Page 34 of Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky
‘There you go, Mum, problem solved.’
Theo steered the conversation onto safer ground with his next remark. ‘I was wondering about a visit to Saint Honorat tomorrow. The island is beautiful and the monastery there is well worth a visit and a Sunday morning I feel would be the perfect time. A visit there can really lift the spirits. It’s a special place.’
‘I’d like that,’ Agnes said quietly. ‘I remember going there years ago. Such a tranquil place.’
‘It’s Saint Marguerite that I remember more,’ Francine said. ‘Sailing over in the moonlight with friends, building a campfire on the beach and burnt sausages.’ She laughed. ‘I’m sure it was illegal but it was such fun. Next time I see Piers I must ask him if he remembers our illicit nighttime adventures. I’m sure he will.’ She took a sip of her wine. ‘Yes, let’s do that tomorrow morning. A visit to the Îles d’Lérins after all these years will be good.’
Zazz, sitting there listening to her mother reminisce about her teenage holidays spent down here, wondered if Francine and Piers had ever been an item back in their teenage days. She quickly shut that thought down. Too weird to think about.
‘I enjoyed meeting our new relatives last night,’ Zazz said. ‘My half-uncle seems okay and getting to know new cousin, Al, properly could be fun.’ She smiled brightly at everyone before taking a sip of her wine.
‘Are you being deliberately provocative?’ Francine demanded.
‘No. But like it or not they are part of our family. Our dysfunctional family.’ Zazz turned to Agnes. ‘You get on with Rachel, don’t you, Gran?’
Agnes nodded. ‘Yes. I think she had a hard start in life and what happened was all down to Oscar. He took advantage of a vulnerable young woman.’
‘There you are then. Oscar guilty. Rachel innocent. We can all be friends.’ Zazz knew that this time she was being provocative, but her mother was being downright impossible with her attitude.
Their meals arrived at that moment and to Zazz’s relief conversation stilled for some time whilst everyone tucked into their food. As she ate her vegetarian enchiladas smothered with a spicy sauce that was delicious, she decided there was no way she was going on the boat trip tomorrow.
31
Zazz was relieved to find her dad on his own in the kitchen when she returned from her run early the next morning.
‘Morning,’ she said, putting the bag of croissants on the table as usual. ‘Where’s Mum?’
‘Getting ready for our island trip. You’ll have to be quick. We’ve got to leave in about fifteen minutes if we want to catch the first boat.’
‘I’m not coming,’ Zazz said as she popped a capsule into the coffee machine and pressed the button.
Edwin looked at her. ‘Okay. That’s a shame. I’m disappointed. I shall miss your company.’
‘Sorry, Dad, but Mum and I are best staying away from each other at the moment.’ She sighed. ‘I seem to upset her every time I open my mouth or give her an honest answer to a question.’
‘You did provoke her a little last night though, whether it was deliberate or not,’ Edwin said.
‘It was and it wasn’t deliberate. I just thought mentioning the Cortez’s rather than shying away from talking about them would be a good thing. I should have known better. I’ll take my croissant and coffee upstairs out of the way. Have a lovely time – maybe we can go again together another day?’
‘Definitely. You have a good day.’
Zazz stayed up in her room until she heard the front door slam and her parents leaving. She’d half expected Francine to come up and argue with her about not going with them, but she didn’t and Zazz suspected her dad had told her not to. Shower time. Afterwards she would take a walk around the artisan market Mel had told her about.
Marché Forville was busy as she walked through, dodging around people, soaking up the atmosphere as she took photo after photo. Marcus might like a feature about the history of the market, particularly as it had recently been refurbished. One photo she took made her smile. An elderly man was carefully choosingsaladeitems from one of the legumes stalls with a large ginger cat, complete with collar and lead, contentedly curled around his shoulders, the cat’s blue eyes watching every movement of the stall holder.
When she reached the brocante and artisan open air market held on Les Allées de la Liberté, Zazz stood on the edge of the open space and took several photos from a distance, trying to capture the size of the event. So many stalls – second-hand books, china, vinyl records, postcards, toys, furniture, pictures, jewellery. In amongst the second-hand stalls were stands selling new screen-printed scarves, paintings, old-fashioned wooden toys, an author selling his latest book, straw baskets, handmade jackets and hats. The market offered a real cornucopia of goods to buy, new and old – and lots of good content for her blog and photos for Instagram.
Zazz wandered around looking at everything, trying to resist the urge to buy a straw sun hat she fell in love with and failing. She was in the South of France, sun protection was a must. Thought about like that the hat was an investment and a must-have.
Desperate for a coffee, after paying for her hat she decided she was all marketed-out and made her way to Piers’s cafe. Unusually, there was a long queue outside and she could see a harassed Dominic and Piers busy inside.
‘Excusez-moi,’ she said pushing through the queue. ‘Je travaille ici.’
Piers saw her coming and smiled. ‘You come to assist?’
Zazz nodded. ‘Looks like you need a hand.’ She looked across at the sink filled with coffee cups waiting to go in the dishwasher. ‘Shall I start there?’
Piers nodded. ‘Thanks.’ And he turned back to the queue. The next hour passed in a blur as Zazz caught up with the dirty crockery before clearing and wiping tables and generally keeping on top of things.
