Authors: Jennifer Bohnet
The rain had started as they left the restaurant. By the time they were on the autoroute and heading for the first tunnel, it was torrential and Nanette expected Zac to decree leaving at the next exit. Instead he simply pressed the play button on the radio and the nostalgic words of ‘Yesterday’ struggled to be heard against the noise of the storm and the rhythmic sweep of windscreen wipers rendered useless by the force of the rain.
As they exited the tunnel, Nanette saw the huge sheet of water that lay in front of them a split second before the car rose up and aquaplaned out of control across this unexpected lake towards the central reservation. The impact jarred every bone in her body and turned the car over, sending it spinning on its roof back across to the hard shoulder where it finally came to rest.
Drifting in and out of consciousness Nanette was dimly aware of the nauseous smell of petrol and of Zac dragging her out and away from the wreckage.
‘I’ve phoned for help. Shouldn’t be too long,’ Zac assured her as she lay on the verge.
The paramedics were kind and gently placed her on a stretcher. As they lifted her into the ambulance, Zac leant over her and whispered something.
Now, three years later, Nanette finally remembered what those words were.
‘Nanette, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.’
Nanette jumped as Jean-Claude appeared unexpectedly on the balcony. Lost in her memories she hadn’t heard the apartment door opening.
‘Is everything all right? You look very pale,’ Jean-Claude said, holding her tight as he gave her a greeting kiss on the cheeks.
‘Zac is due back soon. I was trying to work out what I’m going to say to him.’
‘How about a straightforward, No thank you. I don’t want the job with
Vacances au Soleil
.’
‘It’s no longer as simple as that, JC,’ Nanette said quietly. ‘I also need to talk to him about’ – she took a deep breath before continuing – ‘about the things I’ve started to remember.’
‘Your memory of the accident is returning?’
Nanette nodded. ‘Yes. Something triggered it off tonight as I walked past Zac’s old apartment,’ she said, beginning to shiver. ‘And then when I came out here.…’ Her voice trailed away as she gestured towards
Pole Position
.
Jean-Claude pulled her back into his arms protectively.
‘These memories have clearly upset you. Do you wish to tell me?’
Standing in the safe circle of his arms, looking up at Jean-Claude’s concerned face, Nanette wished she could confide in him. Ask his advice about how to approach things with Zac, but slowly she shook her head.
‘I think I must talk to Zac first – see if my memory is true or whether it’s playing tricks on me.’
Jean-Claude kissed her gently.
‘D’accord
. You tell me when you’re ready to talk about the past. Tonight we’ll talk about us and perhaps the future.’
Nanette smiled at him gratefully as he took her hand and together they left the balcony. Nanette moved away from him to close the balcony doors and draw the heavy curtains across, but was startled by a loud knock on the apartment door.
‘Ah supper,’ Jean-Claude said. ‘I’ll get it. I missed dinner this evening because of my business appointment,’ he explained, returning with several steaming containers which he placed on the dining table.
‘I hope you like Chinese?’
Nanette organized the table, while Jean-Claude deftly turned out lights, lit candles, switched on the CD player and opened a bottle of wine. A few simple actions but Nanette realized that Jean-Claude had somehow introduced an atmosphere of intimacy into the room. Suddenly she felt shy and self-conscious. What was he expecting from her?
As the voice of Charles Aznavour singing a string of romantic melodies floated through the apartment, Jean-Claude turned to her.
‘
Voilà
! Let’s eat,’ and gallantly he pulled a chair out for her.
The sweet and sour pork was delicious and Nanette was surprised to find how hungry she was. It wasn’t until Jean-Claude
was pouring some wine that he glanced over and asked, ‘Has Mathieu ever said anything to you about his mother? Or about me for that matter?’
Startled Nanette shook her head. ‘No.’
‘Before we talk about the future, I think I need to tell you a little about my past,’ he said replacing the bottle in the terracotta wine cooler. ‘Amelia and I were childhood sweethearts – our birthdays were just two days apart. I was the youngest – a fact which always amused her. Neither of our families thought we were good enough for each other.’ Jean-Claude grinned ruefully. ‘But when she became pregnant they became united in demanding we get married. Mathieu was born on Amelia’s seventeenth birthday.’
He took a sip of his wine.
‘At first everything was fine but when Amelia’s family decided to move to Paris she thought we should go with them. I was all set to work in the family business and didn’t want to move. In the end she decided she wanted to go with them – with or without me – but taking Mathieu.’
‘That must have been hard for you to deal with,’ Nanette said quietly.
