When a young woman teaches a man how to love again against the backdrop of Paris two souls learn the meaning of true happiness. When a man teaches a young woman how to trust again a senshi finds her place in life. A secret shared between two individuals brings a family closer together. There are many memorable moments in a person's life this is just one of them.
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Sailor Moon: Senshi in Training
Memorable Moments: Lita's Story
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Lita sat in the living room of her suite in the palace. She was tired, bloated, hot, sore from head to toe, and pregnant. The extremely warm August weather in Tokyo made things a lot worse for Lita who thought she looked like an oversized blimp. At the moment the baby inside her was kicking up a storm. Lita had returned to Tokyo for the presentation of the new Princess. She had missed the birth of her best friend's daughter but she would not miss this. It had been five years since she last saw the young queen. A lot had happened in those five years. Lit had met and married a Frenchman named Jean Paul Morne and had become a mother in the process to Jean Paul's daughter Chloe. And now Lita was expecting her own child.
The large door to the suite opened and Lita expected to see Jean Paul or Chloe walk into the room. She was a bit taken back when Serenity entered the room with a small bundle with fuzzy pink hair in her arms. The sleeping princess looked peaceful and innocent in the arms of her mother. Serenity sat down next to her best friend and gave Lady Jupiter a sympathetic smile.
"Lita that little girl I saw you with she's not yours I take it." Serenity said.
"No she's Jean Paul's from another marriage. You see his first wife died shortly after giving birth to Chloe. She may not be mine by blood but I adopted her so she could be mine legally. I love her with all my heart as if I actually did give birth to her." Lita explained.
"Tell me Lita how did you and Jean Paul meet." Serenity wanted to know.
"I meet him when I took a job at his family's bistro in Paris. In fact the story of how we came to be is quite interesting if you'll let me tell it to you."
"I'd love to hear it."
********
It was a month after you and Endymoin were married and crowned king and queen. I was on my way back to Paris to begin a job I had applied for. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps because my two best friends were happy together and another close friend of mine had just had a baby. My life at that particular time was in a bit of a slump. I had never really gotten over the tragic breakup with my first boyfriend and like Julia Roberts in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' I realized a bit too late that I actually had feelings for my best friend Ken who had gotten married that same year to a wonderful woman. In my book I was having a hard time trusting men.
The day after I returned home to my small apartment in Paris I made my way to the bistro I would be working at. This was my first real job cooking in a real restaurant kitchen. I was one step closer to achieving my ultimate dream of owning my own restaurant. As I walked into the bistro I was greeted by a man who was a year or two younger than I was.
"Welcome to Morne's I am Pierre." He said.
"I'm looking for Henri and Angeline Morne are they here." I told Pierre.
"Ah you must be the new cook mama and papa hired."
"Yes I am. My name is Lita Kino." I replied holding out my hand.
After we shook hands Pierre turned to head for the kitchen and told me to wait were I was for a moment. "Could you wait here please."
Pierre opened the door to the kitchen but did not enter. I could hear every word of his conversation with the chef inside.
"Hey Jean Paul you'd better come on out here and meet the new cook mama and papa hired." Pierre yelled into the kitchen.
"Pierre tell the person to wait for a few minutes I'm finishing something important in here." He yelled back to the younger man.
Pierre came back to where I was and relayed to me what Jean Paul had told him.
"Jean Paul needs a few minutes to finish what he is working on." He said, "Lately though Jean Paul has been spending a lot of time in the kitchen."
I found Pierre's last remark to be somewhat off the cuff and a bit irrelevant. Three minutes later a somewhat older man covered with flour and melted chocolate emerged from the kitchen. Upon his face was a small smile that both Pierre and I thought looked a bit forced.
"Bonjour my name is Jean Paul Morne." He said to me.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Lita Kino." I replied.
"You'll have to excuse my appearance I have been working on the mousses for this afternoon."
I gave Jean Paul a quick glance and noticed no ring on his left hand. That didn't mean he wasn't married. It just meant he didn't wear one at work. Upon further inspection I saw that he had blue eyes and a chiseled face that was framed by dark chestnut colored hair reaching down to his chin that was falling out of a modest looking ponytail.
A few minutes later a young looking woman came into the bistro holding a baby that looked no older than a year. The woman looked a bit frazzled and made a beeline for Jean Paul.
"Monsieur Morne Chloe is burning up again." She told him.
Jean Paul wiped his hands on the towel draped over his apron strings and felt the baby's neck forehead and cheeks. His expression turned to one of concern for the tiny girl.
"Marie give her the medicine from the doctor and then try and put her down for her nap." Jean Paul instructed the girl.
I could tell right off the bat that the baby was Jean Paul's. I wondered what was wrong with her and how the babysitter or nanny, whatever her position was, got to the bistro quickly. Pierre quickly answered that question for me.
"That was Marie Jean Paul's nanny. He doesn't talk about it much but when Chloe was born he lost his wife shortly after due to some complications. That was a little over a year ago. Since then he's been living in the loft above the bistro. And because Chloe was born a bit early she's prone to get infections more than other children her age." Pierre explained.
"How sad. I hope she feels better." I commented.
Jean Paul who now had clean hands shook hands with me before returning to the kitchen. I then waited for another five minutes talking to Pierre before his parents arrived. The Mornes were a nice older couple in their fifties. One look at them and I could see the family resemblance between them and their two sons and granddaughter. I could also tell I was going to enjoy working with them.
"Hi you must be Mr. and Mrs. Morne. I'm Lita Kino I talked to you about the position in the kitchen." I said to them introducing myself.
"Ah oui, oui Lita it is a pleasure to finally meet you. You may call me Henri and this is my wife Angeline." Henri replied getting the formalities out of the way.
"If you two will excuse me I'm going to pay a social call on my grandchild." Angeline told Henri.
"Be careful mama she's sick again." Pierre warned her from the table he was setting.
"I won't be too long then." I heard her reply.
With Angeline going to visit Jean Paul's daughter Henri and I got down to business. Henri gave me a tour of the building explaining where everything was in the bistro. When we got into the kitchen Jean Paul was busy making another batch of mousse. I could hear him muttering something under his breath about not being able to handle being a single parent. Henri had a look of concern on his face for his first born son. Turning to me Henri gave me a description of what my duties would entail.
"Lita you'll be working with Jean Paul your first month here. You'll assist him before preparing any dishes on your own. I want you to be able to get a feel for how things are run before setting off on your own. When your first month is up you'll be given a list of dishes you will be able to prepare. I'm afraid however you will not be able to prepare any of the mousses we offer. Jean Paul has said it is a therapeutic process for him to make the mousses. And I feel he needs it right now." Henri explained to me.
"I understand." I replied.
We finished up by talking about a salary and benefits before Henri gave me an apron to wear. It seemed to me he wanted me to begin working right away and I was happy to oblige him. At that time in my life I needed my therapy, working in a kitchen.
"Lita you can begin by peeling the carrots and potatoes for me please. Then when you are finished doing that you can cut them and the rest of the vegetables I've laid out into small chunks for the quiches." Jean Paul instructed from the stove.
Putting my apron on I set to work. Never in my life had I seen so many potatoes outside a Donald Duck cartoon short when I was a little girl. Neatly set aside were piles of potatoes, carrots, celery, broccoli, and red and green peppers. Where Jean Paul found creating mousses therapeutic I found my therapy loosing myself in the rhythm of the knife upon the cutting block.
A few minutes after I started peeling and chopping the vegetables the door to the kitchen opened. Looking up from my work I expected to see Pierre or Henri walk in but instead Jean Paul's mother Angeline walked in with a sad smile on her face. The stately silver haired matriarch of the Morne family went over to her son, wiped off a small section of his cheek, and gave him a kiss. After showing her reassuring display of affection towards her son Angeline turned around to give me what I had to assume was the traditional once over. Then with a big smile on her face she walked over to me.
Picking up my hands Angeline began running her fingers over them while she spoke, "Ah such strong gentle hands. I can tell you are going to be with us for a long time."
It had me puzzled as to what Angeline meant by her comment. I didn't know if she was hoping I'd stay on the staff for a few years or if she had other plans in mind for me that included one of her sons. I'd never had a mother look at me the way she did before. Angeline looked me in the eyes one last time and smiled. Then she focused her attention back to her son.
"I am going to go to the market today after I help your father and brother set up. Do you need anything for yourself or Chloe Jean Paul?" Angeline asked him.
"I left a small list and some money with Marie but since Chloe is sick she can't stop by there because she can't take Chloe out for her walk. You wouldn't mind getting it would you." Jean Paul said.
"No not at all." She replied with a smile.
I could tell I was going to enjoy working with Mornes very much.
