The Perfect Happiness

by Santa Montefiore

  “Daddy, watch me!” shouted Joe, swinging from the branch. Olivier went over to help him down.

  Angelica gazed at the words emblazoned in gold on the front of the little blue book:

  In Search of the Perfect Happiness

  by J. A. Braai

  She ran her fingers over them, sure that she could smell the scent of camphor trees. Her heart pounding, she opened the first page to find a simple dedication:

  To Sage

  The only words that matter are

  that I love you

  She didn’t cry. She was too full of happiness for tears. So he had written the book in the months before he died, for her. He had loved her after all. She flicked open to the first chapter and laughed to herself:

  The quality of our life depends on the quality of our thoughts.

  She was sure she could hear him laughing, too; his irreplaceable voice carried on the wind.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  The small gathering of friends and family sat on white chairs on the fine, sandy beach, just below the Saint Géran Hotel in Mauritius. Palm trees rustled gently in the breeze that swept in off the calm, turquoise sea, and red and yellow flowers gave up their scent to mingle with the heady smell of ylang-ylang that characterized the island. The sun had set behind the hills inland, no longer visible to burn their skin, but it was still hot enough for the guests to sweat beneath their summer dresses and shirts and for the children to fidget in their bridesmaids’ dresses and pages’ shorts. The reef roared in the distance and purple clouds gathered dramatically above the horizon as Kate cantered down the beach on a gleaming white horse.

  Candace, Scarlet, Letizia, and Angelica stood in simple ivory strapless dresses, holding bouquets of white flowers, watching Kate approach in her Vera Wang gown and veil.

  “I still don’t know how I got to be here, in this dress, watching this charade,” hissed Candace.

  “I can’t believe they’ve made it down the aisle,” said Angelica.

  “The fat lady hasn’t sung yet,” Candace reminded her cynically.

  “There’s no stopping her now.”

  “She looks stunning,” Letizia gushed, blinking away tears.

  “You’re not crying, are you, Letizia?” Scarlet was appalled. She was even more appalled to be posing at the entrance to the aisle in a conventional white dress that reached her ankles. “I feel like crying,” she muttered, shuffling uncomfortably. “But for an entirely different reason.”

  “Me, too,” Candace agreed. “At which point did we actually agree to be maids of honor? But smile, for here she is, looking like an Estée Lauder advert.”

  Kate beamed down at her friends, her eyes glittering with happiness. She smiled at her audience, then slipped off the horse, allowing an attendant from the hotel to lead it away. The girls dutifully smoothed out the creases in her dress and shook her train. The children shuffled into position behind her, holding little baskets of shells and petals to throw on her as she walked back up the aisle with her husband. The girls followed. Only Letizia, eyes filled with tears, was unable to see the intricate detail on the back of the bride’s dress. Linking her arm through Art’s, Kate proceeded to walk down the aisle between the chairs, decorated with garlands of white flowers and lush green leaves, towards her count, who stood with his chest puffed out like a fine peacock. Tod sat in the front row with Kate’s mother and siblings, little Hercules squirming on his knee in the heat in a white linen shirt and shorts from Marie Chantal. Art handed Kate over to Edmondo, and, after exchanging affectionate glances, they turned to the priest to make their vows.

  Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind and a wail from the beach. Kate glanced at Edmondo. Edmondo glanced behind him. His face fell. The wail had come from Pete—and he was coming their way. “Told you the fat lady hadn’t sung,” Candace hissed to Angelica as the wail turned into “Kate, I love you” and got louder as he staggered towards the wedding party.

  “What’s she going to do?”

  Kate collapsed in tears. Then she lifted her beautiful dress, kicked off her elegant Louboutin shoes, and ran back up the aisle towards him with a melodramatic sob.

  “Well, I’ve seen everything now!” Scarlet exclaimed, throwing her flowers to the sand.

  “This is so moving,” Letizia sniffed. “She’s always loved Pete.”

