BooksBarbecue
Back Escape to the French Farmhouse
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

Henri greets me, Rhi and Lou warmly, and tells me he is so proud to see Stephanie working with me. ‘She is blooming, like the lavande!’ he says, then adds, ‘And you too! Le Petit Mas is good for both of you!’ Rhi and Lou are looking at me with interest.

We order the wine and water and Lou gets straight to the point. ‘So, what’s going on here?’ she says. ‘Ollie said you’d lost the plot and refused to come home.’

Rhi kicks her under the table.

‘What?’ Lou flicks her straight blonde hair. ‘He says you keep saying you’re not going back and now you’ve stopped messaging him. Look, if it’s the baby thing …’

‘The baby thing?’ I ask.

‘What Lou means is …’

‘I know what she meant,’ I say to Rhi, with a sigh, and the ache in my heart has suddenly returned.

‘Look, I know you both mean well, and you’re my dearest friends,’ I lean over and put my hands over theirs, ‘but, really, this is for the best. Ollie and I, we’d come to the end of the road. We wanted different things. We’re not the same people we once were, and separating, before we could make each other thoroughly miserable, was the right thing to do. It was just the end of the journey for us. No blame. Just the end.’

They stare at me, clearly hearing what I’m saying and that I’m not talking gibberish. ‘It’s sad, really sad, but we both deserve the chance to be happy again, away from each other.’ And there is a pain in my heart that will leave a deep scar because we couldn’t make the distance together. ‘I can’t go back to our old life, the same things. This is about moving forward, wherever it takes me. And I have no idea how things are going to turn out. But I need to try.’ I look at them both. ‘I’m not going back. I’m here to stay. So, if you’ve come to persuade me otherwise, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come to stay here as my friends, I’m delighted to have you. As long as you don’t mind doing a bit of painting!’ I suddenly laugh. I have never felt clearer about anything in my life. I lift my glass.

After a moment of stunned silence, Rhi says, ‘I better get that brush out, then!’ She picks up her wine and smiles.

‘Best we order another bottle first!’ says Lou. The three of us clink glasses.

‘To new beginnings,’ I say. ‘What is it Dr Seuss said? “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”’

‘I’ll let Ollie know,’ says Lou, grappling for her rhinestone-decorated phone, and we smile. They understand. This is me. This is now and I’m not going back.