********
My first month with the Mornes went quickly. I enjoyed working with them so much that I actually didn't mind going to work each morning. Chloe had gotten better within a week of her latest infection and stayed better for the duration of the month. Angeline always played the gracious hostess while Pierre waited tables. Henri, who still worked in the kitchen, oversaw and tested my first solo attempts. And off and on I would see Marie out and about with Chloe.
Soon after joining the staff at the small bistro I began to learn that it was Pierre's mission in life to find his brother a wife. To him every single woman that came into the bistro was marriage material. It was funny to think a guy could be worse than I was when it came to matters of the heart. But as you can imagine every once in a while Pierre would find a girl for his brother that happened to come with a best friend he could date. Pierre didn't just think about Jean Paul all the time.
It was on one of those rare potential double date days that I happened upon Pierre trying to convince Jean Paul to go with him. Pierre was setting tables while Jean Paul was walking around with a frustrated look on his face. I could tell they were trying not to argue about the topic of their conversation.
"Pierre I told you a thousand times already I just can not do it. Not with Marie on vacation and with her family and mamma and papa going to the theater with their friends tonight. I would have no one to watch Chloe for me." Jean Paul told his brother.
"Oh come on Jean Paul can't you call one of your female friends to come and watch her. Or what about Lynette's family?" Pierre said desperately.
That was the first time I had ever head her name. They didn't talk about her very much but when they did Jean Paul's family would go silent like they had said a forbidden word. I don't think he had still gotten over her death at that point.
True to form Pierre was quiet for some time until Jean Paul spoke.
"You forgot her parents no longer live in Paris and her sister and her husband are living in England while he works on that research project of his." Jean Paul reminded Pierre.
"I'm sorry I even mentioned it." Pierre apologized.
I could tell Pierre wanted to get Jean Paul out of the house badly. I figured Pierre wanted to go out with this girl. And from what I gathered if Jean Paul didn't go then Pierre wouldn't be able to go. I decided to do something I hadn't done since my first year of culinary school. I decided I would offer to baby-sit for Jean Paul.
"I'll watch Chloe for you." I offered.
This took both Jean Paul and Pierre by surprise. The brothers turned and looked at me like I was crazy. I had known them for only a month and I was offering to watch a man's child for the evening. Pierre I could tell was thrilled and Jean Paul was a bit skeptical about having me watch his daughter.
"Lita do you even have any experience watching children?" Jean Paul asked me.
"I used to baby-sit during my first two years of culinary school to earn extra money." I told him.
Jean Paul turned to Pierre and gave him his answer.
"Pierre I will give you my final answer when I finish my first mousse." Jean Paul said.
Pierre knew Jean Paul would say yes, it was written all over his face. And as I went into the kitchen to begin preparing for my lunch dishes I hoped and prayed to myself that Jean Paul would trust me with his child and we could become friends.
********
Jean Paul had made his decision to go out with Pierre that night and I found myself up in Jean Paul's loft receiving a long list of instructions. In my hand I had instructions on what to do about feeding and bedtime, a list of medications and what they were for in case Chloe got sick again, a list of emergency phone numbers, and where I could contact him and his parents. I could see Jean Paul was a bit nervous about leaving me with his only child and I reassured him time and time again that things would be just fine.
Once Jean Paul left to go meet Pierre I quickly set down to business. Looking at the lists Jean Paul had given me I noticed the first thing on the schedule was dinner. Upon opening the cabinets I saw what passed for baby food these days in Europe some tasteless bad smelling colored mushy slop.
"This is what passes for baby food over here? Yuck!" I commented.
There was no way I was going to put that into her mouth. So doing some creative rummaging I found some oat cereal and some plain ghram crackers. I placed the little munchkin down in her high chair and gave her the oat rings and some ghram cracker pieces.
While Chloe was eating her appetizer I whipped up some instant mashed potatoes, some carrots and peas, and a bit of chicken. I was about to face my toughest critic yet the pallet of a year old baby girl. Fortunately I had great success and Chloe ate every single bite I gave her. I was thoroughly satisfied with the end results. After a quick cleanup we got down to some serious playing.
When playtime was over I took Chloe into the bathroom for her bath. And as I was bathing here I began to imagine myself doing this kind of stuff every single day. It looked as though I was falling for the little girl. Ten minutes later I pulled Chloe out of the bath, dried her off, and got her ready for bed.
Before putting Chloe to bed I decided to read her a few stories. I saw all different sorts of books that were of the touchy feely baby variety. Nothing I saw had a distinct story to it. They were all this is the color, shape, or texture. They did well to stimulate the tactile and visual senses but did nothing to stir the imagination.
"Another disappointment." I said to Chloe.
So after reading her a book about two kids petting a soft fuzzy bunny and another book about saying goodnight to the moon I decided to tell her a story. And I knew just the story too. I told her a story that a certain someone told me a million times. I told her about Princess Serenity and Prince Endymoin.
The night was going well Chloe was in bed and I sat down to have some dinner and watch a little of the old tube. After a while I looked at my watch and noticed it was now two hours after I had put Chloe to bed. Jean Paul hadn't returned yet so I figured he and Pierre were having a good time. I then decided to check on Chloe. Popping my head into her room I saw a tiny child fast asleep.
As went to sit back down and watch the day's news something happened. Out of nowhere Chloe let out an earsplitting cry. Rushing back into her room I picked up the baby and tried to calm her down before putting her back to sleep. I knew babies tended to cry but that was no ordinary cry. As I walked with her and talked to her I thought things would be fine once she went back to sleep. But the moment her little head touched my neck I knew something was wrong.
Chloe felt hot there was no mistaking that. After feeling her forehead, cheeks, back of her neck, and her arm I knew she had a fever. Taking her into the bathroom I searched the medicine chest for a thermometer and was in luck when I found an in the ear model.
"Now where are those covers?" I mumbled as I continued the search.
Finding the covers I placed one on and made certain it was set for children. One quick read in the ear and my initial analysis was correct Chloe had a high fever. Trying not to panic I went and found the list of medicines and pulled out the proper medicine for the situation. I also fixed a cold washcloth for her little head. With the medicine in hand I prepared to get her to take it.
"This is no good how can I get you to take two droppers full of medicine if you keep screaming like this. I know I'll do what my mom used to do for me. I'll play you some soothing music. That should calm you down." I said to the baby.
Looking through Jean Paul's vast array of music I noticed something very strange. There hidden among the rock and roll albums was a copy of the movie soundtrack to GiGi. Looking at the back I found the perfect song and put it in the CD player and hit the repeat button. With the soothing sounds of 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls' playing Chloe calmed down and I was able to get her to take the medicine. With that I sat down with her on the couch and waited for her to go to sleep.
********
Another two hours had passed since I gave Chloe her medicine. I guess I fell asleep for when I woke up there was Jean Paul and Pierre standing over the couch smiling at me and Maurice Chevalier still singing the praises of little girls. Jean Paul took one look at the medicine bottle and knew what was wrong. And his smiling face turned to one of genuine worry.
"Lita why didn't you call me?" he asked.
"I didn't want to worry you." I told him.
"Well it's late. I'll put Chloe back in her crib and let you sleep." Jean Paul said to me as he took the baby to her room.
"He's letting me crash here?" I asked Pierre.
"Marie does it all the time when she watches Chloe when I take my brother out." He explained.
When Jean Paul returned from Chloe's room he and Pierre said there good-byes and I knew they were still discussing what had happened that evening.
"Don't feel bad Jean Paul at least you and Yvette became friends." Pierre said.
"I told you before Pierre I will find someone when the time is right. I will know it in here." Jean Paul replied pointing to his heart.
"Yes but when?" Pierre asked.
"I don't know Pierre I may have already seen her and just don't know it yet." Jean Paul said.
"Well I hope it's soon." Pierre said as he left.
********
Three months had come and gone since the night I watched Chloe. I was asked on occasion to watch her from time to time and didn't mind one bit. Things were going great for me. Then something happened that changed not only my life but Jean Paul's as well.
As Jean Paul, Henri, and I worked the kitchen for the small lunch crowd Angeline came into the kitchen with a worried look on her face.
"What's wrong mon petite fleur?" Henri asked her.
"I just got a call from Marie. It seems she is not feeling well all of a sudden. So I am going to go upstairs and take over for her so she can go home and rest." She explained.
"Is Chloe alright?" Jean Paul wanted to know.
"She said Chloe is fine. Marie just thinks she might have caught that bug that's been going around town is all." Angeline reassured her son.
With that Angeline left the kitchen to go and take over watching her grandchild. I saw Jean Paul get a disappointed look on his face and turn to his father.
"Well it looks like I won't be going with you, mama, and Pierre to the play tonight papa." Jean Paul said to the elder Morne.
"I can watch her so you can go tonight." I offered to Jean Paul.
The expression on his face turned from one of sorrow to one of pure joy and happiness. Jean Paul was delighted I had offered to watch his daughter.
"Now both of my sons can be there as your mama and I celebrate another anniversary." Henri said to his oldest son.
