Page 10 of Summer on the French Riviera
‘What did he want with you?’ Gabby gave Colette a curious look.
‘On one of the visits he asked me, if I ever saw you again, to tell you that he was sorry. When I told him to tell you himself, he stomped off, muttering that he couldn’t see himself going to England now, and besides, it made no difference to him what you inherited once he was dead.’
‘How strange,’ Gabby said. ‘The notaires dealt with everything for me and didn’t unearth any problems. Tying up things was pretty straightforward. There was only the villa and a few thousand euros in the bank. A bit more after the house was cleared. Most of the euros went on settling the notaire and tax.’ Gabby drained her coffee cup. ‘I can’t believe after all those years the word sorry passed his lips. Do you think he genuinely was?’
Colette shrugged. ‘Something was definitely on his mind, peut-être his guilty conscience?’
‘Bit late in the day if it was,’ Gabby said sadly.
10
Whilst Gabby was spending time with Colette at the brocante, Harriet and Elodie walked through Juan-les-Pins towards the address Harriet had been given when she’d phoned about the dog. As they walked, Elodie toyed with the idea of trying to somehow get her mother to open up about the past, but Harriet was striding out fast, making talking difficult. Elodie sighed. One day the time would be right.
Avenue Nicolas Aussel with its big Casino supermarket was busy, but they quickly found the villa they were looking for and Elodie rang the bell.
Listening to the volley of barking that instantly filled the air, Harriet laughed. ‘She’s got a good bark on her.’
A harassed-looking woman opened the door. ‘You’ve come about Lulu? Come in. I’m Shelley.’
Lulu, who had stopped barking, looked at them before cautiously edging forward to sniff the hand Elodie held out.
‘I love the name,’ she said. ‘And she’s beautiful. I love her coffee and cream colouring. And her tail curled along her back, so sweet.’
‘Why are you looking for a new home for her?’ Harriet asked.
‘She’s my mother’s dog and she’s going into a retirement home which sadly doesn’t allow pets. Mum is desperate for me to find the right forever home for her. A couple of people have said they’ll take her, but,’ Shelley shrugged, ‘they didn’t feel like the right people.’
‘Can’t you take her?’ Elodie asked. ‘Keep her in the family.’
‘I work as a troubleshooter for a travel firm. I can be sent anywhere at a moment’s notice. And my husband isn’t always around either.’
Harriet and Elodie listened as Shelley explained that as a breed Tibetan terriers liked company, were wary around strangers, but they could be a nuisance with their barking if left alone for too long.
‘Once she’s got to know you, Lulu is a fantastic little dog. And despite all the hair, which needs regular brushing, she doesn’t shed.’
‘Well, there’s three of us living together, so we can practically guarantee she’ll always have a human around for company,’ Harriet said, bending down to gently stroke Lulu on the head. ‘Such long floppy ears.’
‘Please may we have her?’ Elodie said. ‘We both promise to take really good care of her. Send your mother photos if she would like that.’
‘She’d love it.’ Shelley watched as Lulu tried to climb on to Elodie’s knees as she was bent down. ‘She seems to like you, she didn’t behave like that with any of the others who came. Okay, she’s yours.’
A quarter of an hour later, all the official paperwork, including Lulu’s dog passport, had been signed and handed over. Lulu’s toys, food and the beanbag she liked to sleep on ‘when she’s not sleeping on somebody’s bed’, Shelley had said laughing, had been placed in a large tote bag and Shelley clipped the lead onto Lulu’s collar. Before handing the lead to Elodie, Shelley gave Lulu a big hug, ‘Be good, sweetie.’
Walking back to the Villa de l’Espoir, Lulu trotted happily alongside Elodie. ‘I can’t believe we’ve got a dog,’ Elodie said. ‘I’ve wanted one for so long, and Lulu is just so beautiful.’
‘Let’s hope she settles with us,’ Harriet said. ’Thankfully, she’s been spayed, so we won’t have a problem with any puppies.’
‘I think that’s a shame. She’d have had beautiful puppies,’ Elodie mused.
Back at the villa after her lunch with Colette, Gabby too made a fuss of Lulu and the three of them spent the rest of the day playing with the new addition, brushing her and helping her to explore and settle in to her new home.
Lulu’s first night at the villa was spent on Elodie’s bed, ignoring her own beanbag on the floor. For a smallish dog she certainly took up a lot of room. Elodie tried once or twice to coax her off the bed onto the beanbag, but Lulu wasn’t to be moved. In the end, Elodie gave up and curled her legs around the dog and the two of them stayed like that all night.
11
The days started to settle down into a routine. Once Joel had the pool sparkling and fully functional again, Elodie swam fifty lengths every morning before breakfast under the watchful eyes of Lulu from the terrace. She was determined to counter the hours she spent sitting in front of her computer and get fit. After a shower, Elodie would take Lulu for her first walk of the day to the boulangerie. Lulu wasn’t allowed on the beach, but most mornings Elodie and Gazz had a takeaway coffee together on the Promenade du Soleil before Gazz kissed her goodbye and she and Lulu ran home with the breakfast croissants.
Once the furniture they’d bought from the brocante had arrived, Harriet began giving the dresser a makeover. The table with its inlaid mosaic design was washed, its metal legs wire brushed and treated before being placed on the terrace with an eclectic collection of chairs. And the transat loungers were wire brushed and given a coat of teak restorer oil before being placed around the pool to dry.
