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‘I still need to get to know the locals,’ I said, dragging him over.
‘Hi there! I’m Holly,’ I said loudly to the tall man with the goatee beard holding a small glass of red.
‘Bonjour,David,’ Xavier said.
‘Bonjour,my friend,’ David smiled and put his arm around Xavier, patting him heartily on the back.
‘Oh. You know each other?’ I said, surprised.
‘Of course. We all know each other,’ Xavier replied, looking around. ‘David is part of the furniture, specifically Rachael’s furniture. David, this is Holly, who has just joined us at Chalet Blanchet. She wanted to meet you, even though you won’t get any business from her.’
‘We’ll see about that. You never know when I might be able to offer something irresistible. Holly is right to want me on speed dial.Enchanté,’ he said, holding his hand out for mine and kissing it. ‘I am at your service day or night. If you need wine,’ he gestured to his sign, ‘everything’s fine.’
‘Lovely to meet you,’ I said. ‘Can you source rare wines, or is it more the standard stuff?’
‘I can sourcean-y-thing,’ David whispered, leaning in close. ‘In fact, this glass of red I’m sampling is a Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru from Chateau Ausone. I’m looking to order two cases for a private household on the east side of the mountain. Would you like to try?’ He wafted his glass under my nose and gave me a nod that was half question, half confirmation.
‘Ooh yes, why not?’ It was only 11.30 a.m., so 10.30 a.m. in London, but it was nearly Christmas, so time didn’t count.
‘It’s a bit early for me,’ Xavier said, holding his hand up.
David poured me out a snifter of the red and topped up his own glass before clinking it with mine. We nosed our wine in unison, breathing it in deeply while staring at the richness of the liquid as it clung to the glass in tiny waterfalls. I gave mine a good swoosh before rinsing it around my palate and sucking it through my teeth. The flavours were intense: cherry and orange mixed in with an earthy sediment. I swilled the mouthful round a couple more times for good measure and just at the point you’re supposed to spit it out, I swallowed.
David had his eyes closed and was slowly nodding to himself while savouring the flavour. ‘Yes,’ he simply said.
‘Delicious,’ I agreed, holding my glass out in the hope of a bit more, ‘very chewy.’
Xavier gave a bemused smile. ‘Is it?’
‘I agree. Rich and full-bodied. It is so full of flavour, my tongue is still tingling,’ David said, closing his eyes again.
‘Go on then, you’ve convinced me,’ Xavier said, watching us both closely.
David took the bottle out and filled the three of us up. It was 11.42 a.m., so closer to reasonable as we repeated the performance, Xavier enjoying the eye-wateringly expensive red for the first time. And then we had another glass as there was no point leaving a quarter of a bottle when we’d come this far.
‘So, Holly, do you board or ski?’ David asked, as he twirled and swirled his glass.
‘Neither yet,’ I said, honestly.
‘I took her out boarding yesterday,’ Xavier said. ‘She has a lot of potential.’
‘Thanks a lot,’ I laughed.
I let the red wine flow through me and felt a small hit of happiness as I looked around. This beautiful food haven, in this beautiful ski resort, on this beautiful mountain. What a bloody beautiful time to be alive. If I’d married George, I would never have known it existed. A sting of rejection hit me as I thought about it. I pulled my phone out to distract myself from the feeling and took a quick video. The food, the people, the mountains, the snow; I wanted to remember this moment forever. George had unknowingly given me a gift and I had to embrace it. I never would have known this magical place if it hadn’t been for him. I posted the video to my Stories but didn’t tag the location. Let George see that his home bird was more than capable of life’s big adventure. It was OK. I was going to be OK. My life had been turned on its head, but I was still standing and taking bigger breaths each day.
‘Holly, we need to get the foods for dinner,’ Xavier said, handing his glass back to David and shaking his hand. ‘Merci.’
‘Thank you so much, David,’ I said, writing my number on a serviette. ‘Can you let me know if you get anything special in?’
‘Take my number also,’ David said, handing me a bright-white business card. ‘Us wine pros need to stick together,non? And take this Sicilian Fiano to try. It is from a vineyard in Etna and tastes of the volcano. Impossible to get around here. If you need anything, just call.’
I felt warm and lightheaded as we did the rest of our shop. I left Xavier with the fish man while I bought another warm baguette from theboulanger. I threw my hand into the fromage melee to grab a couple of cheese samples and ripped off the end of the bread to make myself a mini cheese sandwich.
Rachael spotted me scoffing and waved across the market. I nodded and smiled with my lips pressed together to keep my mouthful in, speed-chewing as I walked towards her, to try and swallow it down.
‘Has Xavier been by? We need some of your caramel profiteroles with whipped cream for dessert later.’
‘I only sell the profiterole pastry shells, so he must be planning some sort of deconstruction with caramel sauce. How many do you need? Will twenty do you?’ Rachael asked, pulling a tower of plain profiteroles out of the fridge.
