by Lucy Coleman
I burst out laughing. ‘It was a life drawing class?’
‘It was. Only Eve didn’t know that. Give the lady her due, she drew most of me, and afterwards, once I had my clothes on, I went over to her and began chatting. The next week I went along to do a bit of drawing myself and made sure that I grabbed the easel next to hers. One thing led to another and I managed to talk her into going for a drink.’
Eve is blushing and Ronan has gone very quiet indeed.
‘That is hilarious!’ I roar. ‘Oh, Eve! I don’t know what I would have done – probably walked out, I think.’
‘I skipped all the other life drawing evenings and just went along for the still life. A bowl of fruit or a vase of flowers I could handle, but naked bodies – no.’
Ronan raises his eyebrows, trying hard not to laugh.
‘You didn’t know that, did you?’ I ask, and he shakes his head emphatically.
‘No. I didn’t. Thank you for sharing that, Frank. Most interesting. Mum, I don’t know what to say to that, as I was the one who talked you into signing up.’
Frank’s face is somewhat apologetic. ‘Sorry, Ronan. I assumed you knew. The guy who runs the class is an old friend and I step in from time to time. Or stepped in, as in the past tense, as Eve convinced me I should sit behind the easel, rather than in front of it.’
Maybe it’s the wine and we’re all getting a little giggly, but Eve, Ronan and I find that extremely funny and, while Frank gazes at us quizzically, it takes a little while for the laughter to subside.
Eve might play it cool, but the way her eyes follow Frank I can see that he’s the reason they have a little twinkle in them. Some people meet their soul mate early in life; others have to wait. In Eve and Frank’s case, it’s a lovely story and Eve is right, they are a mad pair, but it clearly works.
I fleetingly find myself thinking about Shellie and what tomorrow will bring when they visit Jake. Will it be all smiles and laughter as today has been for us?
‘Are you staying overnight, Lexie?’ Eve asks and I tune back in.
‘Ah. No. I, um, need to get back, I’m afraid. I have an elderly neighbour I keep an eye on.’
Judging by the way Ronan is fighting to stifle a yawn, I feel it’s time I made a move. He looks as if he’s ready to drop into bed and it is getting late.
‘I’ll be back tomorrow morning though. Ronan thought we could tour the palace gardens.’
‘Ooh, that’s a lovely idea.’ Eve’s eyes light up.
‘Can I propose a toast?’ Frank interjects.
‘Of course, you can, darling man,’ she says adoringly.
‘To life, love and laughter. May we all be blessed with all three.’
Amen to that.
‘I’ve just put Maisie to bed. She was shattered after spending most of the afternoon either on the trampoline with the boys or chasing them around the garden. You were right. Big house. Big plans.’
She doesn’t sound as irked as I thought she would.
‘But it went all right? No problems, or outbursts?’
‘No. It was fine. There were a few awkward silences, obviously, mainly when the kids were outside, and the adults were alone. We were shown around Mum’s little two-bed house in the garden, which made it all a little too real for me. And there’s a pool, of course. And a hot tub. And a kid’s playground. Jake has done well for himself, but we knew that and all credit to him. He did what he had to do to get where he wanted to be and that’s to have enough to set up his own business. And it’s not a small affair, by the sound of it.
‘He asked me about you, which was awkward. To avoid giving him any real info, I changed the subject and said you were spending some time tracking down the place where Grandma Viv stayed. He sounded interested, so I told him about the box Mum sent you. I hope that was all right, but I was really struggling at the time.’
She pauses, awaiting my reaction, but I understand she had to say something.
‘Look, I don’t think he’s been trying to wheedle information out of Mum, really I don’t,’ she explains. ‘I think she’s just proud of you and he wanted to catch up with what was going on. There’s nothing sinister here, Lexie, so please don’t get wound up by it.’
I groan inwardly.
‘Well, I’m doing just fine and if he asks again you can tell him that,’ I reply, sounding a little more curt than I’d intended.
