Excerpt: Love in Provence by William Auch

On the weekends, John would visit surrounding towns to explore. He visited Avignon and Gordes, as well as other cities in Provence. He always liked market day, when the farmers came into town with their produce to sell in the town plaza. The market became a sea of color with the various fruit and vegetables stacked neatly in rows as people from town gathered to select their food for the week. It was not only the fruit and vegetables that attracted him, but also the stores filled with cheese, pastries, and meat. It seemed like there was a specialist for everything.

Unfortunately, the bucolic nature of his current life continued to be interrupted by his weekly updates from his lawyer regarding the SEC investigation. He wondered if it would ever go away. His lawyer continued to fend off the SEC, but eventually he would probably need to return to California for questioning. His lawyer kept telling him not to worry, but that was easier said than done. The whole ordeal continued to weigh on him. Since his arrival in Aix a month before, the calls about the investigation seemed like the only news he had heard from home. Mike was probably too busy getting ready for the arrival of his new baby, Michelle was probably not speaking to him, and his parents didn’t call. He assumed his father was mad at him for selling the company.