Memories of France
CHAPTER 1: VIOLETTE ON MY MIND
13 Years Earlier…
Charlie Brown was looking through his grandfather satchel and viewing the contents of it. He, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie, along with Snoopy and Woodstock, had just come home from France and was winding down from the trip. He sees quite a few stuff from his war days like drawings he did of the buildings in France, binoculars, and tools just to name a few. Also inside a letter from Violette, the niece of the woman who met his grandfather. It read:
Dearest Charles,
I was glad to finally meet the grandson of the charming American my aunt had fell for all those years ago. What's funny is just like my aunt and your grandfather, I, too, have fallen for you. And even though it may be a while before we see each other again, if you ever find yourself back in France, I will await your return.
Toujours l'amour,
Violette XOXO
Charlie Brown was beside himself. All of that time he had tried in vain to get the little red-haired girl to notice him at least once, and here was a girl halfway around the world pretty much professing her love for him. Sally walked in.
"Whatcha doing, big brother?" she asked.
"Going through grandpa's satchel," Charlie Brown answered. "Remember I told you about Violette and her aunt who knew grandpa?"
"Yeah?"
"Well I was going through his satchel and found a letter for me from Violette herself in there. She told me she would be waiting for me next time I came to France!"
"She's just probably toying with your emotions. Girls do that, you know."
"This is different from the little red-haired girl. I could never tell her how I felt and she never knew I existed. But Violette is different. She liked me for me, flaws and all, wishy-washy or not."
"So does Peppermint Patty and Marcie!"
"Well, I can see Marcie kind of liking me, but Patty?"
"I get why you wouldn't see Patty liking you. She tends to say the wrong thing more often than not. Plus she doesn't come right out and says she likes you; she tries reverse psychology on you, but fails miserably. Marcie has been more blunt with you about how she feels, though."
"But I never knew they felt that way about me."
"They do, big brother. Before you go flying off to France somewhere, see where you stand with those two first." Charlie Brown took what Sally said to heart. He would see how they felt about him first. He figured Marcie would be easier to talk to than Patty though, mainly because the latter would jump to conclusions faster than anyone else.
Charlie Brown first talked to Marcie, who understood how he was thinking. She had the same feelings for Pierre, whom she and Patty stayed with while in France. And she advised him NOT to share this with Patty, as she wouldn't be able to handle it or go into complete denial. At the very least, not throw it on her immediately and ease into telling her.
Present Day
Charlie Brown had just come back home from college. Sally would follow soon after. He had completed his third year at UCLA. He was still amazed that he made it into a prestigious school like that. As the years went on, Charlie had grown a backbone and more self-confidence. He had finally told Peppermint Patty that he only liked her as a friend, nothing more or less. She was heartbroken but eventually accepted it. He even went on dates in high school and his college days, but wasn't a big partier like his classmates. He would go to special events like New Year's Eve parties and birthday parties of friends, but no weekend parties. He would hang out at the bar with friends when invited, though, because it was less rowdy than a college party was. He didn't even try to get into fraternities or anything like that. He stayed focused on his studies, for the most part, and did reasonably well. He was 21 and was focused on moving forward rather than looking back, with one notable exception.
He never stopped thinking about Violette and France. Since he was older and had saved money since his high school days, not counting tuition and repaying student loans, he had planned to spend the summer in France getting reacquainted with Violette. He had found her on social media and started catching up with her. She had also dated other people over the years, but none were like him. He had told her he thought of her often, as well, and while he did go on dates with girls, none quite matched up to her. They had made plans for him to head out there. He would also catch up with Marcie, who had moved over there to be closer to Pierre and go to school out there. There was one person he wanted to go with him to see Violette.
A few days after returning home, Charlie Brown called up Linus, who had also recently returned home. Linus's life had been a roller coaster as of late. Lucy's mental problems had gotten worse and she even developed a drinking problem and was still obsessed over Schroeder, who was engaged to one of his college classmates, a gorgeous singer from England. Lucy felt like the woman stole her man from him and even went up to where Schroeder was going to school to confront him over it, but was turned away and told never to seek him out again. She never got over it and was now in rehab. On top of that, Rerun had moved out, choosing to live with a friend, while still in high school himself, had gotten his own apartment over their parent's garage. Charlie Brown was about to give Linus a break from the chaos going on with his family.
"Hey Linus," said Charlie Brown.
"Charlie Brown!" greeted Linus on the other end. "You have no idea how glad I am that you called."
"Yeah. I was wondering. You remember Violette and Pierre from France?"
"Oh yeah. What about them?"
"I'm planning a trip to France to visit them. Marcie is staying with Pierre, and Violette is expecting me to be there this summer. But I'd like a close friend there to join me, and I have an extra plane ticket, already paid for."
"Charlie Brown, you don't have to ask me twice! When do we leave?"
NEXT CHAPTER: GETTING READY FOR FRANCE