See you soon Caroline! Chapter 21 Saying Goodbye!

Chapter Twenty One:

 Saying “Goodbye!”

 

It was Friday, and nothing much had been planned. It was to be a quiet day, the final packing could wait until tomorrow morning when they all had their allotted tasks to perform. Simon had persuaded his father to join him on a last visit to Aquapark,  the watery theme park he had visited alone earlier in the week. Mother, as usual, had plenty to keep her busy in and around the chalet, although she too was hoping to find time to relax before tomorrow’s journey. She would have to do her share of the driving, after all!

That left Caroline on her own, and with no real idea of how to fill her time. Of course, she could have gone with the two men to Aquapark, but she didn’t want to miss Pierre if he should turn up unexpectedly. She turned on her iPhone having nothing better to do. Some of her friends had posted pictures of their holiday adventures in different parts of the world. The gossip about her involvement with John Bond seemed to have died down, she noticed. She wondered where he was right now. What sort of holiday would he be having, she wondered. All on his own? He couldn’t be any lonelier than she was feeling right now!

“Hi! Ça va?” It was Pierre! Right there, the other side of the chalet fence! “Ça va!” she answered. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she knew by now that that was what you were supposed to say! She supposed it was like “Hi!” or “Ciaou!”

“What are you doing?” asked Pierre.

“Nothing much! How about you?”

He shrugged. “This and that! Come for a drink?”

She wondered if she should play hard to get. Not appear too keen? But with only one day left, that might be fatal! “OK! I’ll just tell Mum where I’m going!”

They walked over to the bar. One of the other guys there said something to Pierre and laughed. Pierre didn’t seem to be amused, and ignored him.

“What would you like?”

“Can I have an ice-cream?” asked Caroline.

“OK! What flavour?”

“Strawberry please!”

“Find a seat. I’ll bring it over!”

As Caroline walked to a table in the shade, she heard him say something to the girl behind the bar, and there was another burst of laughter. She felt uncomfortable, guessing they were talking about her, but unable to know what was going on. Pierre returned, he had bought ices for both of them. They sat, eating their ices, and saying nothing.

‘This is stupid!’ thought Caroline. ‘Why aren’t we talking?’ So she decided to take the initiative.

“Tomorrow, we’re off!” she said.

“I know!”

“Is that all you can say?” she asked irritably.

“What else is there to say?” asked Pierre.

“Well, you could say that you were sorry we’re going!”

“Of course I’m sorry!” said Pierre. “It’s been great meeting you. But all good things come to an end, don’t they?”

“Does it have to be an end? Can’t we keep in touch?”

“We can try! But my guess is that it won’t last long! We’ve both got our lives to lead. There’s school and college, friends, family, all sorts. When you’re hundreds of miles apart, there’s not much to say!”

Caroline was shocked. She couldn’t understand how Pierre could talk like this. Surely he liked her? Hadn’t they got on well? When he held her hand the other day after she had nearly fallen, he hadn’t been in a hurry to let go! She didn’t know what to say.

Pierre looked at her. He could see she was upset and puzzled. “I’m sorry!” he said. “I didn’t mean to be rude. But it’s true, isn’t it? We’ve got on well together, but now it’s time to go, and that’s that. It’s been great knowing you, and I wish you were staying longer, but you’re not, so we have to say “Goodbye!”

“Not ‘à bientôt ’ this time?” she asked quietly.

He smiled. “Not ‘à bientôt ’ this time” I’m afraid. That means ‘See you soon’, and we won’t be seeing each other soon – probably not ever!”

“But you said that you wanted to come to England – to improve your English!” she said.

“Yes, well maybe there’s a chance we might meet up. But who knows what might have happened by then?”

There was a shout from the bar, and more laughter. Pierre stood up. He took Caroline’s hand in his own. “Look!” he said. “I’ll do what I can to try and find out about your Grandad’s sister. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know. So you may hear from me – it’s just possible. But right now, I’ve got to go. I’m on duty for the rest of the day. I’m sorry! Take care!” He gave her hand a squeeze, and then he was gone.

Caroline walked slowly back to the chalet. Her mother was hanging out some washing.

“Did you see him? Was he there?”

“Who?” said Caroline, knowing full well who her mother meant.

“Well, Pierre of course! That’s who you’ve been mooning over for the last day or two, isn’t it?”

“I don’t moon over people!” said Caroline crossly. “Yes, he was there. But now, he’s gone!”

“You’re rather fond of him, aren’t you?” asked her mother.

This was the last thing Caroline wanted right now! To be quizzed about her feelings for Pierre!

“No!” she said.

Mrs Weaver raised her eyebrows. “Really? You could have fooled me!”

“Well, if you think you know everything about me, why do you need to ask me!” snapped Caroline, thoroughly annoyed.

Her mother didn’t answer. ‘This needs handling carefully!’ she thought to herself.

“Can you give me a hand with pegging these things out?” she asked.

Caroline looked at the pile of washing and nodded. “OK!” she said.

‘She’s always been helpful around the house!’ thought her mother. ‘She’ll make someone a good wife one of these days!’ Aloud she said:

“You can always twitter him!”

Caroline rolled her eyes in despair. “You don’t ‘twitter’ people Mother! You ‘tweet’ them! But anyway, he says there’s no point. We’ll only keep it up for a while, and then it’ll all go dead!”

“He’s probably right!” said her mother. “Holiday romances are notoriously short-lived! What seems so wonderful in a strange place and under a burning sun, can soon seem unreal when you’re back in rainy England!”

Caroline managed a faint smile. “It wasn’t really like that Mum! I’m not just some silly teenager with a crush on some foreign lad. He was different. It’s hard to explain. But I really felt there was something special between us. He felt it too, I’m sure. It was as if we’d met before in some other life – something like that anyway. I just can’t believe I’ll never see him again!”

Mrs Weaver put down the towel she was about to hang up, and put her arm round her daughter’s waist. “Do you know what I think?” she asked. “If a thing is really meant to be – then it will be! I really believe that!”

Caroline shook her head silently. Then she gave her Mum a kiss. “Thanks for understanding!” she said.