(Pronunciation help- note French is not my forte, but I'm trying. Salut-Sahloo. Beau-Bo. The rest are easy enough.
"Salut, Alice!"
Alice stood stock-still in the middle of the living room floor as the man Mama didn't like walked in through the front door, and pocketed the key, before placing the packages in his hands on the coffee table in the living room.
'I see your mother left for a little bit."
Uncomprehending, Alice stared as the man nodded to the girl Mama had told her would watch her. The girl left and closed the door behind her.
Bothered by this, Alice stared wide-eyed ready to begin screaming. She opened her mouth to do just that when something caught her eye.
"I brought this for you Alice," Skouras smiled at her, opening one of the packages and holding out an iced chocolate cupcake in one hand, then a brightly wrapped package in the other.
Not used to gifts, Alice kept her mouth open, but this time it wasn't to scream.
"Wado!" She crowed, reaching out with her hands to the present in Skouras' left hand.
He chuckled and grinned. "Yes, Alice the cadeau is for you. C'est pour toi, cherie!"
Alice reached for it again, but Skouras pulled it back, saying as he did so, "Alice, tu me connasaie? Tu sais mon nom, Alice?"
Alice shook her head. Skouras smiled again as he said, "Je m'appelle Roman. Je veut etre ton Oncle Roman. Est-ce que tu l'aime ca?"
Alice nodded, but it wasn't certain if it was in answer, to an attempt to get the gift.
"Alice, dit Oncle Roman." He smile.
Alice stared at him.
"Dit, Ro-man" He pronounced the word slowly.
"Wo," she began, "min."
Having placed both bribes on the floor Skouras grinned and clapped his hands in a joyous manner.
"Tres bien! Tres, tres bien Alice! Je sais que tu peux l'dire!"
"Dites, "Oncle"," he began again, looking steadily into her blue eyes.
"Onc," she repeated.
"Roman," he finished.
"Wo-min," she whispered.
Skouras smiled. "Oncle Roman."
"Onc Wo-min!"
Skouras drew her to him in a hug, kissing her on both cheeks, in a manner she'd be accostumed to.
"Tres bien! Tu veut mange de petite gateau avec ton Oncle Roman?"
Wide eyed, she nodded widly.
"Est-ce que tu veux ouvrir ton cadeau ou mange de gateau le premiere?"
Alice bit her lip and concentrated, demonstrating her understanding of language to be greated than her ability to speak it audibly. But that was not problem for Skouras. He figured she'd be speaking well in both French and English soon.
"De gateau," she answered.
"Tres bien, Alice," he smiled and handed her the entire cupcake. Not bothering with utensils, Alice simply opened her mouth and began to eat the cupcake. The cupcake being nearly as large as her head, she succeeded in smearing its frosting all over her face before her mouth was actually able to bite down into the cake itself. White frosting hung off her nose and cheeks, with several chunks clinging to the curls about her face.
Roman Skouras laughed. "It looks more like the cupcake is trying to eat you Alice, than vise versa."
Alice looked at him and laughed.
When she finally admitted defeat with only half the cupcake devoured, Skouras held up the present he had for her.
Eager, if getting sleepy, Alice made a grab for the gift, shredding its wrappings easily and with delight. Skouras helped her lift the box's lid, then sat back and watched as Alice picked up a stuffed multi-colored butterfly, a stuffed brown rabbit, and a stuffed toy turtle.
He grinned in pure happiness watching Alice's joy in her eyes as she stared, her eyes and mouth all wide and round as saucers.
Finally she tried to embrace all the toys at once, sending them flying through the air.
"Beaux! Beaux! Beaux!" She shrieked the word, and continuing to shriek in joy she clapped her hands and screamed with excitement watching the toys float around in the air.
"Beaux!" She screamed, standing up and facing the nearest toy, the butterfly.
"Beaux!" She yelled at it, and shrieked when it flew up higher. "Beaux!"
She ran up to the rabbit, now resting on the ground. She stomped her foot in front of it, and cried out again, "Beaux!" Thinking the word was a command and the reason for this unusual display. As expected, the rabbit jumped up into the air to once again join the butterfly.
She ran up to the turtle that had landed on the floor. Grabbing it with both hands she threw it up into the air. She jumped up. "Beaux!" She cried, and jumped again. "Beaux!" And jumped again yelling louder, "Beaux!"
With the third jump and exclaimation, Alice rose into the air with the turtle, just as she was grabbing for it.
Amazed at this magic, Alice simply stared wide-eyed as she floated through space, as weightless as her new toys.
"Yes," Skouras' eyes were bright watching this unexpected display of power, "they are nice. I don't know if I'd use the word handsome. American girls would say pretty, and they'd use the feminine form for just about everything so the French equivelent would be "belle".
Rising from the floor, slightly misty-eyed at this extreme display of power, Skouras gently reached out to control where Alice floated to, as well as to catch her when her powers stopped working and she fell.
From above him, she looked down and answered him. "Non, beaux."
"Whatever you say. You are a very strong little girl, Alice," he muttered, smiling into the face that smiled back at him.
Alice pointed and grabbed for the toys as they floated past her.
"Mein Beaux!" She announced with certainty as she grabbed and held the stuffed turtle.
Skouras laughed. "Yes," he kissed her curled hair, "they're yours. Everything here is yours, little Alice. Everything."
He sighed and held her to him, though she was still weightless in the air.
"Oh the things you will be able to do," he spoke the words quietly as if making a promise to himself.
The front door creaked open then, and rapid footsteps were heard.
"Doctor Skouras," Natalie stepped forward and reached for Alice, not bothering to hide her alarm, "What are you doing here? How did you get into our house?"