Page 41 of A French Affair
‘I’ll wander round tomorrow and take some photos for the website,’ Belinda said. ‘We need to keep it up to date. Now it’s live we’ll soon start to get some bookings and money in.’ She finished her sandwich and stood up. ‘That was good, thank you. It’s been a long day, so I’ll say goodnight, see you in the morning.’
‘I’ll shut the fire down and lock up. The bathroom’s all yours.’
‘Thanks.’
Belinda was in and out of the bathroom in five minutes flat and back in her bedroom with the door closed. She hadn’t shared a house or bathroom with a stranger since college and then, being long before the days of unisex accommodation, it was an all-female house share. Maybe they should sort out some sort of rota for the two of them if he continued to stay in the house?
She gave a quiet laugh. She could just imagine Alain’s reaction to that.
* * *
Belinda, awake early the next morning, could hear Alain singing in the shower so stayed where she was until she heard the water being turned off and Alain making his way back to his room. When she got downstairs half an hour later, the coffee machine was on, but there was no sign of Alain. She made herself a coffee and drank it standing up looking out of the kitchen window at the limited view of the forecourt area in front of the office. Alain’s car was parked next to hers, the office light was on and the door open.
She picked up her tote and the file with all the new paperwork, locked the cottage door behind her and went over to the office.
Alain looked up briefly as she walked in before returning his attention to the computer screen. ‘Bonjour.’
‘Bonjour,’ and Belinda put the file on the desk. ‘I’m planning on having a walkabout, seeing what’s happened while I’ve been away, taking those photographs I mentioned for the website. Do you want to come with me, or shall I leave you the file and you can go through the paperwork and new budget Nigel has given us, ready for a discussion when I get back?’
‘I’ll go through the file,’ Alain said. ‘Ready for the argument when you get back.’
Belinda shook her head at him, irritated by his attitude but then realised when she saw his lips twitch that he was teasing her. ‘No arguments. Discussion.’ She took her camera out of her bag. ‘Right. I’ll see you in a bit.’
With BB excited to be back and enjoying the freedom of being off the lead, Belinda wandered down the path, leading to the tent area, knowing it was empty. Still barely past eight o’clock, she didn’t want to disturb the people in the camper vans or caravan.
The shower block and the toilet block were positively gleaming with their new paintwork and tiles. The pathways were clear all round the camp, the shrubs cut back, wooden signs painted, windows of the cabins freshly washed and their wooden decking freshly varnished. Belinda took photo after photo. The transformation of the site was amazing.
She’d only been away for less than a fortnight, but so much had been achieved. The entertainment area had been pressure-washed and the picnic tables cleaned and put in place. The outside of the restaurant had been washed down, but peering through a window, Belinda could see the inside was still a shambles. Getting that ready for the season would be top of her agenda now, especially as Nigel had decided to employ staff to run it rather than lease it out.
Wandering on down through the site, Belinda stood and looked out over the river and remembered Fern saying something about an annual fishing competition. Fern. She needed to let her know she was back and arrange to meet up. See if she could give her any advice on how she should approach finding the missing link to her past.
As she turned to walk back past the cabins, BB bounded ahead happily and barked joyfully at Bernie sitting drinking a coffee at the table in his patch of garden. He raised his cup and pointed at it, looking at Belinda nodding and smiling. Belinda smiled back but shook her head, gently refusing what she took to be an offer of coffee. ‘Merci, Bernie, but non.’
If only he spoke French he could probably tell her something about the fishing festival. Maybe he liked to fish. Belinda remembered Fern saying she thought he understood simple French, he just didn’t like speaking it.
She gestured in the direction of the river. ‘Pêchez-vous?’
Bernie nodded vigorously.
‘Avez-vous pêche au festival de la pêche ici?’ Belinda said slowly and clearly.
Bernie’s face broke into a big smile at her words. He held out his arm and hand towards her, indicating he wanted her to wait and dashed into the cabin. Seconds later he was back and handed her a photograph of himself proudly holding a big fish and a plaque that said 1st Prize.
‘Félicitations,’ Belinda said, smiling as she handed the photo back. She tapped her watch. ‘Le travail. À bientôt.’
Leaving Bernie, Belinda made her way back to the office, hoping that Alain would be there and free to discuss the things in the file. Half an hour later, she was regretting that hope. They’d gone through everything, including the siting of the tree houses to replace the pods, except the plans for a newly refurbished restaurant. It was then the discussion turned into an argument.
‘There isn’t time to refurbish the restaurant for this season, so it makes sense to keep it as a basic café and employ a couple of people to work there for us. I’ve had an idea too about sourcing food, which I need to research more. Then, at the end of summer, we can organise a complete renovation,’ Belinda said. ‘After that, we can advertise its availability for functions in the spring.’
‘Functions? Why? And what sort?’ Alain almost snapped at her.
‘The restaurant refurbished, with decent tables and chairs, a bar and a sound system would be a wonderful place for weddings, parties, even some of those bonding weekends that companies are so fond of these days. Revive the old fishing festival maybe. It’s a way of keeping the site open and paying for itself all year round. It would all bring in good money.’
‘You’re turning it into the kind of campsite I don’t want to run.’ Alain glared at her.
‘Well, as this campsite is Nigel’s, he gets to make the final decisions, so if you’re not happy, maybe you’d better find yourself another one,’ Belinda said quietly.
Alain looked at her, opened his mouth as though to say something, before changing his mind and walking out.
