December 23rd 2010.
Jay didn't feel like running today, so he just did some reps on his bedroom floor, before going to take a shower.
There was only one bathroom underground, so he and Chloé would have to share. He didn't think it'd be a problem though since he basically woke up at dawn every day. He doubted she had the same motivation.
He jumped in the shower and tied a towel to his waist when he was done. He shaved and went back to his room where he dressed in jeans and a t-shirt before going upstairs.
It was 7am and he thought he was the first awake but that had been his own misconception. Both his grandparents were already in the kitchen, and Sean was the one cooking.
"Morning." he said and kissed them both on the cheek.
"Morning mon lapin, slept well?" Freja asked.
"Like a baby." Jay replied before sitting down at the table. "It smells so good, what are you making papy?"
"Pain perdu! Tis the only bloody French… anythin' I know how to make." he proudly declared in that baritone voice of his and Freja laughed.
"... Isn't it French toasts?" Jay oddly asked after peeking over.
"It sounds better in French." Sean shamelessly shrugged.
Jay finally understood how his father and grandfather could get along so well; they were crafted from the same mould. That was probably why his mother had married the man.
When everyone was awake and seated at the table, Freja spoke up, "So, Marie, François and the girls won't be here until tonight, what do you guys want to do?"
Lee and Sean had decided to go hiking in the forest behind the house, in spite of the weather. They had asked Jay if he was interested but he had begged out and wished them good luck.
He turned to his grandmother, "Can we go to the bowling we used to go to?"
Freja beamed at him, "I was hoping you'd propose!" then shook her head, "That bowling has closed, but there's another one in town. It's part of a theater and restaurant multiplex. It's very popular nowadays."
Jay turned to Lou, "Wanna play?"
The little girl happily nodded and Helen also decided she would give it a shot.
They all went back to their rooms to change and regrouped in the entryway. Lee and Sean bade them goodbye and left, all geared up.
They took Freja's car, a 2009 Citroën C4 Exclusive, and she drove them towards the place.
It was in Nancy's core, near all the shopping malls. The multiplex was called Kinépolis, and it had apparently been constructed less than five years ago.
It was the first time for either his mom or Lou though, since the little girl had been too small to play before, and although the restaurants were okay, there were better ones in the old town.
"It's nice." Jay commented while overlooking the river on the side that encompassed a huge part of the land.
"Uh-huh. Come on, before it gets too crowded." Freja urged.
"Is there usually a lot of people?" Helen inquired.
"It depends on the days. You should have seen what it was like during the World Cup, the place was a gigantic mess, people throwing beer bottles everywhere. And for what? France didn't even make it to the round of 16." the woman snorted in disdain.
"World Cup?" Lou asked and Freja smiled, "Yes, of football, sweetie."
"Football?... Ah, you mean soccer." Jay nodded in understanding.
His grandmother whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes at him. "No, I meant football. It's played with your feet, it's football. What's soccer? Why call it soccer when it's obviously football? What Americans play, is American football. Although they barely even use their feet, which is stupid. It's football. Okay, mon lapin?" she smiled and Jay hurriedly nodded.
She went back to leading the way and he sighed in relief. That had been intense.
His mom dropped back and let out a muffled laugh at his face. "Your grandmother became a soc… a football fan awhile ago. She supports the ASNL, Nancy's team. They suck, but don't tell her that. Also don't bring the game up again, she gets really into it."
"Yeah, I got that." Jay ruefully shook his head before following his mom and catching up with Lou and his grandma.
***
"STRIKE!" Lou happily yelled after Helen's magnificent move that left Jay and Freja groaning.
They had partied up, Jay was with his grandmother and his mom was with Lou. And the mother and daughter duo were on a winning streak.
"Again? It's the third in a row!" Jay shook his head in wonder. He sucked at bowling. He took a look at his skill and it was a pitiful 8 points. If his agility wasn't so damn high, he probably wouldn't hit any pins at all.
His grandmother was good, but even she only had only gotten a single strike so far, and the rest were all spares, which was still impressive.
