Villa of Sun and Secrets

by Jennifer Bohnet

  In the meantime, she needed to go through the packets of photographs she and Carla had looked at briefly a few weeks ago. She wanted them bundled back up ready to return to Carla on her next visit. Better for Carla to be their custodian than her. She pushed away the thought: you could take them round to the villa and give them to her whenever you like.

  Opening one of the packets, she saw the photo of herself and Mario in Le Suquet was still on top of the pile. Maybe she’d keep that one. Frame it and put it in her bedroom. Dream about what might have been. No, she wouldn’t do that. That particular dream had faded away years ago. Josette placed the photo to one side. She would find a frame for it though and simply cherish the happy memories it evoked.

  Josette thumbed through the photos, stopping to look at one of Amelia and Robert standing in front of the villa with Carla between them. It was one she realised she herself had taken on that ill-fated visit for their mother’s funeral. She remembered how Amelia had been acting oddly throughout the three day visit and looking at her with a strange look in her eyes. As they were leaving for the airport, Amelia had grabbed her by the arm and said, ‘I want nothing more to do with you. Stay away from my family from now on.’

  Josette had stared at her. ‘Amelia, whatever’s the matter? What have I done?’

  ‘You know what you’ve done and, as far as I’m concerned, you’re no longer part of my family and I don’t want to see you ever again.’

  With that, Robert had taken her by the arm, given Josette an apologetic look and shrug and told Amelia to get in the taxi with Carla.

  Josette had phoned Robert at work the next day, but he’d been unable to come up with any reason for Amelia’s behaviour.

  ‘I’m really sorry, Josette. I tried to talk to her last night, but she said the matter was closed and she didn’t want to discuss it.’

  ‘Do you think she’s she having a breakdown again? Has the depression returned?’ Josette asked quietly.

  ‘No. She’s just got some bee in her bonnet about you over something that happened in the past and is adamant she wants nothing more to do with you.’

  And all contact with her twin had suddenly and inexplicably stopped from that day. Robert had been coerced into acting as an unhappy go-between for the sisters whenever Villa Mimosa business had to be discussed. Hurt and bewildered by her twin’s rejection, Josette had thrown herself into work, accepting far flung commissions that she’d normally have turned down. Before she’d realised it, she’d turned into this nomadic freelance photographer, with no real roots and unable to settle anywhere for long. Returning to Antibes just over a year ago to finally claim back her heritage and settle down had seemed the right thing to do at the time, but now she wasn’t so sure.

  The fact that Carla was now living in Villa Mimosa had complicated things. In all the years of renting out the villa since she and Amelia had inherited it, she’d avoided going inside – until that day she and Carla had gone in together. Despite the lighter decoration, the new kitchen and the modern bathroom suites, the atmosphere swirling around her, especially upstairs, was a repressive half a century old one she remembered well. And while she longed to see everything Carla had done to the villa, she couldn’t face it. She was afraid the tainted atmosphere in the villa would forever be uppermost in her mind. The fact too that the secret from the past, the one she’d sworn she’d never tell anyone, had taken to continually shouting out in her head, ‘Tell them and shame the devil’, didn’t help her peace of mind.

  ‘Josette, can I come in?’ Gordon called as he knocked the door.

  ‘Sure – it’s open,’ and Josette began to scoop the pictures back into their various packages. She’d hand them over to Carla and if questions were asked about some of the photos later, she’d answer them truthfully.

  ‘This is a surprise,’ she said, looking at Gordon.

  ‘Wondered if you fancied a walk, followed by an aperitif in Billy’s and possibly supper if he’s cooking.’

  ‘Sounds good. Could we walk via the Villa Mimosa?’ Josette asked, coming to a sudden decision. ‘I’d like to drop these photographs off for Carla.’ Having Gordon at her side would make it easier.

  ‘Sure. Any of yours among that lot?’ Gordon said, looking at the packet.

  ‘A couple but nothing you’d find interesting, It’s mainly family.’

  Walking along boulevard Edouard Baudoin, they stopped to watch a couple preparing for a parasail.

  ‘Looks such fun,’ Josette said as the pair took off, rising into the sky behind the boat towing them. ‘Wish that had been here when I was growing up! I’d have loved to have had a go.’ She sighed. ‘Too old now.’

