Chapter 25
Beryl was definitely getting into the swing of this holiday lark by the time they reached La Rochelle the next day.
They were all looking a bit jaded though, so she suggested an early dinner after they’d explored the area around their hotel and by nine o’clock the entire party were tucked up in bed.
Even Vee and Rick, whom Beryl had assumed would want to go out and find some action later, had said they were ready to sleep.
It was fascinating to watch the chemistry developing between the two younger members of the party, Beryl thought to herself as she dressed the next morning.
They’d obviously struck sparks off each other when her new neighbour first arrived in Willowbrook but now Vee and Rick had fallen into an easy kind of camaraderie, teasing each other and the rest of the party and making sure that everyone was safe and well.
It was almost as if they were the parents of a crowd of rather unpredictable children, which felt like the case a lot of the time.
Beryl considered herself to be easily the most flexible one of the party.
The rest of them weren’t always easy to manage, mainly because they tended to want to take off in every possible direction wherever they landed.
‘Let’s go and look at the boats this morning,’ she said, after their usual breakfast of powerfully strong coffee, freshly baked croissants, crusty bread and apricot jam was finished with.
‘But there’s such a lot to see here,’ said Anthea. ‘Maurice wants to visit the Old Town and maybe the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle de la Rochelle.’
Beryl bridled slightly as Anthea showed off her French accent. She sniffed. There was no need for that. Beryl herself had learned most of her own inflections from an old sitcom and the Pink Panther films. They could all talk like the cast of ’Allo ’Allo if they wanted to.
‘There are some other interesting museums too,’ said Sid. ‘I like a bit of history, I do.’
Rick sighed. ‘How are we going to please everyone today? If you all go off separately, we might never find you again.’
‘We’re grown-ups, Rick,’ Frank said. ‘I’m sure we’ll be fine. You don’t have to watch over us all the time.’
That decided, the group set off in pairs, arranging to meet for dinner later.
Winnie and Sid looked to be getting on particularly well and had taken to walking everywhere arm in arm, which was unexpected, to say the least, as Beryl pointed out to Frank as they headed for the harbour.
‘Winnie’s not one for much in the way of…
you know… physical contact,’ she told Frank.
‘I mean, with her late husband, yes, of course, that was an exuberant marriage, if you get what I’m implying. ’
She paused, noticing that Frank was blushing. Bless the man. ‘As I was saying,’ she continued. ‘Our Winnie isn’t much of a hugger as a rule, but she’s really taken to Sid lately, hasn’t she?’
Frank looked down at Beryl. ‘And what about you?’ he said quietly.
‘What about me?’ she replied, busy swapping her usual spectacles for sunglasses and pulling on a sun hat.
‘Are you a hugger? I sometimes feel as if it’s been years since I was held in someone’s arms, don’t you?’
Beryl bit her lip. This conversation was getting out of hand, but the poor man sounded troubled, so she was reluctant to brush the question off.
‘I do sometimes get that feeling,’ she said.
‘It’s been a long time since my Eddie died, and you lost your lovely wife to dementia, didn’t you? That must have been hard.’
‘It certainly was. The last months were especially difficult. I found myself longing for the old affectionate Lottie. She didn’t seem to like me or even know me at all towards the end.’
They were sailing into deep waters now. Beryl decided to fall back on her usual remedy for stress, although she was more accustomed to relying on a nice cup of tea.
Any hot drink should do the trick though.
She pointed to a pavement café nearby. ‘It’s almost coffee time,’ she said.
‘And what do you say to a brandy to go with it? I think we both need perking up, don’t you? ’
Frank agreed enthusiastically and soon they were sitting in the shade of a beautiful plane tree alternately drinking café cremes and sipping a cognac apiece.
‘I have an idea,’ said Beryl, when they eventually stood up to leave. She had to admit she might be a little squiffy, being unused to strong drink so early in the day, but it was a lovely, fuzzy feeling.
‘Do tell,’ said Frank, rummaging in his wallet and leaving some notes on the table weighed down by his empty glass. ‘That should be plenty. I always like to give a decent tip, don’t you?’
The last remark consolidated the vague thoughts whizzing around Beryl’s head.
Frank was kind-hearted, well-organised and in need of somebody to care properly about him.
He smelt incredibly clean too, which wasn’t the case with all men, as she well knew.
She led him away from the table and into a nearby side street, where the traffic noise died away and they were alone.
‘What I’m going to suggest might sound a bit odd,’ Beryl said, feeling as fluttery as a teenager on her first date. ‘But how about we be each other’s hugging partners?’
She hiccupped and put a hand over her mouth. That wasn’t going to help the atmosphere she hoped to create between them.
‘I’m not sure I understand what you mean,’ said Frank, but he inched closer as he spoke.
‘Yes, you do. I think we both need some human warmth. A cuddle is one of life’s great pleasures. How about we do that for each other, as and when we need it? No ties, of course. We don’t need to be a couple…’
‘Don’t we?’
Beryl looked up into Frank’s face and his kind eyes gazed back. The wrinkles around them were a testament to years and years of smiling and she had the strangest feeling of coming home.
‘Erm… I…’
‘Beryl, can I say something important?’ Frank asked, placing his hands on her shoulders. Still nobody had disturbed the peace of their shady side street and after a glance around, she nodded.
‘I’ve been getting very attached to you, Beryl,’ Frank said. ‘It seems to have crept up on me. You keep an eye on all your friends and always make them welcome in your house, and you never look on the black side of life like so many people do these days. Doom and gloom isn’t in your nature, is it?’
