Chapter 35
I had a lovely surprise today – two actually.
I’d debated with myself about having lunch at either Brasserie Jules or Café Felix, both are equally good.
In the end, I settled for Café Felix as I find it a little friendlier.
I was enjoying a glass of red wine waiting for my moules to arrive, when a shadow fell across the table.
‘Evelyn Shoemaker, by all that’s wonderful,’ an American voice exclaimed.
I turned in surprise and saw two men in US naval uniform standing in front of me. The taller one I instantly recognised as my childhood friend and first sweetheart, Louis Turner. I remember shrieking with joy as I jumped up to greet him with a hug. ‘Louis darling. How wonderful to see you.’
‘Can we join you? Are you alone?’
‘Yes to both. I’ll order some more wine and the menu again,’ I said, catching the eye of the young waiter who was regarding us with interest. ‘Are you going to introduce me to your friend?’
‘Oh, I forgot, apologies. Andy, this is Evelyn Shoemaker – I may have mentioned her name to you once or twice.’
‘Great to meet you. I’m Andy Cooper and I’ve heard a lot about you.’ As we shook hands, I had a sudden thought.
‘Are you both part of the R&R programme?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you be based in Villefranche-sur-mer by any chance.’
They nodded.
‘Andy, have your parents visited you recently?’
Andy looked at me and laughed. ‘You are not that particular Evelyn, are you? I don’t believe it.
You were the highlight of my parents’ visit to Antibes.
Are you still in that dreadful pensione?
I was going to try to find it, parents gave me directions so I could say hi if you were still staying there. ’
‘I’ve got quite used it, it’s not that bad. How are they? Have they gone home now?’
‘About five days ago. They will be thrilled when I tell them I’ve met you. Look, I’ll have a glass of wine with you, but then I’ll leave the two of you to catch up.’
Once Andy had drunk his glass of wine he left us, and I looked at Louis. ‘How are you honestly? Tell me all.’
‘Glad of these weeks of recuperation, to be honest. I was part of Operation Dragoon,’ Louis said quietly. ‘Andy too.’
‘I’m so glad I didn’t know that before. I have a French friend here who was part of the Antibes resistance,’ I said quietly. ‘He’s told me a little of the liberation. How hard it was for everyone.’
Louis nodded. ‘Thank God the war is finished, down here anyway, still pockets of it about elsewhere, but a few more months and fingers crossed it should be over completely in Europe.’
‘I truly hope so,’ I said, glancing at him. ‘I’m so happy that you survived unscathed.’
‘I wouldn’t say unscathed totally,’ Louis said quietly. ‘I do have terrible nightmares these days, although I’m told they will fade in time.’
I reached out for his hand and held it tight. ‘When do you go home? Your mom must be desperate to start looking after you, spoiling you, like she always has.’
‘I’m due to ship out last week of March.’
‘Great, so that means we can spend some time together here, and I’ll be heading home about the same time,’ I said happily, and at that moment Stéphane appeared. One look at his face and I knew he was not in a good mood before he spoke.
‘Evelyn darling, do introduce me to your American friend.’
‘Stéphane, you’re back,’ I said, reluctantly letting go of Louis’s hand. ‘This is a very old friend of mine. Lieutenant Louis Turner. We grew up together. And…’ I hesitated to mention it for fear of upsetting Stéphane, but I was so proud of Louis for his service. ‘He was part of Operation Dragoon.’
Louis stood up to shake Stéphane’s hand. ‘Glad to meet you, Stéphane?’ The sentence ended like a question.
‘Stéphane Rochefort. You are on R&R?’
Louis nodded. ‘Only for a couple more weeks.’
‘And then you go home, finally.’
‘Yes, thankfully.’ Louis paused. ‘We leave knowing the job we came to do was successful.’
Stéphane stared at him but didn’t answer.
Honestly, the animosity I sensed between the two men was palpable and I had no idea how to handle it.
Louis turned to speak to me. ‘I need to go find Andy. I will see you again before I leave, now I know you are here. Look after yourself,’ and he leant in and kissed my cheek, before nodding to Stéphane and walking away.
I let out a deep breath, wishing he hadn’t left. There was so much more to talk to him about.
‘D’accord,’ Stéphane said, lighting up one of his damn Gauloises cigarette. Today for some reason they really made me feel sick.
‘I do wish you’d stop smoking those cigarettes around me.’
‘Not going to happen.’ Stéphane blew a smoke ring up in the air. ‘I leave you to your moules now. See you tomorrow for lunch at Brasserie Jules, oui?’
‘You are not staying to have lunch with me now?’
‘Non. I have things to do.’
‘Well, I wish you’d said that before Louis left. I was enjoying his company. And I have things to do tomorrow, so I can’t have lunch with you then.’
‘As you wish.’ And with that he left.
I still had some wine left in my glass and I sipped it thoughtfully. I remembered the lunch I’d ordered which hadn’t arrived whilst I was talking to Louis which it should have done. The question was how did Stéphane know I’d ordered mussels?
As the young waiter placed the bowl in front of me, I looked at him but he avoided my glance.
‘Merci,’ I said, remembering how he’d watched me greet Louis and Andy.
Had Stéphane asked him to spy on me? Was that why he’d turned up so unexpectedly?
He’d been told that I was laughing and chatting with two American soldiers? And he’d come to check up on me?
* * *
Something was niggling Evie as she shut the journal, but she couldn’t work out what exactly. She sensed, though, it was something important. Perhaps the next entry would explain. There was a definite undercurrent of something hidden in her grandmother’s questions in that last paragraph.