  “Now’s a really great time for a reconciliation,” said Candace sarcastically.

  “Should we just wait? Perhaps she’ll exchange the count for Pete,” Angelica suggested.

  “This isn’t Mamma Mia!” Candace retorted.

  Art stood up and put his hands on his hips. “Why didn’t we see this coming?” He turned to the girls. “I think Tod and I are in for another honeymoon!”

  At that moment, Hercules wriggled off Tod’s knee. While no one was paying him any attention, he pulled his shirt over his head and kicked off his shorts, then headed naked down to the sea.

  “Oh God!” Candace exclaimed, noticing the little toddler.

  “What?” Angelica followed the line of her vision. “Oh my God,” she repeated in amazement. “Isn’t that . . . ?”

  One by one the girls turned away from the sight of Kate and Pete falling on each other like animals, and stared at the little boy’s bottom as he trotted down the sand.

  Art’s jaw fell open. “Good Lord!” he exclaimed. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  On Hercules’s right cheek was a big red birthmark, the shape of a strawberry.

  Don’t weep for the dead. Keep all your love for the living. As one grows older one should escape from the captivity of physical belongings, for all is lent to us: possessions, friends, loves, even time.

  In Search of the Perfect Happiness by J. A. Braai

  Acknowledgments

  This novel was inspired by my book tour to South Africa a few years ago. I fell in love with the countryside that strangely reminded me of Argentina, perhaps because of the monumental skies and magnificent horizons. I met some wonderful people and visited a stunning Cape Dutch vineyard in Constantia. Having based my previous books in Latin America and Europe, I relished the change. So a big thank-you to all my dear South African friends who patiently answered my endless questions and showed me their beautiful country with such enthusiasm and generosity: Cyril and Beryl Burniston, Julia Twigg, Gary Searle, and Leighton McDonald. I also want to thank Pippa Clarke for being an inspiration in herself!

  I took advantage of my cousin Katherine Palmer-Tomkinson, who went to Cape Town last Christmas. I wrote her a long list of questions about vineyards, and she very kindly came back with photographs plus almost an entire manuscript written by the sales and marketing manager of Warwick Estate, James Dare, about the harvest there. I can’t thank him enough for going to such trouble. If I have brought that delightful season to life, it is only thanks to him.

  I thank my father for setting such a fine example—wherever there’s a wise character in my books, there’s a little of him—and my mother for her perceptive editing and ideas.

  Thanks to my agent, Sheila Crowley, at Curtis Brown and to my editor, Trish Todd, at Touchstone Fireside. It’s a joy to be published in the United States, and I thank Trish Todd and her dynamic team for their enthusiasm and drive and for giving my books such stunning covers! It matters so much to me.

  Most importantly, I’d like to thank my husband, Sebag, who not only helps me construct my plots but makes me laugh like no one else in the world!

  TOUCHSTONE READING GROUP GUIDE

  * * *

  The Perfect Happiness

  Bestselling children’s book author Angelica Lariviere lives in an upper-class neighborhood in London with her loving husband and two wonderful children. At first glance, Angelica seems to lead an idyllic life; but Angelica’s routine is becoming mundane, and she realizes that she and her husband, Olivier, no longer feel the same passion they shared when they were courting. To top it off, Angelica cannot seem to find the inspiration to begin w
riting her newest children’s book.

  Enter Jack. What starts off as harmless flirtation at a party makes Angelica feel sexy and alive again. Despite the warnings of her friend Candace, Angelica begins a correspondence with Jack—after all, they’re only friends. Angelica certainly would not risk everything she has for a little thrill and rests easy knowing Jack lives thousands of miles away in Cape Town.

  When her book tour takes her to Cape Town, however, an affair with Jack begins in earnest. Angelica soon convinces herself that Jack is the man for her, and she will do everything in her power to be with him. Tragedy strikes on their last night together and Jack makes a shocking confession to Angelica. Now everything she thought she knew about love and passion, safety and experience, right and wrong are entirely upended once again.

