The Riviera. Karen Aldous

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      ‘Oh, good sign. Sounds like you had a good time. How are things downstairs? I’ve had my head stuck in these,’ she said pointing to the spreadsheets on the screen.

      ‘Yes, all running OK. Madame Joubert is down there if you want to say hello.’

      Lizzie smiled. ‘Oh thanks, I will. Oh, and before you disappear, tell me what you think of this?’

      Lizzie explained to Josephine her idea of introducing a male grooming section.

      ‘Absolutely great.’

      ‘It would mean extra work so I thought Lucie could get more involved in assisting you. She’s good at working with the schedules.’

      Josephine nodded.

      Lizzie’s mobile rang. ‘Excuse me a minute,’ she said, her eyes brightening as she spoke. ‘Cal.’ Josephine made for the door.

      Barely thirty seconds later, Lizzie slipped the phone back down onto her desk. Pulling a face, she leaned her elbow on the arm of her chair, sliding her fingers through her hair and picturing his worried face shadowed by dark unruly hair. She could only conclude it was difficult for him to talk. The conversation was very brief.

      Finding it hard to imagine he was now thousands of miles away, already she yearned to be next to him and hold him. Tell him things would be fine. She never doubted Cal wouldn’t cope but she wanted to be there for him and it was suddenly strange that he wouldn’t be at the apartment tonight. The main thing was, she consoled herself, was he’d arrived safely and he was with Jack. He would soon have his son back on track, that much she was sure. Cal seemed to know how to deal with any situation. Now the question was, should she mention anything to Rose, his grandmother? She didn’t want to have her panicking and worrying about her grandson. Although, she pondered the thought, Jack may have confided something relevant. Lizzie rang down to reception.

      Cal’s mother’s face was glowing after her facial fifteen minutes later.

      ‘Rose, so lovely to see you. You are looking lovely,’ she told her honestly. Lizzie had always thought she had great skin for her years and Cal had obviously inherited the eyes and her naturally oozing charisma. She kissed her lightly on the cheeks.

      ‘You too, sweetie, and thank you again for that lovely dinner last week. I’ve been meaning to call Cal actually.’

      ‘Oh, I enjoyed your company. I’m sure he won’t mind me telling you, he flew over to see Jack this morning.’

      Lizzie witnessed immediate concern in Rose’s eyes.

      ‘Oh heavens, something is up,’ Rose said, her hand reaching for her chest.

      ‘He’s just gone to make sure Jack is OK.’

      ‘He didn’t say.’

      Lizzie gently clasped Rose’s arm. ‘No, it was rather last minute as Jack was upset and asked Cal for help.’

      ‘Hmm, I wonder if it’s anything to do with that girl?’

      Lizzie’s eyes widened. Jack had obviously confided in his grandmother and she didn’t feel right asking her.

      ‘Cal didn’t know exactly.’

      ‘Well, youngsters have so many things they worry about and, unlike Kelly who seeks an Oscar every time she has an issue, Jack is the total opposite. He internalises everything and probably thinks way too deeply about the ins and outs of everything. He’s so like Cal. We were talking about his exams. Now, Jack doesn’t struggle but worries. “What if I don’t get the grades, Gran, what if I don’t get to this college or that”, and he did mentioned a girl being nasty but you know what youngsters are like, friends one minute and…oh perhaps I should have been a little more sympathetic.’

      ‘Rose. You’re there for him, obviously. You can’t know what’s going on in his head all the time.’

      ‘No, but I should have rung Cal sooner.’

      ‘Well, Cal’s there now and I’m sure he’ll get to the bottom of it all,’ Lizzie said, adding a light reassuring squeeze to her arm. ‘I’m going to speak to him soon if you’d like me to mention it.’

      ‘Oh, I should ring him,’ Rose said clasping her forehead.

      Lizzie straightened her back to unleash the tension building in her spine. She was treading on delicate ground and wondered if she’d done the right thing. Now Rose was feeling dreadful and blaming herself.

      Rose put her other hand on Lizzie’s. ‘Sweetheart, it makes sense if you are speaking to him soon to mention it. You’ll get to speak to him before me I guess. I have a dental appointment so I won’t be home for at least…yes, would you tell him?’

      ‘I’ll try him in a while and don’t worry, he will understand.’

      ‘You are a treasure. Thank you, Lizzie. It’s lovely that you are concerned. I’m sure Cal realises what a gem he has in you,’ Rose said, hugging her. ‘I should be on my way.’

      ‘Lovely to see you. I’ll ring you later and let you know how Jack is.’

      ‘Well, pop in with Thierry later if you’re not too busy.’

      ‘I’d love to.’

      A sense of relief swept over Lizzie as she watched Rose manoeuvre carefully out the door. The first time she’d really ever met Rose properly was when Rose had fallen over outside the salon. She’d run out to her when she’d twisted her ankle. She’d only known her as Madame Joubert, a client. Then to learn, after a later visit to her Villefranche villa, she was in fact Cal’s mother, was quite a shock. It soon materialised she’d remarried and hence Lizzie had not recognised the name nor made the connection. Getting to know Rose and speaking to her had certainly helped seal her trust in Cal. And seeing how much Cal respected her was comforting; she’d never imagined trusting a man ever again, so she would be forever thankful for that fateful meeting.

      She waved Rose off and climbed the stairs back to her office. The swirl of that sweet memory climbed with her. The image of Cal stood on Rose’s balcony late October and then that moment when she gave every part of herself evoked such shameless emotion.

      Itching to relay the information to Cal, she rang his mobile. It went to voicemail.

      Damn. Should she leave a voicemail?

      Half an hour later she tried again.

      ‘Hi, Lizzie,’ Kelly’s voice bellowed. ‘Cal was here a while ago but I can’t find him. I’ll give a shout and have him call you.’

      ‘Yes, can you tell him it’s important please?’ Lizzie said then took a gasp questioning whether she should just mention it to Kelly. She was Jack’s mother after all. ‘Thank you Kelly, bye.’

      Deciding she would let Cal make that decision, she hung up. She and Cal, she considered, were very close in their still-brief relationship but she didn’t feel ready to get too involved in his domestic set up with Kelly. There was a fine line and she feared she would be crossing it. Cal was obviously with Jack now and they would probably be working things through.

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