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Edie
Nanou was sweeping the kitchen floor while Edie loaded the dishwasher, both absorbed in their tasks where the act of keeping busy gave comfort, the familiarity of routine bringing order in a house that teetered on the brink of chaos. The others were taking the security advisors on a tour of the farm and land. Nanou had been most impressed that they had travelled from Paris, making a six-hour drive on a Sunday when according to her, making any Frenchman get out of bed was a miracle. But then again they were Parisians and as far as she was concerned, a strange and different breed.
They were also waiting for Jenny to arrive and it irked Edie immensely that apart from Lance, everyone was looking forward to seeing the prodigal ex-wife. Even more so, it rankled that she’d kept her married name and was still known as Madame Jenny Jarrett.
Nanou seemed preoccupied, not her usual chatty self and had told Edie that she’d be glad when the security men began to patrol the farm and she could sleep in her own bed. The previous evening had been really weird, kind of surreal, like being in the set of a film where Edie watched from a fold-up chair in the corner as the drama unfolded.
After they’d eaten a late supper, Gus and Joe locked themselves in the office and Ace and Lance companionably watched television with Silvestre who looked to be enjoying the company. Nanou had gone into the snug and listened to the radio while she knitted, so feeling like a spare part Edie had rung her gran. Again, more of her lies about where she was and what she was doing but thankfully, owing to her gran being out with friends and on their second bottle of red, Edie was able to cut the call short when their meals arrived.
She’d been restless for the whole evening, knowing that Gus and Joe were lost in the past and probably still trying to figure out who the hell Marnie was. She desperately wanted to be privy to these conversations. Her mind had wandered to Polanco, the Beverly Hills of Mexico where Jenny currently lived with her lover Hector. Edie knew all about him and their luxury lifestyle, his colonial mansion and net worth. Once again Jenny had fallen on her feet and was no doubt enjoying the ten-hour, forty-five-minute flight from Mexico City, Air France, first class all the way to Paris. The ticket would have cost just short of seven grand. Edie had googled it.
Nobody slept much and over breakfast everyone had looked bleary eyed and yawned a lot. The talk was mainly of the security firm who were en route from Paris and Jenny who would shortly be following them.
Pushing the image of Jenny away, still determined not to like her no matter how wonderful she was in real life, Edie tried to engage Nanou who was in a world of her own, as if the swish of the sweeping brush had sent her into a trance.
‘Are you okay, Nanou? Has Joe had a chat with you? Because last night he was really worried that he’d upset you.’
Nanou stopped by her pile of dust and flapped her hand, wafting away Edie’s concern. ‘I am fine, Eedee, do not worry about me. Joe is my petit-frère and I forgive him anything.’
Edie wished that all of life was as easy as forgiving your little brother but smothered that and went on a fact-finding and shit-stirring mission.
‘Does Joe have a girlfriend around here? I hope not because that’s all he needs, another disgruntled ex.’ Then realising it was a big word, she translated for Nanou. ‘That means unhappy by the way. Ace went all weird when I asked and said he doesn’t want to know about what his dad gets up to, so then I wondered if maybe he wanted his mum and dad to get back together. Do you think they ever will… Joe and Jenny?’
Nanou was about to wipe down the table, so Edie whipped the spray and cloth from her hand and set about the task, pointing to the armchair by the fire.
Obeying the command, Nanou took the weight off her feet, and indulged herself in a bit of girlie gossip. ‘No, I do not think they will get back together because they are incompatible in so many ways, which is very sad because when they are together for a short while, they are so happy.’
‘Do you think they are still in love?’
Nanou gave the answer straight away. ‘I don’t think they were ever in love, not the way we imagine. Jenny calls Joe one of her happiest interludes, and Ace is her greatest creation, and she loves them both in different ways. Just not enough to stay around or sacrifice her greatest love for.’
Nanou glanced at Edie who was confused, then she expanded. ‘Jenny puts herself first, always will, she is her own one true love. She also believes that she was destined to meet Joe because in him she’d found the perfect papa for Ace and a home, somewhere she could leave her greatest creation in good hands.’
Edie had paused mid-wipe, disliking Jenny more with every second. ‘Were you cross with her, when she split up with Joe and left Ace here?’
‘A little, yes. Because I believe a child needs a mother and I would never have left my two girls, not for anything, no matter how fed up I was or annoying they were and believe me the twins would try all the patience of all the saints. But I also saw that if she’d stayed everyone would have been unhappy and that wasn’t right. I was also sad because Jenny was my friend, and I was very fond of her. I still am.’ When she looked up, Nanou’s eyes widened then her face took on a crestfallen expression. ‘Oh, Eedee, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to make you sad or think about your own maman…’
Edie interrupted and waved away Nanou’s concerns and instead took a seat opposite. ‘Nanou, it’s fine, I know what you meant and I’m not sad. I’ve had a long time to get used to not having my mum and I was lucky because my gran was there for me.’
Relief washed over Nanou’s face and she reached across and gave Edie’s hand a squeeze, however Edie had plenty more Jenny questions for her to answer.
‘So, what’s she like? The way Ace describes her she’s totally bonkers, but I can tell he adores her; you all do.’
‘Ah, we all love Jenny because she is… how can I explain… like a happy angel who comes to stay and makes everyone smile. She is kind and sees good in everyone – apart from Lance, who feels the same way about her. Jenny loves people. She is a hugger, even strangers which can be a problem when it’s the priest from the village. They don’t hug anymore, though, or speak. Not after the big fight when he found out about the burial plot.’
‘What burial plot?’ Edie leant forward, soaking up what her kindred spirit and confidante was saying.
‘In one of the high fields, about a five-minute walk away, there’s a small circle of trees and a spring. Jenny fell in love with the place because you can see the sea and she thought it was mystical. So for her birthday Jenny asked Joe for some stones, huge rocks really.’
‘What for?’
‘She wanted to make her own meditation temple and burial plot. She loves the stones at Carnac and wanted some of her own.’
‘You mean, like a private graveyard?’ Edie’s face must have looked so shocked because she made Nanou chuckle.
‘Yes, for her to sit cross-legged and hum,’ Nanou put her fingers and thumbs together and closed her eyes for a second and mimed meditation, ‘and yes, it is privée, a resting place for the family. It’s where she and Joe, and anyone who would like, are going to be buried… Oh, and all the pets are there, the ones that passed away, obviously.’ Nanou rolled her eyes and laughed at her own mistake.
‘Joe found it all very amusing and loved to indulge Jenny’s wild ideas so arranged it. A huge truck drove through the village and when word got out that bizarre Madame Jarrett was making a pagan temple and was going to bury dead bodies up there, the priest wasn’t happy. All hell broke loose, even the maire got involved and I haven’t been to Mass since.’ Nanou crossed herself.
