Page 29 of Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky
Quickly Agnes let go of Francine’s hand. ‘Theo, stay with Francine for me. There’s something, someone, I need to check out.’
But when she turned around again the crowd around the couple had increased and she could barely see them. Frantically Agnes tried to push her way past people, apologising as she elbowed them out of her way. As she reached the outer edge of the crowd, she saw the couple climb into one of the waiting limousines outside the Palais des Festivals. She watched as the door slammed and the driver whisked them away.
Agnes let out a deep breath of disappointment and walked back slowly to rejoin Francine and Theo. She couldn’t be sure the elegant woman with the red hair was Denice, she hadn’t been able to get close enough to see her face properly. But her gut instinct was saying, ‘who else would have stared at us like that?’ It must have been Denice.
‘Where did you go, Maman?’ Francine asked. ‘Did you see Samantha?’
‘No, I’m sorry, I didn’t see Samantha. I thought I saw someone I knew, but I was wrong,’ Agnes said…
As the short memory faded away, Agnes realised she’d stopped outside a hairdresser’s. Somebody was leaving and smiled at Agnes as they held the door open for her. ‘Best hairdressers in town if you’re hesitating,’ the woman said.
Agnes smiled and took the handle of the open door, ‘Thank you,’ and walked in hoping the woman was right.
27
It was gone nine o’clock and the sun was setting when Francine finished her final read through of the manuscript she’d been working on. Once she’d pressed the button and emailed it to the publisher, she switched off her laptop, stood up, stretching her arms above her head and rolled her shoulders, trying to ease the tension in them.
Zazz had returned from her day with Mel and Francine had wished her a good evening when she’d briefly popped into the kitchen for a drink of water before she left for the cinema. Francine had cried off from having dinner with Agnes and Theo, blaming pressure of work, which was true. But now she was seriously hungry. Frites. That was what she fancied. So that was what she was going to have.
Francine grabbed her denim jacket and ten minutes later was clutching an extra-large portion of frites as she walked along the harbour quay. Piers was standing in the stern of his boat talking to a young man and she gave him a happy smile and prepared to walk on by, not wanting to interrupt.
‘Frankie. Come and meet my youngest son, Andre. Would you like a glass of wine to go with those frites?’
‘If the two of you are busy I don’t want to get in the way,’ Francine said.
‘Enchanté, Madame Mansell,’ Andre said as Piers introduced them. ‘I am leaving. I’m off to meet some friends at the Martinez,’ and he leapt out of the boat cockpit onto the quay and with a wave of his hand was gone. ‘See you later, Papa.’
Piers helped Francine on board and then fetched two glasses and a bottle of wine.
‘Want to share my frites?’ Francine offered.
‘I thought you’d never offer,’ Piers said, laughing.
Sitting there on the gently moving yacht, enjoying the warm night air, sipping a cool glass of wine and sharing the bag of frites with Piers, Francine gave a short laugh.
‘This is so weird. Technically, I suppose you could say I’m here on a short break, a mini holiday, while we sort out the will. I’m not a local. But I’m not a real holidaymaker either. I feel so at home sitting here with you. None of this,’ she waved her hand in the general direction of the restaurants and bars lining the other side of the quay, ‘is strange or new to me. I remember it from an earlier time – granted, it’s a lot smarter than it used to be. The years I’ve been away have seemingly disappeared. Right now, I feel as though I’m back living in Cannes as if I’d never left. And I’m surprised I feel so happy to be back.’
Piers took a frite and ate it thoughtfully. ‘You were born in this town,n’est-ce pas? I think you feel like this, it is because in your heart, you are a French woman, not the uptight English woman you have turned into.’
Shocked, Francine turned to look at him. She remembered in the past you could always rely on Piers not to hold back on his opinions. It seemed nothing had changed. ‘You think I am uptight?’
Piers nodded. ‘I remember you being so carefree and adventurous. Of course, life changes us all as we grow older. We have to work hard to remember our true selves are still inside us when we stop being known simply as Piers, or Francine and become someone different in the world. Wife, maman, husband, papa. Our old selves get swallowed up by our new identities and if we’re not careful our true, younger, version is lost. One has to dig deep to remember the dreams and hopes of a younger you. I think you have lost that.’
Francine gave him a rueful smile. ‘When did you get to be so wise and enlightened?’
‘You have to trust me on this. I spent a long time finding the true me again when Mimi left.’ Piers said. ‘La joie de vivre– the joy of life is everything, Frankie. And I think you have lost it.’
They sat in a companionable silence as they finished the frites and drank their rosé. Piers broke the silence when he fetched the bottle of wine and topped up their glasses.
‘I know someone who is interested in Oscar’s boat.’
Francine sighed. ‘I forgot to ask Theo about the boat. Give me the name and contact details and I’ll pass them on to Theo. He’s the best person to deal with it, neither Maman nor I know anything about boats or the process of selling them.’ She picked up her glass and took a sip.
‘Edwin is arriving on Friday and in the evening we’re meeting my potential half-brother, his son and also his mother. Zazz is looking forward to possibly having a new uncle, a new cousin. I only wish I was half as excited as she is at the thought of meeting them.’
‘See, there you go again,’ Piers said. ‘Uptight. Be more Zazz-like. Relax and treat him like a potential new friend. If you don’t get on you don’t have to see him again. If you do, well, you might have fun.’
Francine laughed. ‘I’ll try. I met your Mel the other morning. She’s lovely. Zazz and her have gone to the cinema together tonight. I’m so pleased Zazz has found a good friend.’
