Escape to the French Riviera

Chapter Thirty

I stare in shock as my eyes focus on Elias and the overnight bag at his feet.

‘Were you expecting someone else?’ he asks. He looks tired and not too amused that I thought he was Michael.

‘I’m so sorry. I thought it was a drunk Michael. He can turn up sometimes… You know it’s over between us, right? It’s just he can be such a pain.’

I cringe as I make excuses about Michael. I am mortified at the greeting I have given him after he has travelled all this way.

‘Did you get my text message?’

‘No. In my haste to come here, I left my phone at home.’

‘Ah, no problem, we can talk about it again.’

I awkwardly pull myself closer and hug him tightly. I have said completely the wrong thing and stumble as I try to make things better.

‘Gosh, I wasn’t expecting you. What a shock. A nice shock, but…’

‘Yeah, I took the last train down and thought I’d surprise you. I hope it’s not inconvenient.’

‘Oh, my goodness. No. Of course it’s not. It’s amazing to see you. I just didn’t expect to see you so soon.’

‘Obviously,’ he says. He sounds sarcastic, and the atmosphere feels tense.

‘I mean. It’s great, though. Really great. I’m so happy to see you. It’s wonderful. Umm, absolutely wonderful.’

‘Yeah, well, Danny was out. James was locked in his room gaming, and I thought, what am I doing here sat in the living room alone? I should be spending the weekend with you. Like a naughty schoolboy, I decided to bunk off and run away. Well, for the night, anyway. I’ve got to be back by tomorrow evening.’

‘Wow, well… Thanks for coming down. It’s the most wonderful surprise.’

Even though I was ready for bed, I soon perk up and make us both a drink. With my glass in hand, Elias pulls me closer to him on the sofa. The feeling of having my head on his shoulder is always one of great comfort. As we finish our drinks, Elias looks at me with a concerned expression and lowers his voice as if he is scared of my response.

‘Tell me the truth, now, are you happy I showed up, or should I have checked first? I just grabbed a bag and jumped on the train. I didn’t think you might be busy or in bed. Was I being a bit too presumptuous?’

‘No, not at all. You’ve made me very happy.’ I grin and then remove the empty brandy glass from Elias’s hand.

For once, I decide to take charge of everything. I have never taken the lead in anything, I have always waited for others and followed like a sheep. But with Elias, something stirs within me, and I grab his hand and lead him into the bedroom. I remove the polo shirt he is wearing, pulling it over his head, and then move my fingers to the button of his jeans. Elias’s face tells me that right now he wants this as much as I do and we sink into the depths of the double bed that I am so used to lying in alone. A summer spent like this would be the best decision in the world right now.

In the morning, Elias asks for my laptop and shows me a villa. It’s in one of the villages we drove through in the little Fiat during our travels along the coast. I look at the pictures on the internet and can’t help but contrast them with the rain lashing against the windows, despite the weather forecast having promised that a heatwave was on the way. I so want to spend the summer with Elias in this villa, with its white marble bathrooms and infinity swimming pool with views of the sea. Although, I am beginning to think that I would take a rat-infested budget hotel if it meant spending more time with Elias.

‘Look, it’s free from next Wednesday. Let’s do it,’ says Elias.

‘Oh gosh, that soon? I don’t know. I haven’t even told the girls. I mean… And then there’s Danny and James… What would they say?’

‘Well, why don’t you explain to the girls that you’re taking a summer break? Use the book as an excuse if you don’t think they’ll like the fact that I’m there.’

‘They’ll be suspicious. They watch everything. I’d never get away with it. Besides, it’s high time I told them the truth. That I want to spend every moment with you. They’re big girls, and they need to know that their mam is one too. It’s time for them to accept that I need a life outside this family, even if I will always be there for them.’

‘If you’re sure. I really don’t want to come between you. Please know that’s the last thing I’d want.’

‘Same here with your boys. But I’ve put this off for far too long. I’ve always done what everyone expects of me, and I’m not getting any younger. It’s high time I put my foot down and told them what I want. The next time they come home, I’m going to speak to them. I’m going to tell them how happy I am spending time with you.’

‘Well, be careful. I don’t want to upset them, but I’m glad to hear you’re happy spending time with me,’ says Elias.

‘I am.’ I kiss his cheek, and then he turns to face me.

‘I can just see us splashing about in that pool,’ says Elias, turning back to the computer.

‘Oh, me too. Look, there’s a barbecue area by the pool. Maybe we can use it. I miss not being able to have one here, living in an apartment.’

This summer is going to be the best one ever.

‘If Madame would like a barbecue, then that’s what she’ll be having,’ says Elias. As he grins, his eyes look so sincere. I think of Poppy’s words about Elias being dodgy and can see that she couldn’t be further from the truth. She just needs to get to know him, and so I decide to organise an impromptu lunch in Cardiff before Elias gets his connection to Manchester. Elias very much wants to put things right with her after their first disastrous meeting, although I don’t warn the girls that he is with me.