  Five minutes later, they were almost at the entrance to the villa. ‘It feels so weird having family living here. I can only hope Carla has made the right decision and that the house is kind to her,’ she said, without thinking.

  ‘I know every house has a unique atmosphere and this one in particular has a bad vibe for you, but it may help if you think of it as just a pile of stones held together by mortar or whatever stuff they used to build it with at the beginning of the last century,’ Gordon said.

  ‘It’s not just the house,’ Josette sighed. ‘I think I’ve forgotten how to be a part of a family. I’m not sure I can cope with my new face-to-face persona of being Tante Josette to Carla, let alone becoming Great Tante Josette to Maddy and Edward. I’ve never had an aunt. How do aunts behave?’

  ‘Eccentricity rules,’ Gordon said. ‘My favourite aunt was Aunt Tilly, she hated her real name, Matilda, and regaled me with tales of the time she ran away to join the circus before she eloped with the local vicar. She told great stories.’

  Josette laughed. ‘See, I told you I had no idea. I’m not cut out to be an eccentric aunt. I can’t compete with that kind of history.’

  Gordon stopped walking and, placing his hands on her shoulders, turned her to look at him. ‘It’s not a competition. Be yourself. You’ve had an interesting life and I know Carla is already extremely fond of you.’

  ‘The villa holds so many ghosts for me,’ Josette said, shaking her head.

  ‘The villa has entered a new era with Carla. You must forget the past and live in the moment. You’ll be surprised how easy that can become with practice.’

  ‘Going to take an awful lot of practice in my case.’

  ‘Probably, but you have to try. Come on let’s deliver those photographs.’

  Carla was sitting on the terrace when they arrived and sprang up with a welcoming smile.

  ‘Josette. Finally you came. I’ll make some coffee, but first there’s someone in the kitchen you need to meet.’

  Josette was aware of Gordon’s hand lightly on her back, guiding her forward as she hesitated before following Carla into the kitchen.

  The kitten, asleep in the comfortable igloo Carla had bought him, opened his eyes at the sound of voices, yawned, stretched and padded over to Josette, who, after placing the packet of photos on the table, scooped him up with a smile.

  ‘Hello, you. It’s been a long time since there was a cat here. The last one was called… Star, I think. So what’s your name, little one?’

  ‘He hasn’t got one yet. Joel says the right name will arrive,’ Carla said, spooning coffee into the cafetière. ‘So far it hasn’t, any suggestions welcome.’

  ‘I agree with Joel,’ Josette answered. ‘The cat will tell you what he wants to be called.’

  ‘You’re as bad as Joel,’ Carla said. ‘He’ll end up as Cat at this rate. Is that the packet of photos I brought over earlier?’

  Josette nodded. ‘I thought you might as well keep them here.’

  ‘Maddy didn’t get a chance to see them before, so it will be fun going through them with her, especially now you’ve told me who some of the people are.’ Carla glanced at Josette before speaking to Gordon. ‘I’m planning on taking us all to Cannes for a celebratory lunch next Saturday – would you like to join us?’

  ‘What are you celebr
ating on Saturday…?’ Josette’s voice died away as she realised what the date would be. ‘Oh, non, non, non. I don’t usually bother with my birthday.’

  ‘Sorry, but this year begins a new tradition and you are definitely celebrating,’ Carla said. ‘No argument.’

  21

  The morning Sam and Maddy were due to arrive, Carla was up early. She wanted everything to be perfect for Maddy’s first visit. The villa, she felt, was looking good, but she wanted to get some flowers and some special artisan soap from the stall in the market for their bedroom, as well as salad things and a baguette for lunch. Flight delays aside, Maddy had said they should arrive at about twelve thirty by the time they got through Arrivals and picked up their hire car.

  Wandering through the market buying the things she wanted, Carla tried to squash the nervous butterflies floating around in her head over Maddy’s visit. She so wanted Maddy to like the villa, her new home, be happy for her. To realise Carla had done the right thing in moving here.

  Carla bought two coffee eclairs from the patisserie stall and took a short cut through a nearby alleyway to Josette’s cottage – a sudden desire to see Josette overcoming the need to return to the villa.

