Читать книгу The Story of Rosemary Buttons - Gregory J. McKenzie - Страница 10

When Louisa got the children to go and inspect the local park, she sat down with Mr. Buttons to chat. At first she was awkward with this man she had not seen since she was sixteen years old. In a tentative tone of voice she asked,

"How have you been Jean? It has been a long time since we were teenagers here in this very city, non?"

Mr. John Buttons Snr. noticed that Louisa was using the pet name she had invented for him when they first met. So he responded in kind when he replied in a brave tone of voice,

"It has been a long time Lo. Sorry I did not keep in touch but you know my Rose was always a little jealous of you before she....before we lost her. But I have been fine. I almost never forget her face but cannot now remember a lot of moments we had together. Particularly the painful ones she had in her last years."

Seeing that this man in front of her was sliding into the past horrors of the final moments of his late wife, Louisa quickly changed the subject. In an urgent tone of voice she asked,

"Why is mon cher Rosemary so sad? She was virtually trembling in my arms as she cried her eyes out. What has happened?'

Mr. Buttons was nodding his head before she had finished her sentence. He said in a concerned tone of voice,

"Rosemary has had a tough time at school this year. She is just fourteen and her class mates , well some of them, have been cruel to her. She is on social media where a troll....do you have that here....anyway she is being subjected to cyber bullying."

Louisa showed her Latin nature by exploding at this news. She was shaking her head violently when she exclaimed in an angry tone of voice,

"Non? La brute en des medias sociaux? Tryanniser Rosemary? Ma Non!"

John Buttons saw that this news had really upset Louisa. So much so that she was cursing all cyber bullies with vivid French expletives. Finally she calmed down enough to return to speaking English with few French words thrown in along the way. In a threatening tone of voice she asked John,

"What did you do about it Jean? Surely her school did something? In France we do not allow this cyber bullying or let anyone le brute en petite child."

Looking at this still young woman with her hands on her hips and fire in her green eyes, John caught his breath. It was like looking at a young Louisa de Monteford as she had been all those years ago. A much younger John Buttons had fallen in love with that sixteen year old firebrand. Her fiery temper attracted him enormously as did she zest for life. Once more since coming to this city of Bordeaux, he reflected that if he had not met Rose at that dance in Sydney all those years ago he would have returned to France to marry this young firebrand.

Somehow Louisa picked up on where John's mind had gone. She tempered her tone until it had a sweetness to its edge before saying,

"When tres petite Rosemary returns from the park, I will take her shopping. It is permitted, non?"

Mr. Buttons was brought back to the present by this kind offer. He said in an embarrassed tone of voice,

"Oh Lo ,that is so kind of you to be that generous with your time. But won't your partner want you to go out with him?'

Louisa laughed that crystal bell laugh she had when really happy. Then she said in a teasing tone of voice,

"Well all my lovers will have to wait one night. Because tonight is girls only night. Rosemary will shop with me then I will take her to dinner. Don't expect us home before midnight."

The smile on John Buttons face was not only because he knew that Rosemary would be in good hands with this woman. He also was picking up a vibe from this beautiful woman that was unsettling his staid demeanor. So he said in a highly jocular tone of voice,

"I will take the boys to your local fish markets. They both love fishing and will be astounded by all the new fish they see on offer. Then we will do the 'English' thing by getting fish and chips."

Shaking her head Louisa said in a teacher tone of voice,

"Jean, it is pommes frites not 'chips' you must ask for here. Tell them you want allumettes. They are the specialty of my favorite cafe. Here I will write down its address, non?

Trying to impress her with his French, John answered in a mock serious tone of voice,

"Mais oui mon coeur. Merci beaucoup."

Now Louisa was laughing fully and throatily. She looked deep into John's eyes. He was caught like a rabbit in the spotlight, but bravely he looked back deep into those emerald green eyes. They drew closer. Closer! then a loud noise at the front door broke the spell. Loud voices followed,

"I tell you it was a hare NOT a rabbit. Can't you tell the difference?..."

"What's a hare doing here in the city? That is all I said, you know it all..."

A rush of jumbled legs and eager faces confronted Louisa and John as they reluctantly left their chat on hold for later. Louisa only had enough time to promise something in a tender tone of voice,

"Jean we will continue our proche chat amical at a later date, non?"

Quickly using his schoolboy French to translate this phrase, John began nodding vigourously as he answer in an firm tone of voice,

"Oui! Very much oui!'

Louisa now took charge of the chaos of the children by saying,

"Une petite Jean is right it was most likely a hare. Probably escaped from the nature park to the south of the city. We are getting more every week."

Over the top of ,

"I told you so. Now who is a know it all?.."

To soften the blow of brotherly disdain Louisa interjected ,

"Would you like to go to the nature park? There is much to do in Bordeaux for tourists. We have two separate tourist train rides, a zoo and so much more."

The boys yelled at the top of their lungs,

"NATURE PARK!!!"

Mr. Buttons now spoke in a censorious tone of voice,

"I did not hear one 'please' there. Don't you go forgetting your manners."

The boys both spoke in a chastened tone of voice when they chorused,

"Please Louisa, can we go to the nature park?"

Looking at their suddenly 'cherub' like faces, she laughed out loud before saying in a happy tone of voice,

"Tomorrow we go but now I am taking Rosemary shopping. You boys are going to the fish markets."

Again the noise level went up many decibels as both boys yelled their delight. As they danced around their father happily, forgetting his lecture about manners, Louisa steered Rosemary out of her apartment. She said in an affectionate tone of voice,

"We girls will sneak away from all that boy noise. Our poor local fish sellers do not know what is about to descend upon them, non? But you and I will be shopping in the tres chic places of solitude. Then we go for dinner. After we talk some more. Is that okay with you Rosemary?"

The smile on Rosemary's face said it all, but the nodding heard reinforced her delighted response,

"Yes please. I would like that all very much. Thank you for being so nice to me."

Suddenly overcome with emotion, Louisa hugged Rosemary then said in a determined tone of voice as they marched to her car hand in hand ,

"Mons cheerie you deserve nice things to happen to you. No-one will not be nice to you when I am around."