Some Like It Greek - Sue Roberts Page 0,19

and won’t be able to sing along to the music.

The sounds of piano concertos and violins calms the atmosphere between us, until eventually we arrive at a village called Bussy-Lettrée. It’s overlooked by an imposing church, which the signs inform us is called the church of St Etienne. We park up and after a short wander around, we choose a pretty little café overlooking a pond to stop for lunch. I savour every single mouthful of the tasty chicken tarragon casserole served with green beans and drink a frappé before finishing off with a huge, sticky chocolate éclair.

‘Ah, this is the life.’ I stretch my arms behind my head and feel the sun on my legs. I’d like to look for a hotel and stay here for a night or two in a huge French four-poster bed but think twice about it as we’ve only just started our adventure. If I do this with every place I like the look of on our travels, I’ll soon run out of money. Even so, the ancient stone hotel with mullion windows looks very appealing.

I’m relishing this moment of relaxation, basking in the heat of the sun while Demi heads to the lake and feeds the ducks with some bread from our meal, smiling at them affectionately. Suddenly I hear the buzz of a text message, snapping me out of my daydream. It’s from Roz saying she hopes the journey is going well and that she hopes there isn’t a problem with her staying at my parents’ house. I ring her.

‘Hi, Roz, of course there’s no problem you staying there, why would there be?’ I ask brightly.

‘Nothing really, it’s just that Liz came around last night to see if everything was OK. We ended up having a few drinks and a laugh. She stayed the night, actually. I just hope I’m not cramping her style in some way, if she wants to stay here occasionally.’

I wonder what happened to the night out at the Italian restaurant?

‘Don’t worry, Roz, she was absolutely fine about you staying there, I promise. I think she and Ben are just under a little strain at the moment,’ I tell her, without revealing too much. ‘You’re doing us both a favour looking after the house while I’m away.

‘I feel so much better now. Seriously though, your sister was asking me all kinds of questions about how long I’d be here. She says she’s putting the house up for sale soon. You never mentioned that.’

‘Well, that hasn’t even been discussed yet.’ Surely Liz wouldn’t be selling the house without speaking to me first? ‘Don’t worry, Roz, you’re more than welcome there,’ I tell her as brightly as I can.

Heading back into the van. I wonder why Liz is so keen to get the house up for sale. Maybe she and Ben need the money and I’m completely wrong about their financial situation? I put my foot down hard on the pedal as we set off and Demi tells me I’m driving too close to the car in front.

‘Leave a little distance,’ she says matter-of-factly, as she flicks through a magazine.

‘Do you fancy driving for a bit?’ I ask irritably but Demi doesn’t seem to notice. She tells me she hasn’t driven in a foreign country before so no, thank you, before returning to her magazine, where she is currently reading the problem page. Before long, she has my sides splitting with laughter.

‘Listen to this one,’ she tells me as she reads out a question from Bella from Brighton.

Dear Denise,

I have found messages to an escort agency on my boyfriend’s laptop. Do you think he could be cheating?

‘Well you don’t call at the butchers for a haircut, do you? Poor girl. I hope she throws the cheating rat out.’

‘What does the expert say?’ I ask, intrigued.

‘The so-called expert tells her that she should sit down and have a chat with him. Why? So he can talk his way out of it? She says maybe there is a problem in the relationship that they need to sort out. Yes, the problem is that her boyfriend likes the hookers. Pah!’

She reads out another problem from a woman who has started a new relationship but her partner doesn’t like her dog.

‘Hmm that’s a tricky one. It’s supposed to be “love me, love my dog” isn’t it?’ ponders Demi.

‘That’s true. But maybe a dog is more loyal in the long run.’

More than my ex anyway.

‘Are you saying she should ditch the man for the dog?’