It was a surprisingly cool day in June, the grass in the front yard was still wet from the rain last night and the sun was hidden behind fluffy white clouds. A man was standing in the kitchen of his house, peering out the window with a cup of coffee in his hand. He was smiling and he had every reason too. Today was his youngest daughters birthday, she was seven year old now and she was growing up so fast. Her mother, his wife, died three years ago; His children were only seven and four and they were still living in France at the time.
It was always her dream to move to a different country, but she had too much responsibility to do so, her career, her children, her health, which had always been very poor, the doctors were surprised that she was able to give birth to her youngest daughter and live. When she died, Francis, her husband, worked extremely hard to get his restaurant to grow international and when it finally did, he sold their home, packed up the children and moved to his wife's favorite country in the world.
Francis did not like England at all. The weather was usually rainy and the food was terribly bland, but he was doing this for his late wife. He promised himself that he would stay in England at least a year before he made any decisions to move to another country.
"Good morning," His oldest daughter Michelle[1] yawned as she trudged into the kitchen. She pored herself a glass of orange juice and went over to where Francis stood. "What're you looking at, Papa?" She put her glass down on the counter and used her arms to heave herself up so she could see out the window too.
"What's Madeline doing outside?"
"I believe she is making some kind of lemonade stand." Francis responded, sipping his coffee. Michelle watched her sister turn over a box on the side walk and grab her jar of red paint and a paint brush. A few minutes later, she stood up and stood back to admire her work.
She screwed the lid back on her jar of paint and put it and the paint brush away in the basket behind the box. She quickly ran into the garage and grabbed her plastic red chair and put it behind the box, but she was also carrying something else.
Michelle got down from the counter and took her glass into the dining room to wait until Francis cooked breakfast, but Francis drained his coffee and put the cup in the sink before he put on his shoes in the foyer and went outside. There was a little boy standing in front of Madeline with a baseball bat in one hand and a plastic grey alien in the other.
Francis recognized him as the little boy down the block. In fact, he only recognized him because if his father, Arthur Kirkland. When the Bonnefoy family first moved to England, several other family's came to welcome them to the neighborhood with gifts of food that was all thrown away. Arthur and his children, Alfred, Kyle and Zea all came over to greet them.
Things were tense right from the start. Michelle and Zea seemed to get along, as did Alfred and Madeline, within minutes of meeting her, he nicknamed her Maddie and told her that she could call him Al, if she wanted. Arthur seemed to be the only one with a problem. He didn't seem to like the fact that Francis and his family were French and became very offended when he caught Francis throwing out the charcoal cake and gave them.
They haven't spoke since unless it was to yell at each other.
The boy standing in front of Madeline's stand was Alfred. His honey blonde hair was covered by a baseball cap, except for one single strand of hair that rebelliously stood up and refused to lay flat. Francis made sure he stay out of their line of vision but close enough so he could hear what they were saying.
"So can you help me?" Alfred asked.
Madeline bit her lip. "I think I can. Just put him on the operating table..." Francis raised his eyebrows. Just what kind of lemonade stand was his daughter running? Alfred let out a heavy sigh and did as he was told. It was quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds Francis heard was from the cars that passed them on the streets and the family of birds that built their nest in Madeline and Michelle's tree house in the back yard.
"I've done all I can." Madeline said suddenly, her voice sounding very serious. "The next few hours are critical." Francis couldn't resist peeking out from behind the column he was hiding behind. Madeline put the plastic stethoscope around her neck and wrapped a piece of cloth around Alfred's alien. "You know I don't usually take these kind of patients."
"I know, thanks a bunch, Maddie! How much do I gotta pay you?" Alfred asked.
Madeline bit her lip again. "Because this was such a difficult surgery, I'll have to charge you more then the original price. The total is three dollars." Alfred frowned. "I don't have no money and my dad gave me my allowance last week."
"I don't do freebies, Mr. Jones." Francis almost snorted at how serious she sounded, so different then her usually happy but somewhat shy demeanor. Alfred pouted but then a smile graced his face. He removed his hat and held it in his hands. "I think I got another way of paying!"
Madeline raised her pale blond eyebrows. "How?"
Without speaking, Alfred took her face between his hands and kissed her on the mouth. Francis' jaw dropped, he just witnessed his daughters first kiss. Michelle was older and she hadn't even been kissed yet, as far as he knew. He wondered if she would react like Madeline; Speechless, then blush and whisper how that form of payment was acceptable.
Alfred grinned and put his cap back on, grabbed his alien and his baseball bat before he said, "Happy birthday, Maddie." He kissed her cheek and ran down the block, shouting for his brother that he had something to tell him, no doubt he would tell him about the kiss.
Alfred was nine, he was over the "girls have cooties" stage.
Francis quickly retreated into the house when he saw Madeline skipping up the flagstone path with her own stuffed polar bear, Kumarie in one hand and her toy doctors kit in the other. He barely got into the kitchen and stuffed a piece of bread into the toaster when the front door opened and Madeline called, "Papa, are you making breakfast?"
"Oui, mon chou," Francis called back, trying to be nonchalant. "Is there something special you wanted for your birthday breakfast?"
"Pancakes with lots of maple syrup, please." Madeline went up to her room to put her toys away and when she came back downstairs the pancakes were cooked and waiting in the dining room with Michelle and Francis. "So sis, are you having a good birthday so far?" Michelle asked, covering her pancakes in whipped cream.
Madeline nodded.
"Did you get any customers with your lemonade stand?"
"I-it's not a lemonade stand." Madeline said, blushing behind the maple syrup bottle. Michelle shrugged her shoulders and continued eating. Francis finished eating first, so he exscued himself and went to get changed. He was taking the girls to the store so Madeline could pick out her birthday present from her grandmother, who sent over money for her.
Michelle finished second and she was already dressed, so she brought all the dishes to the kitchen and put them in the sink while Madeline followed her father up the stairs so she could put her lab-coat in her costume chest.
When Francis came back downstair and grabbed his walet, cell phone and car keys, he and the girls piled into his car and he backed out of the drive way. Now that he was here, he noticed what Madeline had painted on the front of the cardboard box.
"Teddi Bare Hopsickle - $2"
"Oh! Wait, Papa!" Madeline cried. Francis stopped the car and watchd as Madeline got out and grabbed her jar of paint and paint brush. She kneeled down in front of the sign and began painting, Francis couldn't see what it said until she moved.
"Out for lunch - Bee back by 3"