For a moment she hesitated then, not letting go of Celine with her left hand, she popped her thumb out of her mouth and extended her right hand to Sylvan. He took it, wet thumb and all, and shook her hand. “I know we’ll be good friends,” he said.
Kylie said nothing but she nodded slowly and slipped the thumb back into her mouth.
Claire must have seen how exhausted the child was because she patted her hands together and proceeded to shoo the boys out of the room. “Time to rest now. The travelers are very tired.”
Her words triggered a feeling of weariness in Pierce and if he felt so tired he could imagine how the others felt, and especially Kylie who was not used to flights several hours long. Although she’d slept through most of the journey she would not have slept as soundly as when she was in her own bed.
What made it worse, where it would now be the middle of the night back in Massachusetts it was bright daylight in France. It would take at least twenty-four hours for their body clocks to adjust.
After a light meal Claire bundled them off to bed, Celine and Kylie sharing Celine’s bedroom and Pierce occupying Marc’s room.
Celine’s home was a small, neat bungalow in the tiny village of Thomery-By just outside of Avon, the nearest town of any significant size. As for Paris, they’d traveled almost an hour from Charles De Gaulle Airport to get here. It had been a long journey but as far as Pierce was concerned it had been worth it.
Here in this village, far away from the bustle of the city, he knew Kylie would find healing. As he lay back in the bed listening to the birds whistling in the branches that hung by the window he could imagine her running across the grassy meadows with the boys or picking the flowers that lined the winding pathways they’d seen on the way here. Everywhere you looked there were flowers. Gardens bloomed in front of the little houses and Pierce could sense the pride of the inhabitants in their beautiful little town.
He smiled in contentment. He was looking forward to a relaxing, peaceful stay in this sleepy village.
Next afternoon when they had fully recovered from the plane ride Celine decided to introduce Pierce and Kylie to her hometown. They embarked on a walking tour of the village which took all of two hours. They stopped to meet the butcher who was hanging a string of sausages in the window then they moved on to the shop of a seamstress who sat by the window humming as she worked on what looked like a wedding gown. When she saw Celine she dropped the fabric, clapped her hands together then ran outdoors to greet her. Celine got the same response at the post office, the pharmacy and the tiny library she told him had been like her second home. It was obvious that she was known and loved in her community.
They continued on, enjoying the crisp air and bright sunlight, until they got to the local grocery store now operated by Celine’s old piano teacher. Tall, thin and reedy, he looked like a bespectacled stick insect. He kissed both Celine and Kylie on their cheeks. When he turned toward him Pierce took an involuntary step back but the man only extended his hand in greeting.
“Bonjour,” he said, eyeing Pierce suspiciously.
“Bonjour,” Pierce replied and but with cool reservation. Where did this guy come off looking at him like that?
The man turned back to Celine and began an animated conversation in French of which Pierce understood only two words, fiancé and mariage.
When the words left the man’s mouth a strange look passed over Celine’s face. She bit her lip and looked down at the ground. It was obvious that whatever he’d said had upset her. When she finally looked up her serene expression had fled and her brown eyes flashed with unmistakable anger.
She replied to the man’s comment, her tone curt. She nodded and said her goodbye then she pasted a smile on her face and turned to Kylie and Pierce.
“I guess you two must be hungry now. Why don’t we head home?”
They’d been walking in silence for a few minutes, Celine seeming lost in thought, when Pierce decided to question her change in demeanor. She’d gone from cheerful and bubbly to quiet and somber in the space of minutes, all because of a conversation she’d had with her old teacher. There was obviously something worrying her because she kept biting her lower lip and frowning. She probably didn’t even realize she was doing that.
“What’s up?” he asked. “That guy obviously pissed you off. Want to talk about it?” She looked up at him then, a startled expression on her face. His question must have jerked her out of her reverie. “I…” She shook her head and looked away and Pierce could swear he saw the glint of tears in her eyes.
What the hell had the man said to her to upset her so much? “Celine, tell me,” he urged. “Is there anything I can do?”
She took a deep breath and gave him a brave little smile. Then she shook her head. “Thanks for asking but no…there’s nothing you can do.”
Not wanting to push, he continued walking by her side. Then he felt a soft hand on his arm.
“Maybe…if I talk to someone about it, it might help.” Her voice was soft, hesitant, and there was a hint of pleading in her eyes. “Can we talk…later?”
“Of course,” he said, searching her eyes for a hint of what could have caused her such distress. Could it be something to do with her family? Was it something that money could fix? If so, he had lots of it. For some reason that he couldn’t quite explain he felt protective of her, almost as if she were…his.
Later that evening after a meal of salad, baked fish, bread and Camembert cheese, Pierce left Kylie with the boys and walked down to a nearby stream with Celine. They sat on the soft grass of the bank and Celine, her voice low and subdued, began to speak.
“It’s very difficult to speak about this and I’m sorry to burden you,” she said with a rueful smile, “but I think my behavior earlier requires some explanation.”
She looked down at her hands then back at him. “I was engaged once, to the son of the gentleman you just met. The grocer.”
Pierce felt his heart lurch in his chest. It was like she’d told him she was about to die, his reaction was that violent. Why had her words affected him like that? Hell, he’d known her less than two months. Still, her words had given him a real jolt.