Page 24 of Never Too Late
‘Hi, Ashok!’ she called.
‘Hi, Sash. How’s you?’
‘Good, thanks.’
‘Have you seen the gang lately?’ Ashok had taken to calling Vikram, Mira and Alaria ‘The Gang’ when we were in Goa and were as pleased as we were that they’d all kept in touch. Especially as Vikram and Mira had booked their wedding at his hotel next year.
‘Last night, actually. We went to a new bar that had opened but it was a bit naff really. Not much atmosphere and super over-priced. Not sure it’ll last long.’
‘That’s a shame.’
‘It was fine.’ She shrugged it off. ‘We got awesome pizza from a street vendor and went off to a pub that we know really well.’
‘Ah. I’m glad to hear it.’
‘I’m going to shoot off now, but Mum’s got some exciting news for you.’
‘Indeed? I’m very intrigued. Lovely to speak to you, Sasha.’
‘And you! Bye!’
‘Hang on a tic, Ashok,’ I said and quickly hugged my daughter goodbye, telling her I’d call her tomorrow about arrangements to tell her dad. ‘OK, I’m back.’
‘Good! The suspense is killing me. What’s this news?’
‘I took your advice.’
‘Ah. I’m glad someone listens to me. Which bit exactly?’
‘I’m going back to Paris.’
14
‘Paris?’ Hugh repeated, looking between us across the restaurant table. ‘Both of you?’
‘Yes, Dad.’
‘Why?’
‘Because “Paris is always a good idea”?’ Sash returned, throwing me a smile as she quoted the line fromSabrina. Her natural and very welcome joie de vivre had been a godsend these past few weeks whenever I felt the beginning of a wobble beginning to surface about my decision. I watched her latest YouTube video announcing to her followers that she was moving to Paris for six months, excitement radiating through the screen. As she had told them, we didn’t have definite plans yet, but if they had any ideas of places they wanted her to go, eat at and see, then to put them in the comments below the video. I scrolled through after I’d watched it, reading the suggestions as well as the good wishes and her followers’ own excitement at this new chapter.
‘I thought you were all done with that,’ Hugh said, turning to me.
‘With what?’
‘All that Paris nonsense.’
‘Dad!’
‘It’s fine, Sash.’ Hugh and I had managed to keep the divorce pretty amicable but there were moments my ex did raise my hackles. Like now. I turned back to face him. ‘It’s not nonsense, Hugh. It wasn’t nonsense then either. Let’s remember that I haven’t judged you on your choices.’ I let that sit a moment. The fact that his girlfriend was twenty years his junior had surprised me a little but other than that, if she made him happy then that was all that mattered. Sasha, on the other hand was, understandably, still having trouble getting her head around the fact her dad was dating someone only a few years older than her.
But if he was going to be snarky about my decision, there was ammunition there enough to launch at least a warning shot across the bows. Such as the fact that they went to Glastonbury last year, for example. And that he’d paid for it all, according to Sash. This was a man who felt six people at dinner was a crowd. But that had been his choice and Paris was mine.
‘No. No, of course not. Obviously, I didn’t mean it like that.’
Can anyone say backpedal?
‘No, I didn’t think you did.’ I tried not to smile.
