A Year at the French Farmhouse(64)

That didn’t sound good. ‘Crumbles around them?’

‘Sorry. I’m prone to exaggeration. This is… well, it’s pretty standard.’

‘You don’t think it’s a complete disaster then?’ Lily said, feeling a little lighter. ‘In your professional opinion?’

‘Ah, you’ll be OK,’ Sam said, prodding the wall with her hand. ‘It’s not terminal, I don’t think. We had a couple of walls like this – and it’s just a case of ancient or non-existent plaster, strong glue and wallpaper that’s been left in place since the dark ages.’

‘Thank god for that.’

‘You’ll need someone in to give it a proper look-over and fix-up though. Unless you’re a dab hand at pointing and plastering as well as demolition?’ Sam gave her a sideways glance.

‘Yeah, think this might be a bit beyond me right now.’ Lily nodded. ‘Although, you know, I’d love to learn how to do all of those things eventually.’

‘Oh, you will.’

‘Thanks.’

‘And you know,’ Sam said, ‘these houses drive us all mad – I don’t know anyone who’s actually finished all the work that’s needed. They come with a lifetime of projects.’

‘Really?’

‘But,’ Sam said, ‘once you get a bit further down the road, you become… well, sort of attached to the house. And you learn about how to cope with the various hiccups. And you also learn what to touch and what to leave to the experts.’

‘Right.’

‘And, you know, I say a lifetime of projects, but they’re not all patching up and making good. Some of the projects are fun. Once you’re a bit more confident that you’ve uncovered all the nasty surprises, they’re the kind of projects with less effort and a bigger payoff.’

‘Sounds more like it.’

‘And it is worth it! A bit of work and this place will be gorgeous.’

‘You think?’

‘Definitely.’

‘So,’ said Lily, looking at the wall again. ‘What did you do when it happened to you? How did you… fix things?’

‘Well, budget version? What we did was get the bit of disaster wall repaired, then left the rest of the wallpaper in situ and just covered it with about twenty coats of paint.’

‘Oh!’

‘Yeah. I mean, I know the wallpaper is not to everyone’s taste – and it’s quite an undertaking to cover it up – but in Limousin, some of this sixties wallpaper is load-bearing.’

Lily laughed. ‘I can imagine.’

‘Yep. More important than some of the beams in keeping the house together, I reckon!’ Sam winked. ‘Derek! Come here. No. Don’t touch that. No! Not the stairs…’

‘Right, perhaps I’ll follow your advice,’ Lily said. ‘And thank you. You’ve really saved my life.’

‘Don’t be silly.’

‘I mean it. You hardly know me, and you’ve no idea how much better you’ve made me feel,’ Lily said with a watery smile. She tried not to think about how many times she’d already welled up in front of this practical stranger, and was astonished that Sam still seemed to want to know her despite her seemingly constant misery.

Sam smiled and touched her arm briefly. ‘Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes. That’s one of the reasons I go to those expat gatherings. Almost all of us are out here, away from family. We’re all missing that sort of backup – parents or sisters or uncles we can call. So we sort of step into the void for each other.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah. I suppose that’s why I excuse the flat-earthers and the conspiracy theorists. Because they’re like sort of great-uncles, or crazy aunties. They’re family. You tolerate it at least, tackle it sometimes. And you stay in touch. You stay around for each other.’

‘That sounds… well, it sounds really nice,’ Lily said, warming to the idea of a sort of substitute family, especially as even back in the UK she had few relatives to call her own.

‘It is… I mean, we’re all completely different. But we have that in common. That need for someone to call on. It’s not something anyone talks about. But you’ll find out – people do a lot more for each other than they might do for neighbours or friends at home. Because we’re all in it together in a strange way.’

Lily smiled. ‘Thanks, Sam.’

‘Ah, this is nothing. Wait till you try to do anything with the electrics or plumbing.’

‘Call in the experts?’

‘Definitely.’

‘Anyway, what do you reckon?’ Sam said then, gently brushing down a few of Claudine’s loose curls. ‘Want to help us build a few sandcastles?’

‘I’d love to.’ Lily smiled. ‘Just got to make a couple of phone calls first.’

‘Join us in a bit?’

‘Definitely.’

‘I’ll get you a coffee.’

‘Thank you – see you in five.’

As soon as Sam had bundled her children back up the garden path and into the car to drive to the lakeside car park, Lily scrolled through her phone to find Frédérique’s number. After all, the property was still his she reasoned. She ought to tell him what had happened. And he’d probably know someone trustworthy to make the repairs.