Kate Atkinson: Case Histories

Au revoir tristesse. Jackson drove with the top down, the Dixie Chicks playing loudly on the car stereo. He picked them up at Montpellier Airport. They were dressed ready for the convertible, in chiffon head scarves and sunglasses, so that Julia looked like a fifties movie star and Amelia didn't. Julia had said on the phone that Amelia was a lot more cheerful these days, but if she was then she was keeping it to herself, sitting in the backseat of his new BMW M3, harrumphing and grunting at everything that Julia said. Jackson suddenly regretted not buying the two-seater BMW Z8 instead – then they could have put Amelia in the boot.

"Cigarette?" Julia offered, and Jackson said, "No, I've given them up," and Julia said, "Well done you."

They drove into Montpellier, where it was very hot, and where they ate little silver dishes of ice-cream – glaces artisanales – in a cafe in the town square. Julia ordered and Jackson was impressed by her proficient French.

"She used to be a poodle," Amelia said (unfathomably), and Julia said, "Don't be such a crosspatch, Milly, we're en vacances" and Amelia said, "You're always on holiday," and Julia said, "Well, I can think of worse ways to live your life," and Jackson wondered if he was in love with Julia and then the sky suddenly darkened to the color of ripe Agen plums, thunder growled in the distance, and the first drops of heavy rain thudded onto the cafe's canvas awning and Julia shrugged (in a commendably French way) at Jackson and said, "C'est la vie, Mr. Brodie, c'est la vie."

With thanks to:

My agent, Peter Straus

My editor, Marianne Velmans

Maureen Allan, Helen Clyne, Umar Salam,

Ali Smith, and Sarah Wood for Cambridge in July, with special gratitude to Ali Smith

Reagan Arthur, Eve Atkinson-Worden, Helen Clyne, and Marianne Velmans for being enthusiastic manuscript readers

My cousin, Major Michael Keech

Stephen Cotton, he knows why

David Lindgren for the sheep story

And last, but not least, Russell Equi, god of all things vehicular

Kate Atkinson is the author of three previous novels – Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which won the Whit-bread Award for Book of the Year; Human Croquet; and Emotionally Weird – and a collection of short fiction, Not the End of the World. She lives in Scotland.