Gemini Rain (18 page)

‘It’s what?’ Lauren said tonelessly.

David burst out laughing, producing from the bag a bottle of wine, some cheese and bread, ‘exactly what I said. Papa said you were interested in learning everything you possibly can about life in France. So I feel we should start with what the great French humanist Francois Rabelais called
the holy trinity of the table.’ 
Holding up a large chunk of Brebis de Pays de Grasse and eyeing it authoritatively.

‘Nothing tastes as good as this cheese with a hot baguette and a bottle of white Cassis,’ closing his eyes he inhaled the aroma of the cheese and let a picture form in his mind of sheep feeding from the grass and lavender of the arid mountains of  Provence. Opening one eye to side-glance Lauren he could see she was grinning at him. 

David smiled,
‘Now relax and trust me I know we can be good friends,’ calmly emphasizing the final word.

‘I’ll go and heat up the baguette shall I?’ she asked, half-amazed by his little performance.

Sometimes Lauren left him with his own thoughts listening to music
or writing
while she worked on her
laptop
doing research on the intern
et or reading one of her favourite books. Liking her varied taste in music he teased her immensely when he found Abba and Britney Spears.

‘They’re
Emma
’s,’ in an attempt to defend herself
but her blushes just got more intense
.

David c
o
ntinuously brought
up some wine, cheese and bread
at least once a week
introducing her to the delights of combining their wonderful tastes. He enjoyed recommending the different harmonies and contrasts of cheese and wine, a
Poivre
d’Ane
cheese with
Coteaux d’Aix
ros
e
wine whi
ch Lauren loved with it
s tingly peppery bite or the strong milky taste of a
Brebis Frais
du Caussedou
with a
Bergerac
wine. The only time she refused was when he produced a
Fourme
d’Ambert
, a cheese with blue mould, it was one of the mildest of blue cheeses but Lauren wouldn’t even smell it.

‘No way, I’d end up
getting food poisoning from eating that cheese,’ she insisted.

‘You won’t!’ David was insulted.

‘I will
,’ Lauren burst out laughing.

‘Won’t,’ he was getting very defensive.

‘Listen what wine did you bring?’ still giggling as she asked in a hopeless attempt to be diplomatic.

But David felt put out, ‘A
Sauternes
and a
Bellet
, both are white,’ he said despondently.

‘Okay, open the
Bellet
I’ve got some
Chevre
in the fridge, am I learning?’ attempting to cheer him up.

Although he got a tingle of delight because she got the combination right he just grunted in response to show he still disapproved of her refusal muttering under his breath, ‘Typical crazy Irish woman.’

‘I heard that mister! How many Irish women do you know?’ Lauren shouted from the hallway.

‘Only one,’ he quietly sighed, ‘I think that’s enough for the moment.’

  But then there were
the
times when they talked late into the night sometimes both wanting to have the last word, sometimes Lauren just listened surrendering to the fact she couldn’t get a word in edgeways. Speaking of his probl
ems so freely to Lauren
only
made David
want to tell her more, of his childhood, his dreams and ambitions, successes and failures. As both would curl up on each end of her long sofa, their words bridged the gap between them with Lauren hugging a soft cushion and David needing to express everything he said with his hands and arms.

The night before David left for Italy he decided to bring up the subject of what his family thought of their friendship.

‘You know, they probably think we’re lovers, especially when I don’t arrive home until the early hours of the morning,’ scratching his head as he smiled thinking her embarrassment would show again. But he was in for a shock when it didn’t.

‘Well, you’ll just have to correct them. Won’t you?’ Lauren was bluntly serious not wanting gossip spreading throughout the village.

‘Oh,’ was all he could respond.

‘Oh,’ copying him, ‘Would you rather we changed the subject?’

‘I…I didn’t mean to insult you, Lauren please don’t misunderstand me,’ beginning to feel uncomfortable, he didn’t want to lose her friendship.

Noticing his discomfort she decided to
make light of the conversation,
‘Who’s getting embarrassed now?’ softly smiling back to him.

He relaxed, ‘I’ll talk to Papa tomorrow,
and he’ll
soon spread the word to the rest of the family.’

‘An
d the village?’ she asked show
ing her
true
concern.

‘The village!’ he sat up straight now realisin
g what she was worried about, ‘t
he
people in the
village
will
never, and I mean never know events within my family. Don’t worry we have always made sure of that, long before you entered our lives.’ Looking for
some
reassurance he asked her again, ‘Do you re
gret inviting me into your home
Mon
Amie
?’

‘Crikey, David! How many times do I have to say no,’ laughing at the thought, ‘I enjoy your company sometimes it gets lonely in the evenings, you know!’

Knowingly he looked at her.

What a stupid thing to say Lauren, she scolded herself regretting that last sentence, ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s okay. It can be easily forgotten that a person can feel alone even when they are surrounded by family and friends,’ he sighed looking around the room.

Lauren laughed silently
admitting
he was just as blunt as she
was
sometimes. 

‘Why are there no pictures of your husband? There are loads of photos I see
Emma
, Keith, family and even I presume, old friends but none of Peter I think,’ he got up to walk over to the collection on the piano and on the wall. ‘I saw the wedding photo of you both on the dresser in your bedroom,’ deciding to charmingly add, ‘you were very beautiful by the way.’