‘
Oui
. I don’t think Mathieu has ever forgiven me. Looking back I think maybe I should have gone to Paris with them, that things could have been different.’ Jean-Claude shook his head. ‘One makes mistakes in life – particularly when one is so young.
‘I visited as often as I could and we had some good times together but our lives were soon going in different directions.’ He sighed. ‘How could it do anything else? I was taking more and more responsibility for the family business and Amelia, well, let’s just say Amelia was enjoying her life in Paris.’
There was a short silence as he swirled the wine in his glass.
‘Mathieu was thirteen when Amelia was killed in a car crash and he came to live with me down here. Until all this blew up I thought I’d made a good job of raising him. We had a small problem with a car and some credit when he was a teenager, but on the whole he seemed to have become a
well-adjusted
, caring individual and I was proud of him. We had a good relationship. But now I just don’t understand him at all.’ Jean-Claude shook his head.
‘JC, I’m sure things will work out for Mathieu. Like you I don’t think he is inherently bad – he’s just got caught up in something that’s spiralled out of control.’ She hesitated before asking, ‘Has your detective uncovered anything?’
‘Only the fact that Boris appears to be the one pulling all the strings. Apparently the police, both here and Interpol, are quietly keeping tabs on him. Unofficially the rumours are flying. There’s talk of money-laundering, a business cartel and drugs being involved.’
‘Mathieu wouldn’t do drugs,’ Nanette said instantly. ‘It has to be something else. What about Zac? Has the detective figured out where he fits into all this?’
‘
Non
. Other than that he seems to be pulling some strings of his own, independent of Boris. Who, incidentally, is currently in South America overseeing some business deal.’
‘I wonder if that’s where Mathieu is, too, this week. He didn’t say where he was going. Just said it was a business trip,’ Nanette said.
Jean-Claude shrugged. ‘Mathieu caught a flight to London, but he could have picked up a connection to literally anywhere in the world from there. He hasn’t rung to speak to
the twins?’
‘He e-mails them most days but only phones occasionally when he’s away. I know he’s promised to be back in time for their school play next week.’
‘Good. Somehow I feel easier when he’s in town – if anything happens here in the Principality at least I’ll be around to help to sort it out.’
Jean-Claude gazed at Nanette thoughtfully. ‘I wanted you to understand that, although it all went wrong, I did love Amelia.’ He reached across and took her hand in his. ‘And until now, I’ve never come close to loving anyone else.’
There was silence as Jean-Claude gently stroked Nanette’s hand before looking up and asking quietly, ‘Do you think you could ever look on me as more than a friend?’
Nanette’s smile was warm as she smiled at him.
‘Oh, JC, you’re more than just a friend already.’
Before she could say any more the telephone rang. As she went to answer it, he sighed and began to clear the table. Nanette was still talking on the phone when he finished and he took the rest of his wine out on to the balcony to wait for her.
Nanette was smiling when she joined him a few minutes later.
‘That was Patsy. Bryan has treated her to a flight out here – she’s coming for my birthday! She wanted to know if I could meet her at Nice Airport. I said yes, of course, but I don’t have a car. Could you possibly take me?’
‘Of course.’
He placed an arm around her shoulders. ‘Nanette, I meant what I said earlier about not loving anyone since Amelia. I know Zac hurt you very badly and I don’t want to rush you
into a relationship before you’re sure, but do you think we could have any sort of future together?’
Nanette turned and kissed him gently. ‘JC, I can’t promise anything. Could we carry on as we are? Take things slowly, get to know each other properly – see what happens? Now my memory seems to be returning, there are a few things I’d like to sort out. I need to finally close the Zac Ewart part of my life.’
She didn’t add the words, ‘before I can love anyone again’ but she hoped Jean-Claude understood.
The following morning, once she’d taken the twins to school, Nanette walked slowly along the embankment towards the Old Port. The envelope containing the
Vacances au Soleil
papers was in her bag ready to hand back to Zac. She was determined, too, that this time he would accept the fact that she didn’t want the job he was offering her.
The crew on board
Pole Position
were busy with routine morning chores but there was no sign of Zac. As Nanette hesitated on the quay, the yacht’s captain came down the gangway.
Recognizing her, he said, ‘Zac’s been delayed – something to do with the wrong tyres being supplied for Canada. There’s a chance he’ll not make it back here until after Indianapolis.’
‘But that’s a month away,’ Nanette said. ‘I need to talk to him before then.’
‘I can give you his mobile number if that helps,’ the captain said.
About to refuse the offer, Nanette changed her mind, saying instead, ‘Thanks. That could be useful.’
