Page 54 of Where Do We Go From Here?
Slowly, clumsily, they manage to have Wendy’s first ever in-depth conversation about the weather in French, during which she learns that heavy snow is forecast for the end of the week along with freezing temperatures. Apparently, French forecasters don’t predict the actual depth of the snowfall, but therewill be a lot, Manon insists. Three or four days of snowfall, at the very least.
Wendy should get plenty of food and wood in, Manon tells her. And she should probably see if she can get her car back before the bad weather hits. It all sounds a bit worrying, especially considering the chaos the last snowfall caused, yet she feels far more excited than scared. Isn’t this why one rents a remote mountain cabin, after all?
As Manon is leaving, she calls for Wendy to join her behind the house and points to a pile of bottle-filled crates. ‘Do you want me to take these, before the snow?’ she asks.
‘Oh, to the bottle bank?’ Wendy asks. ‘Yes, please! That would be great. It’s so far from here that without a car, I just haven’t been able to do it.’
But as they load the crates one by one into Manon’s little Panda, Wendy starts to feel embarrassed and then – when they have to fold the rear seats down – mortified by the sheer volume of empties. Though some of these are jars that once contained jam or coffee or pasta sauce, the vast majority are indisputably empty wine bottles.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she says repeatedly as they load the car. ‘Do you want me to come with you to put them in the bottle bank?’
‘No,’ Manon says, with a sigh. ‘It’s fine.’ But Wendy sees a cloud crossing Manon’s features, and for the first time since Wendy has known her, she doesn’t look fine at all.
‘I am used to this,’ Manon tells her as they load the final crate into the car and slam the hatch. ‘I do it for my brother all the time. And before that I do it for my mother. Like I say, is a family problem.’
Todd: Hello? Mum?
Wendy: Hello, my lovely boy.
T: Eek, you sounded a bit Welsh there. Is everything all right?
W: Um, yes, sweetheart. Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?
T: Oh, OK. Just… you know… For some reason I thought it was Dad.
W: You thought I was Dad? Doesn’t my number?—
T: No, I thought you were phoning because something had happenedtoDad. You don’t tend to phone out of the blue.
W: Sometimes I do. I may not have done so for a while, I suppose, but…
T: Fine. Whatever. Anyway, I’m glad. I was worried there for a moment. So how are things in France? I take it you’re still there?
W: Yes. And it’s lovely, thanks. We’re getting ready for heavy snowfall, actually. So that’s exciting.
T: Snow, huh? Will you be able to ski?
W: Ha! You know I can’t ski, honey.
T: True. Shame, though. Anyway, it’s wet and miserable here. So you’re not missing much.
W: Your father said it’s been lovely.
T: Oh, you twoaretalking, are you? Good. And, yeah, it was lovely until Sunday. But now it’s chucking it down so we’re holed up bingeing onThe Boys. Have you seen it? It’s excellent. Violent, but excellent.
W: No, I can’t say I have. And when you say we…we’reholed up…?
T: Oh, just me, my flatmate Matti, and Amanda, of course.
W: Amanda… Is she your girlfriend?
T: Yep.
W: Is this the same one as in the um…Christmasphoto? The one where you were all eating cake?
T: Yes, Mum, it’s thesame one.
W: I didn’t mean anything, Todd. I’ve never met her, that’s all.