I choose one of their favourite hang-outs because I know they’ll do anything for a free lunch there.

Although, as Elias and I turn up to the loud music and funky student environment, I do wish I’d picked somewhere a little quieter. I also regret not warning them that I am with Elias. They both look horrified when I walk in and make disgusted faces at each other.

‘Mam! I thought it was a girls’ lunch,’ says Jasmine.

‘Be polite, please. This is my friend Elias. Poppy’s already met him, and I wanted you to meet him too.’

Jasmine and Poppy grunt a hello, and Elias moves closer to shake their hands.

‘Lovely to meet you. Your mum doesn’t stop talking about you both and how well you’re doing at uni.’

‘We call her Mam, not Mum,’ says Jasmine.

‘Of course. Sorry, your mam. Anyway, this looks like a lovely place. One of your favourites, your mum says. Sorry, mam says.’

I can’t look as Poppy rolls her eyes. I didn’t bring them up to be so rude to a stranger. They’re normally polite and helpful to people they don’t know. But I suppose Elias isn’t a stranger. He is someone making moves on their mother, and they are not happy about it.

‘Yes, Elias. They love it here, don’t you, girls?’

‘Yeah,’ grunts Poppy.

‘Great. So, any recommendations on the food?’ asks Elias.

‘No, not really,’ says Jasmine.

I cringe as I watch them both being difficult as Elias squirms. This is proving harder than I thought it would be.

With nothing to lose, I decide to tell them about the summer trip. After all, their reactions to us both can’t get any worse and being in a public place might be the best way to break the news. At least they can’t have a meltdown here.

I await their response when I finish telling them about the trip.

I was expecting some sort of tantrum, but instead, Poppy looks flabbergasted, and Jasmine looks like a goldfish as she goes to speak and then changes her mind a few times.

‘You’d be welcome to visit us in France once uni is finished,’ says Elias.

For the first time, both of them smile.

‘Seriously?’ says Jasmine.

‘Yes, seriously. We’ve got a lovely place with a pool, two kilometres from the beach. Not far from Nice. Lots of good shops there. I’m sure you’d enjoy it,’ says Elias.

Poppy and Jasmine no longer look miffed but instead seem impressed.

‘We’d love that, actually, wouldn’t we?’ says Poppy.

‘Yeah. We would,’ agrees Jasmine.

‘Right then. It’s a deal. You give me the dates and I’ll arrange the tickets.’

‘It’s not long until we finish term, is it?’ says Poppy.

The thought of having lazy mornings with Elias flashes before me.

‘Well, why don’t you spend some time with Dad over the summer too? Then come out later on. Say, in August?’

‘Are you trying to delay us coming out?’ says Jasmine.

‘No, not at all. I just… well… I mean, you’ll need loads of spending money, and it’s not cheap out there.’

‘Well, we can sell some bits on Vinted,’ says Jasmine.

‘Yes, but a whole summer on the French Riviera isn’t going to be cheap. How many three-pound skirts are you going to have to sell to have a summer like that?’

‘She’s got a point. Imagine if we have to stay in the villa all day because we can’t afford to go anywhere,’ says Poppy.

‘Yeah, alright, two weeks then. I’ll have to buy new clothes now,’ says Jasmine.

‘Yeah, and me,’ says Poppy.

‘What happened to selling clothes instead?’ I laugh at the two of them as they already mentally spend anything they might make on Vinted and the rest.

As Elias touches my knee under the table, satisfied that he has won their seal of approval, Poppy and Jasmine excitedly chat about what else they want to buy. Bikinis are first on the shopping list.

Over their honey and feta parcels, they ask Elias questions about the villa.

‘Does it have Wi-Fi? Is there a TV? How big is the pool?’ asks Poppy.

‘Yes, it does have Wi-Fi, TV… Ooh, I don’t know how many metres, but you can do lengths in it.’

‘Oh wow. We’ve not been swimming since we went to that stupid swim class you wanted to go on because you liked that lifeguard, remember? What was his name now?’ says Poppy to Jasmine.

‘Oh, him. Yeah, do not ever mention Jase. He took no notice of me when I pretended to drown. I could’ve died,’ says Jasmine dramatically whilst rolling her eyes.

We laugh, and I am so pleased to see Jasmine and Poppy happy. It is the biggest relief that they have finally come to accept Elias, even though it might have been the persuasion of a free holiday that swung it.

Once we finish our lunch, Elias and I have to rush off, and so we leave the girls to order their desserts and pay the bill before we leave. The girls are polite to Elias as he says how nice it has been to meet them, and I am satisfied that, in the end, it has gone better than I could have ever expected.

In fact, as we go to leave, Poppy stops me and whispers, ‘Maybe Elias isn’t well dodge, Mam.’

From Poppy, that’s the biggest compliment Elias could ever have.