**Edit**
Here is a link to the French to English translations I have compiled for your reading aid.
http://alysonbowen.blogspot.com/2014/05/french-to-english-translations.html?m=0#.U4pawxZcMpA
Rose
Chapter 5
All week had been warm and
sunny, but the fog that snuck in overnight seemed to fit the sourness in Rose’s
throat better. She felt
uncomfortable with the bright sun beating on her skin when inside she felt so dark
from the stale aftertaste of her words that resided in her mouth. She had gotten up early and done the
shopping just as clandestinely as she had been since her family left, then
slipped out again with her book and returned to the pear tree. Now that she was here, she was having
trouble keeping her mind off her family and in prison au Château d’If with
Edmond Dantès. In frustration she
slammed the book closed.
“Ho! What did Dantès
ever do to you?”
“Phillippe!” She looked up, startled. “How long have you been standing
there?”
“Long enough to know that
something’s bothering you. Do you
want to talk about it?”
He sat down next to her and
steadied his gaze right into hers.
His eyes were so sincere that they seemed to contradict the self-assured
person he was two weeks ago. It
caught her off guard. “Should you
talk about it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Now you know I’m not going
to believe that. I just watched
you practically throw Le Comte de
Monte-Cristo in frustration.
Talk to me. I’m a surprisingly
good listener.”
“Just some family
issues.” She turned away, feeling
little and intimidated.
“I know how that can be. Sometimes I get so frustrated with my
family but I don’t want to do anything rash so I take some times to myself and
get away from everything until I feel better. I don’t want to say something I’ll regret.”
His words brought back the
sourness to her tongue. Ashamed,
she folded her arms to hug herself and brought her knees up to her chest.
“Oh, that’s what this
is. You already said the rash
words. Now you’re dealing with the
regret.”
“Well, it’s not like I can
just get away from the problem. I
am the problem. So now I’m stuck
here with my rash words and regrets gnawing away at me.”
“You don’t have to be. You can still take some time away.”
“I can’t just leave. I have a job here. Besides, I wouldn’t get very far
walking.”
“Why would you have to walk
anywhere? I’m here.”
“You’re going to carry me?”
He laughed, raising an
eyebrow. “Vraiment? How do you
think I get here? You are getting
lost in this older way of living that Domfront seems to be enveloped in. I have a car, Rose. Come on, we’ll only be gone for a
little bit.”
She shook her head. “I can’t leave.”
“Why not? What else do you have to do all day
besides making Dantès feel guilty for more stuff he didn’t do?”
“Well, nothing. Today’s my day off.”
“Then let me take you away
for just a little bit so you can clear your mind. You need to get away from here in order to think straight,
otherwise you’re just going to keep beating yourself up—and your book.”
She laughed a little.
“Allons-y.” He stood up
and held out a hand to help her up.
She tugged on her earlobe and
avoided his eye contact. “I’ve
never been outside of Domfront before.”
He looked at his watch. It was almost midi. “We don’t have
to go very far. Let me take you
out to lunch. I know a place only
about quinze minutes from here.”
Apprehensively she accepted
his hand and he led her to his car. “No.”
She stopped and stared at his black and red Bugatti Veyron, eyes popping
out of her head. “You didn’t tell
me you were rich.”
Suddenly self-conscious about
his wealth, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yeah...well, my parents are. Is that okay with you?” He didn’t want to scare her off, and for the first time he
worried that his car was too much.
“I’ve never seen something so
expensive in my life. Are you sure
you want me anywhere near this thing?”
She had to laugh when she saw how anxious he looked. “Am I allowed to touch anything?”
Seeing her relax a little
helped ease his stress. “I’ll lay
down a towel on your seat just to be safe.” He couldn’t help but laugh at how taken aback she was. “I was kidding! You’re fine. I’ve had this car for a while so I don’t really care
anymore. My dad is kind of a snob
about cars so he insisted we get something ridiculous like this. On a serious note, you aren’t allowed
to touch the door handles because only I will open your doors.”
“You don’t have to do
that. That’s ridiculous.”
“I insist. See, my mother taught me this thing
called manners and I promised I would use them.” He opened her door with a flourish. “Mademoiselle.”
She rolled her eyes but
cautiously sat down on the plush leather seat. It was certainly nicer than anything she had ever seen, let
alone been allowed to sit on. She
had been taught to not touch things she couldn’t afford, so this was a new
experience. Phillippe must be
majorly rich to have something this nice.
He started the car and headed
off. The farther they drove, the
tenser she grew. He noticed that
she started to bite her lip.
