As the taxi whirs through the streets, I can’t help smiling as I lean out of the window and admire the sights. The last time I was in a cab driving through Paris it was because I was terrified my best friend was about to kill herself. Now it’s because I’m coming to see her to celebrate a milestone – her seventy-seventh birthday.
Usually Jacob picks me up from the airport, or the station if I’ve taken the Eurostar. But because today is such a special day we’ve all taken a cab from the airport. When I say we, I mean me – obviously – and Jacob, Phil, Hannah, Luke and little baby Joe, who at six months old is the cutest thing I have ever seen.
‘Are you guys holding up all right?’ I ask, directing my question to Hannah and Luke who have flown in on the red eye from New York.
Hannah and Luke exchange knowing looks. ‘We’re fine. In fact, I think we both managed more sleep on the flight than we have done since Joe was born.’
I laugh. I have to say they do look surprisingly well. Since Lydia decided to stay in Paris, the four of us have all got to know each other pretty well. Firstly, I made Lydia fly to New York with me, not only to tell Luke her plans in person and reveal her diagnosis, but to meet baby Joe too. I told her she would regret it if she didn’t, in what I had hoped was a tone that brooked no argument. It worked. She had a fantastic time, as did I. Getting to know Luke better was brilliant too and we spent a good few nights talking into the small hours about Lydia and what her future looked like.
Hannah joined us on a few occasions and the following month, when Lydia moved into La Belle Maison permanently, Luke, Hannah, Joe, Jack, Jacob and I all helped her settle in. It was an emotional moment for all of us as we tried to help Lydia adjust to the new order of things. Luke was endlessly upbeat with his mum, telling her that there was a lot of hope for Alzheimer’s sufferers now. In the end Hannah told him to button it before I did. I mean, I’m all for positivity but it just felt like he was trying too hard.
‘So how’s the business going, Erin?’ Luke asks dragging me back to the present.
I shoot him a smile. ‘Brilliantly. You’ll be glad to know your mum and dad’s old shop is in the care of a very responsible owner.’
‘I don’t doubt it.’ Luke smiles. ‘Mum would never have bought it for you, if she didn’t believe in you, but you know, I never saw you in antiques.’
I shrug. ‘I never saw myself in antiques either until recently, but I always saw myself working with people’
‘And business,’ Phil chimes. ‘All that social media you do, posting photographs of the latest stock, where you’ve been, I would never think to do anything like that.’
‘It’s just the way business is done now,’ I say, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
‘But you’re so good at it though,’ Luke enthuses. ‘You’ve really got a flair for antiques, and driving the business into the twenty-first century.’
‘Yes, the shop is always so busy,’ Phil adds.
I beam at my old friend. After a lot of conversations with Lydia, Phil has taken a bit of a back seat with Ginger taking over as manager of the café. That doesn’t mean I see any less of Phil though. Instead, he spends most of his days popping in to see me and I have to admit I quite like having him in the Box of Delights. That’s not a euphemism by the way, that’s actually the name of the shop. It was Lydia’s idea. She said it was her favourite book as a child and funnily enough when I was a child it had been a novel I had adored too – just another example of how we were basically the same person, just a few years apart.
‘What about the store in London?’ Luke asks. ‘When will that be ready to open?’
‘Next month, I hope,’ I say, crossing my fingers.
Jacob squeezes my knee affectionately. ‘You don’t need to hope, I know it’s going to do well.’
I never planned to have two stores, but the Bath shop has been doing so well and so many of our customers were coming down from London that Jacob suggested I use some of the profit to set up a small outlet just off the Finchley Road. Given he has a flat a ten-minute walk from there, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Of course, I didn’t do it without seeking advice first, but Lydia beamed when I told her and just shouted, ‘’Atta girl.’
‘My friend Courtney was on your website the other day and she is desperate to buy that gorgeous Japanese necklace you’ve got online,’ Hannah says over the roar of the traffic. ‘I said I’d talk to you about it this weekend.’