‘As you’re not here in person, it’s difficult. If he didn’t show any interest in how you are it would be odd, wouldn’t it?’
Is she trying to be a peacemaker now?
‘I knew you’d be upset, and I understand that,’ she continues. ‘But in fairness to him, he genuinely wanted to know. It might be his conscience pricking him at last.’
If I’m honest with myself, my real fear is that Mum knows Elliot and I are struggling financially and if she shared that fact with Jake, she has no idea how mortifying that would be for me.
‘Thanks, I appreciate it, Shellie, and I’m sorry you were put on the spot. None of this is your fault. I’m glad it wasn’t as stressful as you thought it was going to be. And as for Mum, you think she’s making the right decision for the right reasons?’
That’s all that matters to me in the grand scheme of things.
‘Who knows? She seems happy around them all and Brooke is genuinely grateful for any help she can get. I think it’s a done deal, to be honest with you. How did it go meeting Ronan’s family for the first time?’
‘It was very relaxed. I left them all at the palace, after spending the morning touring the gardens. They were going to have lunch before heading off to Paris for the next stop on their tour. It was time I gave this place a good clean anyway and I wanted them to have some time alone together.’
‘It sounds like things are going really well between you both, then.’
I can hear the slight hesitation in her voice.
‘Ronan was glad of the support. And I owe him. Look, I have to go, as I have prep to do for tomorrow. Thanks for having my back. I appreciate it. I’ll speak to Mum maybe tomorrow. How’s Maisie doing?’
There’s a wry chuckle.
‘She’s fine, now. Thank you for having that little chat with her about Ollie. I knew something was up as soon as I picked her up from school to take her to the dentist. But Maisie insisted that she wasn’t feeling very well, and I’d taken that at face value. I’d even given her some medicine. Whatever you said to her really helped and just before bed she told me all about it. Ah, I can’t remember getting my heart broken at such a tender age, I must admit.’
‘Me, neither. They grow up way too fast these days. And I’m telling you now, any boy who upsets my darling Maisie better look out when I get back. Boyfriend, indeed!’
21
The Ups and Downs of Life – Why Now?
‘What’s wrong?’ I ask as Ronan lowers the camera mid-interview.
‘I don’t know. It suddenly powered down. Give me a minute.’
I turn to engage Claire, one of the students working in Le Potager du Roi – the King’s Kitchen Garden – in conversation. Cameron heads straight across to Ronan and it isn’t long before it’s obvious there is a problem they can’t fix.
‘I’m sorry, ladies.’ Ronan looks up with a frustrated frown on his face. ‘It looks like one of the chips has failed, or something.’
I try not to groan at this setback and raise a smile, thanking Claire for her time and asking if we can reschedule. She’s very understanding and rather enjoying the experience, it seems, telling us it’s not a problem at all. When I walk over to the guys, I can see they are both as dispirited as I feel.
‘It was going so well. Now this will put another dent in the schedule, as I’m going to have to take it somewhere to get it looked at. I have no idea what it’s going to cost,’ Ronan admits. ‘I’ll give Elliot a call, in case it’s still under warranty. Sorry, Lexie.’
‘Hey, it’s not your fault, Ronan. Yesterday’s filming went without a hitch, so I
guess we were lucky as we could have had Yvette here, too.’ I would have had to pay her even if filming had been brought to a sudden halt. But now I’m concerned about Friday’s shoot, if we end up having to cancel that.
I know there’s no point in asking how long it will take to sort the problem, because first of all Ronan has to find somewhere to take it and then it depends on their workload and what needs replacing, I presume.
Cameron pipes up, ‘Look, Lexie. If you want to cancel me for Friday, then I can get a day’s work elsewhere no problem at all. But I need to know today in order to arrange something. I’m just thinking about saving you a little money, although I appreciate that we’ll have to make this up.’