But Lauren
again
didn’t respond in the way he expected, ‘The children also have their favourites in their rooms.’ Briskly rising from the sofa, ‘would you like some tea or are you leaving early tonight?’ attempting to change the subject.

David turned to face her, ‘You want me to leave?’ he could see she was holding something back, the body language was gone stone cold, her shoulders tense but her eyes deceived her once more, the sadness was always there with nothing he could say or do to help her lose it.

‘I didn’t say that!’ she snapped now feeling ill at ease
and immediately regretting her sharp response
.
‘Do you want something to drink?’ asking him again as she left the room.

He didn’t answer wondering what she was hiding. Maybe I’ll get Jacques to check, thinking it was best not to broach the subject again. Turning to study the photos once more he heard a cracking sound in the kitchen like china hitting the tiles on the floor. On
hearing Lauren curse he rushed up to the kitchen to see if all was well. 
Standing in the doorway, he watched as she cleared up a broken cup, she was giving out to herself, her hands were shaking ‘Shit, shit that was part of a beautiful wedding present.’

‘You haven’t grieved
fully
for him yet, have you,’ it was a statement rather than a question.

Kneeling on the floor
Lauren continued to clear up, ‘h
ow can you grieve for someone who committed suicide. It
’
s such a selfish act I could never feel regret for the loss,’ putting her hand up to her mouth then
shakily
covering
her eyes, annoyed
for finally
admit
ting the cause of Peter’s death so openly.

David’s arms wrapped around her waist lifting her up, holding her close
she resisted a little but then
he felt her surrender returning the hug. Moving his hands softly and slowly from her waist to her shoulders, he started to gently massage them he felt a softness return like a great weight had lifted. Her head on his chest, they stayed in that position, silent.

Closing
her eyes she admitted to David
she still couldn’t cry
for her loss
. David kissed the top of her head
as
he felt a protective emotion rise within him and a ne
ed to be there for her as she i
s
a constant
for him
, an
urge for
Lauren
to open up to him
suddenly he wanted to be part of he
r life more than i
t is now. 
Lo
oking down David cupped her face
in his hands moving
in close
r
to
kiss her. Lauren responded but then she got a feeling someone was watching them
quickly
she
turned to see
a small figure standing at the kitchen door.

‘
Emma
?’ Lauren said softly as the child ran back towards the stairs. Lauren pulled away, ‘Oh Christ, I hope she didn’t hear!’ running after her daughter.

By the time she reached
Emma
’s bedroom, the door was unusually shut
tight;
Lauren eased it open popping her head inside, ‘Can I come in?’

‘Yep,’
Emma
was back in her bed but sitting upright with her knees held close to her chest. As Lauren sat down on the side of the bed
Emma
started to speak as if she was in a hurry to get the ordeal over and done with, ‘I’m sorry Mammy but I didn’t know David was with you and then I heard something smash in the kitchen, I just had to check to see if you were alright and…’

‘Hush hush now, slow down. It’s okay,’ Lauren brushed the hair from her daughter’s beautiful soft face placing it behind her ear, ‘were you there for long?’

‘No, I was on the stairs for a minute then when I didn’t hear anything I decided to check if you were okay. You are okay, aren’t you?’
Emma
hesitated then added, ‘I mean its okay with you and David, he was going to kiss you, wasn’t he?’ she held her hand up to her mouth bringing her shoulders up to make that familiar shy girl giggle.

‘Only on the cheek, sweetheart,’ Lauren lied ‘he was saying goodnight.’
Relief swept through Lauren now knowing her daughter didn’t hear any part of her confession with David.

‘Aw, come on Mammy you can tell me. After all, we’re girls together aren’t we!’ showing her disappointment she hit the blanket with her hands.

‘
Emma
now
don’t be silly! A relationship with David is the last thing on my mind and I’m sure it’s the same for him. He’s just getting over a divorce, remember. We’re friends and in France…’

‘I know, I know, we kiss each other hello and goodbye when we’re friends. Boring.’
Emma
yawned.

‘Don’t be cheeky, madam. Now cuddle up with Pooh and give me a kiss and a hug.’

‘Bon nuit, Maman,’
Emma
genuinely yawned.

‘Bon nuit sweetpea, I mean sweetheart,’ Lauren closed over the bedroom door turning to find David sitting on the top stairs.

‘Ca va?’ he stood up quickly.

‘We need to talk,’ Lauren said as she pointed down the stairs.

Entering the kitchen once more Lauren bent down to finish picking up the broken pieces as David walked over to
put on the kettle for some tea.

‘
W
hat do I s
ay now? What do I do now?
What just happened?’
he questioned
himself. Deciding his best option was to make light of the situation, ‘
Lately, w
e
’ve
been
drink
ing
too much tea when we’re together. And you smoke too much, when are you going to give them up?’

‘Well open a bottle of wine or have a beer,’ Lauren sounded serious.  Unplugging the kettle he motioned an agreement to her suggestion, getting two bottles of beer from the fridge. He watched her but she wouldn’t look back as she pottered around the kitchen, clearing up. Decidedly he walked over taking her by the arm, ‘
let’s
go into the sitting room, it’s more comfortable,’ he smiled, ‘to talk, that is.’