The World Is a Book
And those who do not travel only read one page
PART ONE
"Jean, if you could fill these out for me, please. I'd like to submit everything as soon as possible," Lucien announced, putting a small stack of forms on the kitchen table.
She put down the rag she was using to polish the silver and came over to see what he was talking about. "What's all this for?"
"Passport application," he replied, as though this response required no further explanation.
"Why do I need a passport?"
"We're going abroad."
Jean could see he was in a mood. "I see. Where are we going, and how long will we be gone?"
"That is not precisely planned yet. I'll need your passport information before I make reservations. But I was thinking we would take a six-week trip to Europe for our anniversary. Five years of marriage requires something rather extravagant, don't you think?" Lucien told her with a small smile. Truth be told, he'd been organizing this for some time now, wanting to surprise her. However, as Jean had never left Australia, he couldn't simply whisk her away unannounced. This seemed like as good a time as any to reveal their anniversary trip.
"Six weeks! Lucien, we can't do that! What about Valerie? Is she coming with us?"
"I love our daughter very much, but I don't want her anywhere near us on our anniversary. No, she's going to stay with Matthew while we're away. Mattie and Alice are both going to help out. It's all been arranged," Lucien assured her. But upon seeing the skeptical look on his wife's face, Lucien began to falter. "Is that alright? I had wanted to surprise you with a romantic trip, but I know this is a bit unexpected. We don't have to go if you don't want to or if you think it wouldn't be good to leave Valerie…"
"No, it sounds wonderful! We'd talked about going abroad, but when Valerie came along, I didn't think it was an option anymore. But now that she's older, I think it's the perfect time to go. She isn't in school yet but she doesn't need me every moment of the day anymore," Jean rationalized.
Lucien nodded. "Yes, that was my thinking. It's hard to believe she's about to turn four years old," he realized wistfully.
"I know. She grows like a weed and gets smarter every day. It's almost frightening, isn't it?" Jean said with a smile.
"Brilliant and beautiful like you," he said, repeating the phrase he often used to describe their child.
Jean nodded. "Brilliant and beautiful like you," she agreed and corrected, as she always did. "Which reminds me, please make sure you warn Matthew to keep Valerie out of the morgue. I know Alice knows better, but you know how convincing Valerie can be when she tries. Living patients only, for the time being."
Lucien laughed. Their daughter had developed a near-obsession with Dr. Alice Harvey, wanting to be just like Alice in every way, particularly as a doctor. Valerie wanted to help her father with his patients as often as he'd let her, but Alice, probably being a woman, had a special sway over the little girl's interest. Jean wasn't surprised that the Blake genes had this effect. She was proud to raise a third generation of Dr. Blake.
"Well, I suppose I should fill all this out then, yes?" Jean sat down and sifted through the pages in front of her. "Have you got a pen?"
They spent the afternoon discussing their trip. They'd be flying to Sicily and catching a boat up the coast of Italy, spending a few days in Rome and Florence before going to Nice and Paris and finishing their trip in London and Oxford before flying home.
Jean was more and more excited the more they talked. She was making mental lists of all the things she'd need to buy. First on that list was a set of guidebooks for all the places they would go. She didn't want Lucien to just shepherd her around from location to location. Jean wanted to know and understand the things she was going to see. The world was so vast and she knew of so little of it. This may be her only opportunity to go anywhere, and she had no intention of wasting it.