‘I’m going to have to burn the midnight oil for a few weeks,’ he’d said. Which was exactly what he’d been doing since they’d arrived back here the first week in January after spending Christmas and their honeymoon in the French Alps.
Since meeting Ben and finishing work just days before their whirlwind wedding, Jodie had relished the unfamiliar feeling of not having anyone imposing impossible deadlines on her. Spending so much time alone during the last few weeks had at least given her time to catch her breath after the frantic pace of her previous life. She knew she’d been exhausted and close to burnout when she and Ben had met. But surely her new life in France wouldn’t always be this quiet and… and if she were truthful she had to acknowledge that it was currently quite a lonely life. She needed to meet more people and find something to do.
Tess thumped her tail as a dishevelled Ben appeared. ‘Morning, ma cherie,’ he said, kissing Jodie. ‘Couldn’t you sleep?’
‘Don’t think my body clock has adjusted yet,’ Jodie said, pouring him a coffee. ‘Although I’ve always been more of a lark than an owl. Unlike you,’ she added. ‘You were late to bed last night.’
Ben nodded. ‘I was on a roll. A couple more weeks and I’ll have finished. Have we got any croissants?’
Jodie lifted the lid off the breadbin and put two pains au chocolat on a plate. ‘These do you?’
‘Perfect.’
After breakfast Ben disappeared into his study for the morning, as per normal, and Jodie poured herself another coffee and sat in the sunroom enjoying the view. A view so different from her previous one, when she’d been living with Tina in one of London’s high-rise apartment blocks, she caught her breath every time she looked at it. She doubted it would ever stop amazing her.
In London the view from the flat had been all grey rooftops and skyscrapers with the noise of the traffic reaching even the ninth floor if she or Tina dared to open the double-glazed windows. Here, where the suburban buildings had been replaced by woods and green fields, windows seemed to be almost permanently open – even this early in the year – and the early morning noise was dominated by the cockerel on the farm up the lane and the mooing of the cows as they were led in for milking.
The spire of the village church where the vicar had blessed their union following the civil ceremony was just visible over the tops of the trees. Ben had told her there were often deer down there in the woods and she longed to see them. She longed, too, for the long summer days when the two of them could eat dinner out on the terrace in the cool of the evening under the pergola.
But a little niggling, negative voice had started slyly whispering in her ear: is this what you really want? A quiet life in a small French village? She might be in love with Ben but had Tina been right when she’d told her she was rushing things?
Thoughtfully, Jodie finished her coffee and walked back into the kitchen. Today, at least, she was going to be busy. She was having her second French lesson with Madame Colbert in the village. Making new friends and being accepted into the community was difficult when you couldn’t speak the language fluently, so telling Tina that brushing up on her French had to be a top priority in her new life had been the truth.
After the lesson she planned to finally investigate ‘Le Gout de la Campagne’ or The Taste of the Countryside – a shop on the main road just outside the village. The wooden, chalet-type building looked just the kind of place she’d enjoy browsing in and she’d been promising herself that she’d do that for weeks now.
Become a Stepford wife like Tina had suggested? No chance. She’d never let that happen in a million years.
Strolling around the local flea market, killing time on Saturday morning, Tina turned at the sound of her name being called. Beth, a friend from college she’d lost touch with, waved at her excitedly.
‘Hi, long time no see. What are you doing here? I thought you were living in Scotland these days?’ Tina said. ‘Let’s have a coffee and you can tell me all your news.’
Two hours later, when coffee had turned into a lazy lunch at the Italian coffee bar and they’d filled each other in on all the details of their lives, Beth looked at her watch and said, ‘I’ve got to dash. I’m supposed to be meeting someone the other side of London in half an hour. Here’s my card. Email me!’
Tina quickly scribbled her own address and email on a piece of paper. ‘Sorry I don’t have a business card on me today. We must stay in touch,’ she said, handing the paper to Beth. ‘Give me a shout next time you’re in town. I’ve got a spare room since my flatmate moved out, so I can even offer you a bed.’
‘Are you looking for someone else to share with?’ Beth asked. ‘Only I know someone who’s desperate for somewhere to live. They’re having to couch-surf right now.’
Tina shook her head. ‘No. After having a few weirdos apply, I’ve given up on finding anyone suitable. Besides, I’m getting used to having the place to myself.’
‘Shame,’ Beth said. ‘I think my friend is having a really hard time at the moment. Never mind. I’m sure she’ll find something soon. Bye.’
Once home, Tina unpacked her shopping, gave the flat a quick tidy and pushed the hoover around, with the niggling thought buzzing in her mind all the time – had she been too hasty in refusing to even meet Beth’s friend who was having to resort to couch-surfing as a way of life?
It had been hard finding somewhere decent to live when she and Jodie had first arrived in London. It had taken them months of living in a less-than-desirable bedsit before they’d found this flat. Telling Beth she was getting used to having the place to herself was the truth but that didn’t stop it being lonely in the evenings and at weekends. Particularly at weekends. And the rent was quite high. Jodie’s contribution had definitely helped there. She couldn’t go on making up the deficit from her savings so she should really think about looking for a new flatmate. There had to be a non-weirdo out there somewhere looking for a place to live. Having someone new living in the flat would be a start to climbing out of the rut she was in. Maybe she should at least see what Beth’s friend was like?
Opening her laptop, Tina typed in Beth’s email address from the card she’d given her. ‘No guarantees but I’ve been thinking. If your friend wants to come and see the flat sometime, maybe we can work something out.’
Half an hour later her email programme pinged. ‘Hi, Beth says you possibly have a spare room I could rent. I’m desperate to find somewhere so please may I come and see you later today? Beth’s given me the address. Maisie.’
Tina sat for a moment, her fingers poised over the keyboard. Whoever Maisie was, she was clearly as desperate as Beth had said. She wouldn’t turn out to be yet another weirdo, would she? No, Beth wouldn’t have suggested her if that was the case.
Tina started to type. ‘Sure. Seven o’clock would suit me. Look forward to meeting you.’ She hesitated a fraction of a second before pressing the send icon. She could always say no, once she had met Maisie.
Time to ring Jodie for their weekly chat – at least this time she had a little bit of news to tell her.
‘Au revoir, Jodie. Same time next week,’ said Madame Colbert as she showed Jodie out.
‘Merci,’ Jodie said, her head buzzing from the effort of concentrating for the last hour on the difference between regular and irregular verbs. Dragging up vocabulary from her schoolgirl French had been painful and Madame Colbert was a hard taskmaster. She’d even given Jodie a page or two of homework to do before the next lesson.
There were a few