Francis handed Heloise her rolling suitcase, Heloise gave a pointed look to her sister before turning away to wheel it onto the porch and into the open front door. It didn’t surprise Elodie much that her sister wanted to make sure she offered her help to their father. She always made sure she was first when it came to helping their father, leaving Elodie behind in the dust.
Not one to be defeated by such petty behavior, Elodie marched over to where her mother was lugging her suitcase out of the car trunk.
“ Vous voulez un peu d’aide, Maman ?”
“ Merci , but I got it, Elodie.” Shannon took off her large sunglasses and set them on her head, rolling back her frizzy strawberry blond hair so that her lovely face could be seen by all. The lower half of her face was almost a mirror to Elodie’s own with her mom’s lush lips and small nose, except of course for the usual wrinkles that had started setting in on her mom’s face when she was in her early forties.
“Actually, here, you can carry this other bag. It might be a bit heavy, but you can help me with that.” Shannon reached down to pick up a smaller bag on the ground and she handed it to Elodie, who was glad to be of help to her mother.
“So how was your trip?” Elodie and her mother began walking toward the front steps, the open front door waiting for them at the top. Shannon carried her wheeling suitcase across the grass by its top handle, while Elodie had the small bag in her left hand.
“Great! We got to see the baby and she is so sweet and precious! I took some pictures on my phone that I will have to show you girls. She’s got the same eyes that you all do too, but then again, so do her older sisters!”
“Oh babies.....” Elodie’s voice drifted off as she said that word. She was too young to really think about such things, but she knew one day she’d like to be a mother and have her own little bundle of joy. But not for a good while though! “I’m so glad they seem to be doing well! It sounded like it from Marie’s e-mails.” Marie was the only aunt the girls were really close to, since Francis only had his younger sister and Shannon’s sisters were almost nonexistent to them during their childhood.
“So did your plans with your friends go well then?”
“Oh yes, very much.” Wink wink.
They had reached the front door and they walked inside the house, joining Heloise and Francis in the front hallway where they were talking about something, the luggage scattered around them as Shannon and Elodie entered the house. Elodie didn’t catch any words to be able to tell what their topic of conversation was. Elodie set her bag down on the floor while Shannon wheeled her suitcase and placed it next to the other one that Heloise had brought into the house.
“By the way, that bag that Elodie was carrying was so heavy! What did you pack in there anyway?” Shannon asked Francis.
“Just the usual. Besides, most of that in there was your beauty stuff. Your shampoo, your conditioner, blah blah blah, the usual tralala. You women don’t travel light,” Francis said.
Shannon rolled her eyes in a playful way. With all of their hands now empty of baggage, the two daughters came over to their parents for their usual greeting: a French bise, a simple and light kiss on each cheek, a custom taught by their parents from Francis’ upbringing in France.
“So how was the trip?” Heloise asked as she pulled away from her parents.
“Good, very good,” Francis replied in a slight French accent. This had been a social visit. His sister Marie, ten years his junior, came to the United States after marrying an American, so Francis got to visit with her regularly, usually once every couple of months. Most of the time, the girls came with them to visit, the only other time they’d ever gone outside of their little town, and they enjoyed the company of their Aunt Marie and her two daughters Jeanne and Sophie, who were seven and ten years younger
Not one to be defeated by such petty behavior, Elodie marched over to where her mother was lugging her suitcase out of the car trunk.
“ Vous voulez un peu d’aide, Maman ?”
“ Merci , but I got it, Elodie.” Shannon took off her large sunglasses and set them on her head, rolling back her frizzy strawberry blond hair so that her lovely face could be seen by all. The lower half of her face was almost a mirror to Elodie’s own with her mom’s lush lips and small nose, except of course for the usual wrinkles that had started setting in on her mom’s face when she was in her early forties.
“Actually, here, you can carry this other bag. It might be a bit heavy, but you can help me with that.” Shannon reached down to pick up a smaller bag on the ground and she handed it to Elodie, who was glad to be of help to her mother.
“So how was your trip?” Elodie and her mother began walking toward the front steps, the open front door waiting for them at the top. Shannon carried her wheeling suitcase across the grass by its top handle, while Elodie had the small bag in her left hand.
“Great! We got to see the baby and she is so sweet and precious! I took some pictures on my phone that I will have to show you girls. She’s got the same eyes that you all do too, but then again, so do her older sisters!”
“Oh babies.....” Elodie’s voice drifted off as she said that word. She was too young to really think about such things, but she knew one day she’d like to be a mother and have her own little bundle of joy. But not for a good while though! “I’m so glad they seem to be doing well! It sounded like it from Marie’s e-mails.” Marie was the only aunt the girls were really close to, since Francis only had his younger sister and Shannon’s sisters were almost nonexistent to them during their childhood.
“So did your plans with your friends go well then?”
“Oh yes, very much.” Wink wink.
They had reached the front door and they walked inside the house, joining Heloise and Francis in the front hallway where they were talking about something, the luggage scattered around them as Shannon and Elodie entered the house. Elodie didn’t catch any words to be able to tell what their topic of conversation was. Elodie set her bag down on the floor while Shannon wheeled her suitcase and placed it next to the other one that Heloise had brought into the house.
“By the way, that bag that Elodie was carrying was so heavy! What did you pack in there anyway?” Shannon asked Francis.
“Just the usual. Besides, most of that in there was your beauty stuff. Your shampoo, your conditioner, blah blah blah, the usual tralala. You women don’t travel light,” Francis said.
Shannon rolled her eyes in a playful way. With all of their hands now empty of baggage, the two daughters came over to their parents for their usual greeting: a French bise, a simple and light kiss on each cheek, a custom taught by their parents from Francis’ upbringing in France.
“So how was the trip?” Heloise asked as she pulled away from her parents.
“Good, very good,” Francis replied in a slight French accent. This had been a social visit. His sister Marie, ten years his junior, came to the United States after marrying an American, so Francis got to visit with her regularly, usually once every couple of months. Most of the time, the girls came with them to visit, the only other time they’d ever gone outside of their little town, and they enjoyed the company of their Aunt Marie and her two daughters Jeanne and Sophie, who were seven and ten years younger
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