Julie:
[sauntering over to Sarah's lounge chair, bikini bottom without the top, long legs, bare breasts, charming raw European accent]
You not too hot?
[the older woman wakes up, startled]
Julie:
Sorry I woke you up.
Sarah Morton:
[composing herself]
No.
[sitting up]
Sarah Morton:
I was just dozing.
Julie:
[soft laugh, casually sitting down flat next to Sarah's deck chair, not at all mindful of her lack of dress]
You must be working too hard. You should take a swim in the pool. The water is cold. It will wake you up.
Sarah Morton:
Ah, well, thank you for your advice, but I absolutely loathe swimming pools.
Julie:
Yeah, I know what you mean. I prefer the sea too. The ocean,
[smiling fondly]
Julie:
the crashing waves, that feeling of danger that you could loose footing and be swept away... Pools are boring, there's no excitement, its just a big bathtub.
Sarah Morton:
[coldly summing up]
It's more like a cesspool of living bacteria.
Julie:
[looking back, clearly more optimistic about life]
Oh that? No, it's just a bit of dirt and leaves.
[Sarah nods, unconvinced, set in her ways]
Julie:
So, what are you writing? A romance novel?
Sarah Morton:
[smirks at the very thought]
God, no, I write crime fiction.
Julie:
Oh, yeah.
[disapprovingly:]
Julie:
That's how he makes his money.
Sarah Morton:
[haughtily]
And that's how he can afford to buy a beautiful house in France for his daughter to enjoy.
Julie:
[slight frown, reminded of her status as Daddy's girl]
What about you? Are your books selling well?
Sarah Morton:
[grimly]
I can't complain.
Julie:
[chummily]
What is this one about?
Sarah Morton:
[as if to quell her enthusiasm by pouring cold water over her]
Murders. And the police investigation.
Julie:
[giggling]
In the Luberon? With rich English stories?
Sarah Morton:
[her impatience now all-out]
Listen, if you don't mind, I do have work to do.
Julie:
Okay! I leave you alone, Miss Marple. I need to make some phone calls anyway.
[walks off, her wedge heels clattering, leaving Sarah to the emptiness of her departure]