‘Tick it off your to do list,’ I reply triumphantly. ‘The necklace is Courtney’s.’
Hannah’s eyes light up with pleasure. ‘Oh, she’ll be delighted.’
‘Let’s hope the rest of the weekend is as easy,’ Luke puts in as the cab draws up outside Lydia’s home.
As we step out, I’m delighted to see Jack waiting outside, his arms piled high with gifts.
‘You robbed a Galleries Lafayette, Granddad?’ Jacob teases, clapping Jacob on the back in affection.
‘Not yet, though never say never.’ Jack smiles, bending down to kiss me on the cheek.
I kiss him back, delighting in the affection. Jacob and I travel to Paris most weekends to see Jack and Lydia, and it’s always the highlight of our week as, not only do we get to see our loved ones, but we get to spend time together in the most romantic city in the world. Of course, Jacob doesn’t stay with his granddad any more. Instead we usually stay in a hotel not far from the Opera. It’s going so incredibly well with Jacob, and my mum and dad adore him.
It’s also been going well with them too, as we’ve talked over what happened and learned to reconnect. I feel like it’s been good for us in a funny way. Although I would never wish estrangement on anyone, it’s given us the chance to discover who we are independently. The one thing we have all realised is how fragile relationships can be, and how important it is not to take the other for granted.
Together, we follow Jack inside the home, and I’m delighted to see the crisp winter sun is shining. Like Jack’s apartment, Lydia’s is filled with light and set in beautiful grounds where the kids who live here can play and the older ones can watch.
It doesn’t take long to find Lydia. She’s where she always is, holding court in the communal living room. Today she’s playing ‘Mrs Robinson’ on the piano while many of the residents, young and old sing along.
As soon as she sees us, she gives us a bright smile, but doesn’t stop until she’s reached the end.
‘Et voila!’ She smiles, getting to her feet. ‘I must go now – my public await.’
With that she gives a little bow and trots off to greet us.
‘Nothing changes’ I wrap my arms around her, pulling her in for a cuddle.
‘I should bloody well hope not,’ she chuckles, pulling away from me to kiss everyone else and take baby Joe for a cuddle.
I take a moment to look at her as I always do when I visit. I want to assess her health and see how she is. Like a lot of Alzheimer’s sufferers she has good days and bad days, but what’s changed since she moved into this wonderful home is her attitude. After we found her outside the Olympia all those months ago, she was so sure her life was over. Now she says it’s as though her third act has just begun and she seems so much happier and settled. Lydia keeps in regular contact with Mr Evry her neurologist. I’ve met him a few times and he’s a lovely man. Together we all had a long chat and Lydia decided to take the drugs in the end to try and halt the symptoms for a while, but she’s also become the most fantastic advocate for those with Alzheimer’s. She’s been fundraising, getting involved with charities and will proudly tell anyone she meets now that she has the disease, insisting that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
The change in her is fantastic to see, and as I watch Helene, a six-year-old who lives here with her mum Simone, dance around Lydia’s legs, I see how she lights up in her company.
‘So, Helene, shall we see if any of this lot have brought us any nice presents?’ Lydia smiles down at the little girl. ‘What is it we always say?’
‘It’s your presents not your presence that counts,’ the little girl says innocently, taking care to stress the ‘t’ in presents as I know Lydia will have taught her.
‘Too right it is,’ Lydia agrees, ‘and anyone that says otherwise is lying.’
I can’t help roaring with laughter. ‘Nice to see you’re corrupting young minds.’
Lydia winks as she hands Joe back to his mum. ‘I’m only telling the truth. Plain speaking we called it in my day.’
I sink into the nearest chair and throw my head back onto the cushions dramatically. ‘Please not any more of your “in my day” crap, we’ve only just got here.’
‘Ha! It’s my birthday – I get to do just as I like. So if you don’t like it I suggest you help yourself to that champagne in the bucket over there.’
