Page 16 of A French Country Escape
‘That would be lovely,’ Ingrid said. ‘The next cafe along does good coffee and cakes.’
Sitting there watching the swans on the lake as well as the world go by, Sasha smiled happily. ‘Thank you for bringing me today,’ she said, just as they both heard Ingrid’s phone in her bag ping with a text message.
Ingrid quickly pulled it out and read out loud:
Sorry I’ve missed your calls. Busy tying things up here. I’m planning on coming over very soon, waiting on something before I can finalise the date. Love to you both. Penny.
Ingrid looked at Sasha. ‘What the hell does “waiting on something” mean?’
Sasha could only shake her head. ‘I don’t know. At least she is planning on coming over soon. You’ll just have to hang on to that thought.’
13
Sasha declined Ingrid’s offer of lunch when they got back to the château and instead, enjoyed the fresh baguette she’d bought in Huelgoat market filled with cheese, ham and salad. She ate it accompanied by a glass of rosé, sitting out on the terrace and watching the birds flitting to and fro in the garden. Mentally, she added bird table and bird bath to her ever-growing ‘wanted for the cottage’ list.
Sasha gave a happy sigh. The countryside was so quiet here. Not having to work nine to five was wonderful. She could just sit and live in the moment. Such a long time since she’d been able to do that. It couldn’t last forever, of course, but she was determined to enjoy it for as long as possible. Maybe even try to find a way of earning an income in a different way. The recurring question ‘Why don’t you reactivate your Etsy shop?’ flashed into her mind again.
Could she? Spend her days drawing and painting? Sell enough for it to become her main income? Work from home? Lots of people did these days. In theory, all you needed was an internet connection, which she now had, and something to sell of course. Deep in thought, Sasha sipped her rosé. She had hersavings and there was still some of her mum’s money left over. If she was careful about how much she spent renovating the cottage, she could probably survive for a year on the money she had. But was she brave enough to risk it?
She finished her drink, put the glass and plate in the sink, and went upstairs to the small third bedroom where she’d placed several unopened boxes. Boxes that contained not only her paints and sketchbooks, but also the remains of her Etsy shop. Stock that could possibly kick-start her ‘side hustle’ into a thriving business.
Sasha looked around, trying to visualise this turned into her studio cum workshop. It was an adequate size for a single bedroom, but would it really be big enough for all the necessary paraphernalia that she knew would inevitably be needed for a successful Etsy business? Thoughtfully, she wandered into the empty second bedroom and then into the one she’d chosen to use for herself. Too big, she decided, but the empty one was a perfect size. Standing there, she could see her easel to the side of the window next to a drawing table, another table for her computer and printer and shelves to contain paper, paints, frames, envelopes and all the other artistic things that she would need. With the walls painted white and the large window, it would be a lovely, bright space to work in.
But giving up a decent-sized bedroom would mean that she would have a problem if she ever had a couple of guests. Sasha gave a mental shrug. Having guests was a long way away; the small bedroom would be fine for a single person, and she could always give up her bed and sleep in there if she needed to. Determinedly, she started to move boxes from the small room to the middle of the floor in the larger one. She was going to do this.
Sasha had just pulled the largest of the boxes along the landing to the space she already thought of as her studio when Ingrid phoned.
‘You okay? You sound breathless,’ Ingrid said when she answered.
‘I’m fine. Just been moving boxes.’
‘I made a couple of phone calls and I’ve found your puppies. It’s a local farmer’s dog on the other side of the village. Definitely not a puppy farm. Bruno, the farmer, is well regarded in the village. There are only two of the litter left. I can take you to see them this evening, if you’d like me to? I know Bruno and he doesn’t speak English, so I can interpret for you.’
‘Thank you so much.’
‘See you about five o’clock then.’
Sasha smiled to herself. Ingrid was turning into a real friend despite the difference in their ages. To think she’d been worried about the Chevaliers being stand-offish; nothing could be further from the truth, they were so friendly and helpful. She was looking forward to meeting Penny if and when she arrived, hoping that she too would turn out to be a new friend.
Hearing a car parking outside the cottages and knowing Freddie wasn’t around, she quickly ran downstairs to see who it was. As she opened the cottage door, Sasha was surprised to see Freddie stepping out of a silver-grey van, a happy smile on his face.
‘What d’you think?’ he said. ‘Traded in the old right-hand drive for this. It’s a Renault Diesel. Reckon it’ll be more useful to us than an ordinary car. It’s automatic, which you’ll soon get used to. Fancy a drive?’ And Freddie held the driver’s door open for her.
Sasha went to shake her head and say no but stopped herself. She knew that driving again was one of the things she had to do, had promised to do, and taking the first step was always going to be difficult. ‘Okay,’ she said hesitantly. ‘Just here on the estate, okay?’
Freddie stood watching as she slid into the driver’s seat and then he leant in and pointed out the things she needed to know. Finally, he said, ‘Tuck your left leg out of the way and just take it easy. Off you go.’
‘Aren’t you coming with me?’
Freddie shook his head. ‘No. You know how to drive, you’ve passed your test, just do it. Me sitting next to you would probably unsettle you. You’re not going on the road so…’ He shrugged, closed the door and walked into his cottage.
Sasha started the engine, put her foot lightly on the accelerator pedal, released the handbrake and moved off, gripping the steering wheel tightly. She drove slowly down towards the main gates where the drive was wide enough to allow her to simply go around without doing a three-point turn. When she got back to the cottages, she reversed and did the same again, a little quicker this time, and actually enjoyed the feeling of being back behind the wheel; the light steering and the automatic gearbox made things easy. However sitting on the left-hand seat did feel as if she were in the wrong place in the vehicle, but she guessed she’d get used to that in time. How she would feel out on the road though, she wasn’t sure. But she’d taken the first step.
A few moments later, Sasha had made a pot of tea, opened a packet of biscuits, and she and Freddie were sitting out on the terrace catching up with each other’s news. Freddie, as well as working with Peter on the estate, had taken on two gardens in the village. ‘It’s enough for now, I just need to keep some money coming in to help pay for paint and other stuff to renovate this place.’
‘I’m going to turn my second bedroom into a workroom and reopen my Etsy shop,’ Sasha said quietly. ‘See if I can earn enough working from home. I’ll have to do it on their main siterather than the UK one because of Brexit and import duties, and pray that I can attract some French and European customers.’
‘Good idea,’ Freddie said. ‘Your stuff always did well until Bradley came into your life.’
