AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It's time for me to run my own life. In fact, it’s long overdue.
CHAPTER 24
Natalie
"You did not say that." Grandmama gawks at me as I pour her morning tea.
"I absolutely did." I put my hands on my hips and nod."No word of a lie, girl scout’s honor. You know in English we say ‘I'm so excited to go to the fair.’ It just made sense that in French, you say ‘Ça m’excite!’ You know, like that excites me.”
"Oh dear, oh dear." Grandmama shakes her head and sniggers. "So the customs agent now thinks the idea of visiting the Louvre turned you on?"
She giggles like a little girl.
"That might sound awfully embarrassing,” I sigh, “but that's not the worst one."
"Oh goodness, what else could there possibly be?" she says, her eyes wide in childlike curiosity.
"We were catering a wedding party. A very small wedding party, but they took over the whole restaurant. The bride was in a glorious gown." I act it out, running my hands along the imaginary lace of the giant princess skirt. "And she lapped up every second of attention she could get."
I do a little twirl in the middle of the bedroom, kicking the dresser.
"Ouch! Anyway," I sit back down on the side of the bed. "I thought it would be nice to give them some extra special attention, acknowledge that it was their special day, you know."
"I do know," she says, leaning forward. She senses what's coming next.
"That’s why I said to the groom, ‘Elle est très contente de t’épuiser.’ Of course, I thought that I was saying 'she is very happy to have married you… épouser. But I got the pronunciation wrong…"
"And instead, you said 'She is very happy to exhaust you.’"
"I know. Well, I know that now. And, of course, I said it with a very sly grin on my face, thinking that I was being sweet. He replied to me in English with a wink, 'Don't worry, I will wear her out too.' It was horrifying." I fall back on the bed and cover my face, as Grandmama laughs so hard she coughs.
"No, no, Grandmama. You can't enjoy my stories that much!"
"Did you just call me Grandmama?" she says, her face becoming very severe.
Frackity-fudge! "I apologize, Madame. Excuse me. I think it's from having heard everyone else around here call you that, and it just slipped out so easily that—"
"It's okay, dear." She taps my leg. "I can't explain it, but I feel a special relationship with you, too. It must be that Texan accent." She looks far off, through the walls. If I didn't know better, I'd say her mind was wandering all the way to Texas itself.
"Grandmama…" I say it slowly in case she wants to object.
But she doesn't. She just nods while keeping her eyes set somewhere way in the distance.
"Who's Henry?"
For a moment I wonder if all time has stopped. She's not moving. I don't even see her chest rising and falling with breath.
"Henry," she says. "Oh, Natalie." She looks at me, but she still seems half somewhere else. "Do you remember I asked you to fetch that bound book in my bedside table?"
"Yes, Madame."
"Would you get it for me now?"
"Yes, Madame."
I don't walk, I run. Or rather, I speed walk-run because I don't want anyone to ask me what I'm doing in case I cross one of the family members, or worse, Simone. But the house is dead silent. I make my way to the room that Olivier described and find the famous bedside table. This room is spotless. Something like what royalty must have stayed in during their summers away from the Palace of Versailles. The heavy, ribbon-bound package must be what Grandmama wants. It has a hard cover, front and back, and a black ribbon tied in a perfect bow. I sneak my way back through the hallways, listening for any sign of life, but the only sound is a chair either pulling out or toward the table in the dining room. Quick, quick, I tell myself, like a mouse in a castle of cats. I scurry to get back to Grandmama.
"Here you go," I say, placing the two-ton stack onto the bed. It bounces against the mattress, and Grandmama runs her fingertips over the front cover to steady it, as though it might break under her touch.
