Chapter 24
The morning of the trip came round quickly, but to Beryl’s dismay, she still hadn’t heard from Yolanda.
She’d left several more messages on the answerphone, trying to convince herself that Yolanda was merely busy, and not ignoring her on purpose.
Finally, just as she was eating a very early breakfast at half past five, after a quick wash and brush up, her mobile rang.
Yolanda’s number was displayed on the screen. Thank goodness.
‘Hello?’ she said, taking a gulp of tea to get rid of the toast crumbs.
‘Beryl, it’s me,’ said the booming voice. ‘I’ve just picked up all your voicemails. What on earth is going on? What’s bringing you and my niece to France after all this time?’
Typical Yolanda, thought Beryl, cutting straight to the chase. No ‘Hello, old friend, good to hear from you, how have you been?’ And what was she doing out of bed at such a silly time? Then she remembered that France was an hour ahead of the UK, but even so…
‘You’re up early,’ she said. ‘I’m glad I’ve got hold of you at last. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.’
‘Phone broke, pesky thing,’ Yolanda said. ‘Had to wait for a new one to be delivered. Idiots sent it to the wrong village. Anyway, I’m here now, and I’m always an early riser, aren’t you? Shame to waste the best part of the day snoring your head off.’
Beryl had never been particularly keen on early mornings but forbore to comment.
Time was ticking away and Vee and Rick would soon be here to collect her.
‘We’re having a bit of a road trip,’ she explained.
‘There are eight of us and we’re calling at several different places in France.
You’re the last stop-off on the list. We’re going no further south.
Venetia’s back in Willowbrook to live in her mum’s house and she’s keen to catch up with you. ’
Keen was pushing it somewhat, thought Beryl. Vee had shown absolutely no excitement at the prospect of a meeting with her aunt. Rather the opposite in fact, but there was no need for Yolanda to know that.
‘Oh, I see,’ said Yolanda. There was silence for a moment or two. ‘And where were you thinking of staying? I’ve no spare bedroom, you know, and by the sound of it you’re travelling with a whole coach party. I can’t accommodate any of you. I live very simply here.’
‘If you give me the name of your village, I can try and find a hotel and—’
Beryl’s explanation was interrupted by a snort from Yolanda.
‘Hotel? You’ll be lucky! What sort of place do you imagine this is?
We’re not grand enough for hotels in Brugnac d’Agenais.
The best you’ll get is bed and breakfast and there’s only one house where that might be possible. When are you leaving?’
‘In ten minutes,’ said Beryl, trying to keep her voice even. ‘And I’ve been wanting to get this sorted out before now, of course I have, but without speaking to you, I had no idea what to book.’
‘Right. Well, I can’t say I’m delighted at the idea of seeing Venetia, but I can give you the number of the Pension Simone, if you like. She might fit you in as it’s out of season.’
Beryl reached for a pen and soon had all the relevant details down. Her years as a doctor’s receptionist had trained her well and she wasted no further time in chit-chat, because she could hear the sound of the minibus pulling up outside. ‘I’ll call you when we’re nearly there. Bye, Yolanda.’
The relief at getting the final piece of the puzzle almost in place carried Beryl through the next tedious twenty minutes of collecting the others and getting them and their luggage stowed in the minibus to everyone’s satisfaction.
Soon they were on their way as the darkness lightened and the sky changed from inky black to pearly grey.
‘It’s going to be a nice day later,’ said Sid. ‘I caught the news before we left. How’s everyone feeling today? All ready for our adventure en Francais?’
There was a chorus of agreement, and as Beryl looked around the minibus, she could see that although some of her travelling companions looked a little blearier than others, they were all smiling.
‘Dover, here we come,’ she said, feeling Frank take her hand in his much larger one.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about this unaccustomed show of affection, but it felt kind of… cosy.
They had one brief pitstop at a service station for toilets when Maurice’s agonised expression told Vee it was necessary, but made the ferry port in plenty of time and rolled onto the boat in great spirits.
‘We are sailing, we are sailing,’ trilled Winnie, and the others all joined in, although Frank could be heard to mutter that they weren’t actually moving yet and it might be better to wait for this song until the shores of Britain were well behind them.
The voyage passed peacefully, with all but Anthea managing a hearty breakfast in the cafeteria.
An hour and a half later those of the party with traditional watches were adjusting them to French time, an hour further on.
‘Over to you, Rick,’ said Vee, as they made their way to the lower deck to collect the minibus. ‘I haven’t driven on the right for a long time, but I’ll do the next leg after Rouen, no problem. I’ll have a go on the quieter roads later.’
Once they had escaped Calais, only getting lost three times, the open road beckoned and the minibus picked up speed with a whoop of relief from Rick.
‘This is it, folks, the start of our French holiday,’ he said. ‘I was a bit dubious when it was suggested but now I can’t wait to see all the places on the list.’
The minibus ate up the miles quickly and the party arrived in Rouen just after 4 p.m., local time. Everyone was ready to stretch their legs, and Rick found their motel easily, so once he’d parked up and the overnight luggage had been dropped off, they all set off for a wander.
‘I thought I’d want a nap after that early start, but it seems a waste of time to sleep when there’s so much to see,’ said Winnie, linking arms with Sid, who looked surprised but gratified. ‘Let’s have a coffee stop first.’
‘Or a beer?’ said Sid hopefully. ‘I’ve been learning a bit of the lingo so I can order a round. I hope nobody wants a cocktail, I haven’t got round to those yet.’
