“I bet it was a beautiful one, too.” That was when the young lady brought them their tea, accompanied by an older black woman who had an amazing figure for her age and was wearing nothing more elaborate than a simple red dress with pearls. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a neat bun and had streaks of gray in it. A smile that showed off deep dimples within chubby cheeks greeted them sweetly. “Bonjour to you both, and welcome, my name is Jillian and I welcome you to our café.”
“Thank you, Jillian, I am Jaslyn and this is my good friend Delia. I own the antique shop down the street.”
“Ahhh,” she exclaimed. “So, you are Jaslyn. I’ve heard so much about you and your friend from Renzo.”
They both giggled at the comment as Jaslyn replied, “Yeah, Renzo told me that he came here to visit you, also he came to get a pastry which he didn’t share with me, of course.”
“Oh yes, I gave him a puff pastry with Chantilly cream. Actually the one I gave him was supposed to have been for you because he had already eaten one while here at the café.”
“Yeah, I’m so going to get him for that, for sure. Listen, you are more than welcome to stop by our shop, I have plenty of antiques.” Delia watched while her friend grabbed her card case from her purse and gave Jillian a business card.
“Merci Jaslyn, I really appreciate the card. Might I ask, what did you decide to have for lunch today?”
“The Quiche Florentine”
“You are in luck, my husband just made some and it’s nice and warm and you’ll both love it. But why are you sharing instead of having one slice for each?”
“Well, my friend here has a date later on this evening and doesn’t want to fill up on food.”
“Ah, I understand. I hope your date will be a wonderful one and I hope you enjoy your quiche as well as your desserts.” The young woman brought out two white cups with saucers and a steel teapot. “This is my daughter Michelle. Michelle, this is the woman who Renzo was talking about with us.”
“Hello, it’s nice to finally meet you. Father is going to bring out your food, he likes to meet everyone who comes in to eat. Plus, he enjoys watching people eating his food for the first time.” Michelle told them while pouring tea into their cups.
“We sure are popular today, aren’t we, Delia?” Jaslyn told her as Delia just shook her head. That was when a very handsome older man came from inside. He wore a white shirt that had a food stain or two on it. A white apron wrapped around his thick waist and he had on a pair of faded blue jeans and some black shoes. On his head was a black flat top chef’s hat with some blonde curly hair poking out from the sides. His face was that of a man who had probably seen so much in his life, for it showed from within the crinkles near his amazing blue eyes that smiled down at the two of them. Delia swore that when he smiled at them, she was starting to blush, he was so handsome.
“Quiche Florentine for two lovely ladies. I hope you enjoy it, I just made it and it’s warm right out of the oven.” He put the plate down in front of them as Delia and Jaslyn both grabbed their forks to take a piece. After blowing on it a bit, they each took a bite and Delia knew that once she started to really taste it, she had fallen in love. “Oh my God, this is so amazing.”
“I’ve never tasted anything so good, this is incredible.” Jaslyn said digging into the quiche once more.
“Darling this is Jaslyn and Delia, the owners of the antique shop down the street. This is the Jaslyn who Renzo was telling us about.”
Delia watched as the man took hold of Jaslyn’s hand, softly kissing it while saying, “Cette femme, pas étonnant que votre copain vous admire tellement.”
Jaslyn looked at Delia, confused as she smiled and told her, “He just said, ‘Such a beautiful woman, no wonder your boyfriend admires you so much.’”
“Oh, why, thank you.”
“I’m sorry for not formally introducing myself, my name is Philippe Bordeaux and you have probably met my wife Jillian and daughter Michelle already?”
“Yes, we have, I’m Delia,” she said, holding out her hand which, of course, he took and kissed softly. “I have to ask, how did you two meet?”
Delia saw Philippe smile broadly as he held Jillian’s hand in his for a moment. “Well, we met by chance one day in Lyon, over forty years ago. I was working at a bouchon on the Rue des Marronniers. Some of the men had been talking about Jillian, saying how beautiful she was. I had to find out for myself since I worked in the kitchen and didn’t come out much unless it was to take my break. When I saw her sitting by the window, she was drinking coffee and wearing the same dress she’s wearing right now. I knew I had to pursue her right then and there. I told the others to back off. I even got into a fight with one of the cooks.”
“I’d lived in France all my life. My family was from Kingston and I really was into school at the time. I would come to the bouchon he was working at because I loved the food so much, especially the yummy quenelles. I would always sit at the same table near the window and watch the world go by and write in my little book. But soon I started to get these little notes underneath my espresso cup. Telling me how lovely I looked that day or ‘hope you enjoy your lunch, I made it especially for you.’ Honestly, I wanted to say something to the owner because it started to get a bit weird when he mentioned how lovely I was that day. I would ask a person who worked there who this person was that was sending me the notes but no one bothered to tell me.” Jillian smiled as Michelle walked inside, shaking her head.
“I made sure no one told her who I was and this lasted about a month or so.”
“So, how did you tell her who you were?” Delia asked, wondering how this story was going to end.
