Epilogue
EPILOGUE
It always surprised her just how many people lived in St Vianne. Every time the villagers came out in force, gathered for an event, it seemed there were more of them than could possibly fit into the rows of tiny houses, the clusters of stone farmhouses in outlying hamlets.
Tonight, it seemed, everyone had decided to attend. The air was warm, a breeze blew pleasantly. Around the square, stalls sold beer and wine and candyfloss. Children ran through the crowds, sticky and energised and full of excitement for what was to come.
‘Here you are,’ André said, handing her a glass of wine.
‘Thank you!’ she smiled, kissing him gently on the lips.
Across the square, some people had started to dance to the music being played from a loudspeaker. Others huddled in groups, chatting and laughing.
Lili came running up and flung herself at Adeline’s legs, almost spilling her wine. She held an enormous cloud of candyfloss on a stick and her eyes were sparkling.
‘Ooh. Careful!’ Adeline laughed. She looked over at Kevin who was standing just behind his niece. ‘How did she convince you to buy that ?’ she asked.
‘She promised we’d share it,’ he said, making a face to indicate he wasn’t banking on having a taste any time soon.
‘When are the fireworks, Mummy?’ Lili said from behind the pink sugary mess on a stick.
‘Shouldn’t be long now.’
The firework show took place every 14 July to celebrate Bastille Day. Shops were closed, and the square opened to anyone who wanted to join in with the evening’s festivities. Monique was there, chatting with Claude. The atmosphere was one of togetherness and excitement.
‘Thank you for coming,’ Adeline said to Sophia who walked over now, hand in hand with her husband, Theo.
‘Of course,’ Sophia beamed. ‘I had to be here for Lili’s first Bastille Day. And yours too,’ she added.
It had taken an age to make the arrangements. Sophia had been determined that they watch the fireworks in Toulouse ‘because they are the best,’ but Adeline had convinced her that, this year at least, she wanted to see what 14 July was like in her new home. Eventually Sophia had acquiesced.
Adeline laughed. ‘Well, it’s appreciated,’ she said, feeling André’s arm on her back as they moved along with the other attendees to the edge of the square, where the buildings fell away and they could see across to the hills beyond.
The first firework made the ground tremble. Lili let out a scream, then laughed delightedly. Then another and another. Sparkling and fizzing and hissing and squealing into the sky.
Adeline looked at the faces of the people around her, lit abruptly by each spark, then falling into darkness again. Their expressions, their eyes, their smiles visible for a moment before melting into shadow .
She was part of something. A family that didn’t quite conform to the usual pattern, but was loving and supportive and everything you could want a family to be. Her mother, her grandmother, her daughter, her boyfriend, her brother; they were all connected to her in different ways, and she valued each and every one of them.
As she watched a rocket speed into the sky, she thought of Mum and wished that she could be here now too, to join this family. Because nobody could ever replace her. She was part of Adeline too, and always would be.
Nothing about her childhood had been a lie, she realised that now. Her parents had been her parents, Kevin, her brother. And now she had a new mother, a new grandmother. Not replacements, but additions.
She leaned against André and gently touched the top of Lili’s head with her hand as her little girl watched the skies, mesmerised.
And for a moment she realised that however sceptical she might be, she really was starting to believe in magic.