"Oh I didn't realize it was your anniversary." I told Henri, "Hope you have a happy one."
"Thank you Lita." Henri replied as he went back to work.
I had gotten off work a little early that night so I could go home and get an overnight bag and pick up a few things at the market. I was going to make myself a dinner I hadn't had since the last time I was in Japan. And I was going to make enough of it so there would be some for Jean Paul to have for his own dinner the next evening. Upon reaching the bistro I made my way up to Jean Paul's loft.
When I entered the loft I got quite a surprise Jean Paul was laying on the couch looking miserable and Chloe was playing in her play saucer chewing on the head of her dog rattle. Jean Paul took one look at me and gave me a weak smile.
"Jean Paul are you alright?" I asked him.
"Oh Lita I am so sorry you came all this way for nothing. It seems whatever Marie has I have too so it looks like I won't be going out tonight." He replied.
"Nonsense Jean Paul you need me and Chloe needs me. You can't take care of her in your condition. So like it or not I'm staying the night. And the first order of business is dinner." I said to him more determined than ever.
Picking up Chloe I prepared her dinner first. Once she was fed I placed her back in her play saucer and went to work on my favorite authentic Japanese noodle dish. The smells wafting through the kitchen reminded me of all the times I had cooked for all my friends. And when it was done I brought a tray over to Jean Paul with two bowls on it.
Jean Paul looked between the bowl and me several times before voicing the question on his mind.
"Lita I don't doubt this is a good dish but how in the world am I to eat this?" he asked.
"With the chopsticks on the tray silly." I said with a slight giggle.
It took a while and much laughter from both of us but Jean Paul, who had never used chopsticks before, ate every single noodle in his bowl. I could tell it made him feel better knowing I was there. And after cleaning him and the dishes I gave Chloe her bath.
When the bath was over Chloe and I sat on the couch next to her daddy while he read her some stories. When Jean Paul was finished with the last story Chloe looked up at me expecting more. I knew exactly what she wanted another one of my stories.
"Did I ever tell you about the little girl who fell from the sky?" I said getting a look of intense concentration in return, "No. Well it happened a long time ago when the world had begun to loose all hope." I told her.
As I told Chloe all about ChibiChibi and how she came to us I could tell Jean Paul was listening intently as well. When the story was over and Chloe was asleep I put her in her crib and rejoined Jean Paul on the couch. Jean Paul had a big smile when I returned.
"She likes you Lita. And that story was most fascinating. Where did you hear it?" he said.
"The story is true. Every one of them I've told her are true even if they are hard to believe." I explained to Jean Paul.
"Lita I'd like to take you out sometime when I get better and Marie gets better as well." Jean Paul said out of the blue.
"I don't know what to say." I replied.
"Say yes. If nothing happens then we can say it was a thank you for all you've done. But you see ever since the first time you watched Chloe for me I've felt something for you and I want to see if it becomes more." He told me.
This took me quite by surprise and I remembered back to the first day we met. For the first time in my life outside of Ken I didn't think a man reminded me of my old boyfriend. And I found that to be quite strange which must have meant that I actually was beginning to have feelings for him too.
"I think I've been feeling something too. I'd love to go out." I finally told him.
********
Two weeks after Jean Paul was one hundred percent better we went out on our very first date. It was a simple affair. We went to dinner at a place where Jean Paul thought I'd feel right at home. It turned out to be a Japanese steak house where the cooks make the meal in front of you. And much to my surprise Jean Paul had been practicing with his chopsticks since the night he asked me out. He had gotten much better with them. I could tell he was genuinely interested in learning everything he could about me and where I come from.
After that Jean Paul and I began seeing each other. At first things were going great and we kept our dating to ourselves. If Pierre or Jean Paul's parents asked about our doing things together we simply stated that two friends were entitled to do something together once in a while. But we could tell Pierre was beginning to suspect something when he went through a two-month dry spell trying to get Jean Paul to go out with him and some girls. Then one day out of the blue Henri and Angeline took me aside to talk to me.
"Lita we just want to say whatever it is you've been doing with Jean Paul continue it. We've never seen him this happy since he began dating Lynette." Angeline told me.
"For the first time since before she passed on he's actually smiling all the time." Henri added.
"And Chloe seems to like you too from what he's said. You're a very good story teller." Angeline said with a smile.
I couldn't help but smile back at them. They were the nicest people I had ever met in my entire life since Ken's parents and I was growing to love them. And the more I thought about it the more I realized they were right Chloe like me and I like Chloe. Things couldn't get any better.
I left Henri and Angeline and went back into the kitchen were Jean Paul was making another of his world famous chocolate raspberry mousses. Watching the desert king work on the raspberry sauce for the mousse I smiled and realized that I loved him. But I was afraid to say anything because I was scared of what might happen. The breakup with the only other boyfriend I had in my life was still haunting me. I didn't want my relationship with Jean Paul to end up the same way.
"What did my parents want?" Jean Paul asked breaking the silence.
"They just wanted to thank me for being a friend to you." I told him, "I don't have much experience with this but parents can tell when you become happier in life."
"You think so?" he asked me.
"From what they've said yes I do." I replied.
"Well they are right you know. You have made my life happier."
"Maybe we should tell them about us."
"When the time is right we will say something."
Jean Paul was right when the time was right things would come out into the open not only about us but about me as well.
********
Time flies and I soon found myself helping Jean Paul pick out a Christmas present for Marie. We passed all kinds of shops and boutiques that sold many things. And I even spent some time window shopping at Channel and Christian Dior looking at all the things a person like me couldn't afford. But that didn't matter to me one bit.
"Hey Lita I think I found it!" Jean Paul called out to me.
Walking over to where he was from the window I was admiring I saw Jean Paul looking in the window of a little shop. There in the window was a snow globe with a tiny replica of a Dickens village inside the glass and liquid and when you tilted it little tiny iridescent white snowflakes dotted the landscape. Jean Paul took my hand and led me inside the shop.
"How much for the globe in the window?" Jean Paul asked the clerk.
"Forty francs." She told him.
"I'll take it." Jean Paul replied.
With the transaction complete we made our way to the local toy store to get a few things for Chloe. Inside the toy store I saw toys of all kinds. Dolls and bears from Germany and England and even a few things from Japan. I was amazed at the number of Japanese toys they had. Looking around I saw collectible card games and figures and even goofy dress up clothes and glasses.
"Oh wow I haven't seen this stuff since I was eighteen!" I said showing my obvious excitement.
There in front of me was a little tin box with mints in it that had a picture of Sailor V on it. I couldn't resist spending the two francs on the little white mints that made your eyes water. Then my eyes spied a shelf full of plastic Senshi tiaras and Sailor V glasses. Giggling like a schoolgirl I picked up a pair of the glasses and the plastic version of my tiara and put them on. Then I went to find Jean Paul.
"I am the am the Senshi of pastries and cream sauce Sailor Gastronomy!" I began, "Oh nuts! Why can't the toy companies ever get it right." I complained when I noticed the tiara was missing the lightning rod mine always had.
"Funny Lita real funny." Jean Paul said as he turned around.
"Hey I couldn't resist. Sailor V and the whole Sailor Senshi thing was big when I was teen back home." I explained to him.
"Uh huh and I'm the king of the world." He said trying hard not to laugh.
"Oh yeah well if you're King Endymoin then I'm Neo Queen Serenity." I shot back.
"The hair wouldn't look good on you." He said nonchalantly.
After paying for the mints, Chloe's present, and a Sailor Jupiter UFO catcher doll we were on our way. I knew now that the whole Sailor Senshi subject was brought out in the open it was time to spill the beans on everything about myself and how I felt about him. Stopping on the sidewalk I turned and faced Jean Paul with a serious look on my face.
"Jean Paul we need to talk." I told him.
"Lita what's wrong?" he asked with concern in his face.
"Well there are a couple of things I need to tell you. And I wouldn't be telling you one without telling you the other." I replied nervously.
"Lita you can tell me anything." Jean Paul reassured me.
Looking him straight in the face I told Jean Paul the easier part of what I had to say.
"Jean Paul I love you." I began, "At first I was afraid to say something because I had a bad experience with the only other boyfriend I ever had when I was fourteen."
Jean Paul looked me back in the eyes and smiled at me.
"I knew you loved me Lita. I was just waiting for you to tell me so I could tell you that I love you as well. You've made my life a happy one once again." He replied.
I then took a deep breath and prepared for the hardest decision I had ever made in my entire life. I Lita Makoto Kino was about to tell someone I was Sailor Jupiter. Reaching into the bag from the toy store I took out the Jupiter doll for courage.
"Well Jupiter you and I have been through a lot together. You ready to do this?" I said to the doll.
"Uh Lita why are you talking to that doll?" Jean Paul asked a bit confused.
"Was I? Sometimes I forget we're one in the same when I see toys like this." I mumbled slowly.