“Relax, Rose. It’s not like
I’m going to kidnap you or murder you.
How fun would that be? Then
I’d have no one to help get my mind off my family.”
“That’s not why I’m nervous,
but maybe it should be. I barely
know you.”
“Well you know my name and
you know that I’m fabulously wealthy.
What more do you need to know?”
She laughed, but only enough
to disturb the ball of nervousness in her belly. “I’ve never been outside of Domfront so this is scary.”
“Why do you think the world
is such a scary place?”
“Because...” Because
why? He actually had a valid
point. She had read so many times
about all the cities and regions of France. She knew so many things about the world, so what scared her?
They finally reached a large
white building with vines growing up the walls and windows spotting the
wall. He held open her door and
helped her out of the car. He also
insisted on opening the door to the restaurant, Auberge de la Mine. It
was very grand inside, and definitely nicer than any place Rose had ever
been. It smelled absolutely
delicious too. She watched a
waitress bring out a tray of chocolate desserts and sorbets for a small
group. Merveilleux.
“Rose, viens.” Phillippe had
already talked to the hostess who was leading them to a table. He took her arm and guided her to a
seat, which he also pulled out for her.
She hardly paid attention as they were told of the specialties, so
Phillippe ordered for her after making sure she wasn’t picky. She did remember to order water after
Phillippe quickly turned down wine.
Engrossed by the sights of the meals around her, she didn’t even notice
when their own food came. Entrée, viande, fromage, et dessert. Four courses was a lot of food.
“Phillippe, this is too
much.”
“Non! This is my
treat. I needed to get away as
much as you did, so please just enjoy it.” He got excited at the sight of her so happy. He could tell she was really enjoying
herself and the food. She had
probably never been somewhere this expensive and he started to get eager to
take her to do other things she had never done before.
“So what does your family do
so you can afford all this?”
“It’s an old family business
that my father now runs.”
“And you don’t want to be
stuck following in his footsteps?”
“What? Non! I love the family business. It’s like a distant relative you can’t
help but love unconditionally. I’m
honored to take control when the time comes. There are...other stipulations from my parents that I need a
break from. I don’t really like
thinking about it, but I’ll do anything for the business.” He sighed at how frustratingly true
those words were. He really would
do anything to save the winery.
“What about you? What made
you so frustrated that prevented you from reading?”
“My family came to visit last
week. I never get to see
them. My sisters grew up without
me and I have no idea what they are like.
I don’t even know what my dad is doing for work right now. I got upset because I don’t feel like
part of the family and I said some mean things. The worst part is that I never apologized. I just need to keep myself working in
my aunts’ shop so my parents can have the money.”
“Well I think working is a
good way to show them that you are sorry and you still care.” He smiled at her as they silently
reached a mutual agreement to not mention their families again. “Are you enjoying your food?”
“How could anyone not enjoy
this? I’ve never tasted anything
so delicious.”
“Just wait for dessert.”
Her eyes lit up when her
slice of chocolate gâteau arrived. It even had frensh strawberries on
top.
He didn’t have to ask if she
enjoyed the chocolate. Her eyes
reflected everything she felt, just like the moon relects the sunlight. They really were the color of the moon
on a clear night, so gray and bright, but they would get darker when she was
feeling bad like she had earlier.
His attention was taken away from her by the check.
“Phillippe, how much did it
cost?”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s
my treat.”
“Just let me see it.”
“Absolutely no. It isn’t gentlemanly of me to let you
think about the check.”
“You can’t pay for all of
this.”
“I always pay for all of my
dates.”
“This isn’t a date!”
“It’s not?”
“Non!” She didn’t know
why she was so adamant about that.
“Okay but you still can’t see
how much it cost.”
She sighted, but wasn’t
really frustrated, although the mention of him going on other dates did make
her feel strange.
After the check was paid, he
escorted her back to the car and drove back to Domfront. “Now you can’t say you’ve never left
Domfront, so next time will be easier.”
“Next time?”
“Next time you need to get
away for a bit.”
“What makes you think they’ll
be a next time?”
“I’ll answer that next time.”
She laughed as he roared off
in his fancy car. She walked back
to her pear tree and took out her book.
It really had been a nice lunch.
She felt content for the first time in a week. She felt at peace when she thought of her sisters, and she
knew she could continue to work happily for her aunts. She found it easy to continue
reading. Phillippe had been
right. Taking a break from her
weekly routine had really helped.
She bit her lip to fight off the smile that he brought to her face.
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