T Williams - To Provence, with Love

At around four o’clock, she noticed the sky outside beginning to brighten and by half past four the first rays of sun were peeking through the clouds. The rain had finally stopped and Faye knew what she wanted to do. She put on her clumpy old walking boots, grabbed a jacket, and went over to the kitchen to see if the dog was interested in a walk. No sooner had her hand landed on the lead hanging on the back of the door than Marlon was at her side, raring to go. She was just clipping it to his collar when the kitchen door opened and Eddie came in. He was moving very gingerly and Faye raised an eyebrow as she greeted him.

‘Hi, Eddie, feeling a bit sore today?’

He gave her a smile and a nod. ‘Hi, Faye. Yes, it’s this damp weather – it plays hell with my hip. So, are you taking our friend out for a walk?’

‘Yes, I need the exercise and I’m sure he’s happy to go out. Any suggestions where to go?’

‘Long walk, short walk?’

‘Longish, I think. Say, an hour or a bit more.’

Eddie glanced at his watch. ‘Well, if you want a longer walk, you can turn left out of the gate, walk up to the top of the hill, and then if you turn right just after the big olive grove, you’ll find yourself on the open garrigue . Follow the track and it’ll take you to the top of the hill. The views from up there should be fantastic after all the rain.’ He looked down at her feet approvingly. ‘I’m glad to see you’ve got a solid pair of boots. It’ll be a bit soggy up there.’ He grinned. ‘I gather from Claudette you lost a shoe yesterday.’

‘Claudette finally managed to get him to give it up with a bit of bribery.’

‘Here …’ Eddie reached for the biscuit tin. ‘Stick one of these in your pocket. Marlon can’t refuse them.’

‘He’s not the only one. I took one with me last night just in case, and I found myself nibbling it as I walked along.’ Faye wrapped the fresh biscuit in a tissue, wondering how long her willpower would last this time.

She followed Eddie’s instructions and headed up the hill. The olive trees as described by Eddie were unmistakable, their misshapen trunks often thicker than her waist. No doubt they were tens or, more probably, hundreds of years old. She turned off as instructed and soon they were splashing along a rough track that led in the direction of a scrappy clump of trees on the hilltop.

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