"What do you mean one in the same?"
"Jean Paul I've been keeping something from you, something very important. And if you're going to love me than you're going to have to love me for who I am and what goes along with it."
"And what's that?" he asked getting a bit worried.
"I can't tell you here. Let's go to my place."
We hopped on the next bus that went past my building and in no time we were at my apartment complex. Going up to the tenth floor I took him into my tiny studio apartment.
"Espresso?" I offered being a gracious host.
"No thank you." Jean Paul replied.
After hanging up our coats I walked over to Jean Paul with my hands wrapped around three items my henshin rod, my wrist communicator, and my palace security card. Taking a deep breath I sat down next to him and poured my heart out to him.
"Jean Paul I'm the Senshi of pastries and cream sauce." I told him with a serious face.
"I kind of figured that out on my own." He replied with a smile.
"I'm serious Jean Paul." I began still looking him in the eyes; "I am the Sailor Senshi of thunder and nature. My full title is Lady Lita Makoto Kino of Jupiter."
Jean Paul couldn't believe what I was telling him. The blank stare on his face told me he thought I was nuts. But I looked him in the eyes and proceeded to show him the items in my hands.
"Here is my standard issue Senshi henshin rod, the standard issue Senshi wrist communicator, and my palace security card. And if you want further proof I'll give it to you." I said.
"Lita you're not joking are you?" Jean Paul wanted to know.
"No I'm not." I told him.
"Lita what does a henshin rod do anyway?" Jean Paul asked curiously.
Standing up I gave Jean Paul a visual explanation to his question.
"Jupiter Crystal Power!" I called out.
After the room was done filling with lightning I stood before Jean Paul as Sailor Jupiter.
"If I hadn't transformed in front of you, you wouldn't even recognize who I am." I told him.
"You're beautiful." He told me.
"Well the skirt is a bit on the short side but it's what we have to work with." I said with a laugh before we began a long discussion on my life.
********
The days passed by and soon it was time for the annual parade of Christmas parties and cards. Pierre was still trying to figure out why he was having the dry spell. It bothered him quite a lot. But at the time he was going after girls who came with baggage in the form of a sister, cousin, or friend who was either new in town or desperately dateless and if they didn't have a date Pierre was out of luck.
It was a week and a half before Christmas and I had arrived at work early. Pierre was at the bistro setting tables for the lunch crowd. I wanted to take a few minutes before I got down to business to go through the stack of cards I had received from my friends in the mail that day. Sitting down at one of the tables I began opening the stack of envelopes I had with me.
"Lita what are you doing?" Pierre asked me.
"Oh I'm just going through this year's stack of Christmas cards." I said.
Pierre sat down next to me and watched as I opened each envelope and made comments about the cards inside. It was good to hear from my friends again.
"Oh how cute!" I said when I pulled out Setsuna's card.
Inside the card was a picture of Setsuna's baby Kerrie in a cute black velvet Christmas dress with a garnet red sash and little white tights. Along with the picture was a piece of paper that had multicolored scribbles on it. I figured Kerrie colored it with her crayons.
"Cute kid." Pierre commented.
"That's my friend Setsuna's baby." I told him.
Going through card after card I read what each one of the girls was doing. Ami wrote about med school. Rei said how things were going at the temple with Chad. Mina discussed the trials and tribulations of broadcast journalism. Michiru updated me on what she and Haruka were doing and Haruka just added her name at the bottom. Hotaru talked about college life in a two-page hand written letter. And then there was your card Serena, the photo card of you and Darien.
"What is that Lita?" Pierre asked me.
"It's a Christmas card from my friends Serena and Darien." I told him.
"That is a Christmas card?" he said.
"It's a photo card of their first official picture together as husband and wife." I explained.
"Oh." Pierre commented as he went back to setting tables.
I couldn't tell him that the rulers of the world only sent those cards to their closest friends.
After a few more minutes of reading cards Henri and Angeline walked into the bistro. I decided it was a good time as any to get to work. But before I could get into the kitchen Angeline came over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I know this time of year can be quite lonesome." She began, "You're all by yourself in a foreign country away from your friends. You have no one to celebrate Christmas with. That is why Henri and I would be honored if you spend Christmas with our family."
"Thank you. I don't know how to repay you for all your kindness." I said with tears in my eyes.
"Just continue being Jean Paul's friend." Angeline told me.
I smiled and headed to the kitchen and the man I loved.
********
The days seemed to fly by faster than you can say meatball head and it was Christmas. Since I had never been to his parents' house before I decided to go over to Jean Paul's beforehand. I knew he would need some help with Chloe and all his presents. When I got to the loft I found Jean Paul running after a now walking half-naked giggling Chloe.
"Hey there munchkin. You want to make your dad late getting you to your grandparents." I said scooping up the little girl.
"Thank you Lita. She doesn't want to get dressed." Jean Paul said to me with a sigh of relief.
"Here I'll see what I can do. You go get yourself ready for today." I told Jean Paul taking the dress from him.
Taking Chloe over to the couch I sat her down and began telling her another one of my stories while I put her dress on her.
"Chloe want to hear about the cat who fell in love?" I asked her getting her full attention.
By the time I finished the story Jean Paul was ready to go. Dressed in a simple pair of khaki pants, a blue denim button down shirt, and a brown leather vest I thought best looking man in the entire world. And once we got Chloe into her winter coat we were on our way.
The day at the Mornes' was going wonderfully. Henri and Angeline gave me a new cookbook. Chloe gave me a new pair of hand carved chopsticks. Pierre not knowing what I like just gave a gift certificate to the Virgin Mega Store in Paris. But it was Jean Paul who gave me the best present of all.
"Mama papa Pierre I have same good news to tell all of you. Oh and Pierre this will explain your dry spell lately too." Jean Paul began, "It happened. I felt it."
That got a smile from Pierre and some confused looks from Henri and Angeline. Pierre remembered what Jean Paul had told him months before and finally knew why he was having his dry spell. Angeline looked over at Jean Paul for clarification.
"What are you talking about Jean Paul?" she asked him.
"Well you see I... I... I am... Well mama I am in love again." Jean Paul told her quite nervous.
"Why didn't you invite her here?" his mother wondered.
"How come you never said anything?" his father asked.
"But I did bring her here. I was going to tell you but you had already invited her." Jean Paul said.
That got more looks of confusion. Henri and Angeline looked at each other and then looked at me before looking at Jean Paul. Then Angeline broke the silence.
"The only person I asked here was Lita." She said to him.
"You mean it's Lita?" the other three adults in the room said finally making the connection.
"Oui and we didn't say anything because we wanted to be certain of our feelings for each other. It just sort of happened one day." Jean Paul told them with a smile.
Jean Paul then turned to me and gave me a big smile. I could tell he had something up sleeve. Reaching into the bag he had his presents in Jean Paul pulled out a small package and gave it to me. I figured it was probably some earrings judging by the size of the box. Tearing off the paper and opening the box I found another box only this time it was white jewelry box. When I opened the box I saw the most beautiful ring I had ever seen a single diamond set in gold with two emeralds on either side.
"You're looking to get your own little card that can get you into the center of Tokyo aren't you?" I asked Jean Paul with tears in my eyes.
His family didn't quite get what I was referring to in my question but Jean Paul knew exactly what I was talking about.
"If that comes with you along with all the other stuff that makes you who you are then yes." Jean Paul began, "I want everything in your life to be a part of my life."
"You sure you want all the formalities, the meetings, and being at her beck and call 24/7?" I asked him with a smile.
"Oui." Jean Paul answered me.
"If that's what you want then I guess I just got something I haven't had in ten years a family. Looks like this stray dog has found herself a home." I told him.
Jean Paul's family looked at us like we were crazy. We both knew what they were going to ask.
"Well?" they all said.
"You were right Angeline I am going to be with you for a long time. Your son in his own goofy way just proposed to me. And in my own sweet double meaning filled way said yes." I told them.
A year and a half later Jean Paul and I were married in the same little church his parents got married in. And I had my two greatest dreams I life fulfilled I got a family and a restaurant even if I am only a partial owner.
********
Lita could tell Serenity was crying. Her tear-streaked face was testament to that fact. As Serenity wiped her face she gave Lita a small smile.
"That was the most beautiful story I had ever heard." She told Lita.
"Thank Serena." Lita replied.
The doors to the suite opened once more and this time a little six-year-old child with the biggest blue eyes Serenity had ever seen came over to Lita.
"Mama I feel funny." She said to Lita.
Lita smiled, sighed, and tried to get up with some help from Serenity.
"I guess some things never change do they?" Serenity commented.
"Yeah but I wouldn't have it any other way." Lita replied.
********
This is the first in what will be a series of stories focusing on the adults in my Senshi in Training series. Mainly the stories will give a brief background on how the Senshi met the men they love and had the families they now have. For some of the Senshi it will entail recounting how they realized they actually loved the men in their lives. Hope you enjoy the series and will let me know what you think of it.