“After a month of sending notes, I decided to surprise her on my day off. I made her favorite dish and brought it to her along with a red rose. I had gotten all cleaned up, was in the best clothes that I had and she sat there at her table, wearing a pair of black slacks and a cream-colored blouse. She wore her hair in a ponytail that day, like Michelle wears hers now. I put the plate on the table and sat down in the chair next to her. She said, ‘Excuse me’ but then I told her, ‘My name is Philippe Bordeaux. I’m the one who has been giving you the notes these past few days and I want to know more about the lovely woman who has been sitting here every day.”
Delia felt herself about to melt, hearing this story, and she could tell by the interaction between the two that they were still very much in love.
“We had a time convincing her parents about me but soon they saw that I was worthy of their daughter. After a year and a half of dating, I asked her to marry me on Fourviere Hill, very famous in Lyon. I had saved up enough money to buy her this ring.” He took Jillian’s hand where a small diamond ring was presented on her dainty finger. “I got down on one knee and proposed to her and of course she said yes. It was rough at first when we moved in together to make ends meet but soon I found out that Jillian could cook, really good food, especially her desserts. That’s when we decided to buy our own small bouchon, it was only big enough for about four people to sit out front and only six inside. The kitchen was large enough for just us two but with me making all the food and Jillian making the desserts, it was hard. So what we had to do was cook at our parents’ houses and bring all the food to our home to store along with what we needed at our bouchon. But then it got even more difficult when she became pregnant with our first child Andre. Then a couple of years after he was born, we had enough to move to a bigger place, we were able to hire a small staff.”
“And that’s when Jules and Julien were born,” Jillian giggled as Delia couldn’t help but listen on while Jaslyn continued to eat. “Michelle is our only girl and she’s her father’s cherie ange.”
“Cherie ange?” Jaslyn asked.
“Umm, how do you say? Darling angel. Well, after we had our daughter, we decided to come to America to start off new and now we are here in Kellington, restarting in a brand new place.”
“Now, that’s an amazing and beautiful sto
ry.” Delia looked at the plate, realizing that the quiche that had been there was now gone except for some crumbs. “You could have at least saved me some, Jaslyn, geez.”
“I’m sorry, but it was too delicious,”
Philippe let out a hearty laugh and told her, “This is what happens when you get hold of one of my quiches. I will get a slice just for you, my dear.” And with that, he walked back inside as Jillian rolled her eyes while shaking her head. “You better watch out, now he knows you love his food, he’ll be sending you more and more.”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all, everything here smells and tastes so good,” Jaslyn said as Philippe came back out with another slice of quiche, putting it down in front of Delia who began to eat it. “Where are your sons, now?”
“Andre is a lawyer in New York. He has a wife and our grandson, Andre Jr., or, as we like to call him, A.J. Jules went back to France after he graduated from college and he works in film. Julien lives in Arizona with his girlfriend and they are both artists.”
“I know you are very proud of them all, Jillian, as you should be,” Delia told her as she watched Jillian smile.
“I will have Michelle bring you your desserts right away, excuse me.”
Delia continued to eat some of her quiche while Jaslyn sipped on her tea. Never had she tasted anything as heavenly as this quiche, she thought while taking bite after bite of the egg and spinach concoction. She knew that she needed to stop but of course that was not going to happen as Michelle came out with two beautifully made desserts. “Oh my goodness, will you look at these.” Jaslyn smiled when Michelle served the beautifully made plate with the two puff pastries on top of one another with chocolate in between to hold them together. Chocolate was swirled like a pool around this little confection. Delia thought it was too beautiful to eat and she watched Jaslyn go into her purse to grab her phone. She took a picture and started to text something right afterwards. “What are you doing?”
“Sending this little morsel to Renzo with a note saying ‘Look what I got’. And after I eat it, I’ll send him another one saying ‘All gone’.”
They heard Michelle start to snicker a bit, “Now that is funny, for sure.” She placed the small beautiful tart with strawberries that were so bright and red and glistening with some kind of glaze in front of Delia who said, “Thank you. How do you like it here in Kellington so far?”
“Oh, it’s nice and quaint here. I’m going to have to get used to it here but I think we’ll do just fine.” Delia watched her walk away, noticing that sound of discontent in her voice. There was something there, she thought, but of course she wasn’t about to dig any deeper.
Chapter Fifteen
Simone looked at himself in the mirror while he was in his bathroom. He found himself staring at his reflection for the longest time while he was trying to get ready for their date. He didn’t understand why in the hell he was so nervous.
“Hell, it’s just a date, man,” he told himself for what was now the fifth time. He put on his tie, which of course was now the eighth time he’d tried to put it on. Even something as simple as putting on a tie tonight was proving difficult for him to do. Letting out a huge sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment. “Just put on your tie and get yourself ready. Tonight is your anniversary with the woman you love.” And with that he started on his tie, this time going slowly because the last three times he’d rushed and ended up tying his fingers in knots along with the tie.
After finally getting himself together, Simone looked around and thought about whether he’d remembered everything he needed before the limo came to pick him up. Grabbing the phone he called Delia to see if she was ready. He slipped on his shoes while waiting for her to answer and after the second ring she picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hi sweetheart, are you ready for our date tonight?”
