Page 14 of Summer on the French Riviera
‘Not pathetic, it’s not easy to give up doing something you love,’ Hugo said quietly.
Harriet acknowledged his words with a small smile. ‘It turns out that it was easier to stop than it is to start again. I’ve done a few pencil sketches in the last months but no actual painting.’ She finished her drink and glanced at Hugo, wanting to move the conversation away from herself. ‘What about you? You’re an art gallery owner, but are you a frustrated artist too?’
Hugo shook his head. ‘No. I do, however, have a passion for art. I also love marketing and business. So I did a degree in Art History with the ultimate aim of combining all those skills and opening a gallery to promote lesser-known artists but also being involved in the bigger world of art. And bingo, here I am.’
‘Just like that?’ Harriet said quizzically. ‘Somehow I doubt it.’
Hugo gave her a rueful smile, ‘You’re right. It’s taken a few years and a lot of upsets along the way, as well as a huge amount of work, but I sincerely love what I do. Not many people can say that.’ He pushed his chair back and stood up.
As Harriet went to pick up the empty lager bottles, Hugo put a hand on top of hers, causing an unexpected tingle to seep through her fingers.
‘Do you believe that people come into your life for a reason? I feel that about you and I’m really looking forward to us getting to know each other. I think we’re going to be good friends.’ His eyes shone as he smiled at her and she had no hesitation in returning his smile with a happy one of her own. ‘Come on, there’s time before we open to introduce you to some of my favourite artists’ work.’
Harriet followed him back into the shop, strangely happy at the prospect of getting to know Hugo better.
* * *
Good Friday evening and Elodie was looking forward to spending time with Gazz. The paraglide they’d shared recently had been a wonderfully exciting time and this evening they planned to grab something to eat and drink and to spend at least three hours together. Maybe even hop on Gazz’s scooter and go along the coast to Cannes.
Gazz and Mickaël were busy securing everything for the night when she arrived on the beach and Elodie gave them a hand placing the rest of the paddleboards in the storage cage ready to be pulled up the beach.
Gazz snapped the last padlock into place and stood up. ‘Merci, Papa.Tout sécurisé maintenant.’
‘Happy to help,’ Mickaël said, before turning to say goodbye to Elodie. ‘We look forward to you, Gabby and Harriet coming for lunch on Sunday. Philippe, he insist he cooks the roast lamb for us all. Jessica, she is so happy for him to do it.’
After Mickaël had left, Gazz looked at Elodie. ‘I’m a bit of a beach bum this evening, I’m afraid. Not sure I’m tidy enough for any restaurant. I forgot about allowing time to get home and change.’
‘You look just fine to me,’ Elodie said. ‘But if you’re bothered, why don’t we just buy a takeaway pizza and drinks and stay on the beach?’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Gazz said. ‘Come on,’ and they began to walk slowly along the beach, hand in hand, towards the wood-fired takeaway pizza hut.
Half an hour later, they’d found a sheltered spot and were sitting with their backs against the sea wall, happily munching pizza and watching the Mediterranean lapping the shore with the sun shining on the Iles de Lérins out in the bay.
‘How are things between you and Harriet?’ Gazz asked.
Elodie shrugged. ‘About the same. She knows I want answers to all my questions, but she won’t actually sit down and talk to me about the past. I just worry that she’s going to up and disappear again. If she does, she does, but Gabby would be absolutely devastated if that happened.’
‘It’s probably hard for her, remembering the difficult time she had when she became a mother with no partner to help her cope. And then there has to be the very real anguish she surely felt leaving you with Gabby,’ Gazz said thoughtfully.
‘I get all that, honestly I do. And she’s admitted that she made a big mistake leaving me. But if she’d just tell me my father’s name, how they met, whether they were in a real relationship, does he know about me? That’s basically all I want to know. I’m not going to rush off and try to find him. I don’t see much point in doing that.’
‘Talk to her, tell her that. Maybe that’s what she’s afraid of. You connecting with someone she doesn’t want back in her life.’
‘I suppose that is a possibility. But if she’d only tell me the few facts I want to know, then we could all settle down with no secrets and live togetheren famillehappily, like Gabby wants.’
Gazz placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. ‘I’m sure things will work out in the end, but right now, take a look to your right. The sun is setting over the Esterel mountains.’
Elodie turned her head and rested it against Gazz as she watched in amazement as the setting sun turned the mountains red, while above them the sky became a mixture of streaks of blood red, lavender and magenta. It was like no other sunset she’d ever seen before, even the ones at Christmas hadn’t been like this one. Sitting there with Gazz’s arm around her shoulders, accepting and returning his gentle kisses, Elodie knew this romantic evening on the beach would be etched into her memory forever.
14
Easter Sunday morning, on her way to the boulangerie, Elodie stopped at the chocolatier and collected the three Easter eggs she’d ordered. One each for Gabby, Harriet and Gazz. Gabby, she knew, would have one for her, but she wasn’t expecting one from Harriet or Gazz. At the boulangerie, she bought a brioche loaf with raisins instead of the normal croissants. She’d missed the traditional hot cross buns on Good Friday and hoped brioche slices toasted and spread with the cinnamon butter she’d made would, in their own way, be a belated substitute.
Back at the villa, she put two Easter eggs on the terrace table and took the remaining one into the kitchen while she prepared the brioche. Taking a plate full of the warm toast out to the terrace, she was surprised to see both Gabby and Harriet had added eggs to the table.
‘Happy Easter,’ Gabby and Harriet said, as Elodie placed the plate on the table.
‘And the same to you, thank you for the eggs,’ Elodie said. ‘Hope you like my substitute for hot cross buns.’
