AN: I've decided to just make a note that French speech will be in italics. It kind of cuts into the story when I have to add, "she said in French." It's not as smooth. Since I made Sora fluent in French I want to do that. If anyone speaks something other than French or English, then I will say what language it is.
"I'm speaking French."
"This is in English."
WH
WH
WH
Sophie waited outside of her favorite brunch place for a short while until her table was ready.
Her nose was finally not running like a waterfall but she hoped the cold medicine lasted long enough for her to meet with her friend. The server came over with her hot tea. She knew it was a warm day but her cold begged to differ. She thanked her server and then lightly sneezed into her napkin.
"Hello Sophie."
She smiled at the newcomer. "I feel like it's been ages since we've seen each other."
Alice removed her sunglasses and put them into her purse. She had reached out to Sophie earlier in the week to meet up on the weekend. Before the divorce, the two of them used to hang out often. Afterwards...Sophie thought it would be insensitive to do so. Not until some more time passed. Alice had expressed her understanding.
"It has been. Have you ordered yet?"
"Just the tea." She unfolded her menu as Alice did. "So how are you? Last I heard, you were taking a trip to your family's cabin."
"Yes I did. I needed to refocus myself. Decide what I want. Also did plenty of nature walks."
"That sounds lovely."
"It was."
They chatted a little more. Sophie found her smile widening. For the life of her, she didn't understand what went wrong between her brother and Alice. But talking with her now made her realize how much she missed Alice's company. They discussed the wedding plans and how she was going to do her hair. Then the rehearsal dinner came up. An idea popped into Sophie's head.
"You should come to the rehearsal dinner."
Alice gave her a shake of the head. "That's sweet, but there's a reason why I'm not going to the wedding."
"Leon should be over it. He actually has a girlfriend now."
Never mind that Sophie had doubts about her. But if that was the only reason why Alice felt like she couldn't attend, she could omit certain information for now.
"Yes. I heard." Alice looked around. "Where's our server?"
"She's Darla, the one with the black hair in a bun and a red bow on the side of her - "
"Darla," Alice called out. "Darla. Ah, here she comes."
Darla came over and addressed Alice first, seeing that she was the newcomer.
"Welcome. What can I get you to drink?"
Alice looked up from the menu. "I'll have a non fat vanilla latte with soy milk and a caramel drizzle - sugar free."
Darla paused in writing. "So you do want sugar."
"No, I want vanilla and caramel. No sugar. Or I'll get it remade."
"Ok. I'll go put this in -"
"We're ready to order," Alice cut in while looking at the menu. "I'll take the half salad, half sandwich. Caesar with no dressing or croutons. Then the turkey breast on whole wheat, pickles and tomato on the side..." she looked up at Darla. "I want to substitute the mayo with hummus."
"We have a wrap similar to the sandwich you're ordering -
"Do you have hummus?"
"...We have jalapeno, parsley, and sun dried tomato."
"No regular? Then just forget the hummus."
"Ok. And for you?"
Sophie blinked at that. She had been too caught up in Alice's ordering to look.
"Uh...just the French toast special. Could I have light whip cream?"
"Certainly. Anything else?"
"No," Alice briskly answered.
Darla left. Sophie leaned over to Alice.
"There's a turkey wrap similar to the sandwich you were trying to adjust."
"Really?" Alice looked at the wraps and tutted. "Why didn't she say anything?"
"Well she was trying to, but you kept -"
"No matter. I want bread, not a wrap."
"-interrupting." Sophie sighed to herself. If it was her, she would have just ordered the wrap instead of trying to change the preset order. But that was how she was. She didn't like troubling people. "You said you heard about Leon's girlfriend. From where?"
"Oh that's right you went home early. I came by the preview night."
"You did? You should have told me you were coming!"
"So you could suffer through your nasty cold? No, Sophie. That would not have been pleasant for anyone. Not that it was a pleasant encounter."
"Did something happen?"
Alice hummed. "The new girl seemed nice enough. Pretty as well. But I worry for Leon."
"Alice, just tell me what happened."
Alice leaned forward. "Guess who bought Sarah's Boho dress for over ten thousand dollars?"
"Please tell me it wasn't my brother."
"I cannot tell you that."
Sophie groaned. "I knew it."
"During the catwalk she had been goating him to get it when earlier I spied her flirting with a male model. She's quite shameless."
"Oh lord." Sophie covered her face. "It was stupid of me to have invited her."
"You have to be careful with women like that - if you can even label them as 'women.'"
"Vultures," Sophie muttered under her breath.
"They get what they can out of a relationship and then leave."
"You're not making me feel better."
"It's not a happy situation."
"At this rate, she'll leave him with nothing."
"Unless you get rid of her early enough."
"...How?"
"Tell him what is happening. He's caught up in the thick of it."
"Will you be there with me?"
"No, Sophie. This has to come from you. He cares what you think."
Darla came over with Alice's drink. She took one look at it and handed it back.
"I said no sugar."
"There isn't any-"
"You added whipped cream."
Darla visibly took a breath in. "It says it comes with it on the menu."
"I do not care. Take it off."
Darla walked off with the mug. Sophie winced a little, telling Darla "thank you" for the service.
