Gaston was utterly exhausted from household chores. Invisible, inconspicuous, they were so numerous that his head was spinning. In the evening he felt utter helplessness and a sense that nothing had been done, although he had been spinning like a squirrel in a wheel all day.
That's the thing about hunting. Bringing in the prey - and that wonderful victorious feeling of accomplishment.
The hunter began to wash Belle's clothes. It had been almost a week, but her bloodstained dress was still soaking in the basin, waiting to be laundered.
The man began to do laundry, taking care not to tear the delicate fabric. Yes, he could take care of himself when he lived alone, but, first of all, you get used to the good things - the fact that your wife takes care of you - quickly, and the fact that Belle was expecting a child and had to eat well, too, required time for cooking. They couldn't get by with just a piece of bread for dinner, as he had sometimes done before, when he lived alone.
Asking Lefou to sit with Belle while he did a quick hunt, then running to the market, haggling, sometimes completely out of energy, finding that you'd been slipped rotten fish again or that you'd bought the completely wrong thing. Then to run home and cook, trying to make it both tasty and nutritious, and yes, it was now that his wife began to feel nauseous. Coaxing Belle to eat just a little bit. Then cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast and now it was time to make dinner. Time to do his laundry too, it was bloody and dirty after the hunt. Time to go and pick more marigold for the potion. Time to...
Only now he realized how good it felt to be a man. Only a week of women's worries on him, and he already wanted to shoot himself.
The stains wouldn't come off, so Gaston plunged the dress back into the basin and walked back into the bedroom. Belle was trying to read a book, but the hunter noticed that she had stopped on the same page with the small black and white picture she had read earlier in the morning.
Gaston threw himself tiredly on the bed, Belle put the book aside. The man laid his head on his wife's lap and she leaned over and kissed him on the lips, then began absent-mindedly going through his hair.
"Forget this dress, Belle," said Gaston. "It's only for rags or the stove."
"To hell with it," she said, shifting a little to make it more comfortable for him. "Oh, I'm so tired of lying down all day, Gaston. You see, how nice it is to be able to do what you've always done only to lose that opportunity."
"Don't worry, your chores will stay with you," Gaston laughed. "Washing, ironing and going to the market! I'm completely inadequate at it."
They both laughed.
"Why didn't you eat my food again, Belle?" Gaston asked worriedly. "Is it all so unpalatable? You've lost weight, and it should be the opposite."
"No, it's good, it's just that I can't get a bite down my throat," said Belle, mussing up his hair. "Mrs. Potts says it should be over soon."
"It would be good to-" Gaston pointed to the book. "Not interested? You haven't read anything today."
Belle moved once more and Gaston raised his head, his wife moved lower and lay beside him, hugging him tightly and resting her head on his chest. She spoke thoughtfully:
"You know, I just don't want to. I'm more interested in what will happen to me, to us... I can't worry about fictional people and fictional situations. I can't get my mind off it either. Maybe if I read it to someone else, it would be more interesting."
"Read to me, Belle."
She raised herself up on an elbow, gently tousling his hair. Her sweet touch made him want to sleep.
"If you want to..."
"Of course I do. I really do."
Suddenly they smelled the smell of burning and heard some kind of scorching. Gaston gently pulled Belle away from him and jumped up.
"Damn it! Damn it! It's the meat that's burning!"
He ran to the kitchen.
That's right, they were out of lunch and probably out of dinner. The meat was burned to the skillet with black coals. How on earth did it get so fast...
Groaning, the man went outside with the smoking skillet and stuck it in a basin of soaked dirty dishes.
"Damn it, damn it," he muttered.
"Hey, Gaston!"heard the hunter and raised his head from the basin of dishes. The man was surprised to find Prince Adam and Paulette heading down the path toward him. In Paulette's hand was a small basket.
"Hello," Gaston mumbled, wiping his wet hands on his pants, addressing himself primarily to the prince.
"Hello," Prince Adam said in a friendly tone as he came closer. "We decided to visit you and Belle," he frowned worriedly. "How is she now? I just found out today, Chip and Mrs. Potts didn't tell me, even though they visited you every day."
"They just didn't want to worry you," Paulette said, gently touching his arm.
They both looked at Gaston, and he answered:
"Belle seems to be better. You never can tell," he sighed, trying to hide his excitement behind a feigned calm.
"I'll help you with the cooking," Paulette said and lifted the basket a little. "There's meat, vegetables, and I'll bake a pie."
Gaston made an inviting gesture into the house:
"I'll be very grateful. I'm not much of a cook today. But I do hope your cooking will be better than Nicolette's. That's Lefou's woman," he explained in answer to Paulette's and the prince's questioning glances. "I bet he'll lose weight when he marries."
"You're gratitude itself," Prince Adam laughed as he entered the house.
The guests made their way to the bedroom to say hello to Belle. The girl held out her hands for them to shake. Belle's face lit up with a smile:
"I'm so glad you came. Thank you," she leaned back a little on the pillow. "I'm so tired of lying down all the time."
"You'll have a boy, you'll run after him and you'll remember how you were lying down all day and didn't appreciate it,"Paulette smiled.
"It would be nice if that were the case," Belle said seriously, frowning slightly. Gaston sat down next to her and stroked her hair.
The prince looked at the book on Belle's bed and as if remembering something said:
"I took the liberty of borrowing some books from the library. I hope you like them."
He went to the basket, took out two books, and then held them out to Belle. Gaston took them from his wife's hands before she opened them:
"Let me see how they end. If it doesn't have a happily ever after, she'd better not read something like that. No worries!"
Prince Adam laughed:
"I checked it out myself - happily ever after."
"Gosh, I can get a little emotional, Gaston!" Belle smiled and pinched his arm. "Thank you, Adam."
Gaston did look at the last pages and after spelling out 'happily ever after' returned the books to Belle.
It was getting more fun. Paulette went to the kitchen and Belle moved there as well, taking Gaston's favorite chair. The girls began to chat, and Gaston decided to teach the prince how to shoot bottles with a gun, and at the same time to show off how good he was at it. It's good to have friends, after all. Anxious waiting and boring household chores became an interesting pastime.
Paulette kneaded the dough and called them into the house. Belle asked Gaston to help cut the meat, which he did rather quickly. Paulette filled the pie and then all four of them sat down to await dinner. Gaston retrieved a bottle of homemade wine from the cellar from the market.
Finally, the hosts and guests sat down at the table and ate the pie. Then they moved their glasses.
"To Gaston and Belle!" Prince Adam proclaimed a toast. "To the birth of a healthy, strong boy!"
"To the baby!"the others repeated.
It was late evening, the room was lit by the fireplace, it was warm and cozy.
"Would you like me to read to you?"Belle asked. She was sitting comfortably on a chair covered with wool like a house cat.
"Of course!" replied everyone.
Gaston sat down on the floor next to the chair, with Paulette and Prince Adam beside him. Gaston closed his eyes, enjoying his wife's melodious voice:
"Once upon a time, in a kingdom..."
Hunter leaned against the side of the chair to be closer to Belle, and she began to stroke his hair as she continued reading. And then he fell asleep.