‘There’s no need to take notes, if you were thinking of it,’ he said. ‘I’ll make everyone a printout of their own when we’ve all agreed on this itinerary… so here goes… We leave Willowbrook on 2 October at 6a.m. precisely; drive down to Dover, with Venetia at the wheel. Ferry from Dover to Calais, approx. ninety minutes. We’ll have a snack on board unless anyone has the collywobbles. Remember seasickness tablets if you know that’s a likelihood. Note: Apologies to Sid. We have ditched the Brittany starting point because of Anthea’s tendency to be nauseous on long ferry journeys.’
‘No problem,’ said Sid. ‘It was just an idea, I’m happy to go wherever the rest of you want to be.’
Frank nodded and carried on.
‘Arrive in Calais. Drive down through France to Rouen, Rick at the wheel. After this the two of ’em can sort out their own driving rota. Arrive approximately 4p.m. local time. Dinner and a night in a motel. To be arranged later, as with all the overnight accommodation. October 3rd: Rouen to La Rochelle. Approx. five hours’ journey. Suggest we stay for three nights because plenty to do there. October 6th: La Rochelle to Bordeaux. Approx. two hours. Another three-night stay. October 9th: Bordeaux to Lot-et-Garonne and the village where Yolanda lives. Approx. two hours. I’ll add its name later, because we might not be able to get accommodation there if it’s a very small place. I haven’t added dates for coming home because we’ll need to see how long Venetia wants to stay with her aunt, but we’ll travel back to Dover over two days if our drivers are agreeable, stopping in Chartres overnight en route and avoiding too many toll roads which will keep the overall costs down.’
Frank sat down and Beryl, Sid and Winnie gave him a spontaneous round of applause.
‘It all sounds grand,’ said Sid, his face flushed with excitement. ‘I can’t wait.’
‘Right,’ said Beryl. ‘I’ll need to round the others up for a full team meeting. Are you lot still free tonight? We can go to the pub this time, if you like. Seven o’clock?’
The others all thought this was a good idea, so Beryl sent texts to Rick, Vee, Maurice and Anthea. The latter two replied immediately. Beryl suspected they were together and grinned to herself. Anthea was really getting into the swing of this new engagement. Beryl hoped the relationship would fare better than the last ones. There was nothing from Vee or Rick as yet, so the group decided to adjourn to the nearby annexe where Frank lived alongside his son Barney and daughter-in-law Nell.
‘Our Nell was making chocolate chip cookies this morning. I smelt them as I passed by their kitchen on my way here,’ he said. ‘Let’s go and see if she’s got a few to spare.’
Sid stood up, ready to lead the way. ‘And as soon as we hear from the youngsters, we can get at least a couple of those overnight stays booked. I’ll be happier when I know where I’ll be laying my head at night.’
They set off along the lane and round the corner to Frank’s home, chatting as they went about what they’d need to pack, or more importantly what they might need to leave out to save space in the minibus. Beryl brought up the rear, delighted that her travelling companions seemed so enthusiastic about what had felt at the start to be something of a wacky suggestion.
All she needed to do now was to contact Yolanda, check she’d be around at the right time and prepare her for the onslaught. Beryl was usually supremely confident of her welcome when she visited friends. This time she wasn’t so sure. It had been a long time since Yolanda had left Britain to settle in France and Beryl was aware that Vee and her aunt hadn’t been in touch very often during the intervening years. Maybe it was just a case of distance emphasising the old saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’, but the more she pondered on this interesting subject, the more Beryl wondered if there might be more to the situation than met the eye. She only hoped that Yolanda would be pleased to see Vee and her entourage. If not, it would make for a very sticky end to their new adventure.
23
Vee and Rick polished off their lunch in record time and decided the moment had come to get their toes wet. Vee left Rick to say a fond goodbye to Maddie and went to stand outside the beach shack, drinking in the sound of the waves lapping against the shore and the seabirds calling to each other. The breeze was cool and fresh on her face, and she stooped to pick up a tiny cockleshell, slipping it into her pocket as a memento of this day of mixed feelings. Vee heard Rick call, ‘See you later, alligator,’ followed by Maddie’s reply of, ‘In a while, crocodile,’ and she smiled. It must be lovely to have childhood and ongoing memories of a friendship like this one, one so strong and affectionate that it could be picked up at a moment’s notice even after a long gap.
