‘Well,’ her sister said, straightening and sounding more like herself. ‘What do we do when there’s a mess?’
‘Run away?’ Bella said hopefully.
‘We clean it up. We make order out of chaos. We make things right.’
‘I was worried you were going to say that.’
44
2023, FRANCE
‘Bye!’ Bella waved the guests off. The minute they’d finished, both she and Pete flung themselves down into their newly reupholstered chesterfield.
‘Thank God for that,’ Pete said.
‘Yeah.’ She blew air from her mouth, making her fringe dance. ‘Hard work.’
‘You can say that again.’
The visitors had stayed two weeks, for which they were grateful. But their exacting demands, teamed with the fact they were both late to bed and early risers, meant their visit had taken its toll.
It was the first week of September, and she and Pete had purposefully blocked out the next seven days for a rest before the weather began to turn.
‘Freedom at last,’ Pete quipped.
‘Yeah,’ she smiled.
‘We could go out somewhere, maybe?’
‘Yeah. Tomorrow?’
‘Sure.’
Silence settled over them. For the past fortnight she’d longed for the relief of silence; but this was a different kind. A kind that demanded to be broken.
‘So, any plans for today?’
‘No. Might get into the garden. You?’
‘Not sure.’
The silence returned.
Ordinarily they’d be talking about plans for the house or preparations for guests. They’d be compiling to do lists or nipping to the shops. But now that a week free of those responsibilities yawned in front of them, those things had become obsolete.
What did ordinary couples fill those gaps with?
She smiled at him. ‘Garden sounds good.’
‘Yep.’ He got up and stretched. ‘OK, well, best get on.’
‘OK.’
And he walked out of the door into their sun-drenched land, shutting it gently behind him.
45
NOW