It’s a dilemma. What if this is a simple fix, and the day after tomorrow we’re all ready to roll again? I look at Ronan, trying to gauge his reaction.
‘I hate to say it, but I think that’s a wise move. This is a specialist thing and I won’t know until I speak to Elliot whether there’s anyone close by who can look at it. I think it’s a bit optimistic to think it will be sorted by Friday, to be honest with you.’
I feel my shoulders droop a little. ‘I think you’re right, Ronan. Thanks, Cameron, that’s appreciated. Let’s assume everything will be fine for next Tuesday then, shall we?’
Cameron reaches out to give my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. ‘Anything to help, Lexie. Hopefully it won’t be too expensive and we can get in at least one more session before Elliot returns next week.’
I nod, appreciative that Cameron understands the pressure. If it hadn’t been for the way Cameron and Ronan have rallied around, Elliot’s absence would have been a total disaster. There is no way we could have halted filming for several weeks. The fact that we will only have had to reschedule two interviews is little short of a miracle.
‘Hey, guys, let’s not lose sight of what we’ve achieved. This series is going to sell, and our names are going to be on it. I can’t thank either of you enough and when we’re finally done, we are going to have one hell of a party!’
The phone rings and I snatch it up; Ronan said he’d phone me as soon as he could to let me know what he’s arranged.
‘Okay, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?’ Ronan’s voice sounds quite upbeat and I guess that means he has some sort of solution in hand.
‘Bad news first, please.’
‘After a quick chat with Elliot I’ve spoken to a camera specialist on the outskirts of Paris and they will take a look at it tomorrow. It’s about an hour’s drive away though, but it could be worse. If they have the part in stock it will be a same-day fix; if they don’t, then they will get it couriered overnight and I’ll drive over on Friday to pick the camera up.’
Time to take it on the chin, but at least something is happening.
‘That’s the bad news? It’s not quite as bad as I feared. What’s the good news?’
‘I think you need a change of scenery and you should come with me. I’ve found the perfect place to take you for an absolutely amazing lunch, as a thank you for putting up with my scandalous family. I had no idea about Frank and his nude modelling; if I had, I would most certainly have warned you!’
I think he’s joking with me really, trying to lighten my mood as he senses the worry that never seems to leave me, these days. It’s not solely about money, but Mum as well. I spoke to her earlier on and she’s sold to cash purchasers. She’s expecting to complete in around six weeks’ time, so at least I’ll get to look around the house one last time before she moves out, but it still doesn’t feel right.
‘Sorry, my mind wandered off there for a moment. I’d love a trip out tomorrow. That would be great, but lunch is definitely on me next time.’
‘I’ll pick you up at nine-thirty. I’m looking forward to spending some time together just relaxing for a change. And, Lexie, I’m here whenever you need me, you do know that, don’t you? You’re always in my thoughts.’
‘I know. It’s the same for me, Ronan. I’m getting used to having you around and when you aren’t it feels as if something is missing in my life. See you tomorrow; sleep well.’
As I put the phone down, I stare at the coffee table, then reach forward to open the drawer. I threw everything back into Grandma’s box the other day and it’s all out of sequence again. Emptying it out, I begin sorting the notebooks into a semblance of chronological order. Jumping up, I grab the one from the kitchen table that I’ve almost finished reading and quickly settle back down.
This time I decide to number them on the reverse. Then I notice there is already something written on the back, but it’s very faint on the coarse, buff cover. It’s more like an imprint now, although it was originally written with an ink pen, by the look of it, which has since rubbed off from constant handling.
Holding it up to the light, I can see the indent of the word ‘April’. Flipping them all over, it’s easy to sort them out. I begin with June, the month Grandma arrived in Versailles and there are two for that month. Ronan and I took one each, so we’ve covered those. I’m working on the July one now. Ronan has already read through the August one and there are two for October, but there’s nothing for September. Perhaps that’s the one Ronan is reading right now. November also has two, then there’s December and no January. I add March and April to the pile, only to discover there’s no February and the final one is May.
