CHAPTER 19
"I'm going to work."
"Non." Matthew watched silently as papa used his stern voice. He only used that when Matthew got in trouble, like that time when he ate a cookie before dinner last month. Matthew didn't get to eat dessert for two days. Papa was rarely stern. He spoiled Matthew, he knew. It must've been important if papa used his stern voice. "You can't go to work, yet. You're still hurt, mon chéri."
Matthew didn't understand a bit of English, but when he called the pretty woman mon chéri, his head shot up. The little boy gaped. Papa never called anyone mon chéri besides him. Not even the other ladies that papa went on dates with.
Papa had bad taste in ladies.
As much as he loved his father, Matthew knew that he was hopeless when it came to finding an actual nice woman. His papa liked to date the "pretty" ladies. Well, they were pretty to some people, but not to Matthew. They wore too much makeup; so much so that they looked like they were walking cakes. They were mean, too. When papa wasn't around, they would say mean things and snarl at him. Matthew didn't understand English or anything else besides French, but he could tell by their tone of voice.
Matthew liked Alice. This lady was different. She was special, he could tell. She didn't wear lots and lots of makeup, like the other ladies. She knew how to play the violin, really, really well, which was a bonus. And plus, she wasn't constantly touching papa in weird places, like Matthew wasn't there, watching.
She said something to papa in English, bright as a cherry, while frowning and nodding her head.
Papa smiled and Matthew saw Alice go red, again. He bent down to Matthew's level. "Alice est une gentille dame et mon ami, mais elle est blessée, si elle va rester ici avec vous aujourd'hui, ok?" Matthew nodded slightly, smiling in reassurance at his papa. His papa always worried too much. Francis smiled, scrambling up Matthew's hair. "Voilà un bon garçon. Je te vois quand je rentre à la maison." He kissed Matthew on the head, said something to the violin lady and then left.
Silence seeped into the room.
Alice tried not to fidget. At least, not visibly. Alice liked kids, surprisingly. She always thought they were better than adults. And especially teenagers. Teenagers thought that they knew more than anyone else. Adults weren't much different, except they vote. Kids were much better. They were innocent and always eager to learn more about their world. She just didn't really do well with kids, they all seemed to think she was scary.
Actually, never mind, pretty much everyone was scared of her.
Matthew was looking up at her. No sense of fear could be found in his bright eyes. His eyes… They looked so much like Francis'. She nearly snorted. That moron seriously trusted her of all people to take care of his son? The babysitter rates must be pretty high, nowadays. "Qu'Est-ce que c'est?" Alice asked, trying her best not to sound menacing. It was different for her. Usually, she was scaring the shit out of people.
He smiled. Matthew pointed to a French flag in the corner of the room on the wall, and then at his mouth.
"Ah, oui." Alice nodded after a while, getting the gist of what he was saying. "Je parle français. Y at-il quelque chose que vous voulez faire?" The little boy didn't hesitate. He pointed to Alice's violin case. She raised an eyebrow. "Vous voulez que je joue pour vous?"
He nodded again.
Alice couldn't help the soft smirk that made its way to her face.
She took out the violin again and started playing all the French tunes she knew. There weren't that many, but she did live in France for a while. The little boy watched as the magic flew through the room again. She had pretty eyes. It was mesmerizing, watching her play. The way her hand moved the bow smoothly; the way her hand flitted across the black fingerboard; everything, was magical. Matthew was grinning brightly at her the whole time. He knew the songs. It felt like he was in France again, but with a slight touch. Something he couldn't name. Something special.
Alice paused finally after playing for him for a whole hour, nonstop. She watched his expression. It was filled with such wonder and excitement. She missed that. Alice remembered the glistening eyes of the crowd after she'd finished playing.
"Il est un peu grosse, mais…" Alice continued, a small smile on her face. "Aimeriez-vous apprendre à jouer du violon?"
XXX
When Francis returned home, he expected a lot of things.
He expected his son to turn into some sort of detective mastermind, sipping Earl Grey. He expected him to be screaming a bunch of English profanity and whatnot, with a perfect English accent and all.
He did not expect laughter.
The whole house was still held together, surprisingly, and it looked exactly like when he had left. Even the kitchen, amazingly. Francis found his son and Alice in Matthew's room, giggling loudly. Alice was holding a book, Matthew's favorite, Beauty and the Beast.
They didn't notice him yet, allowing him to let his heart run wild with emotions.
He was sure he was swooning, as he watched the woman he loved laugh and get along with his child, whom he loved more than anything in the world.
Translation:
Non = No.
Mon chéri = My Dear.
Alice est une gentille dame et mon ami, mais elle est blessée, si elle va rester ici avec vous aujourd'hui, ok? = Alice is a nice lady and my friend, but she is injured, so she will stay here with you today, okay?
Voilà un bon garçon. Je te vois quand je rentre à la maison. = That's a good boy. I'll see you when I get home.
Qu'Est-ce que c'est? = What is it?
Je parle français. Y at-il quelque chose que vous voulez faire? = I speak French. Is there something you want to do?
Vous voulez que je joue pour vous? = You want me to play for you?
Il est un peu grosse, mais… = It's a little big, but...
Aimeriez-vous apprendre à jouer du violon? = Would you like to learn how to play the violin?