After the Dali museum, we made our way back to France and stayed in our
first ‘aire’ for months. Spain didn’t have aires, so it’s nice to have the
option to stay in them again, which is a good thing as we are well over budget
and need to get back on track, and aires are generally free or only a few
euros.
The first aire we stayed in was on the outskirts of ‘Peyriac de Mer’, a
quiet village set in marsh land. Usually when we get to an aire me and the boys
go for an explore whilst Beth makes dinner, but Alf fancied staying in this
time so only me and Tom went out.
There were public footpaths through the marsh and boardwalks over the
low water, so we could walk far out and round the small islands. The place was
magical and I totally fell in love with it. As with our previous stays in
France, the sunset was like a painting, all reds and oranges. Tom was full of
his usual questions ‘how does this work?’, ‘Where does that come from?’, ‘How
long would it take to fly to the sun?’. He was fearless over the board walks as
I was more careful with my steps, and he had the care-freeness about him which
you only get in kids of his age. Nothing mattered to him apart from this very moment,
here and now. I wonder at what point we lose that and start worrying about
tomorrow and the regrets of yesteryear, or worry about what friends and colleagues
think of us?
We walked all the way through the marshes to the edge of the village,
just in time really as it was now getting too dark to see and the street lights
were just coming on. In the village play park Tom attempted the monkey bars,
but they were too wet to grip, so we decided to walk back to the van. We walked
back on a single track lane under the soft glow of the orange lights and a faint
drizzle of rain. The lane was more a large path really, just big enough for one
vehicle and it curved through the fields to the aire. As we walked and talked
we were joined by a chorus of frogs. It was a truly magical night and the best
welcome we could have hoped for on our return to France. It felt nice being with Tom, lost in the moment without a concept of time.
I have had many fun(ny) days with Tom and enjoyed watching him become
the boy he is, but I think this evening has been the nicest to date.
‘Dad, who was the first ever werewolf?’
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