They had lunch outside. Sometimes on the front patio by the mini pond that Theo liked to climb around in and sometimes in the back yard by the Boudigou river where the pool used to be. The whole family and sometimes friends or neighbors would run along the edge of the pool creating a current to float and drift in. Mom carried Theo on her shoulders in the pool. Ben felt like a man when Stephane took him to chop wood. They also hunted for mushrooms, went fishing, and did other manly things together. Stephane took Ben out to a piece of land owned by Jean Marmande and the three of them got to sawing and chopping wood. The family would gather around the fireplace and roast marshmallows and make smores. Stephane would tell stories, and the kids would laugh. Stephane would play with Justin, Ben and Charlotte. Sometimes Theo would play with Nana, his mountain dog. That was another thing they did. They went to the mountains, in Spain. Stephane enjoyed showing his new family the beauties the mountains had to offer. They ate raclette, and spiced meats, they walked around rustic towns, sat at cafes, and frequented bakeries for treats and beaches for a stroll in the sand. Stephane loved the beach, too. Ben would go fishing with Stephane in the Atlantic Ocean at 2 am. They'd come home with fish when everyone else was just waking up on the weekends. They'd wear wetsuits. Jean Saint Jean came by to give us wetsuits and chocolates. Stephane had lots of friends. Ben loved to hear their stories. He remembered Stephane and Luckive had caught a 10 kilogram Salmon on the shores of Luckive's beach house. Stephane built that house. He built lots of them. Hundreds of thousands of people walk on the boardwalk he built. Schools, gymnasiums, he built. He loved to read. He read everything. He liked stopping at flea markets and things like this and he could talk to the shopkeepers. He could talk to the butcher and the cheese salesmen. He respected their craft. He tasted cheeses and bought the best available. He bought the freshest and best priced fish. He was a smart shopper. Ben loved to see him at work. He had such ease as he moved through life, such confidence. He knew what he was doing.
He had these collections. He collected cars, he had a model car of everything he drove. He had a pink cadillac with a white roof. He built miniature planes and hung them on the wall. He taught Ben to make model planes for himself and bought puzzles and board games for the family. He collected foreign currencies and stamps. He gave Ben his stamp collection. They played dice games and card games. They watched soccer and tennis games together and went to the movies. Stephane went harpooning. He spoke languages, at least 4, maybe 6. He read National Geographic and political satirist cartoons by Sempe. He owned original editions of films, classic westerns, first edition Tintin books from his own childhood, handed down to his son. He owned rare art. He was a most interesting man. He was interested in seemingly everything. He spoke english with a french accent but he spoke it very well. He was an excellent skier. Hed been married to a famous actress. A movie star! He was a fly fisherman from Montana! He was larger than life. He helped his brother build a boat. A boat that traveled the Atlantic, the world! A home made boat! He wore shirts with buttons and sweaters. He wore suspenders and jeans and loafers. He smoked cigarettes that he rolled himself. Ajja 17. He was friendly to neighbors, and he worked with his own hands on his house, he knew the workers and they knew him. His secretary was a loyal friend. His mother called him all the time. He visited his mother. He took his new family to meet his friends and family. They ate here and there, and often had guests. He belonged to a group of friends who played cards every friday night. They had fun. Sometimes Ben would come downstairs for milk and honey and linger at the card game. They drank wine. He drank Badoit sparkling water. He had simple tastes, but he lived well. He loved the Beatles! He loved Nina Simone, and action movies! He took Ben to see Face Off and told Ben of the Japenese director. A master!
Ben played soccer and his friends would come get him with their bikes. They wore blue and yellow. Justin sat on the wall in the front of the house with his toy fishing rod. The bike shed contained fishing rods, nets, wood, boogie boards and wet suits. Mom's studio had a glass stained window. There was a wheel sculpture by the entrance and we took our shoes off. We took good care of the wood floor. Mom got a plancha in the back by the kitchen window. She painted birds on the kitchen walls. Stephane loved to cook. Mom would make pancakes and she loved her Caille yogurts. Sometimes Justin and the kids would make her coffee in bed. Ben loved to have spaghetti after basketball practice. Stephane made the best spaghetti. He used to sneak condensed milk. And Mom would hide the After Eights. We had desserts, mostly Carte D'Or ice cream, pistacchio or mint chocolate chip. Stephane would make crepes, too. And seasonal desserts and dishes. Fresh caught flounder and squid from the harpoon. Justin could use the harpoon, too. The boys went to catch shrimp to use as bait. They liked going to the fishing store with Stephane to learn about rods and reels and strings and baits. Stephane fished on the side of the lake. He was very careful about his rods and he showed the boys how to take care of their own.
Stephane introduced me to his friend's kids and gave me places to go on the weekends. I learned to play tennis and ping pong with Jean Marmande's kids. We watched X-Files late at night. Ben was popular and he had a crush on his friend's older sisters. Louis' mom wanted Ben to tutor him in French but he would have been too embarrassed and so would Louis. She'd take them to rent a movie and order pizza if she went out or they'd eat together and then they'd watch a movie. Joao's Mom would make them sandwiches for a snack after school. Stephane kept patisseries like croissants, chausson aux pommes for snack. Guillaume's mom picked them up in her new Mercedes and bought them patisseries and served them snack while they worked on their History project. Ben's Mom helped them make a cover for an ancient looking book! Ben made a lot of friends. He showed them his american things. He had birthday parties. Charlotte wanted to come to the party and my friends would say hello to her. They all loved my Mom. Marie asked my Mom to teach her to dance the tango! Stephane sure knew how to dance. That was how he had met my Mom. She loved to dance and he was a great dancer. He taught us how to speak french. We drove around listening to french tapes and laughing at each other's adventures with the new language. Stephane bought translators for the kids. His mother got them magazine subscriptions. Stephane got us comic books and took us to the librairies and papetteries. We had big Christmases. Mom put on treasure hunts for us! We would make arts and crafts and send them to America. Stephane drew a family portrait to use as a Christmas Card. He would draw, and doodle, and sketch. He and Mom played chess. They stayed up smoking cigarettes and playing chess. Sometimes they watched a movie and tried to name the actors and what movies they were in! Ben thought they were so smart. They did most things as a family. A happy family. With a new baby, a puppy, a new house, a new beginning. They were happy.
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