly. ‘Oh, Isabella, I’m sure she’ll be back – that is, if she really is going away.’

  ‘I know she’s going away,’ Isabella said

  ‘Did she tell you that?’

  Isabella shook her head. ‘No. But I heard her talking on the phone. And yesterday she kissed me goodbye when Daddy picked me up – she never does that.’ Isabella’s tear-filled blue eyes stared at Rosie, begging for reassurance.

  ‘Oh, Isabella, darling,’ Rosie said, giving the little girl a hug. ‘Daddy will be back soon. Perhaps he’ll be able to tell you more. I know one thing for sure – actually I know two things. One – he’s not going anywhere and will always be here for you, and two – he’ll be so pleased to have you stay with him. He loves you to bits.’

  ‘But won’t I get in the way? Mummy is always saying Daddy’s too busy with the hotel to bother with me more than twice a month.’

  Rosie took a deep breath. Honestly, what was Zoe thinking telling lies like that to Isabella? ‘No, you definitely won’t be in the way. Now, which story would you like?’

  ‘The first one, please,’ and Isabella snuggled down under the sheets as Rosie began to read. It wasn’t long before her eyelids were closing and she was asleep. Carefully Rosie stood up and tucked her in before gently placing a kiss on her forehead.

  It was nearly eleven o’clock before Seb returned to find Rosie asleep on one of the loungers on the terrace, Lucky curled at her feet.

  ‘Hey, I’m so sorry,’ he said, sitting on an adjacent lounger and handing her a glass of rosé as she sat up.

  ‘How’d it go?’ Rosie asked sleepily. ‘Did you kill her and toss the body into the harbour?’

  ‘It was touch and go but no, Zoe is still alive and off to Indonesia in the morning for six months. To find herself, would you believe?’

  ‘Isabella knows she’s going away,’ Rosie said quietly. ‘She also thinks you find her a nuisance and that’s why she only sees you twice a month.’

  ‘Zoe told her that?’

  Rosie nodded.

  ‘Merde. She’s a lying bitch.’

  Rosie sipped her drink. ‘So Isabella lives with you for the next six months and then Zoe reappears and whisks her back to Monaco?’

  ‘No,’ Seb said, throwing some of his wine down his throat. ‘I told Zoe she’ll have a fight on her hands when she comes back. I’m not going to just hand Isabella back. As far as I’m concerned my daughter stays with me from now on.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Monday morning, after dropping Cammie off at school and making a grovelling apology for being late to her teacher, Erica went straight to The Cupboard Under the Stairs. The shop was empty as she pushed the door open and GeeGee looked up from her laptop as Erica walked in.

  ‘Hope you’ve got the coffee on. Amelia sent you cake,’ Erica said, her voice trailing away. ‘God, you look terrible. Something happened while I’ve been away?’

  ‘Just Jay – and I’ve been busy,’ GeeGee said. ‘I’ll fill you in with all the details later. Cake sounds wonderful. How was the weekend?’

  ‘It had its moments but on the whole it was good,’ Erica said, walking over to the coffee machine. ‘Cammie had a great time.’ She poured two cups before turning back to GeeGee.

  ‘So what’s Jay done now?’

  ‘Only taken over the agency.’

  ‘What? He’s back permanently?’

  GeeGee nodded. Before she could say any more the shop door opened and three women walked in.

  ‘Bonjour,’ Erica called out, before adding quietly to GeeGee,‘We need to talk. I could do with some advice, too. Shall we have ice creams on the beach later? Cammie’s going to Madeleine’s for tea. A little treat to cheer ourselves up. We can talk then.’

  ‘Sounds good. I’ve got another house for you to look at, too,’ GeeGee said. ‘I’ll print the details out and bring them with me.’ GeeGee closed her laptop down and picked up her bag. ‘Which means going into the agency. I’ll see you later.’

  Erica was the first to arrive at the Café Fleur later that afternoon and ordered two large bowls of ice cream with Chantilly cream and all the extras for when GeeGee arrived. ‘The bigger the better,’ she said.

  Rosie laughed as she took the order. ‘You two celebrating or drowning your sorrows about something?’

  ‘We’re going to have a girly couple of hours and indulge our inner child with a treat. GeeGee has had some bad news and I
’ve…’ Erica shrugged. ‘Well, I’ve got a difficult family decision to make.’

  ‘Join the club,’ Rosie said.

  ‘Come and join us if you’ve got time,’ Erica said. ‘We can brainstorm each other’s problems.’

  ‘Might do that for five minutes, if it’s not too busy. Thanks. Here’s GeeGee, so I’ll get on with the ice creams,’ Rosie said.

