Page 89 of The Riviera House Swap

‘What was your fault?’

‘The puncture.’ Antoine looked at her strangely and she pulled the necklace, with its sharp little arrow. ‘This was embedded in the tyre.’

He took it from her. ‘It is yours?’

‘Yes. Pierre gave it to me… well, years ago. And I thought it was time.’

‘So you put it under the car?’ he asked, confused.

She laughed. ‘No, I threw it away, but somehow it must have ended up in the road. The driver reversed over it, I think. And now she’s got a huge bill for her car probably, and can’t work to boot.’

He looked at the necklace, doubtfully. ‘Her tyre must have been already quite fragile for this to have made a difference.’

‘Maybe,’ she said, taking it back and looking at it again. But somehow, she knew that what had happened was due to the necklace. That against all odds, it had stuck in the tyre at a catastrophic angle, the tyre had deflated quickly and then the axel had bumped the kerb.

‘Perhaps,’ Antoine said, looking at her with a grin, ‘we should send an invoice to Pierre?’

She laughed. ‘That would be very difficult to pin on him, although I do sort of blame him for all this.’

Antoine smiled at her. ‘I tell you what,’ he said. ‘I will make sure the garage confirms what the cause of the problem was. And if it is… I will tell you. But I would not worry about the driver. She works for a big company. It is not her car; they will provide another. And she is paid, no matter.’

This was a relief. ‘Thank goodness,’ she said. ‘I felt very guilty.’

‘So, we should go,’ Antoine said, gesturing to his ride.

She nodded, picking up her suitcase and carrying it to the truck where she climbed in beside Antoine. As she did so, a tow-truck arrived to take the taxi to the nearest garage. The taxi driver smiled and exchanged kisses with its driver; perhaps she knew him.

‘They’re friends?’ she said to Antoine.

He shrugged. ‘Perhaps. I think the taxi company – they are not the best. Perhaps has had to call out a tow truck many times.’

Nina laughed and Antoine turned the key and put the car into gear. As they pulled off in the airport direction, Nina’s phone rang. It was Sabine.

‘Hello, you are alright?’ her friend asked.

‘Oh, yes. The tyre – yes, Antoine arrived, actually. He’s giving me a lift. And the taxi’s being towed.’

‘And you will make your plane,’ she said.

‘I think so,’ Nina said, feeling something heavy drop inside her chest. ‘Yes.’

There was a silence. ‘Because I am not so far away yet,’ Sabine said.

‘What do you mean?’

Another silence. ‘Look, I know you have plans. But really it is not too late to come with me. Antoine can bring you to me. We can go to Vienna together!’ said Sabine excitedly.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Nina began.

‘But why not? You want to do it; you can do it. What are you waiting for? And plus, it is not so much fun on the road alone. We can have more fun together, I think,’ Sabine said.

‘It sounds amazing. It’s just… I’m not sure it’s the right time,’ Nina said, carefully.

‘Pah! The right time. The right time is only the time we make it right,’ said Sabine. ‘What have you got to lose right now? Your job that you hate? You are afraid, I understand. But I think, perhaps, this is the right time. It’s just that you don’t see it. You will see it later, perhaps. But maybe then the moment will have passed.’

‘Oh,’ said Nina. Was she right – was this another chance that she might one day regret turning down? It was rare at her age (and she hated thinking this way) for someone to be properly free. Divorced, untethered, in a job that she disliked. Her parents didn’t need her to be around in the way they might in a few years’ time – so long as they stayed away from wobbly ladders.

‘I’m sorry,’ Sabine said. ‘It is up to you. Maybe in your heart, you don’t want to come, to travel. Many people say that they would like this, but really it is not the life for them. And many people think that I am crazy to live like this. And it is OK. It’s just I feel you have spent a long time forgetting to think about what you want. For you. Not for anyone else.’

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