2 #2
Louane immediately thinks the term is incorrect; Sarah ought to be referring to her udders.
The thought brings a smile to the young woman’s face; she realizes she is now thinking entirely in terms of cows and herds.
Louane leaves her computer and her two cows to their interaction.
She is unconcerned, knowing that even together, they cannot escape the barn; she grabs the van keys to collect the milk—including Sarah’s—and deliver it all to the Rennes University Hospital.
She needs to be back by noon to feed and tend to her two cows.
Louane is back well before noon. She checks her computer for updates on her two cows.
She could do this on her phone, but she has only set up alerts there, and no notifications of that kind have interrupted her morning.
So, she calmly asks her AI assistant for a summary of the exchanges between Sarah and Alma since she left.
The two cows have discussed their shared captor, Lo?c, and have also started thinking about ways to escape; Sarah is a step ahead of Alma, noting that she hasn't found a way out yet.
Louane worries that the assistant failed to detect the word "escape," but it turns out the cows used the phrase "get out of here," which slipped past the AI’s monitoring.
Louane tells herself she needs to fine-tune those settings quickly—that will be her task for the afternoon.
At noon, she goes down to feed and tend to her two cows before coming back up. It is no more difficult than dealing with Sarah alone; since the cows are isolated in their stalls, having two of them poses no particular safety issues.
That afternoon, Louane welcomes Nolwenn, who has come over for coffee.
It is the day off for the former midwife, with whom Louane worked for three years before they were both laid off when their maternity ward closed.
Nolwenn has since found a job at a clinic in Rennes specializing in ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology).
She works as a coordinator for couples—a role far removed from her original qualifications and, for the moment, only part-time, which makes things financially difficult for her.
The two have become close friends; Louane had placed Nolwenn at the top of her list of potential recruits to help with the farm, but she also realizes that her friend might be able to help her even more through her current job.
For now, the plan is simply to catch up with a friend and former colleague, hear about her new job, and gauge her state of mind.
Naturally, the conversation turns to the closure of the maternity ward.
Louane deliberately steers the discussion toward the underlying reasons for the closure and discovers that her friend fully shares her analysis regarding the surge in tourism—and the consequent spike in real estate prices.
Like Louane, Nolwenn is dismayed to see not only the coast but now the inland areas as well being taken over by second homes.
Louane realizes they are on the same wavelength.
She tells her friend about her career shift into breast milk collection and suggests meeting up in Rennes for lunch; Nolwenn happily agrees.
That evening, after milking Sarah and tending to the two calves—changing them and giving them their bottles—Louane mentions it to Gwendal over dinner.
Louane: "My friend Nolwenn has found a part-time job at a fertility clinic in Rennes; it might be something that interests us."
Gwendal doesn’t immediately see the point until Louane explains her reasoning.
Louane: "At fertility clinics, infertile couples seek help to have children. It works, but there are also many failures. Yet, these are couples who desperately want a child. Among them, there are surely some who would be willing to 'adopt' a calf from our farm if they couldn't have one themselves.
Don't forget, Gwendal, that the calves are what will provide the bulk of our income."
Gwendal: "I haven't forgotten, but it’ll be hard to get paperwork for these adoptions without any traceability regarding the calves' origins; look at how strictly the industry monitors our French cows."
Louane: "I know, but in this case, the calves will be the couples' own biological offspring. We’ll offer the husband the chance to personally inseminate the cow he’s chosen. During the gestation period, his wife will fake a pregnancy. When the calf is born, we’ll hand it over to its parents."
Gwendal pauses, admiring his partner's ingenuity. By involving the husband in the calf's conception, they ensure the couple’s silence should any remorse arise. It isn't an adoption, after all—it’s the couple’s own child.
Louane: "We’ll just need to create all the medical records for the wife’s fake pregnancy, but that’s not hard; I know the whole procedure and can forge documents that look completely authentic."
Gwendal brings out another bottle of cider to celebrate this new milestone—though they still have to convince Nolwenn to help, Louane is very confident about that.
For Louane, caring for her new cow proves to be a bit more difficult than the first one.
