Maman.
I hugged him, too.
He smelled like airplane and aftershave.
Later, he walked around the neighborhood slowly, telling Tante Ella stories about when he was a boy in Paris. About cousins and streets and things he hadn’t talked about in a long time.
He looked old there, but also light. Like something heavy had been set down.
Not everything was easy, though.
Grand-mère and Grand-père didn’t know what to think about Kane at first.
He was big. Quiet. He didn’t smile much unless he was with Tante Ella or me. And there was something about him that made adults careful around him.
But Tante Ella didn’t care.
I heard her tell them one night in the big living room at The Sanctuary:
“Rose spent her whole life trying to keep everyone comfortable. Look where that got her. Life is short. I’m choosing happiness.”
Grand-mère Susan cried.
Grand-père Charles looked at Kane for a long time, then nodded once.
Things got easier after that.
Tante Ella started working again, too, even though she stayed in Paris. Her boss Michelle let her write from here. Sometimes Tante Ella worked at the table while I colored, and sometimes we went for walks along the river when she needed a break.
Mila came over a lot with her camera. She took pictures of everything—me and Papa making dinner, Tante Ella laughing, Kane pretending he didn’t like being photographed even though he secretly did.
The grown-ups all became friends.
Everything felt … full.
Safe.
One evening, Kane took Tante Ella to the courtyard garden at The Sanctuary while Mila watched me upstairs. Papa was cooking dinner and pretending not to watch through the window.
Later, Tante Ella told me what happened.
Kane got down on one knee.
He didn’t make a big speech. That wasn’t his way.
He just took her hand and said, “You’re mine. Stay.”
She laughed and cried and said yes, anyway.
When they came upstairs, her eyes were red and happy. Kane looked proud and relieved at the same time.
Papa opened champagne.
I got sparkling juice.
Everyone hugged.
And later that night, after the party ended, Tante Ella and Kane went upstairs to their suite.