  ‘Why are you grinning inanely?’ Erica said as Gee Gee joined her. ‘What’s happened now? Please don’t tell me it involves Jay.’

  ‘It does sort of but only in the way it will piss him off mightily when I tell him,’ GeeGee said. ‘Here, these are the villa details for you,’ she said, handing over a brochure. ‘What d’you think?’

  Erica sighed and put the brochure down on the table without looking at it. ‘Honestly? I’m not sure I’m doing the right thing any more.’

  ‘You’ve changed your mind about selling the house?’

  ‘No. The problem is more what to do when it’s sold. Where to live.’

  ‘Ah… Amelia put the pressure on over the weekend?’

  Erica nodded. ‘Very subtly, but something Cammie said on the way home has also made me think. She had a lovely time playing with her cousins and wishes we lived nearer them.’

  Worriedly Erica ran her hand through her hair. ‘Maybe I am being selfish staying down here? Maybe I should be thinking of moving closer to family for Cammie’s sake.’

  ‘Write a list of the pros and then do the same for the cons,’ GeeGee said. ‘And then work out which are the important ones. The things that really matter to you. That will help you decide.’

  ‘I need to think about what Pascal would want me to do, too,’ Erica said.

  ‘And then you have to do what is best for you – he’s no longer here,’ GeeGee said gently. ‘Oh, these look divine,’ she said as Rosie came over carrying two huge dishes of ice cream.’

  ‘You not joining us then?’ Erica said.

  ‘Sorry – simply not got the time. Enjoy!’ Rosie said as she placed one in front of each of them.

  For several minutes they were both silent as they ate spoonfuls of delicious ice cream.

  ‘This was a good idea of yours,’ GeeGee said.

  ‘Are you going to spill the beans over what’s made you so happy since this morning?’ Erica said.

  ‘Seb introduced me to one of his guests who was house hunting recently and I’ve only sold him that villa that has links to the roaring twenties – Scott Fitzgerald and that crowd. You know the one I mean? Along the coast a bit. Been empty for a couple of years but it’s been totally renovated in the last six months.’

  Erica nodded. ‘I know the one.’ She could see why GeeGee was so happy – her commission would be mega.

  ‘It means I can tell Jay where to stick his agency desk at the end of summer – maybe even earlier,’ GeeGee said, scooping the last of the chocolate sauce out of her dish. ‘I can’t wait. And, there’s more!’ She put her spoon down in the dish with a satisfied sigh. ‘I’m going to up my internet presence, expand into holiday management and do more airport runs.’

  ‘Wow. That’s brilliant news,’ Erica said. ‘I think we need a glass of Prosecco while you fill me in on all the details. I’ll go and order a bottle.’

  Walking over to the restaurant, Erica wished a large commission could sort out her moral dilemma. When she got home she’d do as GeeGee suggested and write a list of pros and cons. Coast or country? If nothing else, it might help to sort things out in her mind.

  Rosie carried the Prosecco and its ice bucket back to the table and glanced at GeeGee. ‘Congratulations are in order, I gather?’

  ‘It’s all a bit hush-hush at the moment but I’m about to earn the biggest commission of my life,’ GeeGee said, accepting a glass. ‘I owe Seb big time for introducing me to the client.’

  Rosie paused as she poured a second glass and handed it to Erica. ‘Is the buyer staying at the hotel then?’ she asked.

  ‘Like I said, it’s all a bit hush-hush until the papers are signed, so I’d better not answer that question directly, but you could be right.’ GeeGee gave an exaggerated smile at Rosie and raised her glass. ‘Cheers.’

  ‘Cheers,’ Rosie said. ‘Is it near here? The villa?’

  ‘Just along the coast a kilometre or two, near Cannes,’ GeeGee said. ‘Handy for the film festival.’

  Rosie felt her heart sink. Any hope that Terry would change his mind and return to America died with GeeGee’s last remark. He had to be the buyer whose proposed house purchase was making GeeGee so happy – and her wretched.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Rosie and Tansy were working in companionable silence in the kitchen – Tansy preparing veg and Rosie making another batch of tiramsu.

  ‘It’s your birthday on Friday. Got anything planned?’

  Rosie shook her head. ‘No. To be honest I’d forgotten about it, I’ve been so busy.’ And irritated with the Terry business. Oh, heavens. Terry. He wouldn’t use the occasion to try and embarrass her again into talking to him, would he? Not that he’d remembered her birthday once in the last eighteen years.

  ‘Might share a bottle of champagne with you lot after work on Friday,’ she said. ‘Unless you’re all too busy.’

