That night, Greg imagined it would have been easier to sit through a Chinese water-torture interrogation that scoop up jerked pork with rice and onions at the same table as Marie-Fantine. From the looks on everyone else's faces, he could tell they were thinking the same thing: get this crazy bitch out of here.

The large arid dining room echoed with the sounds of clinking silverware on plates, the occasional glug of wine poured, the soft splat of food onto plates. Greg sat in his chair with Nadine on one side; across the table Nick and Renee sat quietly, poised to take any kind of cue from Nadine. Marie-Fantine sat at the head, glaring at Nadine like she was committing a cardinal sin. Hoping to alleviate the tension Renee spoke up politely.

"Marie-Fantine, Greg is a connoisseur of wines; he's taken us to some wine-testing in Henderson. He's starting to collect a few fancy bottles himself as well."

"So he can afford fancy wines, but he can't afford a ring for you?" Marie Fantine replied in smooth French, bypassing Renee and speaking to Nadine as if she'd made the comment.

"Mama, watch your manners. Greg and I are progressing at our own speed, not at anyone else's," Nadine replied.

"You say that like you have all the time in the world. You're getting older by the day, you can't wait forever."

"Wait for what, Mama? Just because I don't have my own mini soccer team like Amandine and a big iceberg on my hand doesn't mean I'm unhappy. Unlike my sister, babies and a husband is not the yardstick of my accomplishments."

"I think I'm going to go for a walk, Nick, do you want to join me?" Renee asked pointedly.

"Absolutely."

Marie-Fantine waited until the two young lovers had exited before she opened her mouth again.

"You should have a family of your own by now, Nadine, not taking care of other people's children and cavorting about town like some tramp."

"Tramp?" Nadine gaped at her mother. "I'm a tramp? Amandine had an affair with a married professor when she was eighteen, and I'm a tramp?"

"He was separated from his wife, left her for Amandine and they've been happily married for nearly eleven years. You're just jealous because of all the success your sister has in her life."

"Of course I'm jealous!" Nadine burst out, leaping to her feet. Her eyes were wild and her face was flushed; for a tiny moment Greg thought she would be able to actually breathe fire. "You always chose Amandine over me! She's always had your approval! You always told her how pretty and how smart she was!"

"Lower your voice in your father's house," Marie-Fantine shouted back, also on her feet now.

"No, this is my house now, Mama, and you will treat me with respect in my house. I am a good nurse; ask anyone, and I love my job. For the first time in my life, I have a boyfriend who actually cares about me, who doesn't drink or beat the shit out of me for kicks. He treats me like a damned queen, and would cut off his own hand before raising it against me, and I love him very much. I love working with children and can't wait to have my own with Greg, so don't you sit there and tell me how awful my life is! I have a wonderful life, I'm proud of it! You not only owe me an apology for the awful things you've said to me, but also to Greg as well and until I hear it, you're not welcome in this house."

With that, Nadine stormed out of the dining room, slamming the kitchen door with a resounding crack and leaving Greg and her mother to stare after her.

"I am sorry Greg; she's always had a temper. I think you'd be wise to just leave her be," Marie-Fantine said with a polite smile on her face, knowing he didn't understand a drop of what she was saying. Then to her utter shock, Greg rose, bracing his hands on the table and began to speak in her mother tongue. It was halting and broken but it was French nonetheless.

"Madame de Rosemont, I love your daughter. We have a future together; a future that I also hope includes children one day. She's done nothing but bend over backwards trying to please you, and you do nothing but throw it back in her face." Greg took a deep breath. It was bad enough to dress down a critical parent in English. For this he figured he deserved a Purple Heart. "She deserves your respect and admiration and most of all an apology from you. I agree with my girlfriend: until you start accepting her, we will not accept you. You can show yourself out."

Greg stood up, taking his plate with him to the kitchen only to find Nadine standing outside the sliding door on the deck, tears coursing down her cheeks as she stared at the lake. He stepped outside, rubbed her shoulders before turning her around to face him.

"Hey, come on," he fumbled as he pulled Nadine close against him.

"I'm not going to apologize for my outburst. She deserved everything I said."

"And I told her myself that she has to either apologize or clear out." Greg stopped when he saw the look on her face. "What?"

"You said that to her?"

"Yeah."

"In French?"

"Yeah."

"You learned French for me?" Genuinely touched, Nadine pressed her fingertips to her lips as Greg just shrugged and looked sheepish.

"I got enough from one of those French for Dummies books. They're actually quite handy, chèrie."

"That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

They kissed then, forming a single silhouette against the fading light of the sunset, and were interrupted when Marie-Fantine stepped onto the terrace wearing a wounded look and speaking in frighteningly awful English which Nadine knew was a put-on attempt to try and gain sympathy from her daughter. It was a ploy that had never worked on her before and would not work now.

"Nadine, I don't feel I've done anything but put your best interests first on this visit."

"Yet clearly you see fit to be rude to me in my house, to my guests and my boyfriend."

"I can't say I approve of this boyfriend idea Nadine, but I suppose I should not be surprised since you never took my advice growing up." Marie-Fantine folded her hands at her waist. "I have telephoned a taxi cab to take me to a hotel in Las Vegas, I will telephone you when I've arrived there. I will be taking an early flight out tomorrow morning since my ticket is opened ended, and the hotel is providing a shuttle for me so you won't be put out."

The hard-done-by angle was also one Nadine had no use for from her mother. "Very well."

There was no embrace, no wistful parting words, just a slightly chilly silence as Marie-Fantine slipped back inside and closed the door with a soft snap.

Nadine turned back to Greg then. "Do you know what this means?"

"The vacation from hell is finally over?"

"No, the best vacation is just beginning."