Page 38 of Rendez-Vous in Cannes
Underneath his signature the words ‘One Life, One Love’ were followed by a string of kisses.
Anna gazed out unseeingly across the Mediterranean towards Cannes, tears spilling from her eyes. Why hadn’t she believed in their love more? Whatever her parents had thought and said all those years ago about it being a ‘holiday romance’ with Philippe taking advantage of her naivety had been so wrong. Philippe had wanted her and Jean-Philippe. The fault was all hers for not believing in him and allowing her parents to bully her into doing what they wanted and considered to be the right thing.
A family running down to chase and splash each other on the edge of the sea a few yards away from her jolted Anna out of the trance-like state she’d slipped into. She watched them for a few moments, envying their easy familiarity with each other, before pulling the contents of the second envelope out with shaking fingers.
Hesitantly, Anna flipped through the pages of the spiral-bound notebook dislodging a piece of folded paper that fluttered down to the shingle at her feet. Picking it up, she began to read:
Ma Chérie, this is a letter I hope to give you when we are together again.
I can’t tell you how excited I am by the arrival of a letter from the wife of a man who could turn out to be our child. To think, after all these years, I could be about to meet my son and through him, hopefully, you, again.
I intend to keep a journal record as things unfold so that when we all finally meet you will be able to see how everything happened. I fervently pray that this is not a false alarm and we will be able to finally welcome our son into his family.
I appreciate how different your life must be after all these years and you may find it upsetting as the past makes its presence known in the present, but if nothing else, I hope we can meet as friends and share a part of our lives in the future.
A simple ‘Philippe’ signature this time at the bottom of the page. No quotation. No kisses.
Anna refolded the piece of paper and carefully slipped it in towards the back of the notebook as she opened it. Philippe had started his journal six weeks earlier, carefully dating the first page – the day he’d received the first letter.
Reading Philippe’s journal and his obvious delight in the possibility of meeting his son, Anna could again hear the voice of the boy she’d loved. The pages were full of his thoughts and hopes for the future – and questions about how she, Anna, would be.
Will I recognise you – you, me? I was so angry with you when you disappeared. The one thing I wanted was to find you and care for you. For years I tried to find you. Hoped you’d get in touch with me. I saw you once in the audience at the Film Institute in London, but you’d left the building before I could get to you. I saw you getting into a taxi and vanishing out of my life again. The years and life took on their own momentum and suddenly thirty years had passed. I realised even if I did find you, it was too late for us to be that happy family, but I couldn’t – and didn’t – stop looking for you. But you vanished very effectively.
The last entry started:
Today Jacques and I had words about me meeting my son. He is very sceptical about things working out, but I believe they will. I feel in my heart of hearts that the time has finally come for me to be able to right wrongs done so many years ago. I’m off to America tomorrow, when I return, the Cannes Film Festival will be in full swing – who knows, by the time it finishes, I may have definite news about our family. ‘Our family.’ Oh, how I love that phrase.
Anna, unable to control her sobbing, searched frantically for a tissue in her bag, aware that the family playing nearby were watching her, trying to hide their concern. She forced a smile in their direction, praying they wouldn’t approach her, and tried to stop herself shaking. The blue ‘missed message’ light on her mobile in the bottom of her bag was flashing. Leo.
With shaking fingers, she pressed the redial button and waited for Leo to pick up.
‘Anna, where are you? I’ve been frantic with worry. When I rang Bernard, he told me you left him over an hour ago.’
‘I’m on Saint-Honorat. Leo darling, I’m so sorry. I just had to be by myself for a while.’
‘Are you okay?’ Leo asked anxiously. ‘Bernard said it was an emotional meeting with Jacques.’
‘It was. I’ll be back soon. I promise I’ll catch the next boat back. There’s one coming across the bay now. Leo, we need to talk when I get back,’ Anna said, her voice trembling.
‘We’ll talk as much as you want to,’ Leo said firmly. ‘There are things I need to say as well.’
Thoughtfully, Anna pressed the off button on her phone. Carefully, she placed the two envelopes with their revealing contents in her bag. She had all the proof she’d ever needed that Philippe Cambone had truly loved her – had probably still loved her at the time of his death.
Anna pressed her hands against her eyes and rubbed hard, trying yet again to stem the tears. She knew she had only herself to blame for the mess she’d made of things. How was she going to live with herself now, knowing how much she’d hurt Philippe with her selfish act of giving their son away? Not that she could have done anything else at the time and really and truly it had been forced on her by parents who had acted in the most despicable and selfish manner all those years ago.
21
Daisy had offered to take Tom to school Tuesday morning, an offer Poppy had gratefully accepted. When Daisy returned, Poppy was sitting at the table scribbling a shopping list.
‘Time for a quick coffee?’ Daisy asked.
Poppy nodded absently as she added something else to her list. ‘The pianist is coming this afternoon to check the piano over. I just hope the weather stays okay for this evening. I’ve got extra candles to put around the place, and lots of floating ones for the pool. Oh! Nobody is going to want to swim, are they?’ She looked up at Daisy anxiously.
‘Not when they’re all dressed up in their glad rags,’ Daisy answered reassuringly. ‘Although some of the tales I’ve heard about parties down here, with people jumping in fully clothed, you never know. Floating candles should put them off though,’ she added, seeing a worry frown appear on Poppy’s face.
‘D’you think I’ve hired enough glasses? People do hang on to their glass don’t they, rather than taking a fresh one each time?’
‘Of course you’ve organised enough glasses. Now stop worrying for goodness’ sake and let’s hit Forville market for the fresh stuff and pick up the cake,’ Daisy said.
