By the end of the evening Nora was exhausted, not just from dancing but from concentrating so intently. She smiled to herself as she considered how tango had become such an enjoyable part of her life. As they drove home, she told Luc she had never seen anyone dance tango at home, and he was quite incredulous.
“I pose this as a challenge to you, ma belle, when you return to Canada. You must find people to dance tango with you and tell me about it. But that will not be for a while, now you are helping Giselle by staying longer. So we can continue to refine your increasing grace and confidence on the dance floor.”
Nora laughed, blushed, and accused him of giving her delusions of tango grandeur. This led to a conversation as to when she might return to her home and then, more importantly, when she would next come to Paris.
Luc then mentioned he was leaving on Sunday to spend some time with Giselle in Mexico. “We will call you and give you an update on how she is doing,” he said.
“Oh, please do. We text often, and she says things are going well. But, of course, it’s easy to say that in a text. I worry about her.”
She opened her door and Atticus bounded up to greet them. Luc knelt and gave him a good rub. “I miss having a dog, but my travels spoil that idea. I can see what good company Atticus is and why you and Giselle adore him.”
When they parted, Luc looked deeply into Nora’s eyes. “Thank you for all you give to me. You are such a special part of my life, and I don’t want to think about when you are not here anymore. I’ll be back in a week or so and hopefully we will carry on … as we do.”
He leaned in and left a warm bise on each of Nora’s cheeks.
“I look forward to your return. Be safe,” Nora said. She placed her hand lightly on his cheek, thankful for such an open and honest friendship without feeling the pressure or uncertainty of there being any other expectations.
ChapterForty-Five
The rainfinally eased up on the weekend, although the temperatures were still cold enough to be an invitation to sleep in and spend time reading in front of the electric fireplace.
Chloe, Olivier, and Pierre were all under the weather with the flu, and blamed the week’s rainy, cool weather. Nora made a big pot of leek and potato soup for them and texted Chloe when she left it at their door. Chloe had warned her not to consider entering into ‘Germ Central.’”
When she and Atticus were preparing to go for walks these days, he pointedly looked at his fleecy coat. He seemed to have decided he liked it … a lot. She had sent Giselle a photo of them—he wore the red-and-black plaid fleece and she had on a matching scarf she had found at a local market. She’d captioned it:Do you think I’m getting too involved with this boy?
On Monday, Nora called Marie-Louise to set a time to visit her. She was missing being together with her and had questions to confirm some details from her notes.
“Bonjour, Yvette. My family are all battling the flu. I made a large batch of soup and thought you and Marie-Louise might like to have it as well.”
“Merci beaucoup. We have been so fortunate to stay healthy this winter. I’m certain we will enjoy it.”
Marie-Louise greeted Nora in the parlor with a welcoming smile. “I’ve missed you so much, chérie. It has seemed strange not to take my mind back to the dark days. And to be honest, I am struggling a bit with that. I need spring to arrive and brighten my heart again.”
Nora took Marie-Louise’s hand and held it lightly. “We went on a journey together, and it will take us both some time to recover. I’m sad you are struggling. I hope you can move away from that soon. I’m afraid we have some time to wait before spring arrives. But I’ve brought you a beautiful photobook of the seasons in Paris. Maybe it will lift your spirits.”
Marie-Louise was delighted with the stunning photography. They had a conversation about some of their favorite books and authors, and then Nora showed her some of the draft pages she’d been working on.
Tears filled the old woman’s eyes as she read what Nora had written. She nodded her head slowly, taking her time with each page.
“Oh chérie, thank you for showing me these. You have already made me feel better about the stories I told you. You are bringing them to life in the best way, sad as they are.”
“I’m so pleased you’re content with these. There is still a long way to go, but it makes a difference to feel I am on the right track with your purpose for this memoir. I’ll be here for a few more weeks and will continue to show you more pages. You must not hesitate if there’s anything you want me to change.”
“I’m so happy to hear you are staying longer. Giselle called me to say she was staying longer in Mexico. She does love it there.”
This confirmed for Nora that Marie-Louise was unaware of Giselle’s illness. Her heart ached for the aunt, but she knew she would have made the same decision in Giselle’s place.
Marie-Louise continued. “I don’t know how to thank you adequately but will continue to try. And thank you, too, for the soup. Yvette and I will have it for dinner with great pleasure.”
When she sat back down at her computer later, Nora felt a quiet surge of inspiration and gratitude about Marie-Louise’s reaction to her writing. She’d been teetering on the edge of imposter syndrome the more she worked on the memoir, and worried that her transcribing of Marie-Louise’s words did them the justice they deserved. The woman’s warmth and encouragement buoyed Nora’s spirits and her faith in the way the story was unfolding.
ChapterForty-Six
Four more weekswith Atticus
By Wednesday, the flu symptoms had been vanquished at Germ Central and Chloe and Olivier were back at work.
Chloe called Nora that afternoon. “Whew! Problems solved here. Pierre’s good friend Felix, from Normandy, is here to spend today and tomorrow helping some other friends of ours wrap all the art and load it into the van. It will be parked in a secure space with proper thermostat control. Then he will come back in two weeks and drive to Nice with Pierre.”
