Page 36 of Road Trip to the Riviera
‘We’re heading off in a bit,’ Hal tells me. ‘Seb knows a good spot near here for a river swim.’
‘You’re really going through with that?’
‘Why not?’
I can think of a million reasons why not, but then realise that if they both bugger off for a few hours it gives me a chance to shower, reset myself, have a rest and catch up on work.
I’m no workaholic, but even doing a little bit of work seems to reset my mood. It’s as if I can step into another version of myself. One without hang-ups, who knows what she’s doing. Practising law is somehow a welcome respite with its clear perimeters and rules, and frees me for a while from the chaos of my private life.
The boys pack a rucksack each and after making sure I really, truly don’t want to come (and believe me, I really, truly don’t), set off companionably.
When they’re gone, I feel myself relax. It’s nice to swear when my leg twinges, which it seems to be doing a lot at the moment, and let my face fall into a grimace at times without anyone asking me what’s wrong. I open my laptop and bring up my emails, but before starting anything I decide to ring Mum.
‘Hello, who am I speaking to?’ she says. Mum has a mobile and I know for a fact my number is programmed into it. She is fully aware that it’s me calling.
‘Hi, Mum, it’s Sarah.’
‘Oh, Sarah! Lovely to hear from you.’ Sounds fine on paper, doesn’t it? But the underlying tone is that I’ve been lax in getting in touch. She misses off the ‘at last’ from the end of the sentence, but believe me – we both know it’s there.
‘Yeah, sorry, Mum, it’s been… busy. Signal’s not always great here either so…’ I lie.
‘Of course. Of course. You’re still on your little holiday!’ she says, all brightness. ‘How long until you arrive now?’
‘Oh, not long. A few days.’
‘Well, I should think so! The wedding’s in a few days.’ She harrumphs.
‘I know, Mum. I know exactly when the wedding is. And we’re going to be there, OK?’
‘I’ll be honest, I’m not sure why you chose to make a holiday of it. Surely the most important thing is coming to support your son and his wonderful fiancée, not treating yourself to a sunshine break!’
This hurts. ‘Mum, you know I was coming over early. I broke my leg, remember?—’
‘Well, about that. Judith broke her leg last September and she still flew to Germany for the Christmas markets…’
‘The doctor told me not to fly.’
‘Oh, doctors!’ Mum says dismissively as if that’s all she has to say on the matter.
I decide, as I often do, to back away from the precipice of the argument. In so many ways I’d love to give her a piece of my mind. But I know that when it comes to emotional resolve, she’s so much stronger than I am. I’ll capitulate eventually, then feel even worse.
‘How’s Louis?’ I ask instead.
‘Yes. Good. I mean, as you’d expect, he’s a little stressed.’
‘And Summer?’
‘Yes, yes,’ she says dismissively.
‘Did you know they were…’
‘Having a baby? Of course! They told me a few weeks ago, in fact. Summer found out just after they flew out here for the summer.’
I feel the prickle of threatening tears. They told my mother a few weeks ago, and only just thought to tell me? But I steel myself. ‘And are they… happy about it?’
Another harrumph. ‘Of course they are! Why wouldn’t they be?’
‘Good, that’s good. I just worry, you know. They’re ever so young.’