“Of course I am, just fixing my hair a bit more and going to put on some perfume. Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am. It feels just the way I felt on our first date. I bet the dress looks beautiful on you.”
“I want to thank you for it again, it is simply gorgeous. I didn’t think that you would have remembered the color of the dress I wore that night.”
“I remembered everything about that night and I know tonight will be no different than it was that first night.” He told her, sitting on the bed to adjust his feet within his shoes. “I just wanted to call and see if you were ready, the driver should be here soon.”
“I am so ready for the night to begin.”
A knock sounded at the door before Renzo came in and said, “The limo is here.”
“Well, the limo is here. See you in five minutes, darling.” He made his way out of the room while both he and Renzo started walking down the hallway. “So, you have everything ready?”
“Yup, everything is set and ready for you both. My guys will know what to do.” His brother assured him as they made their way up front.
“Thanks, bro, talk with you later.” He headed out of the door, seeing the driver standing next to the limo, wearing a full tuxedo and saying, “Hello, Mr. Cipriano. I’ll let you in and we’ll be on our way.” He opened the door for Simone who got inside, seeing that the entire limo was well stocked with a small bar of liquor, water and sodas. Soon the driver got in and then they were off. His heart started to race a bit as they drove out of the driveway and down the hill. He looked over at the bar, thinking that maybe if he had a drink, he might calm down. But as he moved toward it, he stopped himself. No, he thought, he wanted things to be like they were that night and everything was going to be just fine. Resting against the seat, he looked up through the sunroof at the evening sky and found himself starting to relax a bit more.
As they made their way through town, Simone reached in his pocket to grab a mint for he knew that they would soon be at her place. Rolling the mint around his mouth with his tongue, he let it click along his teeth nervously as they made the left turn onto Parsons Avenue, Delia’s street. They drove a bit further until they stopped in front of Delia’s family home. He waited for the driver to open the door for him to get out and when the man did, he stood there looking over at the other house of his childhood.
He walked slowly up the driveway, the same one he remembered him and the guys playing basketball on every Sunday after church. He smiled when he saw the old swing chair where they used to sit and talk until her mother would tell them it was time for Delia to come inside for bed. When her mother had died about six years ago, it broke Simone’s heart the most. He had been there for Andrew and Delia’s mother, Olivia, when she had gotten so sick with leukemia. When Andrew or Delia got too tired to handle her, he would take time off from his job to help out. Either by taking her to chemotherapy or making sure she went to her other doctors’ appointments. Sometimes she would ask to go and visit his mother because she always loved her garden. He would take her there, sometimes wheeling her in her wheelchair if she had gotten too tired to walk and she would sit there in a special spot that his mother had made especially for her. They would sit and have tea if she was able to drink it and just talk until she had gotten too tired to do that.
When she had gotten so weak that they knew she wasn’t going to make it through the night, she had asked for everyone to leave because she had wanted to talk with Simone alone. He sat down next to her in her hospital bed and she looked so tired and worn from all that she had been through those last couple of months but she put on a small smile for him.
“Simone, darling, I just wanted to talk with you for a bit. There is something that I’ve been wanting for a long time and I wish for you to do it for Delia.”
“Sure, Mrs. Whitney whatever you want me to do I’ll do it.”
“I want you to fix up my house for her. I plan on giving her the house so that one day she can raise a family of her own in it. I want her to have a lovely place to stay and I know she wouldn’t want to leave Kellington. Also, there is another thing I want you to do for me as well. I want y
ou to find yourself someone special because you deserve someone in your life. I don’t want you to be alone forever.” Tears flooded her eyes which ended up making him tear up as well, just from looking at her.
“I promise to get the house done and to find someone to make my life complete as well.” He took her hand, kissing it softly while she smiled. It would be the last time anyone would see her smile, for about ten minutes later she passed away with family and friends around her. He made good on his promise about a month after she passed, the brothers had people come to fix up the entire house inside and out, according to what Delia wanted.
It was something that he could see now when he looked at the house and how beautiful it looked. Making his way up to the door, he pressed the doorbell and waited only briefly before the door slowly opened up, revealing something before him that he thought had stepped out of a dream.
She stood there wearing the dress he had picked out for her, looking like a beautiful royal goddess in lavender. Her smile brightened her face which was flawlessly made up, with only a little makeup. Her hair was pinned up except for some curls which lightly framed her face. “Hi.”
Simone was at a complete loss for words, standing there. She kept staring at him, waiting for him to at least say something. For Christ’s sake man, say something, quick, he chastised himself. “I’m sorry, but you look so beautiful that you literally have taken my words away.”
“Why, my goodness, I can’t believe I’ve made the eloquent lawyer Simone Cipriano speechless.” She walked back in, turning off the lights as she closed the door. He immediately took her by the hand while walking over to the limo and its driver. “Good evening, ma’am.” The driver nodded as Delia did the same before she got inside. Once they were both in, the door was closed and the driver went over toward the driver’s side, got in and drove toward the Cipriano home.
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Simone (The Ciprianos of Kellington Book 2) Page 12