She caught herself smiling and quickly turned her attention to Atticus.
Atticus and Fantôme faced each other, stiff-legged, ears perked. For a moment, there was a staring contest and then tails began to slowly wag.
Atticus stretched his front legs forward, with his backside up. His ‘play bow,’ as Nora called it. She held her breath. After a second, Fantôme replied in kind and in a flash the two dogs were chasing each other around the driveway.
“Voilà! L’amusement a commencé! The fun has begun!” Papi announced with a wide grin.
Pierre waved to them and walked over to where the pine tree was tied to the roof of the SUV. Taking a knife from his pocket, which Nora thought indicated he was in ‘farmer’ mode, he began to cut the ropes.
Olivier called out from the kitchen that he would be right out to help bring the tree into the house.
Mami and Papi had an intense discussion as to where the tree should be placed and then turned to Chloe and Nora.
“Qu’est-ce que vous pensez? What do you think?”
With Pierre and Olivier impatiently holding the tree at each end and urging a decision, it was agreed it should be placed in the great room, between the sitting and dining areas. “We can begin decorating while we have our apéros in an hour,” Mami suggested.
“Bonne idée,” Chloe agreed. She checked her watch, noting they should be gathered by seven o’clock.
Mami asked if everyone would like to have some time to freshen up beforehand. “You have had a busy day with travel.”
Nora agreed without hesitating. She had one thought in mind.
The dogs were called into the house, and everyone chuckled at the cloud of dust as the two animals raced up to the door for their treat. It appeared they had already become fast friends.
Nora took Atticus up to her room. She tried to control the urge to bound up the steps, since the deep claw-foot bathtub was calling to her.
While Nora ran water in the tub, she added a drop of essence of lavender from the bottle sitting on a small pine table nearby. The room filled with a divine scent. Relaxed and happy, Nora gave Atticus a long hug and climbed into the tub. As she soaked, Atticus snuggled into the dog bed thoughtfully placed in her room.
So far, Provence is proving to be as magical as promised, Nora mused as she sank up to her neck in the soothing water with a long sigh.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Completely refreshed an hour later,Nora went downstairs and headed toward the great room. She heard voices coming from inside, so knew the others were already there and champagne—of course champagne—was ready to be served. She smiled to herself.
Casually dressed in a light-blue silk blouse, black tapered jeans and ankle-high boots, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her choices fit right in with everyone else’s attire.
Pierre came over to her and extended his hand.Hmm, still no bise for me. No acceptance yet.
Nora gave Chloe a pointed look as if to validate her comments on the train. Behind Pierre, Chloe widened her eyes in return and held back a chuckle, reading her mother’s thoughts.
“Bienvenue. Welcome to the home of my parents. It is where I enjoyed a very happy childhood.” Nora was pleasantly surprised to see his smile seemed almost warm.
“Thank you. It’s a lovely home. I’m honoured to be here.”
Once champagne flutes were filled and toasts shared, Mami produced two large wicker baskets filled to the brim with the family’s treasures wrapped in tissue paper for protection.
Stories and much laughter were shared, mostly in French with Chloe translating when needed, as le sapin de Noël was dressed in traditional decorations of pine cones, dried fruit, small bundles of cinnamon, and simple paper ornaments tied with red string—many obviously created by a young child. The family lovingly teased Pierre and Olivier about them.
They all took part in weaving red and gold ribbons through the branches, the colors of Provence, Nora was told. Finally, vintage stamped tin candle holders were attached to a few boughs.
“Little white candles will be lit tomorrow evening when we feast on les Treize Desserts … the Thirteen Desserts after our Christmas Eve dinner,” Chloe told Nora.
Olivier looked proudly at his wife. “Chloe has embraced our traditions and becomeune vraie femme Provençale.Truly a woman of Provence.”
Nora was startled when Pierre asked if she would like him to explain their crèche and the santons to her. In English! She thanked him but requested he speak French, and she would see if she could understand everything. He gave her a look that seemed to her like respect, for a change, and agreed to only speak English if she needed explanation.
Nora thought maybe she’d made a positive inroad with him. She hoped so.