How strange. I count them and there are only twelve, plus the one Ronan is reading. I’m sure there were fifteen, so two have gone astray. Glancing across at the stack of paperwork and files on the kitchen table, I wonder if they’re buried amongst the piles there. On a few occasions both Ronan and I sat at the table while making notes.
After a quick tidy up I still can’t find the missing notebooks and come to the conclusion that I miscounted and there were only thirteen to begin with. It just seems strange that Grandma skipped out two whole months. I will check with Ronan tomorrow. Maybe he put them to one side for some reason, and when I do a clean through, I’ll find them in between a stack of invoices or something. He knows how precious the contents of this box are to me and he can only work with one notebook at a time anyway.
‘Right, Grandma, let’s finish off your July notebook and see what that throws up.’
After a couple of hours, it’s all becoming a little clearer. We have the Bulldog, the Terrier and now, The Spaniel. But what we also have is a real sense of how immersed Grandma felt in her surroundings. Ronan read the first of the two June notebooks and it was full of intricate little drawings, but mostly it was about her daily routine here. But in the second one which I read, as the days went by there were more and more references to the internal wrangles and conflicting personalities around her. A month later and the tension had continued to build.
Another difficult and emotional day. The Bulldog has yet again upset things by bringing even more bad news. Today’s committee meeting signalled the need to restrict spending further, due to emergency repairs to the roof of the palace. He had to beg for the basic things we need just to keep going, let alone looking to the future.
It’s a tough time and the Terrier wanted to storm into the meeting at one point, eager to be heard before they made their final decision. It was all the Spaniel could do to hold him back. I feel the passion, the hurt deep inside of him. But it’s an impossible situation. The Terrier simply will not listen, but what can be done?
Public opinion, the committee said, is against major change to the gardens anyway, but the Terrier became angry. He said that if a replanting programme is not put in place soon, the future of the park is doomed.
The Spaniel said he’s a fool and the cycle of nature is that the landscape will inevitably change over time. Trees will die and new trees will be replanted if and when money is conjured up. The argument was in French and I followed it as best I could. He said that money doesn’t come out of thin air and rubbed his fingers together, thrusting them in the face of the Terrier. He was incensed and I had to step in betwee
n them.
How awful for her; she could see where it was all going and there was nothing anyone could do to change the outcome. When someone is fighting so fervently for what they truly believe is right, how can they simply give in and accept defeat? The atmosphere must have been unbearable at times.
I’m not surprised to discover that after work each day Grandma spent a little time in the gardens with her notepad, drawing. Perhaps that’s how she relaxed and de-stressed after the battles that seemed to rage around her on a daily basis. The last page is entirely taken up with a sketch of Marie Antoinette’s beloved Virginia tulip tree. It was planted in 1783 and uprooted in 1999, when storms devastated the park after 210 kilometres per hour winds tore through Versailles.
The trunk leant gracefully to the left and then forked as it rose, lofty limbs whose size I can’t even imagine. It was summer and the canopy of leaves are merely strokes of the pencil, but so carefully applied that each line seems to graduate a little. Feathery wisps turn into dark smudges, as she pressed harder on the page to simulate the tight mass of leaves.
I wonder what she was thinking as she sat there drawing. My phone rings and I feel around, yanking it out from under the cushion next to me on the sofa. It’s Mum.
‘Hi, Mum, how are you doing?’
‘Good, honey. I didn’t want to disturb you, but I had a chat with Shellie, and she said I should be careful what I say to Jake about you. That means you’ve said something to her that you haven’t shared with me. Talk to me, Lexie, let me know what’s going on in that head of yours.’
I swallow hard. This is awkward.
‘Look, Mum, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want Jake poking around in my business affairs. When I get back, I’m sure we’ll meet up at some point. But some of the information is, um, commercial in confidence. I hope you can understand that.’