********
Sailor Moon: Senshi in Training
Memorable Moments: Lita's Story
********
Lita sat in the living room of her suite in the palace. She was tired, bloated, hot, sore from head to toe, and pregnant. The extremely warm August weather in Tokyo made things a lot worse for Lita who thought she looked like an oversized blimp. At the moment the baby inside her was kicking up a storm. Lita had returned to Tokyo for the presentation of the new Princess. She had missed the birth of her best friend's daughter but she would not miss this. It had been five years since she last saw the young queen. A lot had happened in those five years. Lit had met and married a Frenchman named Jean Paul Morne and had become a mother in the process to Jean Paul's daughter Chloe. And now Lita was expecting her own child.
The large door to the suite opened and Lita expected to see Jean Paul or Chloe walk into the room. She was a bit taken back when Serenity entered the room with a small bundle with fuzzy pink hair in her arms. The sleeping princess looked peaceful and innocent in the arms of her mother. Serenity sat down next to her best friend and gave Lady Jupiter a sympathetic smile.
"Lita that little girl I saw you with she's not yours I take it." Serenity said.
"No she's Jean Paul's from another marriage. You see his first wife died shortly after giving birth to Chloe. She may not be mine by blood but I adopted her so she could be mine legally. I love her with all my heart as if I actually did give birth to her." Lita explained.
"Tell me Lita how did you and Jean Paul meet." Serenity wanted to know.
"I meet him when I took a job at his family's bistro in Paris. In fact the story of how we came to be is quite interesting if you'll let me tell it to you."
"I'd love to hear it."
********
It was a month after you and Endymoin were married and crowned king and queen. I was on my way back to Paris to begin a job I had applied for. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps because my two best friends were happy together and another close friend of mine had just had a baby. My life at that particular time was in a bit of a slump. I had never really gotten over the tragic breakup with my first boyfriend and like Julia Roberts in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' I realized a bit too late that I actually had feelings for my best friend Ken who had gotten married that same year to a wonderful woman. In my book I was having a hard time trusting men.
The day after I returned home to my small apartment in Paris I made my way to the bistro I would be working at. This was my first real job cooking in a real restaurant kitchen. I was one step closer to achieving my ultimate dream of owning my own restaurant. As I walked into the bistro I was greeted by a man who was a year or two younger than I was.
"Welcome to Morne's I am Pierre." He said.
"I'm looking for Henri and Angeline Morne are they here." I told Pierre.
"Ah you must be the new cook mama and papa hired."
"Yes I am. My name is Lita Kino." I replied holding out my hand.
After we shook hands Pierre turned to head for the kitchen and told me to wait were I was for a moment. "Could you wait here please."
Pierre opened the door to the kitchen but did not enter. I could hear every word of his conversation with the chef inside.
"Hey Jean Paul you'd better come on out here and meet the new cook mama and papa hired." Pierre yelled into the kitchen.
"Pierre tell the person to wait for a few minutes I'm finishing something important in here." He yelled back to the younger man.
Pierre came back to where I was and relayed to me what Jean Paul had told him.
"Jean Paul needs a few minutes to finish what he is working on." He said, "Lately though Jean Paul has been spending a lot of time in the kitchen."
I found Pierre's last remark to be somewhat off the cuff and a bit irrelevant. Three minutes later a somewhat older man covered with flour and melted chocolate emerged from the kitchen. Upon his face was a small smile that both Pierre and I thought looked a bit forced.
"Bonjour my name is Jean Paul Morne." He said to me.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Lita Kino." I replied.
"You'll have to excuse my appearance I have been working on the mousses for this afternoon."
I gave Jean Paul a quick glance and noticed no ring on his left hand. That didn't mean he wasn't married. It just meant he didn't wear one at work. Upon further inspection I saw that he had blue eyes and a chiseled face that was framed by dark chestnut colored hair reaching down to his chin that was falling out of a modest looking ponytail.
A few minutes later a young looking woman came into the bistro holding a baby that looked no older than a year. The woman looked a bit frazzled and made a beeline for Jean Paul.
"Monsieur Morne Chloe is burning up again." She told him.
Jean Paul wiped his hands on the towel draped over his apron strings and felt the baby's neck forehead and cheeks. His expression turned to one of concern for the tiny girl.
"Marie give her the medicine from the doctor and then try and put her down for her nap." Jean Paul instructed the girl.
I could tell right off the bat that the baby was Jean Paul's. I wondered what was wrong with her and how the babysitter or nanny, whatever her position was, got to the bistro quickly. Pierre quickly answered that question for me.
"That was Marie Jean Paul's nanny. He doesn't talk about it much but when Chloe was born he lost his wife shortly after due to some complications. That was a little over a year ago. Since then he's been living in the loft above the bistro. And because Chloe was born a bit early she's prone to get infections more than other children her age." Pierre explained.
"How sad. I hope she feels better." I commented.
Jean Paul who now had clean hands shook hands with me before returning to the kitchen. I then waited for another five minutes talking to Pierre before his parents arrived. The Mornes were a nice older couple in their fifties. One look at them and I could see the family resemblance between them and their two sons and granddaughter. I could also tell I was going to enjoy working with them.
"Hi you must be Mr. and Mrs. Morne. I'm Lita Kino I talked to you about the position in the kitchen." I said to them introducing myself.
"Ah oui, oui Lita it is a pleasure to finally meet you. You may call me Henri and this is my wife Angeline." Henri replied getting the formalities out of the way.
"If you two will excuse me I'm going to pay a social call on my grandchild." Angeline told Henri.
"Be careful mama she's sick again." Pierre warned her from the table he was setting.
"I won't be too long then." I heard her reply.
With Angeline going to visit Jean Paul's daughter Henri and I got down to business. Henri gave me a tour of the building explaining where everything was in the bistro. When we got into the kitchen Jean Paul was busy making another batch of mousse. I could hear him muttering something under his breath about not being able to handle being a single parent. Henri had a look of concern on his face for his first born son. Turning to me Henri gave me a description of what my duties would entail.
"Lita you'll be working with Jean Paul your first month here. You'll assist him before preparing any dishes on your own. I want you to be able to get a feel for how things are run before setting off on your own. When your first month is up you'll be given a list of dishes you will be able to prepare. I'm afraid however you will not be able to prepare any of the mousses we offer. Jean Paul has said it is a therapeutic process for him to make the mousses. And I feel he needs it right now." Henri explained to me.
"I understand." I replied.
We finished up by talking about a salary and benefits before Henri gave me an apron to wear. It seemed to me he wanted me to begin working right away and I was happy to oblige him. At that time in my life I needed my therapy, working in a kitchen.
"Lita you can begin by peeling the carrots and potatoes for me please. Then when you are finished doing that you can cut them and the rest of the vegetables I've laid out into small chunks for the quiches." Jean Paul instructed from the stove.
Putting my apron on I set to work. Never in my life had I seen so many potatoes outside a Donald Duck cartoon short when I was a little girl. Neatly set aside were piles of potatoes, carrots, celery, broccoli, and red and green peppers. Where Jean Paul found creating mousses therapeutic I found my therapy loosing myself in the rhythm of the knife upon the cutting block.
A few minutes after I started peeling and chopping the vegetables the door to the kitchen opened. Looking up from my work I expected to see Pierre or Henri walk in but instead Jean Paul's mother Angeline walked in with a sad smile on her face. The stately silver haired matriarch of the Morne family went over to her son, wiped off a small section of his cheek, and gave him a kiss. After showing her reassuring display of affection towards her son Angeline turned around to give me what I had to assume was the traditional once over. Then with a big smile on her face she walked over to me.
Picking up my hands Angeline began running her fingers over them while she spoke, "Ah such strong gentle hands. I can tell you are going to be with us for a long time."
It had me puzzled as to what Angeline meant by her comment. I didn't know if she was hoping I'd stay on the staff for a few years or if she had other plans in mind for me that included one of her sons. I'd never had a mother look at me the way she did before. Angeline looked me in the eyes one last time and smiled. Then she focused her attention back to her son.
"I am going to go to the market today after I help your father and brother set up. Do you need anything for yourself or Chloe Jean Paul?" Angeline asked him.
"I left a small list and some money with Marie but since Chloe is sick she can't stop by there because she can't take Chloe out for her walk. You wouldn't mind getting it would you." Jean Paul said.
"No not at all." She replied with a smile.
I could tell I was going to enjoy working with Mornes very much.
********
My first month with the Mornes went quickly. I enjoyed working with them so much that I actually didn't mind going to work each morning. Chloe had gotten better within a week of her latest infection and stayed better for the duration of the month. Angeline always played the gracious hostess while Pierre waited tables. Henri, who still worked in the kitchen, oversaw and tested my first solo attempts. And off and on I would see Marie out and about with Chloe.