‘No, I suppose not,’ Beryl answered, wondering where this was heading. Frank was making her sound like some sort of saint, and she knew full well she wasn’t. It was unexpectedly lovely to be appreciated like this though. She smiled at him encouragingly, hoping for more. He wasn’t slow to oblige.
‘I guess what I’m trying to say in this clumsy way, because I’m not used to courtship…’
Frank paused, and Beryl’s heart, which had been beating faster than usual, began to really pound.
Courtship? It was a beautiful if old-fashioned word, and one she hadn’t heard for a very long time.
Her vision blurred slightly. She fervently hoped she wasn’t going to keel over on him, here in a strange town.
A brief panic about what a French hospital might be like flitted through her mind, but he was speaking again, and she tried hard to focus on his face.
Deep breaths, that was the thing, wasn’t it?
‘I wonder if you might consider… I mean…’ At this point, Frank very creakily lowered himself to one knee, reminding Beryl of all those splendid footballers who made this gesture as a mark of respect in times of trouble.
She looked down at him as he steadied himself against the wall of the house where they were standing.
‘Beryl, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’ he asked, rather breathlessly. ‘We could hug as much as we like if we lived in the same place, and I could take care of you for a change, instead of you always looking after everyone else. What do you say?’
There was a pause as Beryl’s world flipped over even more. Then she beamed at him. Dear Frank. Marrying again had never been on her agenda. Life with Eddie had been everything she’d ever wanted and being without him had been very hard to bear, but… perhaps it was time?
Frank was looking extremely anxious now, and Beryl could tell by his agonised expression that his knees were giving him pain. Poor soul, going to all this effort just to ask a simple question.
‘Get up, you daft thing,’ she said affectionately, giving Frank her hand to help him to his feet. ‘This isn’t how I expected the holiday to go, not one bit, but yes, I will marry you. I reckon we’ll make a great team, you and me, and the hugging will be a bonus too.’
‘In that case, we’d better start practising right now,’ Frank said, hauling himself to his feet, aided by Beryl’s hand and the wall. He opened his arms to her, and she moved closer, feeling the strength of his embrace and the warmth of his body against hers.
‘I love you, Beryl,’ Frank said huskily. ‘I should have said that first of all instead of giving you all that waffle.’
‘I know you do. And I love you too,’ said Beryl, suddenly wanting to cry. It was so wonderful to feel like this again after so long. She had a momentary pang that the others would think the two of them were ridiculous but then remembered that Anthea and Maurice were in exactly the same position.
‘We’re a right romantic lot, aren’t we, us oldies?’ she said, looking up at Frank. ‘All we need now is for Winnie and Sid to get it together.’
Frank laughed. ‘I can’t see that happening.
I think they’re just good friends, as the saying goes.
Sid’s a confirmed bachelor nowadays. He misses his wife but he’s not about to jump in again.
And you said yourself that Winnie isn’t very tactile, as it were.
No, I think two brand-new couples is enough for now, don’t you? ’
Beryl drew away from Frank, conscious that a group of people was approaching. She heard their chatter and laughter getting closer. ‘Come on, let’s go and see some very grand boats and maybe toast ourselves with a glass of wine with our lunch.’
‘We’ll do better than that, my pet. It’s champagne today for us. Nothing but the best for my fiancée,’ Frank said, holding out his arm for Beryl to take.
They strolled towards the harbour, dodging the crowds and taking a diverse route that meandered through ancient streets.
Beryl couldn’t remember when she’d been so contented.
Shocked, stunned, a bit aghast at herself for accepting Frank’s proposal so readily when she’d always told herself that she was her ‘own woman’, but very happy all the same.
She squeezed Frank’s arm, and the answering pressure told her that he felt the same.
‘Do you know what? I’m already quite tired of travelling around,’ said Beryl.
‘I wonder what the others would say if I suggested cutting out Bordeaux and heading straight for Yolanda’s village.
Maurice still hasn’t booked anywhere there.
He and Anthea can’t agree on a hotel. It’d be more peaceful further south, and we could settle into some nice accommodation for a few days instead of always being on the move. ’
‘I don’t mind what we do, so long as I’m with you,’ said Frank. ‘But wasn’t it your idea to go to as many places as possible? Won’t you be disappointed?’
‘No, not at all. We can always call in at Bordeaux on the way home if everyone wants to,’ said Beryl.
‘I think we need time to sit back and watch the world go by. Find a café with a bar where we can relax, go for walks to explore, eat lovely food and have time for some proper afternoon naps. I booked the pension that Yolanda suggested so I’d only need to phone and ask if we can arrive early. Shall we see what the others say?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Frank. ‘And it’ll give you and me time to get to know each other better, won’t it? Let’s not tell the others our news just yet. I want us to have at least a day or two when it’s our secret. Do you mind?’
Beryl didn’t reply because they’d reached the sparkling waters of the harbour and the sight of all the yachts and pleasure boats took her breath away, but later as they walked back, she began to have misgivings.
Frank seemed to think she was perfection itself.
How was he going to react when he did get to know her better and discovered what emotions simmered under the surface?
Beryl was well aware that although time might have been expected to do its job of healing, she’d never stopped being a boiling mass of resentment that her only child had died and she was still trying to find out what had actually happened to upset him so much all those years ago.
Surely Frank would think that she should have left her resentment behind a long time since.
But that was impossible. There had to be answers, and Beryl was now more determined than ever to find them.