  ‘Your favourite coffee eclairs,’ Carla said when Josette opened the door, showing her the box of cakes. ‘Fancy a coffee to go with them?’

  Outside in the courtyard listening to the buzz of the bees around the jasmine, Carla tried to relax.

  ‘I can’t believe how nervous I am about this weekend,’ she said, accepting the demitasse coffee from Josette.

  ‘C’est naturel. Family is important to you.’

  ‘What time are you coming over to meet Maddy?’

  Josette shook her head. ‘I hadn’t planned to come over today.’ She waved away Carla’s objections. ‘The two of you will have lots to talk about. Besides, I’m a little nervous too about meeting Maddy for the first time.’

  ‘Oh, Josette, I’m sorry, I’d forgotten you’ve never met Maddy – or Ed – in the flesh, only ever seen photos. Please come to the villa and meet Maddy today.’

  Josette shrugged. ‘All in the past now.’ She hesitated. ‘Maybe tonight you bring Maddy and Sam here for aperitifs?’

  ‘That would be lovely,’ Carla accepted quickly before Josette could change her mind. ‘Can I bring anything?’

  ‘Non merci. Just my great-niece and her boyfriend.’

  Once back at the villa, Carla put the soaps she’d bought in the bathroom and a bunch of fragrant sweet peas in a crystal vase on the dressing table in the bedroom. Downstairs in the sitting room, she placed the sunflowers she’d been unable to resist in a large terracotta pottery vase and stood them to the side of the French doors leading to the garden, where the dappled water of the pool was an inviting oasis in the sunlight.

  The terrace table was set for lunch, a bottle of rosé in the cooler, salad in bowls in the kitchen, cheese already at room temperature on the board with a cloche and a selection of cold meats in the fridge.

  Carla bent down to stroke the kitten, who was winding himself between her legs. ‘Hello, kitten-cat. You planning on being part of the welcome too?’ she said, picking him up. ‘I wish you’d hurry up and tell us your name. I can’t keep on calling you kitten-cat.’

  He purred as she stroked his head before jumping out of her arms as they both heard a car arriving and headed for the shelter of the plumbago shrub from where he could keep a watchful eye on people.

  ‘Mum, this is just gorgeous,’ Maddy said as she got out of the car and ran to hug her mum. ‘I didn’t expect it to be like this. And you look much better. Very French. Love the outfit.’

  ‘It’s just cool summer stuff from the market,’ Carla said. ‘White capri trousers and a striped top are almost de rigueur for daywear down here. Sam, it’s lovely to see you here,’ she said, giving him a hug too. ‘Come on, let me show you everything,’ she added, leading the way indoors. ‘Sitting room, kitchen, sunroom, downstairs bathroom and two more rooms. This is my room, as the plan is to keep the whole of upstairs for guests.’ Carla laughed. ‘I feel like an estate agent showing you around.’

  ‘It feels funny seeing that here,’ Maddy said quietly, looking at the painting of a Provençal market scene Carla had hung on one of the sitting room walls. ‘I’m used to seeing it in the dining room at home.’

  Carla nodded. ‘I expect it does. In the end, Dad insisted I took whatever I wanted but…’ she shrugged. ‘New things for a new beginning, but I’ve always loved that painting. Now for upstairs. I’ve put you in the large bedroom overlooking the pool.‘

  ‘Wow,’ Maddy said as Carla pushed open the bedroom door. ‘Just wow.’

  ‘I’ll leave you to freshen up. Lunch on the terrace in ten minutes okay?’ And Carla turned and went back downstairs to finish putting lunch on the table.

  When Maddy and Sam came downstairs, Carla was in her bedroom fetching her sun hat.

  ‘You said this is another bedroom?’ Maddy asked, about to open the door to Joel’s room.

  ‘Yes, but you can’t go in there – it’s Joel’s room.’

  Shocked, Maddy turned to look at her. ‘Joel?’

  ‘He’s my gardener and pool boy. He needed somewhere to stay when his landlord gave him notice.’

  Maddy was looking at her wide-eyed.

