New Chapters on the French Riviera

Prologue

There should be thoughts about the future going round in his head, decisions being made, but his mind had been a black void of nothingness about the future for the past eight months.

Impossible to shake it into consciousness even if he wanted to.

Which he didn’t. That would mean facing up to things, picking up his responsibilities and being an adult again, doing things, living life, when all he wanted to do was sit up here, sip wine and let it all pass him by.

A burst of fireworks lit up the sky along the coast to the west. Close enough to be seen, far enough away to soften the noise of the exploding gunpowder and impossible to smell the sulphur drifting in the night air.

Summer down here on the Riviera went hand in hand with weekly firework displays competing for prizes all along the coast.

Twenty minutes later, Guy sighed as the last of the current pyrotechnical display faded away.

He knew that this particular fireworks display on the Friday of the Easter weekend signalled the beginning of a relentless merry-go-round for the next few months involving anyone in the catering industry.

Easter was early this year, the last week of March when hotels, bars, cafes, restaurants, Airbnbs, sandwich bars, pizza makers, ice-cream sellers, all geared up for a busy holiday season.

Guy picked up the bottle at his side and poured the last of the self-indulgent wine into his glass. This year, he had no intention of jumping on the merry-go-round. Villa Celestia was not opening her doors this year to the public. They could all just… just go away. He had had enough.