Page 70 of Where Do We Go From Here?
After a hug they trundle Fiona’s suitcase to the short-stay car park where Wendy has parked the rented Clio.
‘Not an electric, then?’ Fiona asks as she heaves her case into the back. ‘I thought you were all eco-everything nowadays.’
‘Huh!’ Wendy snorts. ‘There was a Tesla option, actually, but it was twice the price of this one. Plus, I think I’d be a bit lost, to be honest. I wouldn’t know where to begin.’
‘Neil’s got one,’ Fiona says. ‘Todd keeps going on about how cool it is. He thinks Dad should get one.’
‘I’m not sure anything from that Musk guy can be considered “cool”,’ Wendy says, a comment she knows will please Fiona.
‘That’s exactly what I keep saying.’
Wendy drives them to the nearby port of St-Laurent-du-Var where they choose a pizzeria overlooking the bay.
‘It’s amazing!’ Fiona says, taking her seat and looking out to sea. ‘I can totally see why you chose here.’
‘This is nothing like where I live,’ Wendy says. ‘You’ll see.’
The waiter arrives so Wendy orders two pizzas, a Coke for Fiona and a small pitcher of red wine for herself.
‘Wine, Mum?’ Fiona comments. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, it’s fine,’ Wendy replies. ‘It’s 250 mls; it’s tiny.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t, though. You are about to drive and everything.’
‘God, I’ll just have a glass, then,’ Wendy tells the waiter, shaking her head.‘Juste un verre.’
‘Mum, I really…’ Fiona starts. But the waiter shoots Wendy a knowing ‘kids today, huh?’ smile, and vanishes before the discussion can go any further. His complicity with her mother makes her feel outnumbered.
‘Anyway, as I was saying…’ Wendy says, signalling that the subject is now closed. ‘It’s very rugged and remote where I live. It’s not coastal, at all.’
Fiona sighs in frustration then gives in. ‘But it’s nice?’ she asks. ‘You like it?’
‘It’s… interesting,’ Wendy tells her. ‘You’ll see.’
The drinks arrive, closely followed by the pizzas and they are thin and crispy and delicious.
‘So how are things with you?’ Wendy asks, taking a tiny sip of her wine. ‘You look well.’
In truth, Fiona has put on weight since Wendy last saw her but she knows (as only a mother can) that the subject is taboo.
‘Thanks. Yeah, I’m fine.’
Wendy wants to ask her if she has a boyfriend, but that subject is off limits, too. ‘And school?’ she asks, instead.
‘Oh, that’s all fine. Pretty much caught up with everything now. Though I have to say I’m a bit jealous of Todd. He escaped his finals completely.’
‘He did, didn’t he? The lucky bugger. Though I read somewhere that employers can be a bit snooty about A level results from that year.’
‘Yes, I read that, too. Not that it seems to have bothered Manchester uni.’
‘No, apparently not.’
They eat for a moment in silence, then Fiona says, ‘Look, I know this is a bit of a?—’
‘Ooh, look,’ Wendy says, pointing. On the horizon an enormous cruise ship is sliding into view. ‘That’s massive! It’s like a bloody hotel on a boat – look, Fiona!’
‘Yes,’ Fiona says, turning her head. ‘But?—’
