Camille’s face is so open, her eyes so disarming and friendly. “True. So, let’s sleep on it. We have a few more days before I leave. Let’s see how you feel about it on my last day.” She leans in and kisses me fully on the lips, one hand slipping right under my jacket and blouse. “And I hope you know what I mean by sleep,” she says when we break from the kiss. “Shall we continue our walk?”

I nod, take her hand in mine, which feels like a surprisingly natural gesture, and stare out into the sea for a few minutes as we walk.

“I’ve been lied to and cheated on for the better part of twenty years. My husband had a mistress when I was in hospital after giving birth to our second child,” Camille says. “But I had no choice but to put my trust in people again. What kind of life would I have if I didn’t?”

I inhale a large gulp of sea air. “You seem like such a confident, well-rounded woman. How did you manage to stay married to him for such a long time?”

“Because he was the father of my children.” She falls silent. “I know how it makes me look. Like a weak woman who didn’t have the strength to walk away from a failed marriage. I had to face myself in the mirror asking myself that question every day, until I reached the conclusion that marriage is about so much more than fidelity.” Her breath shudders. “I didn’t want to raise my children alone. That was a choice I made early on and I stuck with it. Also, because I wasn’t ready to come out, I guess. Not for a long time. And I knew it was futile to demand of Jean-Claude he stop messing around with other women. It’s only natural for us mere mortals to be attracted to more people than the one we’ve chosen to marry. I fully believe in that. Some people choose to act on that attraction. For some, like my ex-husband, it’s more like a compulsion. In the end, it mattered less to me than having to make a life on my own. And I know I did say last night that I took my marriage vows too seriously to take things further with a woman I met… But that wasn’t entirely truthful. I was scared. Scared of what it might do to me. Of the point of no return. In that respect, I have always valued my role as a mother more than any other role I’ve had in my life. Which is one of the reasons I came on this trip after my youngest left home. And why I could finally push for a divorce when Ben was in his last year of high school.”

“Wow.”