It was certainly a matter of temperament, but also because Alma had been fully briefed by Sarah, who had entered the barn before her.
She struggled to accept the food Louane gave her—even though it was excellent—and she disliked wearing diapers and having to soil them, just as she hated having her genitals cleaned and creamed.
The first visit to the milking parlor proved to be a struggle.
There was no element of surprise as there had been with Sarah; Alma understood perfectly where Louane was taking her and knew that the door opposite the changing room led to the milking parlor.
Louane had to use her stick repeatedly to get Alma into her stall before fully restraining her with the chain around her neck and the ones securing her front legs.
Despite her resistance, Alma was now ready for her udder to be stimulated by the milking machine.
Louane undid the front zipper of her coveralls, revealing a fine udder. She kneaded the flesh and teased the teats—much to the obvious annoyance of the Danish Red cow.
Louane: "You aren't used to milking yet, my young cow, but when your udder is heavy with milk, being milked will come as a relief. Your friend Sarah won't admit it, but she actually prefers milking now; her udder gets so sore when it's engorged with good milk."
Louane attached the milking cups to Alma’s udder and set the timer for 30 minutes.
A few days later—and despite some bucking and other futile attempts at rebellion—Alma falls into line and becomes a good milker, just like Sarah. She is even slightly more productive, yielding an average of 800 ml of milk per day.
In the meantime, Louane has lunch with Nolwenn during one of her milk deliveries to the university hospital.
She treats her friend to the meal, knowing Nolwenn is financially strapped between her low salary and the significant fuel costs of her commute.
The two women discuss the end of their work as midwives at the clinic and their future prospects.
Nolwenn admires her friend for successfully bouncing back by starting her own business; she feels she would be completely incapable of doing the same, as she lacks any entrepreneurial spirit or even the inclination to work independently.
Seeking a quieter spot to talk, Louane suggests they finish their meal and have their coffee on the restaurant’s outdoor terrace, which is currently empty of other customers.
Once they have their coffee, Louane tells Nolwenn she has a proposal for her. Her friend listens attentively.
Louane: "My milk collection business is just starting out, but it’s promising. If everything goes well, I’d like to hire someone to assist me—and relatively soon, too. However, to begin with, it would only be a part-time role. Since I imagine you’d like to supplement your own part-time job,
I thought of you."
Nolwenn’s eyes suddenly light up at the prospect, especially as Louane continues.
Louane: "Since I deliver my milk to the Rennes university hospital, you could handle the collection—just as I do—from the clients located along the route between your home and Rennes, where you work. You’d have to leave a little earlier, but I think it would fit your schedule,
and my clients would be delighted to hand over their milk to us before heading off to work themselves."
"What’s more, we’ll be able to expand our collection area on the days you aren’t working. You’ll be able to recruit new clients and explain the equipment and the procedure to them—you’re perfectly capable of doing that.
I plan to pay you a salary matching what we both used to earn as midwives at the maternity ward."
Nolwenn is immediately enthusiastic about the idea and thanks Louane for the generous offer. She accepts on the spot, and Louane tells her she’ll draw up an employment contract. She can start as early as next week, if possible.
Nolwenn confirms her availability and thanks Louane for the job and for the excellent lunch.
That same evening, she tells Gwendal all about her day in Rennes. He nods in agreement and expresses surprise that Louane hadn’t already let her friend in on the secret of her "unusual" breeding operation.
Louane: "Nolwenn is going to handle the milk collections. When she stops by the farm to pick up my own supply, she’s bound to ask questions. That’s when I’ll tell her about it, and if everything goes well—as I think it will—we’ll start recruiting the first couples interested in a calf from our herd,
with her help."
Once again, Gwendal approves of his partner’s well-thought-out strategy; so far, she hasn’t put a foot wrong.
The first two cows are now producing milk, so the herd needs to be significantly expanded in the coming weeks.
Lo?c has actually contacted Louane about a new lead; he’s coming to the farm tomorrow morning for coffee to discuss it.
Lo?c arrives at the farm at 8:00 a.m.; Louane has already had time to feed, clean, and milk her two cows. She kisses Lo?c, pours him a coffee, and gets one for herself as well.