Page 106 of Never Too Late
‘Says the man who I remember as never being a particular fan of such things.’
‘It depends on what they are and who makes them.’ He flicked his dark brows, his eyes flashing with mischief as he leant in for another brief kiss before glancing at the plain face of a watch that Sash had reliably informed me cost more than her entire education. ‘I’d better get to the airport.’ His tone was of one heading to Madame Guillotine rather than the blue skies and opulent surroundings of a five-star luxury Bahraini hotel. Another kiss and then he was gone, jogging down the stairs and back out into the gloom of the day.
39
‘She was soooo nice!’ Sash hadn’t stopped talking since she’d got home. ‘Wasn’t she?’ She turned to Benoit, her face almost glowing with happiness. ‘And oh God, Mum, the food! You have to get Tomas to take you there. It’s Ah. May. Zing.’
I had no intention of asking Tomas to take me there. Anything that didn’t have a price on its menu was far too expensive for my taste. ‘And Simone served us every course. It was just…’ She took a gulp of the glass of water I’d just handed her. ‘Unbelievable. All these people were looking… it was a bit weird to start but she was just so nice and, like, normal, I kind of forgot about all that after a bit.’
‘I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself. Did you have a good night, Benoit?’
‘I did, thank you. Seeing Sasha this happy meant that whatever we did would have been a good night.’
She stopped scribbling in her notebook for a moment to lean over and kiss his cheek.
‘I imagine those other creators will be a little jealous when they see these videos.’
‘That’s not why I’m doing it.’ Sash’s head snapped up.
He raised his hands in defence. ‘I know. I was just saying.’
‘I’m not interested in getting back at them, or one-upmanship, Benoit.’
He shook his head. ‘No.’
Sash went back to her notes and Benoit looked over at me, pulling a ‘whoops’ face. There was a shadow of a smile but I could see his normal confidence had taken a dip. I gave the merest hint of shrug with one shoulder. It was up to them to discover each other’s beliefs and quirks and morals. As much as I liked Benoit, I wasn’t about to give him an indication to ignore Sash’s reply. He was undoubtedly right and those women who’d pretended to befriend my daughter would likely be turning rather ‘vert’ with envy when she uploaded her content from this and may well regret their unkindness, not to mention their immaturity. Hopefully, they’d learn from it just as Sasha would have.
I fully expected them to contact her after and perhaps try to mend bridges but it was unlikely to work. They’d hurt her badly and at a time when she’d needed friends. I’d been in two minds whether to caution her against them should they try but she pre-empted me.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if my “friends” try and contact me once these videos go up, though.’
‘And?’ I asked, as casually as I could.
‘Not interested,’ she said. ‘It’d be pretty obvious why they’d be getting back in touch, wouldn’t it? They can make their own contacts and come up with their own ideas once they’ve exhausted the ones I gave them.’ She tried to shrug it off but her eyes showed the hurt was still there.
Benoit remained silent, clearly thinking twice about any more accidental faux pas.
‘Not that I made this contact myself, obviously. I know that was down to Tomas.’ She gave a small smile. ‘And you.’
‘Was that a roundabout way of saying you approve of my boyfriend?’
‘Oh my God, that sounds so weird.’
I snorted a laugh. ‘Thanks.’
‘No, it’s just…’ She turned to Benoit beside her. ‘You know what I mean?’
He looked from one of us to the other, the faintest sheen of panic on his handsome face.
‘Don’t drag the poor man into it,’ I said, unhooking him from the predicament.
‘I’m just not used to…’ She tailed off.
‘Neither am I,’ I allowed. ‘Let’s just stick to calling him Tomas rather than labelling him, shall we?’
‘Partner?’ she suggested lightly. But this was my daughter. She’d never been a complicated personality, much like her father, which I’d always felt was a real quality. Mystery and many layers might be interesting in books but I’d always found it so exhausting, not to mention occasionally a tad pretentious, in real life. But even when she attempted to hide her real meaning, like now, I was able to employ the magic X-ray specs of motherhood and see through to her true meaning.
‘A little too soon for that. Like I said, “Tomas” is fine for now.’
