Simone didn’t seem to know what to make of this show of uniformity, but she rallied quickly and marched off down the road, towing Rick along beside her. By now, Winnie and Sid’s muffled laughter had transmitted itself to the others and they were struggling to contain their splutters. They followed Rick and Simone, but at a short distance so their hostess appeared not to notice that her party were being disrespectful. Simone had no trouble in keeping up a constant flow of conversation as she walked. It took a huge effort not to switch off and think about what was going on at this very moment between Vee and Yolanda.
Rick was very much afraid that if he didn’t listen, Simone would rumble him and ask searching questions later, but his anxiety seemed to grow with every step he took. Usually a past master of keeping his memories in separate locked boxes deep inside his brain, it was quite possible that Yolanda had at least one of his keys. She was a mystery to him. What did Vee’s aunt remember of the summer of 1985? He’d hoped the past was dead and buried, but now there was a very real danger that some things better left unsaid might be about to be dragged out of cold storage and given a very unwelcome airing.
‘Come along, everyone, keep up,’ Simone said, upping her speed. ‘To my left you can see the old post office, and beside it, the school. Not many children live in our village nowadays, but I believe Madame Beaumont runs a tight ship.’
‘She’s not the only one,’ murmured Frank. ‘Or do I meana tight grip?’
This sally set Beryl off again, and by the time they reached the square, she was having to wipe her eyes. Luckily, Simone was now fully occupied in greeting a dapper little gentleman with a fine moustache and bushy grey eyebrows that seemed to have a life of their own. She kissed him soundly on both cheeks and then once again, nearly toppling him. He righted himself and turned to face the group.
‘This is our mayor, Monsieur Pierre Phillipe,’ Simone said, patting the man on the arm fondly. ‘He’s in charge of the Café Associatif. It’s a great place for us to meet and we are very grateful to him.’
The man said something in rapid French and shrugged his shoulders. Simone nodded. ‘Pierre says that most of the hard work has been done by Yolanda. He apologises for his lack of the English language, but he wishes to welcome you to Brugnac d’Agenais.’
The mayor gave a graceful bow to the group and, taken by surprise, they bowed back with varying degrees of success. Rick looked along the row of bobbing heads and a lump came into his throat. They were all precious to him now, like an extended family. He hadn’t intended that to happen. He’d known them for some time, some more recently and some, like Beryl, for years. Through his business, Rick made plenty of contacts but getting attached to them had never been part of his plan. These were emotional connections he didn’t want or need.
Simone broke into Rick’s troubled thoughts, gesturing to the tables set out invitingly under a large striped awning. ‘Have a seat, everyone. We will have coffee before we set off on our walk, yes?’ She followed Pierre into the interior of the building and Rick was free at last.
‘Do you know what she’s talking about, with all this Café Associatif business?’ Frank asked Rick. ‘Is it some kind of joint effort in the village?’
‘Yes, run by the community for the community,’ said Rick, feeling that he had already heard more than enough about the place on their brief journey to be able to explain its purpose to the others. ‘It’s not just a café, it’s the hub of the village. They organise events such as musical evenings where anyone can come to play their instruments and sing. It’s ukulele night in three days. Simone’s hoping we’ll all come along.’
Rick thought privately that he would rather be at the pension with a good book and a glass of wine rather than having to sit through an interminable concert which would in all likelihood be torturous. However, he was surprised to find that the others were positively thrilled by this prospect.
‘Oh, I do love a ukulele band,’ said Sid. ‘My ma had a whole heap of George Formby’s records, and I knew all the words by the time I was five years old, so they told me.’
Frank was in full agreement. He began to warble in a pleasing baritone about leaning on a lamppost at the corner of the street and Maurice and Beryl joined in, with Winnie playing an imaginary banjo. Only Anthea looked horrified. She exchanged glances with Rick, and her look said, ‘Oh no, I don’t think so, do you?’
Simone reappeared at this point and soon made it clear that she hadn’t finished being their tourist information guide. She raised her voice to make sure everyone could hear. ‘Tonight is an evening of singing. A local choir will entertain us and we will be able to join in at certain points. How about that?’
Rick shook his head at her briefly, casting around desperately for a reason why he wouldn’t be able to be at this exciting event. For one thing, Simone’s attentions were getting a tad too familiar now. Rick had been vaguely amused at her obvious flirtatiousness to begin with but after this morning, when she’d appeared at his bedroom door scantily clad, offering to help him find his swimming trunks, he’d had quite enough. The other reason, apart from baulking at the idea of an evening full of French songs, was, of course, that it was probably the only opportunity he’d have to catch Vee alone later. She’d looked so anxious at breakfast time when she thought nobody was watching her, but her phone had beeped, and she’d made herself scarce before Rick had had a chance to speak to her.
Coffee was served as they all sat down, and Rick wondered how any of them were ever going to sleep again with all this extra caffeine whizzing around their bodies. He sipped slowly, watching the world go by, or the small portion of it that passed through the marketplace of this pretty little village.
‘Could you see yourself relocating to somewhere like this, Rick?’ asked Simone as she joined them. ‘It is a very good life, you know.’
She put a hand on Rick’s knee, and he heard Winnie and Sid stifle a titter.
‘Rick’s a vital part of our own village, Simone,’ Beryl said firmly, and there was a chorus of agreement.
‘We wouldn’t be able to manage with our resident handyman,’ said Anthea. ‘We know we can call on Rick for any task, no matter whether it’s big or small.’
‘That’s quite true,’ Frank said, reaching over to clasp Rick by the shoulder, almost causing him to spill his coffee. ‘This man renovated the house I live in now and he made a sterling job of it. If it wasn’t for Rick, I’d still be holed up in my son and daughter-in-law’s spare bedroom instead of having the privacy of my own lovely annexe.’
‘Rick’s not just a driver for road trips, Simone,’ said Winnie. ‘We rely on him for all sorts of things.’
‘And not only that, he’s our very good friend,’ finished Sid, raising his coffee cup in another of his toasts, which this time was taking place a mercifully long way from the swimming pool.
Rick was so touched by all these plaudits that he couldn’t speak. He smiled at them all and gently removed Simone’s hand from his knee.
‘Well, I can see that there’s no point in me trying to entice this lovely man over the Channel permanently,’ she said, rather snappily. ‘When you’ve all finished, we’d better get on our way, or we won’t be back here at the café for lunch. I’ve taken the liberty of booking you a large table. I only cater for breakfast and dinner, as I’m sure you’re aware.’
Simone finished her coffee and got to her feet, fixing them all with a look that said she wasn’t prepared to wait. There was a short delay while everyone except Rick visited the cloakroom inside the building. Simone inched closer to Rick again.
‘It must be tiresome for you to spend so much time with the older generation,’ she said. ‘But there are lots of other options. You only have to say the word.’
‘Thank you, but I enjoy their company. They’re a great bunch of people. I’ve been meaning to say that your English is excellent,’ said Rick, with a swift change of subject. ‘How did you become so fluent?’
Simone preened herself and smiled. The convoluted explanation for her astounding proficiency lasted all the way through the village with frequent stops while she pointed out places of interest and historical features. By the time they’d made a loop and arrived back at the café, Rick was heartily sick of hearing about Simone’s various extended visits to the United Kingdom over the years, and how she had amazed and impressed all her hosts overseas.