  FOR DISCUSSION

  1. Olivier and Angelica’s discussion about flirting reaches a one-sided conclusion: it is okay for a married man to flirt but not a married woman. Do you agree with this? Could this discussion be viewed as the catalyst for Angelica’s continued flirtation with Jack?

  2 Angelica repeatedly tells herself that her e-mail relationship with Jack is dangerous. Yet she manages to “convince herself that it was as much a game for him as it was for her” (page 63). Why do you think she ignores the warnings in her mind and from her friends?

  3. One of the key themes in The Perfect Happiness is the search for perfect happiness. Talk about the many notions of perfect happiness that are discussed in the book. Does Angelica ever find perfect happiness? What about Olivier or Jack? Do you think it is obtainable at all?

  4. Contrast the Angelica that Olivier knows with the Angelica that Jack knows. Do you agree with Angelica’s notion that if both Angelica’s were to meet, “neither would recognize the other” (page 169)? Do the two Angelica’s ever come together?

  5. Discuss Angelica’s group of friends: Candace, Scarlet, Letizia, and Kate. What perspective does each of them bring to the table? Who is Angelica closest to and why? Have any of them found “perfect happiness”?

  6. Each chapter from The Perfect Happiness begins with a quote from the book In Search of the Perfect Happiness. Who wrote the book and what is its significance? How does it bridge Angelica’s gap between Olivier and Jack?

  7. Anna admits that she knows about Jack’s other relationships, but they do not bother her. What are her reasons? Do you believe that such an open relationship could exist? How does Anna say that Angelica was different from any of the other women Jack had been with?

  8. What might Angelica’s life have been like if she remained in contact with Jack after their experience in Africa? Do you think she would have worked so hard to fix her life and relationships at home?

  9. What do you think the final message of The Perfect Happiness is? Do couples need to go through what Angelica and Olivier did in order to find their happiness? Do people need to stray from what they know to realize that what they had was perfect?

  10. Olivier comments: “No one’s normal. People present as normal, but really everyone hides some sort of weirdness behind closed doors” (page 193). What sort of weirdness does each character in The Perfect Happiness hide? Are Angelica’s parents the only normal ones?

  11. Candace and Angie advise Angelica not to tell Olivier about the affair. Do you think Angelica should have? How do you think he would have reacted? How was your view of Angelica affected by her decision?

  A CONVERSATION WITH SANTA MONTEFIORE

  What was the inspiration behind The Perfect Happiness? Was there a particular scene you envisioned first?

  I’m forty years old myself, with two small children and a very happy married life. An attractive man flirted with me at a dinner and then found me on e-mail, through my author Web site—that part is taken from life. It was really a what if from there. I wanted to explore two things: One, is it possible to have a flirtation without it developing into a full-blown affair? And two, we belong to a generation that feels happiness is our birthright, at whatever cost. We want something, we buy it on credit; we break something, we don’t mend it as our mothers did but chuck it away and buy a new one. Do we treat love in the same way?—and destroy any obstacle in our path, even if that obstacle is our own husband, children, or friends? Do we selfishly believe we can and should have everything we want? The first scene I thought of was the robbery and Jack’s confession, so I always knew where I was going, although I wasn’t sure how it would end—and, true to character, Kate took over the subplot, which was never my intention!

  Angelica struggles in The Perfect Happiness to get inspiration for her new book. She believes: “There was nothing more disconcerting than a blank document with nothing to write on it” (page 55). What do you do when you get stuck with writer’s block? Does your writing routine mimic Angelica’s?

  No, fortunately I never get writer’s block. My trouble is finding time to get to my desk with all the domestic chores I have to do!

  Shopping, brands, and couture are a big part of the ladies’ lifestyle in The Perfect Happiness. Do you consider yourself a fashionista like Kate, Candace, and the others?