Soon after joining the staff at the small bistro I began to learn that it was Pierre's mission in life to find his brother a wife. To him every single woman that came into the bistro was marriage material. It was funny to think a guy could be worse than I was when it came to matters of the heart. But as you can imagine every once in a while Pierre would find a girl for his brother that happened to come with a best friend he could date. Pierre didn't just think about Jean Paul all the time.
It was on one of those rare potential double date days that I happened upon Pierre trying to convince Jean Paul to go with him. Pierre was setting tables while Jean Paul was walking around with a frustrated look on his face. I could tell they were trying not to argue about the topic of their conversation.
"Pierre I told you a thousand times already I just can not do it. Not with Marie on vacation and with her family and mamma and papa going to the theater with their friends tonight. I would have no one to watch Chloe for me." Jean Paul told his brother.
"Oh come on Jean Paul can't you call one of your female friends to come and watch her. Or what about Lynette's family?" Pierre said desperately.
That was the first time I had ever head her name. They didn't talk about her very much but when they did Jean Paul's family would go silent like they had said a forbidden word. I don't think he had still gotten over her death at that point.
True to form Pierre was quiet for some time until Jean Paul spoke.
"You forgot her parents no longer live in Paris and her sister and her husband are living in England while he works on that research project of his." Jean Paul reminded Pierre.
"I'm sorry I even mentioned it." Pierre apologized.
I could tell Pierre wanted to get Jean Paul out of the house badly. I figured Pierre wanted to go out with this girl. And from what I gathered if Jean Paul didn't go then Pierre wouldn't be able to go. I decided to do something I hadn't done since my first year of culinary school. I decided I would offer to baby-sit for Jean Paul.
"I'll watch Chloe for you." I offered.
This took both Jean Paul and Pierre by surprise. The brothers turned and looked at me like I was crazy. I had known them for only a month and I was offering to watch a man's child for the evening. Pierre I could tell was thrilled and Jean Paul was a bit skeptical about having me watch his daughter.
"Lita do you even have any experience watching children?" Jean Paul asked me.
"I used to baby-sit during my first two years of culinary school to earn extra money." I told him.
Jean Paul turned to Pierre and gave him his answer.
"Pierre I will give you my final answer when I finish my first mousse." Jean Paul said.
Pierre knew Jean Paul would say yes, it was written all over his face. And as I went into the kitchen to begin preparing for my lunch dishes I hoped and prayed to myself that Jean Paul would trust me with his child and we could become friends.
********
Jean Paul had made his decision to go out with Pierre that night and I found myself up in Jean Paul's loft receiving a long list of instructions. In my hand I had instructions on what to do about feeding and bedtime, a list of medications and what they were for in case Chloe got sick again, a list of emergency phone numbers, and where I could contact him and his parents. I could see Jean Paul was a bit nervous about leaving me with his only child and I reassured him time and time again that things would be just fine.
Once Jean Paul left to go meet Pierre I quickly set down to business. Looking at the lists Jean Paul had given me I noticed the first thing on the schedule was dinner. Upon opening the cabinets I saw what passed for baby food these days in Europe some tasteless bad smelling colored mushy slop.
"This is what passes for baby food over here? Yuck!" I commented.
There was no way I was going to put that into her mouth. So doing some creative rummaging I found some oat cereal and some plain ghram crackers. I placed the little munchkin down in her high chair and gave her the oat rings and some ghram cracker pieces.
While Chloe was eating her appetizer I whipped up some instant mashed potatoes, some carrots and peas, and a bit of chicken. I was about to face my toughest critic yet the pallet of a year old baby girl. Fortunately I had great success and Chloe ate every single bite I gave her. I was thoroughly satisfied with the end results. After a quick cleanup we got down to some serious playing.
When playtime was over I took Chloe into the bathroom for her bath. And as I was bathing here I began to imagine myself doing this kind of stuff every single day. It looked as though I was falling for the little girl. Ten minutes later I pulled Chloe out of the bath, dried her off, and got her ready for bed.
Before putting Chloe to bed I decided to read her a few stories. I saw all different sorts of books that were of the touchy feely baby variety. Nothing I saw had a distinct story to it. They were all this is the color, shape, or texture. They did well to stimulate the tactile and visual senses but did nothing to stir the imagination.
"Another disappointment." I said to Chloe.
So after reading her a book about two kids petting a soft fuzzy bunny and another book about saying goodnight to the moon I decided to tell her a story. And I knew just the story too. I told her a story that a certain someone told me a million times. I told her about Princess Serenity and Prince Endymoin.
The night was going well Chloe was in bed and I sat down to have some dinner and watch a little of the old tube. After a while I looked at my watch and noticed it was now two hours after I had put Chloe to bed. Jean Paul hadn't returned yet so I figured he and Pierre were having a good time. I then decided to check on Chloe. Popping my head into her room I saw a tiny child fast asleep.
As went to sit back down and watch the day's news something happened. Out of nowhere Chloe let out an earsplitting cry. Rushing back into her room I picked up the baby and tried to calm her down before putting her back to sleep. I knew babies tended to cry but that was no ordinary cry. As I walked with her and talked to her I thought things would be fine once she went back to sleep. But the moment her little head touched my neck I knew something was wrong.
Chloe felt hot there was no mistaking that. After feeling her forehead, cheeks, back of her neck, and her arm I knew she had a fever. Taking her into the bathroom I searched the medicine chest for a thermometer and was in luck when I found an in the ear model.
"Now where are those covers?" I mumbled as I continued the search.
Finding the covers I placed one on and made certain it was set for children. One quick read in the ear and my initial analysis was correct Chloe had a high fever. Trying not to panic I went and found the list of medicines and pulled out the proper medicine for the situation. I also fixed a cold washcloth for her little head. With the medicine in hand I prepared to get her to take it.
"This is no good how can I get you to take two droppers full of medicine if you keep screaming like this. I know I'll do what my mom used to do for me. I'll play you some soothing music. That should calm you down." I said to the baby.
Looking through Jean Paul's vast array of music I noticed something very strange. There hidden among the rock and roll albums was a copy of the movie soundtrack to GiGi. Looking at the back I found the perfect song and put it in the CD player and hit the repeat button. With the soothing sounds of 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls' playing Chloe calmed down and I was able to get her to take the medicine. With that I sat down with her on the couch and waited for her to go to sleep.
********
Another two hours had passed since I gave Chloe her medicine. I guess I fell asleep for when I woke up there was Jean Paul and Pierre standing over the couch smiling at me and Maurice Chevalier still singing the praises of little girls. Jean Paul took one look at the medicine bottle and knew what was wrong. And his smiling face turned to one of genuine worry.
"Lita why didn't you call me?" he asked.
"I didn't want to worry you." I told him.
"Well it's late. I'll put Chloe back in her crib and let you sleep." Jean Paul said to me as he took the baby to her room.
"He's letting me crash here?" I asked Pierre.
"Marie does it all the time when she watches Chloe when I take my brother out." He explained.
When Jean Paul returned from Chloe's room he and Pierre said there good-byes and I knew they were still discussing what had happened that evening.
"Don't feel bad Jean Paul at least you and Yvette became friends." Pierre said.
"I told you before Pierre I will find someone when the time is right. I will know it in here." Jean Paul replied pointing to his heart.
"Yes but when?" Pierre asked.
"I don't know Pierre I may have already seen her and just don't know it yet." Jean Paul said.
"Well I hope it's soon." Pierre said as he left.
********
Three months had come and gone since the night I watched Chloe. I was asked on occasion to watch her from time to time and didn't mind one bit. Things were going great for me. Then something happened that changed not only my life but Jean Paul's as well.
As Jean Paul, Henri, and I worked the kitchen for the small lunch crowd Angeline came into the kitchen with a worried look on her face.
"What's wrong mon petite fleur?" Henri asked her.
"I just got a call from Marie. It seems she is not feeling well all of a sudden. So I am going to go upstairs and take over for her so she can go home and rest." She explained.
"Is Chloe alright?" Jean Paul wanted to know.
"She said Chloe is fine. Marie just thinks she might have caught that bug that's been going around town is all." Angeline reassured her son.
With that Angeline left the kitchen to go and take over watching her grandchild. I saw Jean Paul get a disappointed look on his face and turn to his father.
"Well it looks like I won't be going with you, mama, and Pierre to the play tonight papa." Jean Paul said to the elder Morne.
"I can watch her so you can go tonight." I offered to Jean Paul.
The expression on his face turned from one of sorrow to one of pure joy and happiness. Jean Paul was delighted I had offered to watch his daughter.
"Now both of my sons can be there as your mama and I celebrate another anniversary." Henri said to his oldest son.
"Oh I didn't realize it was your anniversary." I told Henri, "Hope you have a happy one."