Leaving Willowbrook seemed to have fractured Vee’s life to such an extent that the only people she remembered clearly were the ones like Rhonda who left a bad taste in her mouth. There must have been less traumatic friends, but much of anything to do with Vee’s school life that came before their departure from the village was lost in the mists of time. She gave herself a mental shake. She was starting to catch Rick’s habit of thinking in clichés today.
Maddie and Rick were still exchanging familiar phrases, but it sounded as if they had almost run out of steam. ‘See ya,’ shouted Rick as he left the café.
‘Wouldn’t wanna be ya,’ replied Maddie, and they both laughed uproariously.
‘Okay, race you to the sea,’ Rick said as he approached Vee, and without further ado, he dumped his bag of towels on the sand and set off at a gallop.
‘Hey, that’s cheating, you had a head start!’ she yelled, and took off after the departing figure, catching up with him before he reached the waves.
They screeched to a halt just in time to avoid splashing straight into the water, and Rick turned to face Vee. ‘We’ll call that a dead heat,’ he said. ‘Come on, we’d better roll our jeans up. We don’t want damp ankles all day.’
Soon they were tentatively stepping forwards, a few sharp pebbles causing them to wince. Vee wobbled sightly and Rick reached for her hand. They inched along until it was clear that if they waded in any deeper, the water would reach their rolled-up jeans.
‘This is bliss,’ said Vee, breathing in the salty air. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t do it more often when I still had my Mini. There was no need for me to wait for Nigel to come with me. I could have had lots of days like this, just enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.’
They paddled back out again after a while and wandered up the beach. Vee wondered if Rick had forgotten he was still holding her hand. She decided not to mention it because the feel of his warm palm and his fingers entwined with hers was both comforting and strangely exciting. When they reached the discarded bag, Rick handed Vee a towel to dry her toes and spread the other one on the ground.
‘A day like today calls for chocolate digestives,’ he said.
They were already halfway down the packet and sharing the bottle of water when both their phones pinged.
‘Shall we ignore them?’ Rick said. ‘What could be more important than sitting on a lovely beach with my favourite… biscuits?’ he added hastily as Vee turned to look at him.
But Vee had never been able to leave a message unread for long. She took her phone out of her pocket and clicked on the latest text. ‘It’s Beryl,’ she said. ‘She wants us to meet them all at the Fox and Fiddle tonight at seven o’clock. Final planning for the trip. Is that okay with you?’
Rick pulled a face. ‘I’d been thinking that we might call for fish and chips and then have a night in front of the TV,’ he said. ‘But I’ve never yet managed to ignore a summons from Beryl, and we do need to talk about the details, especially as we’re the drivers. Tell her we’ll be there. We can go in early and eat at the pub if you like?’
They began to pack away their few belongings. Vee was torn between disappointment that the lovely outing was over and an odd feeling of contentment that Rick had been automatically including her in his plans for the evening, as was usual these days. The thought of moving into the almost-complete Dragonfly Cottage was exciting but she would miss the easy co-existence they’d gradually developed. In between now and then, there was this unexpected bonus of a holiday but with the spectre of what might end up being an uncomfortable reunion with her aunt. Yolanda had always been somewhat unpredictable. She was a law unto herself and the prospect of meeting her again was unnerving. Not only might she hold the key to what really went on at the camping trip, there was still the unresolved question of why Yolanda had so effectively distanced herself from her family.
The drive home was punctuated by a couple of hold-ups, and Vee and Rick barely had time for a quick change of clothes before they set off on foot to the pub. The weather had grown cooler as they walked, dark clouds scudded across the sky and a smatter of raindrops made them both up their speed. Rick had lent Vee his spare waterproof jacket, so both were warmly wrapped up, but she felt chilled and mildly grumpy when they reached the warmth of the Fox and Fiddle.
