Chapter 40
Vintage Vignettes was quiet in the week leading up to New Year’s Eve and Brigitte took advantage of the lack of customers to make lists and plans for the first ten days of January.
She was going to take Hervé up on his offer of helping in the apartment itself and also ask him to drive her to a couple of brocantes in the area to look for nice second-hand furniture.
Anything electric was going to be new and under guarantee and everything else, apart from the bed and mattress, was going to be ‘pre-loved’.
The atmosphere at home was difficult for both her and Marc at the moment because, much to Monique’s disapproval, he was helping her in the apartment in the evenings.
In the end, it was Marc who told Monique not to worry about dinner for either of them, they’d eat out for a couple of nights.
Brigitte couldn’t help but feel sorry for Albert, but he’d simply shrugged his shoulders.
‘I ignore her. She’ll come round in the end,’ he said.
Brigitte spent one morning on the laptop sourcing the best deals for a washing machine, cooker, microwave, kettle and an all-singing, all-dancing coffee machine instead of a dishwasher.
One of those could come later. Everything was due to be delivered a day or two before she moved in. Fingers crossed on that.
Next on the list was the new bed and mattress. Once that was ordered, Brigitte closed the laptop thankfully, refusing to think about the hit her bank account had taken, and praying it would all arrive in time for her to move in when she planned.
Marc was coming again this evening and they were going to make a start on stripping wallpaper in the main bedroom. Turning the sign on the door to ‘Fermé’ at six o’clock, Brigitte waited downstairs until Marc arrived five minutes later carrying the pizzas he’d promised for supper.
‘They look good,’ Brigitte said. ‘I’m starving.’ They ate sitting companionably in the back office, it being the only place with a small table and a couple of chairs. ‘How did the Valbonne villa viewings go?’ Brigitte asked, biting off a piece of pizza and chewing.
‘Found the house of my dreams,’ Marc said. ‘I offered the asking price and today I was told it was accepted.’
‘You should have haggled a little bit,’ Brigitte said, shaking her head.
‘Didn’t want to risk it. There were several other viewers booked in. We both fell in love with the place.’
Brigitte, about to take another bite, stopped and looked at him. ‘We?’
‘Mel and I,’ Marc said. ‘You know she came with me to view it.’
Brigitte nodded. ‘Yes, but why is it necessary that you both loved it? She’s not going to be living there. Or is she? Am I missing something here?’
Marc replaced his slice of pizza on the box.
‘Between you and me, OK? I really like Mel. She’s the first woman since Veronica who has made me long to be in a relationship.
I get the feeling she likes me a lot too, but she’s not totally free at the moment and that complicates things, and she also lives in the UK.
She’s only here for another six or seven weeks.
I’m hoping to persuade her in those weeks, that I’m serious about her. ’
‘You’re not setting yourself up to be hurt, are you, Marc?
’ Brigitte said gently. ‘Buying an expensive house in the hope that you and she will eventually live in it together could be a costly mistake, and I’m not just talking about money here.
You took a long time to recover after Veronica; Mel is going to need time to get her own life sorted out.
She may decide not to get involved with anyone again for some time. ’
‘I know, but it’s a risk I have to take.
As a straightforward investment, the way villas are down here, it shouldn’t be a problem to recover my money.
If it fails, at least I’ll have somewhere I love to live in.
’ Marc shrugged as he looked at Brigitte.
‘I feel this is a second chance for both Mel and me to have a loving special relationship – if we can both be brave enough to go for it.’