"Thank you Lita." Henri replied as he went back to work.
I had gotten off work a little early that night so I could go home and get an overnight bag and pick up a few things at the market. I was going to make myself a dinner I hadn't had since the last time I was in Japan. And I was going to make enough of it so there would be some for Jean Paul to have for his own dinner the next evening. Upon reaching the bistro I made my way up to Jean Paul's loft.
When I entered the loft I got quite a surprise Jean Paul was laying on the couch looking miserable and Chloe was playing in her play saucer chewing on the head of her dog rattle. Jean Paul took one look at me and gave me a weak smile.
"Jean Paul are you alright?" I asked him.
"Oh Lita I am so sorry you came all this way for nothing. It seems whatever Marie has I have too so it looks like I won't be going out tonight." He replied.
"Nonsense Jean Paul you need me and Chloe needs me. You can't take care of her in your condition. So like it or not I'm staying the night. And the first order of business is dinner." I said to him more determined than ever.
Picking up Chloe I prepared her dinner first. Once she was fed I placed her back in her play saucer and went to work on my favorite authentic Japanese noodle dish. The smells wafting through the kitchen reminded me of all the times I had cooked for all my friends. And when it was done I brought a tray over to Jean Paul with two bowls on it.
Jean Paul looked between the bowl and me several times before voicing the question on his mind.
"Lita I don't doubt this is a good dish but how in the world am I to eat this?" he asked.
"With the chopsticks on the tray silly." I said with a slight giggle.
It took a while and much laughter from both of us but Jean Paul, who had never used chopsticks before, ate every single noodle in his bowl. I could tell it made him feel better knowing I was there. And after cleaning him and the dishes I gave Chloe her bath.
When the bath was over Chloe and I sat on the couch next to her daddy while he read her some stories. When Jean Paul was finished with the last story Chloe looked up at me expecting more. I knew exactly what she wanted another one of my stories.
"Did I ever tell you about the little girl who fell from the sky?" I said getting a look of intense concentration in return, "No. Well it happened a long time ago when the world had begun to loose all hope." I told her.
As I told Chloe all about ChibiChibi and how she came to us I could tell Jean Paul was listening intently as well. When the story was over and Chloe was asleep I put her in her crib and rejoined Jean Paul on the couch. Jean Paul had a big smile when I returned.
"She likes you Lita. And that story was most fascinating. Where did you hear it?" he said.
"The story is true. Every one of them I've told her are true even if they are hard to believe." I explained to Jean Paul.
"Lita I'd like to take you out sometime when I get better and Marie gets better as well." Jean Paul said out of the blue.
"I don't know what to say." I replied.
"Say yes. If nothing happens then we can say it was a thank you for all you've done. But you see ever since the first time you watched Chloe for me I've felt something for you and I want to see if it becomes more." He told me.
This took me quite by surprise and I remembered back to the first day we met. For the first time in my life outside of Ken I didn't think a man reminded me of my old boyfriend. And I found that to be quite strange which must have meant that I actually was beginning to have feelings for him too.
"I think I've been feeling something too. I'd love to go out." I finally told him.
********
Two weeks after Jean Paul was one hundred percent better we went out on our very first date. It was a simple affair. We went to dinner at a place where Jean Paul thought I'd feel right at home. It turned out to be a Japanese steak house where the cooks make the meal in front of you. And much to my surprise Jean Paul had been practicing with his chopsticks since the night he asked me out. He had gotten much better with them. I could tell he was genuinely interested in learning everything he could about me and where I come from.
After that Jean Paul and I began seeing each other. At first things were going great and we kept our dating to ourselves. If Pierre or Jean Paul's parents asked about our doing things together we simply stated that two friends were entitled to do something together once in a while. But we could tell Pierre was beginning to suspect something when he went through a two-month dry spell trying to get Jean Paul to go out with him and some girls. Then one day out of the blue Henri and Angeline took me aside to talk to me.
"Lita we just want to say whatever it is you've been doing with Jean Paul continue it. We've never seen him this happy since he began dating Lynette." Angeline told me.
"For the first time since before she passed on he's actually smiling all the time." Henri added.
"And Chloe seems to like you too from what he's said. You're a very good story teller." Angeline said with a smile.
I couldn't help but smile back at them. They were the nicest people I had ever met in my entire life since Ken's parents and I was growing to love them. And the more I thought about it the more I realized they were right Chloe like me and I like Chloe. Things couldn't get any better.
I left Henri and Angeline and went back into the kitchen were Jean Paul was making another of his world famous chocolate raspberry mousses. Watching the desert king work on the raspberry sauce for the mousse I smiled and realized that I loved him. But I was afraid to say anything because I was scared of what might happen. The breakup with the only other boyfriend I had in my life was still haunting me. I didn't want my relationship with Jean Paul to end up the same way.
"What did my parents want?" Jean Paul asked breaking the silence.
"They just wanted to thank me for being a friend to you." I told him, "I don't have much experience with this but parents can tell when you become happier in life."
"You think so?" he asked me.
"From what they've said yes I do." I replied.
"Well they are right you know. You have made my life happier."
"Maybe we should tell them about us."
"When the time is right we will say something."
Jean Paul was right when the time was right things would come out into the open not only about us but about me as well.
********
Time flies and I soon found myself helping Jean Paul pick out a Christmas present for Marie. We passed all kinds of shops and boutiques that sold many things. And I even spent some time window shopping at Channel and Christian Dior looking at all the things a person like me couldn't afford. But that didn't matter to me one bit.
"Hey Lita I think I found it!" Jean Paul called out to me.
Walking over to where he was from the window I was admiring I saw Jean Paul looking in the window of a little shop. There in the window was a snow globe with a tiny replica of a Dickens village inside the glass and liquid and when you tilted it little tiny iridescent white snowflakes dotted the landscape. Jean Paul took my hand and led me inside the shop.
"How much for the globe in the window?" Jean Paul asked the clerk.
"Forty francs." She told him.
"I'll take it." Jean Paul replied.
With the transaction complete we made our way to the local toy store to get a few things for Chloe. Inside the toy store I saw toys of all kinds. Dolls and bears from Germany and England and even a few things from Japan. I was amazed at the number of Japanese toys they had. Looking around I saw collectible card games and figures and even goofy dress up clothes and glasses.
"Oh wow I haven't seen this stuff since I was eighteen!" I said showing my obvious excitement.
There in front of me was a little tin box with mints in it that had a picture of Sailor V on it. I couldn't resist spending the two francs on the little white mints that made your eyes water. Then my eyes spied a shelf full of plastic Senshi tiaras and Sailor V glasses. Giggling like a schoolgirl I picked up a pair of the glasses and the plastic version of my tiara and put them on. Then I went to find Jean Paul.
"I am the am the Senshi of pastries and cream sauce Sailor Gastronomy!" I began, "Oh nuts! Why can't the toy companies ever get it right." I complained when I noticed the tiara was missing the lightning rod mine always had.
"Funny Lita real funny." Jean Paul said as he turned around.
"Hey I couldn't resist. Sailor V and the whole Sailor Senshi thing was big when I was teen back home." I explained to him.
"Uh huh and I'm the king of the world." He said trying hard not to laugh.
"Oh yeah well if you're King Endymoin then I'm Neo Queen Serenity." I shot back.
"The hair wouldn't look good on you." He said nonchalantly.
After paying for the mints, Chloe's present, and a Sailor Jupiter UFO catcher doll we were on our way. I knew now that the whole Sailor Senshi subject was brought out in the open it was time to spill the beans on everything about myself and how I felt about him. Stopping on the sidewalk I turned and faced Jean Paul with a serious look on my face.
"Jean Paul we need to talk." I told him.
"Lita what's wrong?" he asked with concern in his face.
"Well there are a couple of things I need to tell you. And I wouldn't be telling you one without telling you the other." I replied nervously.
"Lita you can tell me anything." Jean Paul reassured me.
Looking him straight in the face I told Jean Paul the easier part of what I had to say.
"Jean Paul I love you." I began, "At first I was afraid to say something because I had a bad experience with the only other boyfriend I ever had when I was fourteen."
Jean Paul looked me back in the eyes and smiled at me.
"I knew you loved me Lita. I was just waiting for you to tell me so I could tell you that I love you as well. You've made my life a happy one once again." He replied.
I then took a deep breath and prepared for the hardest decision I had ever made in my entire life. I Lita Makoto Kino was about to tell someone I was Sailor Jupiter. Reaching into the bag from the toy store I took out the Jupiter doll for courage.
"Well Jupiter you and I have been through a lot together. You ready to do this?" I said to the doll.
"Uh Lita why are you talking to that doll?" Jean Paul asked a bit confused.
"Was I? Sometimes I forget we're one in the same when I see toys like this." I mumbled slowly.
"What do you mean one in the same?"
"Jean Paul I've been keeping something from you, something very important. And if you're going to love me than you're going to have to love me for who I am and what goes along with it."
