Next morning, after a sombre night, I walk downstairs, wondering how to make things right with Stephanie. I need to tell her how brave she is, and what a great job she’s doing with Tomas. As I come downstairs, I hear the front door click shut. Strange. Stephanie must still be avoiding me. Or maybe it’s the wind whipping up outside again. The mistral is back. The shutters are rattling on their hinges. I walk into the kitchen. Tomas is sitting at the table, Ralph at his feet.
‘Stephanie,’ I call. Maybe she’s nipped back to the caravan, knowing I was here to keep an eye on Tomas when she heard me coming downstairs.
‘Would you like some chocolat chaud, Tomas?’ I ask. Usually Stephanie has started to get out the ingredients for the next recipe in the book and decide what she needs to buy when she walks into town to deliver that day’s desserts. Today the work surface is empty and she hasn’t turned on the oven to warm up.
‘Stephanie,’ I call again, looking outside towards the caravan. There’s the toot-toot of the bakery van, and Tomas jumps down from his chair, clutching Monsieur Lapin, which he never goes anywhere without, and the two of us run down the drive to buy bread and croissants for everyone’s breakfast. I hand over a box of biscuits to Simone, the baker, and receive our baguettes, croissants and Tomas’s pain au chocolat. He insists on carrying the baguettes, which are far too long for him and almost topple out of his arms. It makes me smile, until I remember Stephanie’s tears when she walked away from JB’s home. Today we will throw ourselves into our work and hope that it helps to mend her broken heart.
We walk into the house as Rhi and Lou are coming downstairs.
‘Coffee? Tea? Breakfast?’ I ask. ‘Stephanie!’
‘Maman!’ Tomas shouts, carrying his bread with pride into the kitchen.
It’s only then I see a note on the table.