Sophie couldn't remember if Alice was typically like this.
WH
They had woken up late afternoon.
It took Leon some time to unearth the large hammock from the garage and then to set up the stand on the large shaded patio out back. While Leon did that, Sora fixed up some refreshing mint cucumber water in a pitcher. By the time he was finished, he was sweaty from the endeavor which prompted her to follow him into the shower.
Then they were ready to come back outside.
In addition to bringing pillows, Sora brought one of his books of French poetry from his shelf. She lay next to him in her undies and an unbuttoned shirt. He had a loose shirt on with shorts. There was nowhere they needed to go nor were they expecting any visitors.
It was a lazy day for them.
A breeze came by. She closed her eyes as Leon finished a poem. She loved how he took his time to read the passage, letting certain words roll out naturally and unrushed. She sighed when his rumbling voice stopped. He looked through the small book, trying to see what else to read.
"You left France too soon," she murmured softly.
He hummed in agreement. "Some of my best memories are from my childhood."
His family moved to be there for his aunt. She had fallen in love with an American and moved. His mother felt the loss of her presence most acutely but put up with it. Until his aunt was abandoned, then diagnosed with a terminal illness. His mother wasn't the same when his aunt passed away. Though neither were Sophie and him after their parents' accident.
He found a poem and then handed it to her. "Here."
"But I like hearing you read," she pouted.
"I've read plenty."
She tsked but took the book anyways. "Rêvé Pour l'hiver. A Dream for Winter by Arthur Rimbaud."
"In the winter, we will leave in a small pink railway carriage
with blue cushions...A nest of mad kisses lies in each soft corner."
She smiled when he kissed her forehead.
"You will close your eyes in order not to see through the glass,
the evening shadows making faces."
His fingers grazed her belly.
"Then you will feel your cheek scratched..."
She jerked a little when she felt him nip her cheek.
"A little kiss, like a mad spider, will run around your neck..."
She giggled as he placed short, small kisses on her neck.
"And you will say to me: 'Get it!' as you bend your neck -"
Her neck arched a little as his kisses went down her throat. She had to lift her arm to accommodate Leon's new position.
"And we will take a long time to find that creature -" she paused as he nuzzled her breastbone while his fingers skirted up her side. "Which travels a great deal..."
The book slipped out of her hand as his mouth made its way back up to hers. She kissed him, her leg getting in between his. Her fingers slipped under his shirt, she heard his quiet breath deepen. Having sex on a swaying hammock was tricky, but still possible. She dug her teeth into his shirt as the thrills ran through her. He stayed where he was, wrapped up around her with his face against her soft hair.
"You're warm," she murmured against his chest.
"So are you."
She nipped his collarbone playfully. They laid quietly for a moment, half undressed.
"How do I make you feel?"
He shifted a little. "Snug."
"Not like that." Her finger made figure eights along his bicep. "You know what I'm asking."
"Alive." He ran his fingers through her hair. "Happy." His eyes drifted to his shorts on the ground. "I have something for you."
She followed his gaze. Her eyes widened upon seeing a velvet square peeking out of his pocket.
"Leon, we talked about this."
"We did. But I don't think it is an issue."
"The timing's not right."
"Changes like these are timeless."
She sighed loudly. "You're not listening to me." She pushed at his shoulder. "Move off so you can think straight."
"That will not make a difference."
"Like you would have brought this up if we hadn't had sex just now."
"The box has been in my shorts since yesterday afternoon."
"...I'm sorry." Pause. "But my decision still stands. Which is what we decided on before arriving in Cape Mary."
He pulled away from her and grabbed his shorts. She felt empty, watching him pull away from her. She sat up and kissed the peeking of skin along the back of his nape.
"Leon, don't take it like that. We agreed."
"I know," he murmured quietly.
"It doesn't change anything."
"...No. It doesn't."
"Leon-"
He slipped off of the hammock. She grabbed his hand tightly, yanking him back down. He grunted as the hammock forced him off his feet. His legs awkwardly hung in the air. Her hands cradled his face as she looked down at him. Her eyes were watery. He sighed, bringing a hand up to rub off some of the wetness on her cheek.
"Seven years were with Alice," he murmured. "I'm tired of wasting time."
"We still would have had to wait." She gave him a half smile. "I didn't move out of Japan until I was seventeen. Even then you would have been in America, not France." She kissed the tip of his nose. "The timing of our meeting was as it should have been."
He sighed as he closed his eyes. "Time should move faster."
"I want it to be slow." She slipped her hand slowly down his chest. "Or else we'll miss something."
He half opened his eyes. "Like the unpacked boxes in the living room?"
"Speaking of, wanna help me unpack?"
"Is this an option or are you telling me what I'm doing?"
She merely smiled widely. "We can shower afterwards."
He slowly blinked at her. He knew she was aware of the sight she made with water streaming down her curvy body. The way she parted her lips in delight as she relished the feeling of her hair being scrubbed...No sane man would deny an opportunity to shower with this petite beauty. His decision was decided for him the moment she mentioned showering.
They both knew it.
WH
WH
WH
AN: I skipped a couple of lines of the poem so it wouldn't be too long. I found the translation online. The idea of Leon reading poetry was too good to pass on. XD