"And what's that?" he asked getting a bit worried.
"I can't tell you here. Let's go to my place."
We hopped on the next bus that went past my building and in no time we were at my apartment complex. Going up to the tenth floor I took him into my tiny studio apartment.
"Espresso?" I offered being a gracious host.
"No thank you." Jean Paul replied.
After hanging up our coats I walked over to Jean Paul with my hands wrapped around three items my henshin rod, my wrist communicator, and my palace security card. Taking a deep breath I sat down next to him and poured my heart out to him.
"Jean Paul I'm the Senshi of pastries and cream sauce." I told him with a serious face.
"I kind of figured that out on my own." He replied with a smile.
"I'm serious Jean Paul." I began still looking him in the eyes; "I am the Sailor Senshi of thunder and nature. My full title is Lady Lita Makoto Kino of Jupiter."
Jean Paul couldn't believe what I was telling him. The blank stare on his face told me he thought I was nuts. But I looked him in the eyes and proceeded to show him the items in my hands.
"Here is my standard issue Senshi henshin rod, the standard issue Senshi wrist communicator, and my palace security card. And if you want further proof I'll give it to you." I said.
"Lita you're not joking are you?" Jean Paul wanted to know.
"No I'm not." I told him.
"Lita what does a henshin rod do anyway?" Jean Paul asked curiously.
Standing up I gave Jean Paul a visual explanation to his question.
"Jupiter Crystal Power!" I called out.
After the room was done filling with lightning I stood before Jean Paul as Sailor Jupiter.
"If I hadn't transformed in front of you, you wouldn't even recognize who I am." I told him.
"You're beautiful." He told me.
"Well the skirt is a bit on the short side but it's what we have to work with." I said with a laugh before we began a long discussion on my life.
********
The days passed by and soon it was time for the annual parade of Christmas parties and cards. Pierre was still trying to figure out why he was having the dry spell. It bothered him quite a lot. But at the time he was going after girls who came with baggage in the form of a sister, cousin, or friend who was either new in town or desperately dateless and if they didn't have a date Pierre was out of luck.
It was a week and a half before Christmas and I had arrived at work early. Pierre was at the bistro setting tables for the lunch crowd. I wanted to take a few minutes before I got down to business to go through the stack of cards I had received from my friends in the mail that day. Sitting down at one of the tables I began opening the stack of envelopes I had with me.
"Lita what are you doing?" Pierre asked me.
"Oh I'm just going through this year's stack of Christmas cards." I said.
Pierre sat down next to me and watched as I opened each envelope and made comments about the cards inside. It was good to hear from my friends again.
"Oh how cute!" I said when I pulled out Setsuna's card.
Inside the card was a picture of Setsuna's baby Kerrie in a cute black velvet Christmas dress with a garnet red sash and little white tights. Along with the picture was a piece of paper that had multicolored scribbles on it. I figured Kerrie colored it with her crayons.
"Cute kid." Pierre commented.
"That's my friend Setsuna's baby." I told him.
Going through card after card I read what each one of the girls was doing. Ami wrote about med school. Rei said how things were going at the temple with Chad. Mina discussed the trials and tribulations of broadcast journalism. Michiru updated me on what she and Haruka were doing and Haruka just added her name at the bottom. Hotaru talked about college life in a two-page hand written letter. And then there was your card Serena, the photo card of you and Darien.
"What is that Lita?" Pierre asked me.
"It's a Christmas card from my friends Serena and Darien." I told him.
"That is a Christmas card?" he said.
"It's a photo card of their first official picture together as husband and wife." I explained.
"Oh." Pierre commented as he went back to setting tables.
I couldn't tell him that the rulers of the world only sent those cards to their closest friends.
After a few more minutes of reading cards Henri and Angeline walked into the bistro. I decided it was a good time as any to get to work. But before I could get into the kitchen Angeline came over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I know this time of year can be quite lonesome." She began, "You're all by yourself in a foreign country away from your friends. You have no one to celebrate Christmas with. That is why Henri and I would be honored if you spend Christmas with our family."
"Thank you. I don't know how to repay you for all your kindness." I said with tears in my eyes.
"Just continue being Jean Paul's friend." Angeline told me.
I smiled and headed to the kitchen and the man I loved.
********
The days seemed to fly by faster than you can say meatball head and it was Christmas. Since I had never been to his parents' house before I decided to go over to Jean Paul's beforehand. I knew he would need some help with Chloe and all his presents. When I got to the loft I found Jean Paul running after a now walking half-naked giggling Chloe.
"Hey there munchkin. You want to make your dad late getting you to your grandparents." I said scooping up the little girl.
"Thank you Lita. She doesn't want to get dressed." Jean Paul said to me with a sigh of relief.
"Here I'll see what I can do. You go get yourself ready for today." I told Jean Paul taking the dress from him.
Taking Chloe over to the couch I sat her down and began telling her another one of my stories while I put her dress on her.
"Chloe want to hear about the cat who fell in love?" I asked her getting her full attention.
By the time I finished the story Jean Paul was ready to go. Dressed in a simple pair of khaki pants, a blue denim button down shirt, and a brown leather vest I thought best looking man in the entire world. And once we got Chloe into her winter coat we were on our way.
The day at the Mornes' was going wonderfully. Henri and Angeline gave me a new cookbook. Chloe gave me a new pair of hand carved chopsticks. Pierre not knowing what I like just gave a gift certificate to the Virgin Mega Store in Paris. But it was Jean Paul who gave me the best present of all.
"Mama papa Pierre I have same good news to tell all of you. Oh and Pierre this will explain your dry spell lately too." Jean Paul began, "It happened. I felt it."
That got a smile from Pierre and some confused looks from Henri and Angeline. Pierre remembered what Jean Paul had told him months before and finally knew why he was having his dry spell. Angeline looked over at Jean Paul for clarification.
"What are you talking about Jean Paul?" she asked him.
"Well you see I... I... I am... Well mama I am in love again." Jean Paul told her quite nervous.
"Why didn't you invite her here?" his mother wondered.
"How come you never said anything?" his father asked.
"But I did bring her here. I was going to tell you but you had already invited her." Jean Paul said.
That got more looks of confusion. Henri and Angeline looked at each other and then looked at me before looking at Jean Paul. Then Angeline broke the silence.
"The only person I asked here was Lita." She said to him.
"You mean it's Lita?" the other three adults in the room said finally making the connection.
"Oui and we didn't say anything because we wanted to be certain of our feelings for each other. It just sort of happened one day." Jean Paul told them with a smile.
Jean Paul then turned to me and gave me a big smile. I could tell he had something up sleeve. Reaching into the bag he had his presents in Jean Paul pulled out a small package and gave it to me. I figured it was probably some earrings judging by the size of the box. Tearing off the paper and opening the box I found another box only this time it was white jewelry box. When I opened the box I saw the most beautiful ring I had ever seen a single diamond set in gold with two emeralds on either side.
"You're looking to get your own little card that can get you into the center of Tokyo aren't you?" I asked Jean Paul with tears in my eyes.
His family didn't quite get what I was referring to in my question but Jean Paul knew exactly what I was talking about.
"If that comes with you along with all the other stuff that makes you who you are then yes." Jean Paul began, "I want everything in your life to be a part of my life."
"You sure you want all the formalities, the meetings, and being at her beck and call 24/7?" I asked him with a smile.
"Oui." Jean Paul answered me.
"If that's what you want then I guess I just got something I haven't had in ten years a family. Looks like this stray dog has found herself a home." I told him.
Jean Paul's family looked at us like we were crazy. We both knew what they were going to ask.
"Well?" they all said.
"You were right Angeline I am going to be with you for a long time. Your son in his own goofy way just proposed to me. And in my own sweet double meaning filled way said yes." I told them.
A year and a half later Jean Paul and I were married in the same little church his parents got married in. And I had my two greatest dreams I life fulfilled I got a family and a restaurant even if I am only a partial owner.
********
Lita could tell Serenity was crying. Her tear-streaked face was testament to that fact. As Serenity wiped her face she gave Lita a small smile.
"That was the most beautiful story I had ever heard." She told Lita.
"Thank Serena." Lita replied.
The doors to the suite opened once more and this time a little six-year-old child with the biggest blue eyes Serenity had ever seen came over to Lita.
"Mama I feel funny." She said to Lita.
Lita smiled, sighed, and tried to get up with some help from Serenity.
"I guess some things never change do they?" Serenity commented.
"Yeah but I wouldn't have it any other way." Lita replied.
********
This is the first in what will be a series of stories focusing on the adults in my Senshi in Training series. Mainly the stories will give a brief background on how the Senshi met the men they love and had the families they now have. For some of the Senshi it will entail recounting how they realized they actually loved the men in their lives. Hope you enjoy the series and will let me know what you think of it.