Page 101 of The Missing Sister

‘No, Jack, I’m Swiss, remember?’

‘O’course, sorry,’ he said as they walked back up through the village towards the car. ‘Actually, I think the French have got their priorities absolutely right: enjoying the good things in life is what it’s all about. You’re only here once, after all,’ said Jack, as he filled the boot with the shopping.

‘If you were my sister Tiggy, she’d disagree with you on that.’

‘Really? Listen,’ Jack said, pointing to an outdoor café swarming with lunchtime diners, ‘why don’t we hang around here until theimmobilierreopens at two? Unless you have something else to do?’

‘I don’t, but doesn’t Ginette need her shopping?’

‘Not until later, and she’s probably glad to see the back of me for a while. Shall we?’

‘Why not?’

At the café, Jack indicated a free table for two and they sat down. ‘Beer? Wine?’ he asked. ‘As I’m here, I’m going to grab some lunch too. You?’

‘A glass of rosé for me, and yes, this menu looks delicious.’

‘Well, if we can ever get any service, we’ll order,’ Jack rolled his eyes. ‘I once waited twenty minutes for someone to even notice I was breathing over here. It wouldn’t happen in New Zealand, that’s for sure.’

‘I’ve heard it’s a beautiful country, from everyone who’s been there.’

‘It is, yeah, it just about has everything, y’know? Skiing in the winter, hot weather and beaches in the summer, and the interior – where I live – is sweet as. All it’s lacking outside the towns and cities is people. Our nearest neighbour is a fifteen-minute drive away. So if you like solitude, it’s great.’

‘So, do you? Like solitude?’

‘Not after I came back from uni, I didn’t, but I suppose I got used to it. Then you come to a place like this, a little village that’s just buzzing, and you wonder what the hell you’re doing. Still, I’m not complaining. I love what I do, and I live in a stunning part of the world.’

‘New Zealand’s actually on my bucket list to visit one day,’ she said as she raised her menu at a passing waiter, who blatantly ignored her.

‘It goes without saying that we’d be happy to host you at The Vinery anytime. Another problem with the Gibbston Valley is that all the young have gone to the towns and cities, and it’s mostly oldies living around me. I look forward to the company of backpackers touring the area, who sometimes hitch up in The Vinery to bag a bunk for the night.’

Ally flapped her menu at the waiter as he returned and finally, their order for beer, rosé, a jug of water and two steak hachés was taken.

‘So, I presume your parents are Kiwis?’ she said.

‘No Kiwi is an “original”, if you know what I mean, other than the Maori,’ said Jack. ‘Most of the population have emigrated from somewhere else. I was born there, but my dad’s parents were originally from Scotland, hence the McDougal. And my mum hails from Dublin in Ireland. But yeah, I guess they’d both call themselves Kiwis, having lived there so long.’

‘Do your parents ever go back to visit Scotland and Ireland?’

‘I think Dad went back a couple of times with his parents, but Mum’s never been back to Ireland as far as I know. I mean, there’s a pic of her receiving a degree from uni there but I reckon that when people begin a new life, they want to focus on the present, not the past.’

‘I’d agree,’ she said as the waiter dumped two jugs, a bottle of beer and some glasses on the table. Ally peered into both of the jugs looking for the water.

‘Mon Dieu!One jug is full of rosé. I only asked for a glass!’

‘That’s not the way they do things round here,’ Jack smiled as he poured her both water and rosé. ‘Cheers!’

‘Cheers,’ said Ally, raising her glass. ‘Going back to your mum, as I told you last night, when I went in search of my own heritage, parts of it were painful and parts of it were fantastic.’

‘Well, Mum did mention that she’s going to visit Ireland at some point on her tour.’

‘Right. Is she on this holiday by herself?’

‘Yeah. MK – that’s what I call my little sis – and I weren’t too happy about it, but Mum’s pretty independent and seriously clever, y’know? T’be honest, I’ve never understood why she buried herself in the Gibbston Valley with my dad and didn’t use her degree.’

‘Maybe because she loved your father,’ Ally suggested. ‘Love can change everything.’

‘True, but I’m yet to experience that feeling, to be honest. You obviously have.’