  ‘Josette has known him years, so it’s not like a stranger renting the room.’ Although, as she said it, Carla realised she’d never got round to discussing the question of rent with Joel. But then, neither had she paid him for all the extra work he did in the garden and keeping the pool clean. She’d talk to him after the weekend, she decided, sort it out. ‘It’s only temporary anyway, until he finds somewhere else,’ she added. ‘Come on, let’s find Sam. Sam, are you happy with wine – or would you prefer a cold beer?’

  ‘Rosé will be fine. Oh, you’ve got a cat,’ Sam said.

  ‘You’re not allergic are you?’

  Sam shook his head.

  ‘In that case meet kitten-cat who is in need of a proper name if you have any ideas? Joel rescued him a couple of weeks ago. He seems to like you,’ Carla said, watching as the cat made himself comfortable on Sam’s lap.

  Over lunch, the three of them caught up on their news and Carla told them about their aperitif invitation at Josette’s for that evening. When Maddy excused herself for five minutes to get her iPad to show Carla some pictures, Carla turned to Sam.

  ‘You’re a good influence on my daughter. I’ve never seen her so happy.’

  ‘I don’t think her father thinks like that,’ Sam said. ‘He barely acknowledges me when we meet.’

  ‘Don’t worry about David. Maddy could be dating a royal prince and he’d still sulk,’ Carla said. ‘She’s always been his little girl and he’s convinced he knows what’s best for her. He’ll be fine once he realises how serious Maddy is about you.’

  The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon sitting around chatting and swimming in the pool when they got too hot.

  ‘This is just perfect,’ Maddy sighed. ‘I can’t believe the villa is actually yours and Great Aunt Josette’s.’

  ‘Are you happy to spread the word for me then at home? Tell your friends if they want to spend a weekend in Villa Mimosa they can be my guinea pigs, maybe later this year or early next when I’m a bit more organised, and I’ll give them a discount.’

  ‘Mum, they’re going to snatch your hand off with an offer like that!’

  Carla glanced at her watch. ‘Talking about Josette, we’d better think about showering and getting ready to go.’

  Maddy looked at her. ‘Mum, what’s she like, this unknown great aunt of mine? Is she as scary as Granny could be at times?’

  Carla shook her head and laughed. ‘Definitely not. She’s so different, it’s hard to believe. But she’s not easy to get to know. One moment I think we’re getting close and the next minute, it’s back to square one again. She seems keen to keep part of herself detached and private. I’m not s
ure why yet. So don’t expect an exuberant welcome.’

  An hour later, Carla was leading them along the ramparts in the direction of Josette’s cottage. With the temperature still nudging twenty-nine degrees centigrade, it was a lovely summer evening and Carla enjoyed pointing out interesting places as they walked. Passing the imposing old chateau that housed the Picasso museum, she said, ‘Well worth a visit – if not this time, the next time you come over.’

  Further along, and before turning right down the narrow lane that led eventually to Josette’s, she pointed out another landmark, the cottage on the ramparts where the writer Paul Gallico had lived.

  Josette’s door was on the latch and Carla called out a cheery ‘Coo-Coo’ as she pushed it open.

  ‘Come on through,’ Josette called.

  Josette, to Carla’s relief, seemed pleased to see them, greeting both her and Maddy with a hug and a smile and a handshake for Sam. Looking at Maddy and Josette happily chatting and tentatively getting to know each other, Carla began to feel optimistic that Josette would eventually relax and become the fond aunt she’d always wanted.

  Josette declined the invite to return to the villa with them for supper but, as they left, admitted she was looking forward to seeing them all again on Saturday. ‘I’ve ignored my actual birthday for years and I certainly never expected to celebrate it with family ever again,’ she said, her voice breaking slightly as she hugged Carla goodbye.

  Maddy was quiet walking back to the Villa Mimosa and Carla looked at her. ‘You okay?’

  ‘You were right. Josette is nothing like Granny. She’s so much easier to talk to. You don’t get the feeling that she’s judging you all the time.’

  Carla glanced at her, surprised. ‘You never said you felt like that. Granny did have funny ways, but she did love you.’

  ‘I know she did, but I’m really looking forward to getting to know Tante Josette.’

  When they got back to the villa, Joel was home and executing a fast front crawl in the pool. As he climbed out and grabbed a towel to rub himself down before Carla made the introductions, Maddy whispered to Carla. ‘Wow. Who’s that?’