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“Out beyond the vineyard is a lily pond I quite enjoy. There is a lovely old stone bridge surrounded by lavender fields. In the spring the hills are covered with poppies. You should visit it while you are here. Perhaps Luc will take you.”
“I would like that,” Julia said. Her reply was automatic, as her thoughts turned over the bits of information Gabi had given. It appeared Luc’s house was in disrepair, the winery was closed down, and Luc was being forced to sell off parts of his family land. Apparently, he struggled financially. She felt sorry for the man. Farming must be difficult, and if she remembered correctly, many, if not all, of the vineyards had suffered from a blight that had killed off their vines within the last few decades. Had it affected the Paquet family as well, then? She didn’t think it polite to ask. But she wished to help the people who had so willingly rescued her in her time of need.
When they returned to the kitchen, Julia insisted Gabi allow her to wash the dishes. Gabi argued for a moment but in the end acquiesced, having mending to finish. She sat in the soft chair beside the hearth, humming as she stitched a torn seam.
Julia wondered briefly if the shirt Gabi was repairing belonged to her nephew. But all other thoughts went from her head as she surveyed the pile of dishes in the washbasin and stacked on the counter beside it, some which had apparently sat dirty for days. The task would not be a quick one.
“Very well,” she muttered, pushing up the sleeves of her blouse. Julia rather enjoyed a challenge, and she found putting a disorganized mess to rights to be quite a satisfying endeavor.
She began by taking all of the dishes from the basin and filling it with water. Then she collected the dirty dishes, utensils, pots, and bowls from around the kitchen, and the few she’d seen on the table in the front hall, stacking them beside the sink and even on the floor once there was no more room on the counter.
She cleared a space on the table for the clean dishes and set to work.
An hour and a half later, Julia wiped the last spoon dry and set it on the table with the others. Seeing the piles of gleaming dishes was very gratifying, and she took a moment to admire her work. She considered the shelves on the wall and looked into the drawers on the hutch and realized the dishes didn’t appear to belong in a specific place. Perhaps she simply didn’t understand Gabi’s organizational system.
“Gabi, how would you like me to put the dishes away?” Julia asked. “I’m not certain where things belong.”
Gabi looked up from the sock she was stitching and shook her head. “Ah, ma chérie, it is rather overwhelming, oui? I inherited pots from my grandmother, dishes from my husband’s mother, bowls and utensils from my sister...” She waved her hands as she spoke, giving a sigh. “All of it has all accumulated to the point where I cannot find what I need, and once I do, I don’t know where to put it when I’m finished.”
Julia looked around the kitchen, imagining where she might put things if it were her own. The room had plenty of storage. Shelves, drawers, and cupboards in the hutch. If there were less clutter, she thought Gabi would find her kitchen much more comfortable and use the space more efficiently.
“I could organize the kitchen if you’d like,” Julia said. “It is something I’m particularly good at, and I would love to have a way to repay you for your hospitality.”
“Oh, ma Juliette, the task—she isénorme.” Gabi clasped her hands and shook her head. “Surely you do not wish to undertake such a thing.”
“I would do it happily,” Julia said. “If you’ll trust me with it.”
“Oh, oui, I trust you.” Gabi grimaced, but she looked as if she were considering the idea. “But I do not like to burden you with my mess.”
“Et voilà. It is settled.” Julia clapped her hands. “But before I begin, show me your favorite things. The bowls you use most often, your favorite decorative pottery, a pot with sentimental value—that sort of thing.”
After a few moments of discussion, Gabi left to milk the goat and tend to the herbs in her garden, and Julia launched into action.
She emptied the drawers and cupboards, finding quite a mixture of treasures as she did so: a partially eaten package of chocolates, a crumpled dishrag, a wrench, a bit of molded cheese, and a thimble. She cleared off the shelves and counters and sorted everything on the table, folding the laundry and setting it on the chairs. Then, using hot water, she wiped out the cupboards and drawers and washed off every shelf.
Inside the pantry, she used a stool to reach the top shelves, discovering old cans and jars that had long been forgotten. She wiped off the shelves and arranged the bottles in neat rows, as well as the jars of spices. Finding a basket, she filled it with root vegetables and anything else that should remain cool and took it below to the cellar.
As she moved the dishes to their places, Julia paid close attention, ensuring that the things Gabi used the most were within easy reach. She put two extra colanders and a pile of mismatched plates, along with other duplicates, into a crate she found outside the kitchen door. Gabi owned enough ladles for an entire town. Anything that was broken went into the crate as well.
The shelves on either side of the window over the sink Julia saved for special trinkets and a few flowerpots, thinking Gabi would not only appreciate colorful blooms while she washed dishes but would find it easy to water them as well. She dusted a photograph, returning it to the mantel beside a vase, and stored kitchen linens in a cupboard beneath the hutch.
Not knowing what to do with the crate and the piles of laundry from the table, she moved them to the small parlor. She could put them away later, once she knew where Gabi wanted everything to go.
Julia glanced out the window and noticed the afternoon had grown late. She looked at her two timepieces and saw that she had been working steadily for more than four hours. Soon it would be time to prepare supper.
She took the vase Gabi had explained had been a wedding gift fifty years earlier and hurried out into the yard with a knife. She hoped Gabi would not be upset if she cut a few flowers and within a moment had a gorgeous arrangement of peonies, roses, and of course, lavender.
Julia had just set the vase in the center of the table and the knife in the sink when Gabi entered the kitchen.
She let out a gasp and put her hands over her mouth. “Oh, ma chérie Juliette!C’est merveilleux!” Spinning around, she took it all in. “Everything is so bright and open. I... cannot believe...”
“I put a crate of extra dishes in your parlor,” Julia said, not wanting Gabi to think she’d thrown away her things.
“Oh, how I will love to cook in such a kitchen. It feels brand-new,” Gabi said. She embraced Julia, giving her a kiss on each cheek. “How shall we celebrate? We shall have wine, of course.” She started to the pantry.
Julia grinned, delighted by the woman’s reaction. “Do you like gugelhupf cake?”
Chapter Six
