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Back Escape to the French Farmhouse Save as PDF
Chapters (79)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. Also by Jo Thomas
  4. DEDICATION
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. FORTY-SEVEN
  52. FORTY-EIGHT
  53. FORTY-NINE
  54. FIFTY
  55. FIFTY-ONE
  56. FIFTY-TWO
  57. FIFTY-THREE
  58. FIFTY-FOUR
  59. FIFTY-FIVE
  60. FIFTY-SIX
  61. FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. FIFTY-NINE
  64. SIXTY
  65. SIXTY-ONE
  66. SIXTY-TWO
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. RECIPES
  70. Lavender shortbread
  71. Apricot jam sponge cake
  72. Lavender lamb
  73. READ MORE
  74. Prologue
  75. ONE
  76. TWO
  77. THREE
  78. FOUR
  79. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

‘I’ve found us a great apartment on Facebook. Friend of a friend is going away for a grown-up gap year. He was looking for someone to house-sit.’

I think of Ralph in an apartment, someone else’s apartment.

‘I’m sorry, Ollie,’ I say, my thoughts as clear as the blue sky I’m looking at. ‘But I’m not coming back to you. It’s for the best, for both of us.’

‘This is madness!’ Ollie splutters.

‘No, Ollie, it’s the most sensible thing we’ve done in years.’

‘What will you do for money? You need money!’

‘I don’t know … yet.’ I’ll think of something. I hear a car coming up the drive. ‘Ollie, keep the money in the joint account and the savings one. And the shares you got with your redundancy package. I’ll have the house. I’ll sell it, sort out the mortgage on it and keep what’s left. Seem fair enough to you?’

‘What? You’ll keep the house and sell it and I keep the cash in the account, the savings account and the shares?’

‘Yes, that should work out fairly, shouldn’t it?’

I can hear Ollie doing a mental calculation.

‘Fine, but this is madness. You’ll change your mind. It’s just The Change, you know.’

It is a change, but not the one he means.

‘Goodbye, Ollie,’ I say softly, as he bangs down the phone. It’s as if the door on my past life has slammed shut. I cry out in frustration and pain, then lean against the door frame and cry for the marriage that has died, along with any respect and affection I had for Ollie. It’s over. I cry for the family life we never had and the new beginning we tried to start. I cry for my mum. I cry until I can’t cry any more.

SIX

Ralph is running around and barking at a car that’s pulled up on the drive. I push my phone into my back pocket, sniff away the tears, run my hands over my puffy eyes and walk back around the side of the house. I recognize her as soon as she steps out of the car, pushing up her sunglasses to look at the property. It’s the woman from the estate agent’s.

‘Bonjour, Madame,’ she calls, and walks towards me.

‘Bonjour,’ I reply, shaking her hand, then apologizing for Ralph, who is leaping around, barking, delighted to have a new friend to play with.

The estate agent smiles, but keeps her distance from Ralph.

‘Are you okay?’ she says, staring at my swollen, red eyes.

‘Yes, fine! How can I help you?’

‘Your husband said you would drop the key to Le Petit Mas to the shop,’ she says, in a strong Provençal accent.

‘Ah, yes, the key, je m’excuse,’ I say, ‘mais …’