  No, but my girlfriends are very fashion conscious. I love clothes and shopping, but I’m not very good at it. If I identify with any of the girls on that front, it would be Angelica.

  You created quite the range of characters in Angelica, Kate, Candace, Letizia, and Scarlet. Are any of these women based upon people you know? Who do you think you are the most like and why?

  I drew inspiration from my group of girlfriends. We meet weekly for lunch at one another’s houses or restaurants, and daily at the school gates. Although I invented their characters, the lifestyle is very much taken from my life. There is a little of me in all of them, barring Kate, who is like no one I know (but would rather like to know, as she’s funny!). I’m sure I subconsciously draw on people I know. I’d never do it consciously—basing characters on real people could get me into terrible trouble!

  Your descriptions of London, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and the vineyards are exceptionally vivid. Do you frequent these locales? What kind of research, if any, did you have to do for this book?

  I always write about what I know. So, yes, I live in Kensington, have been on book tour to Johannesburg and Cape Town, and visited a beautiful vineyard there. I draw inspiration from real places—this novel is the most realistic of all my books, because I usually invent my towns and villages. All the restaurants, streets, and shops in London are real. Warwick Estate, where Jack and Angelica go for drinks, is a real place anyone can visit.

  Was there ever a version in which Angelica and Jack wound up together? Or was she always meant to go back to Olivier?

  Jack and Angelica were never going to end up together. I knew from the start that he was going to die and that Angelica would return and repair her marriage. I wanted the affair to be the catalyst that drives her to find happiness with Olivier.

  Angelica’s story highlights the hardships of maintaining both a happy personal life and a successful professional life. What advice would you offer to women who struggle to balance the two?

  I think it’s incredibly hard to juggle being a wife, mother, and working woman. There is no secret to making it work. You spread yourself very thinly and feel exhausted at the end of the day after everyone has wanted a piece of you. I meditate, try not to put too much in my appointments diary so I get my sleep, and spend quality time with my husband and children on weekends. I’m lucky: I’m self-employed and can run my own timetable. If I get stressed out I can go for a walk in the park! My husband and children come first, no matter what, so my life revolves around them—but my writing is always there for me. It’s a hobby that I’m lucky enough to have as a job.

  Angelica’s marriage is arguably saved by the events that transpire in The Perfect Happiness. What do you want readers to take away from the book?

  First, I would like my readers to enjoy it. It’s a love story, with a little mystery thrown in. I enjoyed writing it and took g
reat pleasure from the characters I invented. I’d like readers to laugh and cry a little but end up with a warm feeling that carries them through their day. If they want to derive anything further on a spiritual level, then they can read extracts from In Search of the Perfect Happiness at the top of each chapter and try to work them into their lives. I know all the theory, but it’s difficult to live it, but I certainly try.

  Your books have consistently been on the top of British and European bestseller lists and now you are starting to take the United States by storm. How do you make your books appealing to so many different audiences?

  First, the U.S. book covers are beautiful, so that’s a great start when trying to attract readers. Second, love is universal. We all want it, no matter who we are or what we do. We all want to be loved and to love in return. But we all suffer loss, setbacks, disappointment, and hurt—as do my characters. I explore love in every form in my novels because love is the most important thing in my life and, I believe, why we’re all here on earth. The simple answer is that love appeals to everyone.

  What’s next for you? Will we be hearing from Angelica again?

  The Perfect Happiness has already come out in the UK and I have had many requests to write a sequel. I rather enjoy the idea of picking another character, say Candice, and focusing on her life—or Kate. . . . Watch this space.

  Right now, I’m writing my next novel, based in Tuscany in the late 1960s and Devon, England, in the present day. Another big love story with a whopping twist! I’ve just changed publishers in England and am now writing for Simon & Schuster UK, so I’m under the big Simon & Schuster umbrella, which is wonderful. I want my first novel for them to be bigger and better than all the other ones, so I’d better get back to it. . . .