Handing her a card with Zac’s mobile number on it the skipper said, ‘I’m surprised you don’t already have this – particularly as you’re coming back to work for Zac.’
‘Who told you that?’
‘Zac did before he left for the UK.’
Inwardly furious but not wanting to discuss it with the yacht skipper Nanette said simply, ‘Oh, I see. Thanks for the number. See you around.’
Stopping at the first pavement café she reached, Nanette ordered a cappuccino. Her hand was shaking as she spooned the froth off the top and she took several deep breaths trying to steady her nerves.
Zac was unbelievable. Back to his old tricks of assuming he could browbeat her in to doing what he wanted. How dare he tell his crew that she would be working for him again, especially as she’d already told him she wasn’t interested?
Opening her bag she took out the envelope to slip the card inside with the other papers. Tempting though it was to ring him, Nanette was determined to confront him face to face even if she had to wait another month to do it.
A shadow fell across the table and Nanette looked up in surprise.
‘
Bonjour, Nanette
.’ Mathieu sat down beside her. ‘Join me for another coffee?’
Nanette shook her head. ‘No thanks. What are you doing here? We weren’t expecting you back until at least the weekend.’
He shrugged. ‘A couple of my business appointments were cancelled so I decided to come home early. How are the twins? Still practising for their concert?’
‘Yes. They’ll be pleased to see you.’
‘I’ll meet them from school this afternoon if you like,’ Mathieu offered. He took a sip of coffee before asking, ‘Spoken to Zac recently?’
Nanette shook her head. ‘I was hoping to see him today, to sort some things out, but he’s not here.’
‘I know,’ Mathieu said quietly. ‘I was supposed to be meeting up with him in the UK but he had to take an early flight to Canada.’
He glanced at her. ‘Do you still have the papers he gave you about
Vacances au Soleil
?’
‘Yes. They’re in my bag. I was going to give them back this morning.’
‘Could I have a look at them please?’
‘Oh, Mathieu, I don’t know,’ Nanette protested.
‘Are they marked private and confidential? Did Zac ask you to keep them to yourself?’ Mathieu pressed her.
‘No.’
‘There may just be something in them that would help me,’ Mathieu said quietly.
‘Help you do what? It’s only papers outlining Zac’s business and what I would be expected to do.’
Mathieu was silent for a few seconds. ‘I need a certain piece of information and there’s a possibility it will be in those papers. Please, Nanette. I promise you Zac will never know you showed them to me.’
Nanette stood up. ‘Mathieu, I’m not happy doing this, but I will let you see them, only not here. Back at the apartment.’
‘That stuff tastes vile,’ Ralph said, as Vanessa handed him some diluted Sangre de Grado to swallow. ‘Do I have to?’
Vanessa nodded. ‘Yes, you do. And I need to rub some of
the ointment onto the last of your bruises too.’
Three days after his accident and to Vanessa’s relief, Ralph was a lot better. Whether it was the smelly concoctions that the head shaman had given her to administer on a regular basis or whether he hadn’t been as badly injured as at first feared, Vanessa didn’t know. She was just relieved he was alive.
‘I don’t know what’s in this stuff,’ Vanessa said, as she rubbed the reddish sticky ointment into Ralph’s body, ‘but it’s certainly worked.’
‘Seems to take the pain away too,’ Ralph said. ‘Can’t believe that something so primitive has such great healing properties.’
‘Don’t forget the TLC I’ve given you will have made a difference too,’ Vanessa teased.
Ralph caught hold of her hand. ‘I know,’ he said seriously. ‘I’m sorry things haven’t worked out as we planned. Nick and Harry were in here earlier saying that as they can’t do any filming near the dam, they’ve persuaded Luigi to take them to film the young pink dolphins for a couple of days. I know it’s a long trek but why don’t you go to?’
Vanessa shook her head. ‘Rather be here with you. Besides, I’ve promised Angela I’ll help her and the other women this afternoon.’
‘If you’re sure. With a bit of luck we might see some dolphins on our trek northwards when we finally leave here anyway. Ah, here comes Matron and the consultant doing their rounds,’ he added
sotto voce
as Angela and the head shaman appeared at the entrance to the hut.
After the medicine man had pronounced himself happy with Ralph’s progress he said something urgently to Angela
before leaving.
‘He says you can get up today,’ Angela said. ‘There will be a feast in the village tomorrow night to celebrate your recovery.’
Early that afternoon Vanessa left Ralph writing in his journal and reviewing the plans for the next part of their adventure. Making her way towards the hut where the women were working at the far end of the village compound, she listened to the now familiar exotic chorus of birdsong from high in the surrounding trees.