  ‘Never too busy for champagne,’ Tansy said. ‘Can Rob join us?’

  Rosie nodded. ‘I’ll see if Seb and Isabella can come, too.’ She’d leave inviting him as late as possible, though. She didn’t want to risk him mentioning anything to Tiki.

  ‘Olivia?’ Tansy asked.

  ‘Not sure she’ll be back from Corsica. Think it’ll just be the… seven of us,’ she said, mentally counting. A couple of bottles of champagne and a few nibbles and that would be her thirty-fifth out of the way.

  ‘What about Charlie?’ Tansy said.

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘You inviting him?’

  ‘No,’ Rosie said before Tansy could say any more. She hadn’t heard from Charlie for a couple of weeks and she planned to keep it that way.

  ‘D’you want me to make you a cake?’ Tansy asked.

  Rosie shook her head. ‘No, thanks. I’m not that bothered about cake.’

  Olivia phoned Friday morning to wish her Happy Birthday and to say she was back in Monaco and both she and Zander would be over that evening.

  Rosie hesitated before telling her, ‘Mum, Terry is still around.’

  ‘You’ve invited him?’

  ‘No, of course not, but he keeps pestering me to see him and listen to what he has to say. What if he decides to make a scene tonight? I don’t want you upset or embarrassed.’

  ‘I’m long past being upset by him,’ Olivia said.

  ‘Mum, can we talk privately when you get here?’

  ‘Sure. See you later.’

  The restaurant was busy with lunchtime trade when the first of the bouquets arrived. A glorious mix of carnations and roses with tiny white and pink gypsophila. Rosie’s hands were trembling as she opened the gift-card envelope attached to the cellophane. If this was from Terry it was going straight in the bin.

  ‘Bon Anniversaire. Love Seb and Isabella. xxxxxx’

  Rosie smiled at the row of kisses on the card, pleased she could keep the flowers – they were really too beautiful to throw away.

  GeeGee, coming into the restaurant for a cup of coffee, said, ‘Wow. Wish someone would send me flowers like that. Special occasion?’

  Rosie nodded. ‘Actually, it’s my birthday.’

  ‘Happy Birthday.’

  ‘You busy tonight?’ Rosie said impulsively. ‘I’m having a few drinks here, nothing special. I’d love you to come if you’re free. Erica and Cammie, too – Seb’s Isabella will be here.’

  ‘I’ll be here,’ GeeGee said. ‘And I’ll tell Erica.’

  The second bouquet arrived an hour later. ‘Happy Birthday. Love Mum and Zander.’

  Charlie’s bouquet arrived after lunch
and simply said ‘Happy Birthday’.

  ‘We’re going to run out of vases at this rate,’ Tansy said as Rosie placed two more vases either end of the restaurant bar.

  Rosie primed Tansy to look after Zander that evening while she had a quick word with Olivia. ‘Five – ten – minutes at the most,’ she promised Tansy, grabbing a bottle and two glasses when they arrived. ‘Mum, follow me.’

  ‘What’s this all about then?’ Olivia asked quietly as they perched on the rocks on the shoreline, well away from people. There was no way Rosie wanted their conversation overheard.

  ‘I need to talk to you about Terry. Do you still have any feelings for him? Would you see him if it was you he wanted to see?’ Rosie asked, pouring them both a glass of champagne.

  Olivia was quiet for a moment. ‘No, I wouldn’t see him, and no, I don’t have any real feelings for him now after all this time. I’ve changed and so, I should imagine, has Terry. But we do have a shared past, which includes you, so that can never be forgotten. Although he did forget you for a number of years. Any idea why he wants to talk to you after all this time?’

  Rosie took a deep breath. ‘He’s told Seb he’s ill and wants to put things right between us. And…’ Rosie glanced at Olivia. ‘The blonde bimbo is his daughter.’ Telling Olivia that Saskia was Terry’s daughter was far easier than saying the words ‘she’s my sister’.

  Olivia was silent, watching the bubbles in her glass before looking at Rosie.

  ‘Seb sure about the dramatic “I’m ill” bit? It’s not just one of Terry’s ulterior-motive ruses to get you to see him? Seeing him is not going to put anything right – you can’t undo wrongs; you can only apologise for them and hope the apology is accepted. Do you want to see him? Accept his apology if that is what he offers?’

  Rosie shrugged. ‘Not really, but Seb thinks I should for my own peace of mind later.’

  ‘Seb could have a point. Depends on how good you are at putting these things out of your mind,’ Olivia said. ‘If you feel guilty, too, about the way things are between you and Terry, then maybe you should. To give you closure – not him. You might also find you like having a sister.’