They set off at a cracking pace, but Rick soon realised that they were all flagging and murmured to Vee that they’d need to slow things down if their older friends were going to be able to keep their energy levels going for two weeks.
The medieval streets were fascinating and led them towards the magnificent Notre-Dame cathedral, but they’d all need a break before tackling any sightseeing.
‘Let’s find a bar,’ he said, steering the others towards a café with a shady awning. ‘Go for it, Sid. Let’s see what you can do. Mine’s a beer.’
Sid took everyone’s orders, and they sat down to wait for service. When the young man came out to greet them, he reeled off his list with pride but was met with a bemused expression.
‘Could you just run that past me again?’ said their waiter, in perfect English. Sid sighed.
Their drinks arrived, regardless of the language hiccup, and Rick called for a toast. ‘To our first continental road trip,’ he said, raising his glass. Most of the others echoed the words but Vee looked puzzled. ‘The first road trip anywhere, surely?’ she said.
‘Oh, no, don’t you remember we mentioned that we had one before, in England?
’ said Beryl. ‘It was when we formed the Happiness Gang with the Rev Bev. We went to Norfolk. It was a grand day out. All of us were there, and Kate, and Frank’s daughter-in-law Nell and the Hendersons – they’re an old couple who live down by the river, very posh. ’
‘It was fun, wasn’t it?’ said Winnie. ‘We should make it a regular thing.’
Personally, Rick wasn’t sure if his nerves would stand doing this kind of trip very often.
The promise of seeing a few of the sights of France was keeping him going but he was beginning to feel very sleepy as he drank his beer in the warm sunshine, and going anywhere with this particular collection of people was a bit like herding sheep.
‘Right, time to have a look at the cathedral,’ said Frank. ‘Drink up, we need to get moving.’
There were a few groans but soon they were all heading for the main entrance, gazing up at the huge splendour of the ancient building.
Inside, the atmosphere and the splendour of the place silenced even the chattiest members of the party.
Wordlessly, they separated to view it, although Rick noticed that the couples stuck together.
Beryl and Frank set off in one direction, with Winnie and Sid heading straight for one of the places where they could light candles.
Anthea and Maurice found seats and sat down, to drink in the beauty of the place in comfort.
‘They’re all okay,’ said Rick to Vee. ‘I feel a bit like a teacher on a school trip, don’t you?’
She laughed. ‘Yes, I keep wanting to do a head count to check we haven’t lost any of them. I hadn’t realised what a responsibility it would be, but they’re all having a great time, so it’s worth it. I just hope nobody has a funny turn or falls over.’
‘Let’s not worry about that,’ said Rick. ‘At least we’re in this together. We can cope.’
Vee smiled at him and his heart did an uncomfortable flip. It was that word. Together. He was beginning to get used to Vee being around permanently, and that was dangerous. It was a mistake to rely on anyone. Experience of marriage had taught him that, if nothing else.
‘Let’s have a look around,’ he said. ‘Do you want an official guided tour?’
‘No, we can just do our own thing,’ Vee answered. ‘Come on, I want to light a candle for my mum.’
Rick followed her down the main aisle, still unsettled by the rush of warmth that had overwhelmed him for a moment.
They were friends, and that was the way it should stay.
Vee still had issues with her past and he certainly wasn’t in the market for a new relationship.
Best to squash these strange, unpredictable moments of longing that were creeping up on him. They were going to get him nowhere.
When everyone had reached sightseeing overload, Rick and Vee shepherded their tired flock back towards the accommodation, giving them all half an hour to freshen up before it was time to eat.
They all reappeared looking a lot more lively.
The three older ladies had donned colourful dresses and applied bright lipstick, while the men hadn’t changed their clothes but had clearly had a wash and brush up.
A cloud of mingled aftershave fragrances hung over Sid and Maurice, while Frank smelt strongly of Coal Tar soap and Euthymol toothpaste, evocative scents that brought back memories of Rick’s grandfather.
* * *
Dinner in a little bistro next door to the motel was an exuberant affair. All were in good spirits, but they resisted ordering more than a couple of carafes of wine because Beryl warned them that tomorrow was going to bring another early start.
‘Not the crack of dawn again though, darling,’ said Anthea. ‘This is a holiday, after all.’
‘No, but we’re heading south for La Rochelle straight after breakfast,’ said Rick. ‘Next stop, the seaside and some very swanky boats. We’ll choose the yacht we’ll buy when we win the lottery. Now, off to bed if you’ve all finished. We all need our beauty sleep.’
‘You speak for yourself,’ said Anthea, but they trooped out of the bistro obediently enough.
‘Day one of our school trip competed,’ whispered Vee, bringing up the rear with Rick, and they high-fived each other.
‘Let’s hope the rest of the holiday goes as smoothly,’ he answered. ‘If this was a real school party, we’d be going round checking their rooms after lights out to make sure they’re all in the right places. I might be getting the wrong idea here, but I have a feeling that some of them might not be.’
Vee giggled. ‘Well, they’re all grown-ups, aren’t they? So long as none of them have a lovers’ tiff, we’ll be fine.’
Rick hadn’t thought of this possible scenario.
Taking six of the older generation away with three potential couples included was obviously a more complicated situation than he’d bargained for.
He really hoped there wouldn’t be any ructions between his fellow travellers.
Being confined to a minibus with a crew of warring pensioners was definitely not his idea of a fun holiday.