him feel good. It was security. It was a real, tangible object he was going to put on the finger of the woman he loved. It was validation that everything he’d lived through had been worth it.
*
As she stepped into the kitchen she saw him raise his head. His eyes met hers and she saw how much he loved her in that moment. Could there finally be a happy ever after? Could she be brave enough to accept it?
‘You look wonderful,’ Guy said as she moved across the room, closer to him.
She brushed her hands down the yellow sundress she was wearing. It was so similar to one she’d worn when they first knew each other. He held her hands and smiled.
‘Let’s go out, have fun and forget everything but us,’ he suggested.
‘I’d like that,’ she replied.
‘This restaurant is the best in Fréjus,’ Guy remarked.
The car had left them at the harbour and they’d meandered along it, taking in the boats, the bustle of the night time scene, before heading for the restaurant.
‘Is it very expensive?’ Emma asked.
‘Is that important?’
‘No. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I asked that.’
She did know. The life they’d talked about when they were younger had never involved money except in their dreams. To start with they were always going to be surviving day to day, scraping by, doing the best they could. Fancy restaurants had never been on the agenda. But that was why where they were now was both so similar yet so different. They’d travelled separate paths and ended up at the same place.
‘They have a good Merlot,’ he said, smiling at her and squeezing her hand a little tighter. The touch eased the tension.
A man in a smart black suit, teamed with a bright pink tie greeted them at the door.
‘Monsieur Duval, welcome back to La Mer. Please, our best table is this way.’
The man began to lead Emma and Guy toward the rear of the restaurant. Emma pulled at Guy’s arm.
‘Could we sit at the front? If you think you won’t be plagued by autograph hunters,’ Emma said.
‘Of course. We can sit anywhere you like. Excuse me, may we sit at the front?’ Guy asked the waiter.
‘Absolument. Please,’ he said, turning back around. He led on to the front of the restaurant. The table he stopped at was right in the window, overlooking the street and the boats docked in the harbour.
Guy beat the waiter to pulling out Emma’s chair. She smiled at him and sat down. The waiter offered the wine list but Guy waved it away.
‘Your Merlot,’ he ordered.
‘And a glass of water,’ Emma interjected.
‘Perhaps a jug?’ Guy suggested.
‘Very good,’ the waiter said. He handed them both a menu and left them alone.
‘I’m too excited to think about eating. I can’t believe we’re here… together,’ she whispered.
A smile drew across Guy’s face and he clasped her hands across the table.
‘You sounded just like the Emma I met all those years ago just then. So much excitement, so much youthful innocence,’ he said.
‘This time I want to do things properly, Guy. Before, we started so fast, rushed ahead because we had to. We don’t need to do that now. We’ve got all the time in the world. I want to be young again. I want us to date, to hold hands, to take off our clothes and jump in the stream,’ Emma said. She let out a giggle and he brought her hands to his lips, kissing the skin.
‘I want to do all that too,’ he agreed.
*
He returned her hands to the table and it was then he caught sight of a couple outside. Their arms were linked together and they were walking toward the restaurant. As they moved closer Guy’s heart plummeted.
The waiter returned to the table with the wine and it was all Guy could do to stop himself ripping it out of his hands and filling a glass. He drummed his fingers on the table as they went through the tasting formalities.
‘Are you OK?’ Emma asked as Guy poured her some wine, then filled his glass to the brim.
He managed a nod but all he could concentrate on was drinking as much wine as he could in one mouthful. His flesh was creeping; a cold, damp feeling was spreading from his fingers, up his arms and deeper through his torso. They were coming in. There was nothing he could do to avoid this situation. He tried to shrink into his seat, even though he knew it