Page 80 of The Little Provence Book Shop
‘Nah,’ Stacey flapped a hand. ‘This story actually has a happy ending!’
39
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for your email. Please do come! I have a lot to talk to you about. So much has happened since I last saw you, but I think it would be better if we spoke in person about everything.
I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to stay in St Vianne. For a year. Then I can see where Lili and I are, and what we need. But I don’t want you to think we’re abandoning you. You’re my big brother and Lili’s uncle and we will be over to visit all the time (if you can bear it). And of course, you are always welcome to come here for a break – even bring a partner, if you want.
I’ve got a lot of things to process and adjust to. If I’m honest, I don’t think I’m over Mum’s death. Perhaps we never get over things like that. There’s so much I wish I could ask her. But I’m learning to accept that we can never know everything – and it’s helpful to let go of some of those questions and just accept the way things are sometimes.
Anyway, that’s enough philosophy from me! Write back soon with your news.
Love you bro,
Addy xxx
Stretching, Adeline rose from her chair and checked the time. It was eight o’clock. Time to get Lili ready for school and then make her way to the bookshop. It seemed surreal that life was falling into its familiar pattern after so much had happened. But there was something nice, soothing about it too.
Half an hour later, with Lili walking next to her – refusing her hand for the first time – she made her way towards the school in the early morning sunlight. She’d worn a dress; she’d often felt self-conscious doing this in the past, but had decided it was time for a change. Besides, it was due to be thirty degrees later – she’d be grateful for it.
At the edge of the playground, she bent down and gave Lili a little kiss – which was promptly wiped off – and smiled as her daughter disappeared into a crowd of friends. Nothing stayed still for long, and she could already sense the ways in which her daughter had changed since their arrival.
‘Bonjour,’ said a voice behind her.
She turned, straightened and came face to face with André. Almost instantly, she felt her cheeks get hot. The last few days had been so fraught that she’d barely had time to think of him. But she felt a surge of happiness at seeing him. ‘Oh.Bonjour!’ she said. ‘Shouldn’t you be at work?’
‘No, I have some free time,’ he said. ‘Do you want to go for a coffee?’
‘Sounds perfect.’
Rather than have an intimate conversation surrounded bylocals sipping espresso, André suggested they grab a takeaway and sit on one of the benches close to the square.
‘So,’ he said, watching her as she took a sip of coffee.
‘So,’ she replied.
‘You enjoyed your trip?’
‘Oh. Yes. Well, it was quite something.’
‘A good something?’
‘A very good something.’ She took another sip. ‘I’ll tell you all about it, I promise. It’s just… I’ve got a lot to think about.’
‘But you met your mother.’
‘I met my birth mother, yes.’
‘And she was nice.’
‘She was lovely.’
He sipped his coffee and nodded. ‘Do you want me to come around tonight, perhaps?’
She took a breath. It was something she’d been thinking about almost constantly since the train ride home. Whether it was all a little too much. Whether she really knew enough about who she really was to give herself to someone else completely. Whether she could trust this situation she found herself in, where the pieces of her life were suddenly slotting together almost too easily.
‘André,’ she said. ‘You’re lovely. Truly. But I think it might be too soon. I think maybe I have so much going on, that it wouldn’t be fair on you to…’
