Barbara McMahon - French Escape

Matt came down for breakfast later than the previous days. He was going to do some exploring around the easy marked trails and then come back for Alexandre’s ramble. That is, if Jeanne-Marie would let him. There were some places where the incline was almost gentle enough to walk up. Those would be perfect for a small boy.

He came down the stairs and went to the dining room. Two tables had guests eating. One was still cluttered with dirty dishes and two others were set. He took one to the side and sat down. No sooner had he pulled out his chair than Jeanne-Marie came from the kitchen. Did she have magical powers?

“Chocolate or coffee?” she asked, coming to his table. She balanced a plastic bin on one hip.

“Coffee today.” She nodded to the stack of newspapers on the buffet. “Today’s papers if you care to read. I’ll be right back.” Swiftly she stacked the dirty dishes in the bin and carried them out of the dining room. The conversations at the other tables were quiet. He rose and took one of the daily papers from the small stack and resumed his seat.

But he wasn’t really interested in the news. He leaned back in his chair and waited for Jeanne-Marie to return.

She did, with a bright smile and a carafe of hot coffee. Also on the platter was a frittata, fresh bread, orange juice and a petite cinnamon roll. She served him, then met his eyes. “Anything else?”

He could hardly ask for her to sit with him. But he missed the companionship he’d had the last couple of mornings. At least she hadn’t asked him to leave. She hadn’t said anything about the kiss. Were they going to ignore it?

Feeling like he’d won a reprieve, he looked at the meal. “This looks fine,” he said.

“Enjoy.” She checked on the other guests, then went back to the kitchen.

Alexandre came through a moment later and made a beeline for Matt.

“Hi. We’re going climbing today,” he said, clambering onto the chair opposite Matt. “My mama said. Are we going now?”

“This afternoon,” Matt concurred gravely. “If it’s still okay with your mother.”

“Will we climb to the top of a mountain?”

“No, we’ll start out on a small hill.”

“I want to climb a mountain!”

“Climbing is a skill that has to be learned. Everyone starts out on smaller cliffs, then goes on to bigger and bigger challenges. You cannot climb a mountain at five.”

Alexandre pouted for a moment. Matt hid a smile behind his coffee cup, taking a drink while the child assimilated what he’d been told. Children wanted everything immediately.

“Can I climb a mountain tomorrow?” Alexandre asked hopefully.

“You can’t climb a mountain until you are as tall as I am.”

The boy’s eyes got big. “I’ll never be that tall.”

“When you grow up you will.” For a moment Matt wondered how tall Alexandre would be. He felt a pang of disappointment that he would likely never know.

Alexandre kicked his foot against the chair. “Are we going soon? “

“After lunch. I have things to do this morning,” Matt told him.

“Can I come?”

Matt heard the echo of Etienne’s voice. He’d ask just like that. How many times had Matt said not today, when, had he known the future, he’d have taken him every single time?

“I’ll be on the phone with work. Then I need to scout out our route for this afternoon. But I tell you what, if your mother approves, once I’m back, we’ll start learning about climbing.”

“I’ll go ask her,” Alexandre said, slipping off the chair and running for the kitchen.

Jeanne-Marie came out an instant later and walked right to his table.

“Is Alexandre bothering you?” she asked.

“No. I told him when I finish checking in with work and scouting the climb for later, I’d go over basics with him. He needs to learn a lot to be safe on a cliff. He’s still going for a climb today, right?”

Jeanne-Marie nodded her head slowly. “As long as I can go, too.”

Matt gave a curt nod. He wasn’t sure he wanted two pupils, especially when he had trouble keeping his mind focused when around the pretty innkeeper. Climbing demanded a lot of concentration; he hoped he could remember that.

He met her eyes, seeing the confusion there. But she merely said, “We’ll be ready after lunch.”

Jeanne-Marie felt almost as excited as Alexandre when she got ready to meet Matt that afternoon. She wore long pants, the cross trainers that offered good soles and a red T-shirt—hoping it would give her courage. Butterflies danced in her stomach. She had gone on some easy scrambles with Phillipe a time or two before she’d gotten pregnant. Easy according to Phillipe—she remembered being in over her head. Maybe a person needed to begin early to master the skills.

She hoped she was doing the right thing in letting her son try this. She knew he had heard so many stories from his grandfather about the climbs he and Phillipe had done, he equated all climbing with his father. She should talk more about Phillipe’s work and diffuse the focus on his hobby. His passion, as it were.

Before they left their quarters, she caught Alexandre and held his face between her hands, making him look directly at her. “Listen. You must do whatever Matt tells you, understand? He’s the expert. He’ll keep you safe, but you have to listen to him.”

“I will listen to him,” Alexandre promised solemnly.

“If not, we stop and come straight home,” she finished.

“Okay. I’ll listen.” He went racing out of their area into the lounge.

“Matt, Mama says I have to listen to you. I will—really, really hard.”

Matt was standing near the French doors. He nodded at Alexandre’s comment, then looked beyond him to Jeanne-Marie. She felt the butterflies kick up a notch, but wasn’t sure if it was from meeting his dark gaze or the thought of letting her son climb a cliff.

“I thought we’d drive to the trailhead,” Matt said.

“Fine, you’re in charge.” She bid Rene goodbye. The teen had come early to be there when they left.

In no time, the three of them were walking along the rocky trail that skirted the base of Les Calanques. The sea sparkled in the sunshine. The cliffs towered over them, undulating with folds and crevices. The heat of the day reflected from the rock.

“What did you learn this morning?” Matt asked Alexandre as they walked.

The boy began repeating the words of caution and preparation Matt had told him.

“Good memory,” Matt said in some surprise. The child had been listening.

Jeanne-Marie was pleased at the effort Matt had made with Alexandre. He had drilled him on the safety features. She didn’t know all the ones her son repeated. Phillipe had given her very little instruction, intent more on getting on with the climb.

Was Matt taking extra care because Alexandre was so young? Or was he naturally prudent? She knew from the way Phillipe had talked that he liked taking chances. She suspected Matt got the same adrenaline high from climbing, but took a bit more care to make sure he’d return in one piece.

They reached a sloping hummock that led right to the path. Matt stopped and studied it for a moment, then looked at Jeanne-Marie.

“This is the one I thought he could do.”

She nodded. The hill was steep, but not sheer by any means. There were plenty of rocks to hold on to and even some small trees growing from cracks. She could almost walk up it herself without difficulty.

“This would be perfect,” she said with genuine gratitude. She wouldn’t have to worry about her son on this. Or herself.

“Okay, Alexandre, now listen carefully,” Matt said, stooping down to be at his level. “We’ll look over the entire hill first. Decide which way we want to go. Then once we begin, we’ll look ahead several holds to make sure we always have a way to go. Understand?”