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Oh, darn, darny, darn. If they were going to use a code, then they could at least have agreed on it first.
Audrey watched them go and slumped on the chair.
Was she supposed to throw Grace a rope? Right now, she felt like hanging herself from it.
Five minutes later Toni walked in.
Audrey was so relieved to see a friendly face she almost hugged him. “Hi there, handsome. How’s the big bad world treating you today? Can I tempt you to a little Earl Grey? Or something stronger? I think we have some Darjeeling if you’re feeling daring.”
His eyes twinkled. “Sounds perfect. Grace not here?”
“Oh, you know—” Audrey made the tea. “She just popped out.” To have a conversation with her almost ex-husband. As you do.
She made herself a tea, too. Thinking about what the kids at school would say if they could see her sipping Earl Grey in a bookshop made her grin to herself.
“How are you, Audrey? How are things going with Etienne?”
She sat cross-legged on one of the chairs and told him about her date and he listened closely.
She decided he would make a perfect grandpa. He’d be patient, kind and he’d probably read to his grandchildren. He certainly loved books.
She’d gotten used to it now, the way he spent half an hour browsing through every book on a shelf. Maybe he was memorizing them.
They chatted, and then he left and she washed up the cups.
It was almost an hour before Grace returned and when she did Audrey almost jumped on her.
“Well? What happened?” She searched for clues but Grace looked as cool and elegant as she had when she’d left. Her lipstick wasn’t smudged.
Obviously hasn’t been kissed, Audrey thought.
“Nothing happened.”
“You’re still seeing Philippe tonight?”
“Of course.” Grace put her bag down. “What do you think I should wear?”
If she was asking that question, then presumably she wasn’t getting back together with David.
Audrey had a thousand questions she wanted to ask but managed to keep them to herself. “Wear the pale green dress with the little shell buttons.”
“You think so?”
“Definitely. I’ll do your hair.”
“Would you like to come and meet my grandmother? I’m going to see her this afternoon and I know she’d love you. You could practice your French.”
“I’m sure your grandmother doesn’t want to talk about things like condoms.”
“Don’t you believe it.” Grace gave a half smile. “My grandmother doesn’t fit any of the stereotypes.”
“In that case I should definitely meet her. She sounds like fun. I’ve never had a grandmother.” The more Audrey thought about it, the more she realized she was seriously short of reliable family. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Ron because she did, but he wasn’t related to her so there was nothing at all stopping him from walking out the door when he discovered the secret her mother was hiding. Audrey didn’t want to let herself love him in case he decided it was all too much and left. By holding back, she was cutting out months of being upset.
Still, she decided she would meet Mimi because Grace had talked about her all the time.
“She was amazing,” she told Etienne later when they were curled up on the creaky bed in her tiny apartment. The windows were open and a light breeze wafted through the room. “So alive and enthusiastic about everything. And she was interesting. She’d done so much. I hope I’m like that when I’m ninety.”
It was so easy being with him now. Not having anything to hide meant that she didn’t have to be careful what she said, and that meant she could completely relax.