My eyes light up. I walk immediately over to the table, and start to pour everyone a glass. As I offer one to Lydia, she shakes her head and turns to Luke instead. It’s a small gesture but her refusal is a stark reminder of how different things are now. I sit back down and watch her as I take a sip of champagne. Change doesn’t always have to be a bad thing, I realise. Lydia is more alive than I’ve ever known her. I watch her eagerly collect her parcels.
‘It’s nice to see you, Mum,’ Luke grins as he kisses Lydia on the cheek and hands her a large bag.
‘And it’s nice to see you as well, son, but it’ll be even nicer to see what’s in that lovely gift bag,’ she quips.
I smirk as Lydia rips open the paper to reveal a stunning bracelet.
‘Oh, Luke, it’s just gorgeous,’ she breathes, running her fingers over the precious metal.
‘Always said you were like a magpie,’ Jack teases good-naturedly.
Lydia wags a finger at him. ‘You watch out or I’ll tell Madame Parker you don’t know how to talk to a lady.’
Jacob and I exchange knowing looks. Jack has started seeing one of Lydia’s neighbours and it’s fair to say Lydia thinks it’s hilarious that he’s found love again at his time of life.
‘You know you won’t put her off me,’ he says loftily. ‘In fact, I was thinking about asking her to move in.’
At the baldness of the statement everyone’s jaws drop open in astonishment.
‘Granddad, are you sure?’ Jacob asks at last.
‘Yes, that’s a big step,’ I offer.
Jack shrugs. ‘When you know you know.’
Lydia claps her hands together, and little Helene joins in without really knowing why. ‘Bloody marvellous,’ she says, and then it’s as though a penny drops. ‘You know, if Madame Parker lives with you Jack, that means there’ll be a spare flat going here. What about you two?’ she asks turning to us.
‘What about us?’ Jacob asks cautiously.
‘Oh, don’t give me all that what about us claptrap,’ Lydia says. ‘You two should clearly be living together, don’t you think, Luke? Hannah?’
‘Don’t drag us into this,’ Hannah laughs.
‘Yes, Mum, don’t think just cos you’ve got Old Timers you can get away with saying whatever you like,’ Luke giggles.
The rest of us join in with his laughter – since Lydia’s diagnosis we’ve often found that the best way through the harder days and even the easier days is with a good dollop of humour.
‘I’m only saying what you’re thinking,’ Lydia protests, a twinkle in her eye. ‘So what about it? Don’t tell me you haven’t missed living with your old friend, Erin?’
I can’t help laughing. Lydia knows how much I’ve missed her at home. Living with her was the best part of my life, even if our unusual arrangement was forced upon us. Perhaps living in an old and young community, like this Parisian venture, would be the start of more unusual but happy memories for me, Lydia and Jack and Jacob too.
Jacob turns to me and smiles. ‘I’m game if you are.’
‘But what about the shop? I need to be there in the week.’ I ponder, thinking I ought to sound like a proper businesswoman now.
‘We’ll commute like we always do,’ he says. ‘We’ll just do it in reverse. Now the house in Bath has gone through, you’re about to become homeless. You don’t open on Mondays and you were going to divide your time between London and Bath anyway and take on a manager to help with the day to day.’
He’s got a point. I am about to be homeless but now Rachel and Lily have moved into a bigger place, they have said I can always rent a room from them when I need. Shyly, I find myself nodding as I look at Lydia’s face and then Jacob’s. Jacob sweeps me up in his arms and twirls me around while all our friends clap and cheer, and I feel blessed. Suddenly Lydia starts banging a spoon against her water glass.
‘I think it’s time for a toast,’ she cries over the chatter.
‘About time,’ Jack says, a twinkle in his eye. ‘How about to new beginnings.’
‘To new beginnings,’ Lydia says holding her glass aloft before she turns to fix her eyes on mine. ‘With the very best of friends.’