"Ah! I'm late late late!"
"Where are you going?" Ana asked as Jesse rushed past her, pulling on his jacket.
"To work, where else?"
"You work? I thought you just stayed home and lived off your brother or something," Ana teased.
Jesse shot her a dirty look. "I was given a day's leave, and then it was the weekend, if you didn't notice. I don't work weekends. So now I'm back to work. I've got to go, I'm going to be late!"
"Breakfast, Jesse! Breakfast!" Mae called after her youngest son. There was crashing sound from the hall, and then Jesse scrambled back to take a sandwich from his mother. He was gone before anyone could say anything else.
"Jesse's become more dependant on the alarm clock than the last time I saw him," Miles said, coming in, holding the offending clock. "This thing's stopped."
"What does he work as, anyway?" Ana asked.
"He works at a bookstore. It doesn't pay much but he quite likes it. He's become more interested in reading, something that no one will can complain about."
"That's a good job. I used to love bookstores, I couldn't walk past one without going in and buying something." Ana smiled, thinking back on the good times where she could just sit for hours on end reading and reading. That was when life was still simple and peaceful, and there was nothing much to worry and bother about. When her parents were around to take care of her and take care of all the problems. Now everything was different.
"No wonder you write," Tuck told her as he helped himself to some cornflakes. "I should like to read some of your work sometime. Do you write in English or French?"
"Usually I write in French. For work, you see. But I do write in English for some of my private work."
Miles grinned. "Anaïs is writing a book. She wants to be an author."
Ana blushed despite herself. "You don't have to tell everyone about it, you know. If I knew this was what you would do, I'd never have let you know about it."
"Why are you embarrassed?" Tuck asked. "It's a perfectly good dream. I'm sure you will write a wonderful book, something that everyone would love to read. Are you already working on your book?"
"I've had some ideas but I've never been able to go through with any of them. There was always something lacking about them, somehow. Something wrong with them, and whatever I wrote didn't seem. real enough. I'm sorry if I'm confusing you."
"Not at all, we understand your meaning perfectly. Have a glass of warm milk." Mae set the glass in front of Ana. "Perhaps you could find some inspiration here in New Zealand, when you're staying with us. It would be wonderful if we played some part in helping you write your bestseller."
Ana smiled and nodded. It felt so good, to have people having faith in her again. To have people believing in her, people she trusted in and people she loved already. It was wonderful to feel like she belonged somewhere again. To feel like she wasn't alone in this world anymore. She knew that this feeling would disappear as soon as she had to return to France, but it didn't matter, because now she was in New Zealand, and that was good enough for her, just then.
"Where are you going?" Ana asked as Jesse rushed past her, pulling on his jacket.
"To work, where else?"
"You work? I thought you just stayed home and lived off your brother or something," Ana teased.
Jesse shot her a dirty look. "I was given a day's leave, and then it was the weekend, if you didn't notice. I don't work weekends. So now I'm back to work. I've got to go, I'm going to be late!"
"Breakfast, Jesse! Breakfast!" Mae called after her youngest son. There was crashing sound from the hall, and then Jesse scrambled back to take a sandwich from his mother. He was gone before anyone could say anything else.
"Jesse's become more dependant on the alarm clock than the last time I saw him," Miles said, coming in, holding the offending clock. "This thing's stopped."
"What does he work as, anyway?" Ana asked.
"He works at a bookstore. It doesn't pay much but he quite likes it. He's become more interested in reading, something that no one will can complain about."
"That's a good job. I used to love bookstores, I couldn't walk past one without going in and buying something." Ana smiled, thinking back on the good times where she could just sit for hours on end reading and reading. That was when life was still simple and peaceful, and there was nothing much to worry and bother about. When her parents were around to take care of her and take care of all the problems. Now everything was different.
"No wonder you write," Tuck told her as he helped himself to some cornflakes. "I should like to read some of your work sometime. Do you write in English or French?"
"Usually I write in French. For work, you see. But I do write in English for some of my private work."
Miles grinned. "Anaïs is writing a book. She wants to be an author."
Ana blushed despite herself. "You don't have to tell everyone about it, you know. If I knew this was what you would do, I'd never have let you know about it."
"Why are you embarrassed?" Tuck asked. "It's a perfectly good dream. I'm sure you will write a wonderful book, something that everyone would love to read. Are you already working on your book?"
"I've had some ideas but I've never been able to go through with any of them. There was always something lacking about them, somehow. Something wrong with them, and whatever I wrote didn't seem. real enough. I'm sorry if I'm confusing you."
"Not at all, we understand your meaning perfectly. Have a glass of warm milk." Mae set the glass in front of Ana. "Perhaps you could find some inspiration here in New Zealand, when you're staying with us. It would be wonderful if we played some part in helping you write your bestseller."
Ana smiled and nodded. It felt so good, to have people having faith in her again. To have people believing in her, people she trusted in and people she loved already. It was wonderful to feel like she belonged somewhere again. To feel like she wasn't alone in this world anymore. She knew that this feeling would disappear as soon as she had to return to France, but it didn't matter, because now she was in New Zealand, and that was good enough for her, just then.