“Marc, what do you have there?” She demanded as she pulled a huge water gun from his hands. “You were going to soak us, you naughty boy. Tu es si mechant.” She deposited the toy on the floor. “Come, you naughty boy. Give your sister a hug.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head.
“Ugh, kissing. Gross. C’est pas bon.” Marc struggled out of her arms but his flashing dark eyes showed that he was loving the attention.
“Marc, not like that, mon petit. Behave.” Claire shook her head and gave him a stern look. “Now go and get your brother. Tell him enough with this hiding.”
Sylvan had obviously been listening to everything because at his mother’s words he peeped round the door then stepped out into the living room. With his huge brown eyes and dark hair he was like a male version of Celine. More subdued than his brother, or maybe wishing to seem more mature, he approached his sister with a small smile which widened into a huge grin. Obviously he was unable to contain his joy at seeing his sister again.
“Sylvan,” Celine cried. “You’ve grown so tall.” She gave him the same treatment she’d given Marc, hugging him close, but he was almost as tall as she was so she ended up kissing him on the cheek. Unlike his brother, he showed no objections.
Then Celine went over to where Kylie stood hiding behind Pierce. “Come, cherie. Don’t be shy.” She took the little girls hand. Gently, she pulled her forward. “Guys, this is Kylie. Come on over and say hi.”
Kylie clung to Celine with one hand then stuck the thumb of her free hand in her mouth. She stared up at the boys with huge, tired eyes.
Marc grinned and gave her a quick wave. “Hi,” he said then shoved his hands into his pockets.
Sylvan, though, took a different approach. He must have seen Kylie’s uncertainty at being in a strange house with three strangers who talked funny. He crouched low and looked into her eyes. With a smile he extended his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mademoiselle Kylie.”
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.