A Wedding in Provence by Ellen Sussman

few hundred laps in the pool until her mind cleared and her heart settled. But she saw Nell’s sad face and Brody’s hopeful look and so she clapped her hands and called out, “What are you all waiting for?”
    She headed down the hill toward the parking lot and heard the murmurs and mumbling from the group as they fell in behind her.
    “We’ll take our car and Sébastien’s,” Brody said while they walked. “Fanny, you’ll come with us. Jake and Nell ride with Sébastien.”
    “I’ve only got the motorcycle,” Sébastien said. “Emily’s got our car.”
    “Nell,” Brody said. “Do you mind driving?”
    “I didn’t bring my keys,” Nell said. “Hang on—I’ll run back.”
    “I’ve got mine,” Jake said. “I can drive.”
    They turned into the parking lot and headed toward the two cars.
    “My car is gone!” Nell shouted. She stood in front of an empty parking spot.
    “Gavin?” Olivia asked.
    Nell’s chin quivered. “He fucking stole my rental car!”
    Olivia walked over and put her arm around her. “Are you sure?”
    “Where else is it? He disappeared and the damn car disappeared.”
    Olivia felt a gut punch of fury. She knew Gavin was bad but hadn’t thought that he was criminal bad. She pulled away from her daughter. How could Nell have been such an idiot?
    “Great date,” Olivia said, the words out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
    “God damn you,” Nell growled. She turned and stormed off, heading up the hill toward the inn.
    “Come back,” Olivia called, her voice shaky. “Nell. It’s just a car. Your insurance will cover it. No one got hurt.”
    She looked at Brody, who stepped away from the group. The others pretended to ignore the family drama—they gatheredaround each other, kicking stones, gazing up at the cypress trees, checking their cellphones.
    “We should call the police,” Brody said to her quietly.
    The police. Nell and her damn troublemaking life.
    “I’ll go get her,” Olivia said. “Ask Sébastien to call the police.”
    “And then we go calanquing?” Brody asked.
    “It’s not a word,” Olivia said as she started up the hill.
    “You’re coming back?” he called after her.
    “Of course I’m coming back,” she said. “How could you possibly manage a kayak without me?”
    She found Nell by the pool, sitting on the edge, her bare feet dangling in the water. Olivia felt as if all of the drama of Nell’s childhood unfolded this way: The girl would fight, then flee. Twenty-eight years old and nothing had changed.
    Olivia slipped off her flip-flops and sat beside her. “I’m sorry,” she said.
    Nell fluttered her feet in the water.
    “I shouldn’t have said that,” Olivia said.
    “I’m not mad at you,” Nell said, her feet suddenly still. “I’m mad at myself.”
    “So you won’t pick up guys on airplanes anymore,” Olivia said. “Lesson learned. Now we go kayaking and enjoy a pretty glorious day.”
    For the first time, Olivia noticed the day: The sky, clear of clouds, was a brilliant shade of blue. Around them the field of wildflowers rustled in the breeze. The sun had already baked the sandstone patio and Olivia guessed that the day would be very warm.
    “Really?” Nell said.
    “What?”
    “That’s it? I fucked up, he stole my car, and we move on?”
    “Yes,” Olivia said, her voice strong. “It doesn’t do any of us any good to be miserable about this. It’s over. He’s over. Now let’s celebrate my wedding weekend.”
    Nell slid into the pool. She was wearing yoga shorts and a tank top. She pulled off the tank top and threw it onto the deck of the pool. She kept her back—now clothed in a bikini top—to her mother.
    Olivia waited. She thought about Brody, waiting for her. All the others, waiting for her. Come on, Nell. I don’t have time for this.
    Nell spun around as if she could hear her mother’s thoughts. “That’s what I don’t get,” she said, her voice sharp.
    “What?” Olivia asked, suddenly