‘Why not. Need to tell Sandy we won’t be here in that case.’
An hour later, after wandering around the market, they’d both bought soaps and olive oil and a bottle of locally produced wine for Isobel’s husband. The florist had put together a lovely bouquet of flowers for them to collect on their way back to the villa.
Sitting at the bar on the side of the market where they’d gone the first evening of the retreat, Isobel sighed. ‘I’m always sorry to leave Antibes and always promise myself that I will return sooner rather than later. Hopefully Sandy will find somewhere new to hold her retreats, so shall we make a pact to come together again next year?’
‘Good idea,’ Liz said absently.
Isobel looked at her thoughtfully. ‘You said something about needing my advice?’
‘Mmm. I have to make a decision,’ Liz said. ‘Guy has asked me to stay on for a few days. I said I’d think about it.’
‘Good grief, woman, what is there to think about? You’ll obviously say yes.’
Liz gave her an enigmatic smile. ‘I want to but…’
‘Guy likes you, you like him. You are both single, so why not get together?’ Isobel said, looking at Liz with a raised eyebrow.
‘One, I live in Devon and he lives here.’ Liz paused. ‘But the main reason I’m hesitating is his wife only died about nine months ago. My divorce was finalised a year ago, though, in truth, my marriage was over long before so I’m ready for a new relationship and to have Guy in my life would be rather wonderful. But I’m worried that he’s not over Jacqueline yet and… and I don’t want to be second best to his dead wife,’ Liz said quietly. ‘He’s explained how devastated he was when she died; how he shut himself away for months. Whilst I know he is never going to forget her, and I wouldn’t want him to, I don’t want to be constantly on alert wondering about how I compare to Jacqueline.’
‘Two questions: has Guy ever suggested in any way he’s comparing you to his dead wife?’
‘No.’
‘Have you ever compared him in any way to Ralph?’
‘Good god, no. The two men are nothing alike.’
‘And you’re probably nothing like Jacqueline, so there won’t be any comparisons going on. Besides, comparisons are a waste of time. I strongly believe people come into our life for a reason at the right time. You’ve got a second chance of proper love and happiness, not the pseudo marriage that Ralph trapped you in. My advice is grab it with both hands. Carpe diem – seize the day. In your case – seize the man.’
‘It all feels like a dream,’ Liz said. ‘A wonderful dream that I actually don’t ever want to wake up from.’
* * *
Joan got up on Saturday morning having barely slept knowing there were two things she had to do despite feeling washed out through the lack of sleep. Not only did she have the difficult task of talking to Leon about Guy, she also wanted to talk to Guy again herself. There were a couple of questions of her own that she had wondered about down through the years that maybe Guy could answer for her. She stood under the power shower for several moments until she felt awake enough to face the day.
Leaving Guy’s apartment yesterday, she’d told him she would talk to Leon as soon as she could, after which she would leave it up to him to make contact.
Knowing that Leon was busy all day, Joan sent him a text saying she needed to talk to him asap and suggested eight o’clock Saturday evening at her hotel. A thumbs up was the instant reply. Good.
She pushed her own questions to the back of her mind for another day. She was spending the day with Helena and Mandy, just mooching around, maybe indulging in a bit of retail therapy. Perhaps she could persuade them to go on the train to Cannes. It was sure to be still buzzing for the final weekend of the film festival. Besides, it would be good to spend the day away from Antibes.
* * *
Joan was ready and waiting for them when Helena and Mandy arrived and together they walked into Antibes. They both thought Joan’s suggestion of going to Cannes was a brilliant idea, so they made for Antibes train station to wait for the next train. Once the train arrived, it was a quick trip along the coast and they were soon stepping out of the train at Cannes.
The atmosphere here was different to that of Antibes. Film festival vibes seemed to hang over the whole town like there was one giant party going on with surprises around every corner. A fire-eater entertaining the crowds on the corner of Rue Meynadier, a one-man band playing near the Palais des Festivals, and in front of the bandstand of Allées de la Liberté, a modern Edith Piaf was singing one of her famous songs, ‘La Vie en Rose’. The whole town seemed to be in the grips of a pulsating energy.
‘Do you think we’ll see any stars today?’ Mandy said.
‘It’s possible,’ Joan replied. ‘But I’m not sure I’ll recognise any of the younger stars, so you’ll have to nudge me if you see Taylor Swift for instance. I know of her, but I doubt I’d know it was her if she walked towards me. Julia Roberts or George Clooney on the other hand,’ she said, smiling at Mandy.
After a wander along Rue de Antibes, the three of them strolled along the crowded Croisette, sighed over the clothes in the designer shop windows before finding a restaurant for lunch near the old harbour with a view out over the bay. They all decided on the plat de jour – mussels and frites – and shared a bottle of rosé between them.
Looking out over the bay, Mandy sighed. ‘There are some big yachts out there. I wonder which billionaires are in town.’
‘Becky could probably tell you,’ Helena laughed. ‘You’ll have to ask her at dinner tonight if she knows the name of the yacht she will be staying on.’
Cannes got progressively busier during the afternoon as people began congregating by the Palais des Festivals and along the Croisette, hoping to see the stars arriving for the evening film. After enjoying a large ice cream as they strolled along the Chemin des Étoiles looking at the handprints of the stars, they decided to head for the train station and Antibes as the crowds were becoming too much to cope with.
