Chapter 35
35
Maman calls me into her bedroom when I get home and shuts the door quietly. ‘What’s up?’
‘There’s something you should know.’
I pinch the bridge of my nose. I cannot take any more bad news. ‘Are you OK? Dad?’
She waves me away. ‘It’s Eloise. I got to school late to pick her up because I got held up at the fromagerie , you know how Oliver chats, but anyway, when I did finally get there, Eloise was by the gates with a group of kids who were all hurling insults at Léa.’
‘Oh? Eloise has found some new friends?’
Maman’s top lip vanishes as she bites down. ‘Time to take your blinkers off, Coco. All of those children, including Eloise, were being horrible to that poor girl. I hate to say this, Coco, but from what I could hear, Eloise was the instigator.’
‘Probably because?—’
‘Stop.’ Maman takes my shoulder and says in a firm voice, ‘The time for excuses is over. None of us believe Eloise is capable of the acts she’s been accused of, but I saw with my very eyes and heard such awful taunts coming from her. We need to have a chat with her right now.’
My breath leaves me in a whoosh. Could I have got this so wrong? Is my daughter the bully? Has she been the bully all along? I think back to the meeting, the cowed, timid posture of Léa, compared to Eloise’s gritty, petulant mood.
I cup my face. And Henri. I’ve accused his child and shrugged off the fact that Eloise slapped her. Did she slap her? Eloise hasn’t admitted it, but what if she did?
My shoulders slump as I go to the bedroom. ‘Eloise. Kitchen. Now.’
She takes her merry time and slides onto the chair, a look of abject boredom on her face. ‘What?’
‘I’ll sit here all night if we have to, but I’d like you to tell me the truth about Léa. Starting from our conversation where you told me they called you cheugy, and bullied you about your hair and your clothes and the apartment you live in.’
Her gaze slides to Maman, as if knowing she ratted her out.
‘Tell me now, and I want the truth this time.’ I’m fizzing with anger but I keep it in check. This is my daughter, and if she did do these things there must be a valid reason. I hope there is.
Eloise heaves a sigh as if this is beneath her. ‘Léa did say all those things about my hair. She’d call me Rapunzel but it in a sweet way. Her two best friends are the ones who told me I should cut it into a more modern style and made jokes about me.’
I’m blindsided. She lied to me about all of it; even that day when I thought she’d taken me into her confidence, that was all a lie? ‘So why go to this extreme?’
She drops her head. ‘I don’t know. I was mad. Léa is always so happy, so friendly. The other two girls talk about how she lives in this big apartment by the Eiffel Tower. Like she’s got literally everything . And every day she’d come to school with, like, new shoes, a bag, the latest iPhone.’
‘This is all done over jealousy?’ I’m so disappointed in her I can barely breathe.
Eloise glares. ‘Her life is so easy. And mine isn’t.’
I scrub my face. ‘Did you slap her?’
At this, her resolve crumbles and when she regains some control she says, ‘I did. And I did it outside where I knew there were no cameras.’
My heart plummets. ‘Eloise. My God .’ My stomach roils at the knowledge that she’s made this child’s life hell for absolutely no reason. And I was none the wiser. Henri’s child. If I were him, this would be unforgiveable.
‘Léa cut my hair on purpose. She did! I think .’
‘You think? ’
‘I spun around and my ponytail flicked out as she went to cut a piece of cardboard for our art project but I’m sure it was done on purpose! The timing of it…’
Now the trust is gone, I don’t know what to believe. ‘Why would she do that? You even said she’s been sweet as pie the whole time, and it wasn’t her teasing you or doing anything of the things you accused her of?’
‘Because I told her you were dating her dad,’ she stammers, flustered.
‘You knew he was her dad?’
She pulls her duh face. ‘He’s all over her Insta.’
‘But I wasn’t dating him when she cut your hair. I’m not dating him.’ What I don’t say is there’s no chance now. Not after this.
‘Yeah, I know that, but I wanted to make her mad and I thought telling her he was dating you would upset her. It didn’t! But it also came out that she’d lied about her maman being dead. Who does that?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She told everyone her maman died when really she ran off. Everyone found out recently when there were paparazzi shots of her maman online with her new reality TV boyfriend. Don’t you think that’s awful of Léa to lie like that?’
I close my eyes against the nightmare of this situation. I feel like I don’t even know my own daughter, and how can that be? ‘Eloise, have you no compassion? So what if she lied about her maman ? Maybe that’s the only way she knew how to deal with the hurt? And to have everyone at school turn on her. It beggars belief.’ That poor child.
‘So you’re on her side?’
My heart bongoes painfully against my chest. ‘What’s gotten into you? I’ve never seen this side that is needlessly cruel. I’m so disappointed, I really am.’
Even my maman , who’s been quiet up to this point, shakes her head.
‘She didn’t cut your hair on purpose, did she?’
My daughter shakes her head. ‘No. It really was an accident.’
‘And the other two girls have been rude to you but Léa hasn’t?’
She takes a shuddery breath. ‘Uh – not exactly. I’ve been rude to them. I’m the problem.’
Lies upon lies. I’m shocked to my core.
Eloise bursts into messy tears. ‘I felt so alone without Harriet and Daisy. I figured if I messed up royally here that you’d be forced to take me back to London…’
She lets out a wail that makes my heart seize up. There are no winners in this situation, least of all Henri and Léa .
‘I’ve ruined everything and I feel awful. Léa is a really nice person and I treated her so badly. I can’t even explain it. I just didn’t feel like me here and I wanted to go home so bad.’
I think back to Eloise telling the principal I couldn’t take phone calls at work. Another lie so she wouldn’t be found out. The more I put it all together the more obvious it gets. Blind faith and an abundance of love for my daughter stopped me from seeing it.
‘Perhaps it’s time to get Henri and Léa over here?’ Maman suggests.
I nod. ‘I’ll try.’
A couple of hours later, Henri and Léa arrive and Maman ushers them in, asking if they want coffee, apple juice, or wine. She’s covering all bases.
‘Do you want a glass of wine, Léa?’ he says, and I melt a bit because we make the same joke with Eloise.
When he comes face to face me with me, the smile fades. ‘Hey.’ He nods.
‘Hi,’ Léa says. I can’t even look at her without remorse knocking me sideways.
We sit around my parents’ kitchen table. I clear my throat. ‘Thank you both for coming here this evening. We appreciate it considering the way things were left. I had a long and hones t chat with Eloise this afternoon and now I realise we’re the ones who have a lot of apologising to do. From me personally, I’m so sorry, Léa…’
We spend the next hour discussing everything and resolve it all as much as it can be resolved when so much has happened. Eloise promises that it’s all in the past and Léa is happy enough to give her a second chance, which I find noble of her. Henri remains aloof, but I get it. I would be too if the tables were turned. After they leave, I sit with Eloise for a while. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying, but she is truly remorseful. ‘That was so hard.’
‘It was,’ I agree.