The Riviera by Karen Aldous Page B

him.
    ‘Grandma,’ he grinned and smacked her on the cheek with his lips. ‘I saw Jack and the whale skeletons. And Superman come and Iron Man and Spider-Man.’
    ‘Oh darling, how lovely, and lovely to see you again. Here let me take off your coat,’ she said as Thierry was shuffling it off his shoulders. ‘You’ve clearly had a wonderful time. And you, Lizzie darling.’
    Lizzie stepped inside the door, glad to be in from the cool air, and embraced her mother. The next thing she noticed was fresh white paint gleaming from the walls and several large arty photographs of the house and vines.
    ‘Great to see you too. You’re looking extremely well,’ she told her mother as they exchanged kisses. ‘I just love what you’ve done to this hall too! Presumably these are Michael’s?’
    ‘Well, most are but he let me loose with one of his SLRs. One with a big zoom, and this was one of the results,’ she said pointing to a picture of a crowd of white crocuses. ‘I’m quite proud of that.’
    ‘It’s stunning, Mum.’
    ‘And this, a wide-angled view of the house which I then zoomed in and just loved it so, it’s up there.’
    ‘Latent talents, huh. It does look amazing.’
    ‘Well, the camera was on auto, and, we like them. And this one of Michael in the vines. I just wished we’d taken one when all the pickers were here. I’ll make a point of getting some more at the harvest. Anyway, I expect you are both tired.’
    ‘Pretty much, but we did get the night flight so we’ve both had sleep. Thierry was so good, there and back.’
    Thierry ran into the living room and straight through to the conservatory.
    ‘Bike, Grandma.’
    ‘Yes, darling, just be careful.’ Caroline followed him pulling his little trike from the corner.
    ‘Oh, car.’ He pointed to a little red sit and ride vehicle.
    ‘Yes. Grandma bought it for you to play in.’ Caroline trotted over and opened the car door, showing him the set of keys in the ignition. ‘Here, get in and just push with your feet.’
    ‘Oh, Mum,’ Lizzie said following them out to the spacious conservatory observing the new stock of toys her mother now had. ‘These are fabulous.’
    ‘Darling, I just found these in charity shops. They’ve hardly been used.’
    ‘Oh thank you. Well, he’ll keep himself amused for hours with that lot.’
    ‘Yes, I hope so. I want him to enjoy his time here. He’ll be bored to tears in no time otherwise. There’s some little puzzles and books there too.’ Caroline waved her finger at a neatly-stacked unit. Thierry was already riding up and down in the car having placed all his superheroes in the seat beside him. ‘Aww bless. Time for a nice cup of tea.’
    Caroline wiped a tear from her eye and led Lizzie to the large kitchen where Lizzie immediately felt the warmth from the Aga. She settled herself down in a cushioned chair at the oak table, closest to the radiating heat, and updated Caroline on Cal and Jack’s progress.
    ‘I’m sure Cal will get him through it,’ Caroline smiled fetching mugs of hot tea. ‘I really miss having him around, such a lovely lad.’
    ‘I hope so, yes. But he’s not exactly a lad now, Mum.’ Lizzie glanced at the back door where she very first clapped eyes on the tall muscular stranger, Cal, just ten months ago. Definitely all man, she confided to herself. Her body tingled at the memory. ‘Anyway, where’s Michael?’
    ‘Oh, he’s out spraying the vines. He loves it. He’s playing catch up. He was away on fashion week shoots Milan, then Paris, so he’s been busy. Still is but he’s out there when it’s dry.’
    ‘That’s a beautiful picture of you up there by the way. That looks like a very glamorous dress, where are you?’
    ‘Oh, that’s the Black Tie Vintage Ballroom Club we went to. Oh God, I am hooked darling. Yes. We started dancing Michael and I and some of the couples we’re dancing with mentioned it, so we joined them. A great evening and Michael took some beautiful