9. Jacinthe #2
I press my lips together to keep from snapping and telling her we’re doing just fine.
I’m supposed to be welcoming her and Shel, not dropping the whole saga of my family drama on them.
Shel isn’t even listening anymore. She’s off by the barn, trying to tempt Monsieur Fromage down from the hayloft.
I roll my shoulders back and push the thoughts of my dad aside, just like I’ve been doing for most of my life. I’m done with the brushing, so I duck under the rail and face Tess with my chest puffed out.
“It is a lot of work,” I tell her, “but luckily, I have the strength and courage of ten men combined in my body.”
She snorts first and then bursts out with a cackling laugh.
“That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
I try to tell her she’s done enough and that I’ll meet her at the house once I’m done putting the horses away, but she won’t hear it. She helps me lead them to their stalls and get all the tack put away while Shel dumps the morning grains into the feed buckets.
Excited nickering and frantic gulping sounds fill the barn as the horses chow down on their breakfast.
“I don’t know why they always act like I’m starving them, là ,” I say, shaking my head. “I’ll have you know I feed them very well.”
Tess chuckles. “I believe you. You don’t have to tell me how dramatic horses can be. My bruised toes will tell you that. I got squished by a fussy pony at work yesterday.”
I put on a sage expression. “Those ponies, man. They’ll fuck you up.”
Then I wince when I remember Shel is in earshot, pouring grain into a bucket just a few stalls down the aisle. I shoot Tess an apologetic look, but she just laughs at me.
“Sorry,” I say anyway. “I’m gonna have to get used to, uh, adjusting my language.”
Tess shrugs. “She’s ten. A swear word every now and then won’t hurt her. We’ve already had all the talks about appropriate language.”
I lean up against the nearest stall door and give Nana, who’s inside scarfing down her breakfast, a scratch.
“For me, it’s usually like eleven swear words at a time, but they’re mostly French, if that helps.”
Tess laughs again, shaking her head like she’s not sure what to do with me.
“I guess we should go up to the house,” I say. “ Maman must be up by now. My uncle and some of my cousins will be here soon, and Natalie is coming too once she wraps up some morning art class she’s teaching at the inn, but I can at least give you the keys and stuff so we can get started.”
Tess squints at me like I just spoke another language.
“You know, the keys?” I say, miming opening a door. “For your new house? That you’re here to move into?”
She shakes her head, her forehead still creased with confusion. “Yes, but, um, people are coming over?”
Now it’s my turn to squint.
“Yes?” I say. “To help you move?”
Her eyes widen. “Wait. What? But they don’t—I mean, they don’t even know me. They don’t have to help. I thought—I mean…what?”
She sounds like a robot self-destructing, her eyes bulging like she’s about to explode. I try not to laugh.
“Did you really think you were going to move in all alone?” I ask. “That’s not how things work in La Cloche. The whole town knows you’re moving in today. Maman has been spreading the word like the good news of the bible or something. I’m surprised we don’t have a crowd on the lawn already.”
Tess shakes her head like she still doesn’t understand.
“They’ll say they’re here to help,” I explain, “which they will, but mostly, they’re just here to get gossip on the new town resident. Oh, and to bring you casseroles. I hope you’re ready to get a lot of casseroles.”
I wait for her to laugh or at least chuckle, even though it’s true that she will be drowning in casseroles by the end of the week.
All she does is blink at me.
“People are coming to help us?” she asks. “People want to meet us?”
I tilt my head. “Of course they do.”
“It’s just…”
She glances down the aisle to check if Shel is listening, but she’s drifted down to the far end of the barn and looks caught up whispering something to one of the ponies.
“I really want to find somewhere we fit, you know?” Tess says. “Somewhere Shel can feel at home. I need to make this all worth it for her, and I know it will take time, but…it just means a lot that people actually want to show up and meet us.”
She’s practically shaking with relief, and I have to clasp my hands behind my back to keep from throwing my arms around her in a hug.
“You don’t have to worry about that, okay?” I stare her down to make sure she hears every word. “La Cloche is all about making people feel welcome, and if anyone does anything that does not make Shel feel welcome, you tell me, okay? I’ll sort it out.”
She holds my gaze, neither of us blinking.
“Or, you know, if they don’t make you feel welcome either,” I add. “I can sort that out too.”
I fidget with my hair, tucking a lock of my bob behind my ear while I kick at a pebble on the floor.
Tess lets out a soft laugh. “Do I want to know what sorting it out would entail?”
I look back up at her and flex one of my biceps. “The strength and courage of ten men. Remember?”
She chuckles. “Right. Of course.”
Shel comes over to ask us what’s so funny, and I tell her that her mom doesn’t believe I have secret MMA fighter skills. She says she doesn’t believe me either, which leads to me chasing her out of the barn while pretending I’m about to karate chop her head.
She screeches with laughter all the way up to the house, where I pretend to be winded and tell her she’s defeated me this time but not for long.
I really am almost winded by the short run. All I’ve eaten today is a cereal bar and an apple I scarfed down in the kitchen before stumbling over to the barn while it was still dark out.
Right on cue, Maman bursts onto the porch to announce no one is allowed to start working until we come inside for coffee and bacon.
We’ve all loaded up plates with bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs when a couple cars full of my cousins, aunts, and uncles arrive.
Natalie isn’t far behind them. Maman insists on frying up more food even though most people have eaten already, and soon we’re all sprawled on the porch, balancing plates on our knees and sipping from steaming mugs.
Everybody has a thousand questions for Tess. I perch next to her on the porch railing, watching for any sign that she’s getting overwhelmed.
I feel a bit like a guard dog being so protective of her, and I tell myself it’s only because I know how loud and overenthusiastic my family can be.
Tess actually seems to be enjoying herself, fitting in a few bites of toast every few minutes as she explains how she came to take over Léon’s farrier business.
Shel has escaped the spotlight by taking a spot on the porch steps, where she’s having a quiet chat with one of my youngest cousins, Jeanette.
She’s seventeen, so it’s not like they’ll be besties, but still, I can’t help thinking of all the times I’d sit out on those steps with Maddie during family events.
We’d pretend we couldn’t hear our parents calling us in to eat. I’d usually be keeping myself busy whacking something with a stick while Maddie shared science facts from the latest non-fiction book she’d taken out at the library in Saint-Jovite.
“She seems sweet.”
Natalie’s voice pulls me back to the present. Maddie is on reception duty at the inn today, so Nat promised she’d stop by and get all the updates for her.
No one is safe from the La Cloche gossip mill.
“Her name is Shel, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I answer. “She’s a cool kid. She really likes animals. Even the weird ones like Joaquin and Monsieur Fromage.”
Natalie chuckles. “Seems like she’s going to fit in here just fine.”