Escape to the French Farmhouse by Jo Thomas

Author:Jo Thomas [Thomas, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473573604
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2020-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

Rhi and Lou insist on taking me for lunch. I’m not sure if it’s to make up for their sudden arrival or they want to see if what Ollie has said is true and I really have lost the plot. I take them to Henri’s, through the ancient archway, down the cobbled street to the little bistro, where the awning is out, and the tables are laid outside.

Henri greets me, Rhi and Lou warmly, and tells me he is so proud to see Stephanie working with me. ‘She is blooming, like the lavande!’ he says, then adds, ‘And you too! Le Petit Mas is good for both of you!’ Rhi and Lou are looking at me with interest.

We order the wine and water and Lou gets straight to the point. ‘So, what’s going on here?’ she says. ‘Ollie said you’d lost the plot and refused to come home.’

Rhi kicks her under the table.

‘What?’ Lou flicks her straight blonde hair. ‘He says you keep saying you’re not going back and now you’ve stopped messaging him. Look, if it’s the baby thing …’

‘The baby thing?’ I ask.

‘What Lou means is …’

‘I know what she meant,’ I say to Rhi, with a sigh, and the ache in my heart has suddenly returned.

‘Look, I know you both mean well, and you’re my dearest friends,’ I lean over and put my hands over theirs, ‘but, really, this is for the best. Ollie and I, we’d come to the end of the road. We wanted different things. We’re not the same people we once were, and separating, before we could make each other thoroughly miserable, was the right thing to do. It was just the end of the journey for us. No blame. Just the end.’

They stare at me, clearly hearing what I’m saying and that I’m not talking gibberish. ‘It’s sad, really sad, but we both deserve the chance to be happy again, away from each other.’ And there is a pain in my heart that will leave a deep scar because we couldn’t make the distance together. ‘I can’t go back to our old life, the same things. This is about moving forward, wherever it takes me. And I have no idea how things are going to turn out. But I need to try.’ I look at them both. ‘I’m not going back. I’m here to stay. So, if you’ve come to persuade me otherwise, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come to stay here as my friends, I’m delighted to have you. As long as you don’t mind doing a bit of painting!’ I suddenly laugh. I have never felt clearer about anything in my life. I lift my glass.

After a moment of stunned silence, Rhi says, ‘I better get that brush out, then!’ She picks up her wine and smiles.

‘Best we order another bottle first!’ says Lou. The three of us clink glasses.

‘To new beginnings,’ I say. ‘What is it Dr Seuss said? “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

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