"Damn hat-tricks." Freja mumbled and Jay wisely shut his mouth. He didn't dare correct her, lest he got her started on the football lingo again.
They were about to play the last round, when a guy approached them. He had separated from his group of friends who were waiting a little further away, and smiled at Helen.
"Salut, ça va? J'peux t'offrir un verre?" (Hey, what's up? Can I buy you a drink.)
Helen smiled and responded in Swedish, "Jag älskar enhörningar. Och min man." (I love unicorns. And my husband.)
Jay burst into laughter, as did Lou and his grandmother. The guy looked bewildered and so she simply wriggled her ring finger at him. That did the trick and he made his escape, flustered.
Jay shook his head and turned to his mother, "Does that happen to you often?"
Helen shrugged, "Usually they back off after seeing the ring."
"Usually? What about when they don't?" Jay asked, eyebrow raised.
"I have pepper spray." Helen meaningfully smiled and picked up her bowling ball. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Does that happen often?" his mom asked, her lips curled with mirth and her chin pointing behind him.
Jay turned around and noticed a few girls eyeing him. He whipped his head back, realizing his mother had taken the chance to score another strike.
"Seriously?" Jay smiled at her wearily.
Freja threw her hands up, "Alright, you guys win. Let's get something to eat, this lady is starving."
Lou high fived her mom and giggled, "Strikenator!"
They made their way to the bar counter, and ordered some burgers and fries for lunch. They ended up playing a few more parties by switching partners, and somehow, Jay and Lou's team won the last one. He was sure she was a lucky charm of some kind, and he let her know by tickling her.
"Whoa, where is it, where did you hide all the luck?" he growled in a caveman-way while he attacked her.
"Hahah, hahaha, JAY! Stop it! I don't… hahaha." Lou shrieked and did her best to get away from him.
Helen watched them with a loving smile and Freja came up to her.
"He's good to her." the grandmother said.
"Mmh. He always wanted a sibling. Remember how I told you he even brought home adoption papers once?"
Freja let out a hearty laugh, "Yeah, where did he even get that?"
"I have no idea. I always thought he was a weird kid. But he was such a cute little rascal." Helen nostalgically smiled.
"Uh-uh, I don't know about that. I still remember how he tag teamed with Chloé to prank your dad and I. I can tell you that sleeping with pine fruits under your mattress is anything but pleasant." she wryly retorted.
They both laughed at the memory, before joining back with the other two.
***
Lee and Sean had spent the entire morning hiking, then had had lunch at the local dinner.
They were sitting at the living room's table playing poker when Helen, Lou, Freja and Jay had come back.
Lee just threw his cards on the table, "... I'm a better mahjong player."
Sean took a swig of his beer and gave a loudly audible burp that earned him a glare from his wife.
Freja eyed the empty beer bottles with a mix of disbelief and exasperation. "You big oaf, how much did you drink?"
"I think he's well on his seventh. Sorry, I tried to stop him. I'm not exactly his match." Lee stated.
Jay stifled a laugh by placing a hand on his mouth. That was an understatement, he thought. Seeing his father next to his grandfather reminded him of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk he had told Lou yesterday.
"Alright, he's done for today. Jay, be a dear and help your father bring him to his room." Freja said.
"Sure."
He put his arm under the Irish giant's armpit and Lee did the same from the other side. Jay made sure his body supported the most before making his way up the stairs one step at a time.
Sean was laid down in bed, snoring, and the father and son duo exhaled a simultaneous breath of relief.
When they went back down, Freja had already started in the kitchen. Jay offered his help and Lee was promptly dismissed and banned from the premises.
"What are we making?" he asked while rolling his sleeves up to wash his hands.
"Rice with crème fraîche, onions and mushrooms sauce, and bouchées à la reine." his grandmother replied as she took the ingredients out.
Jay pensively zoned out and Freja asked, "Think you can handle it?"
"Well… I'm good with the rice and sauce, but I'll leave the bouchées to you, if that's alright. You do them so well, after all." he simpered and his grandmother laughed.
"Aussi sournois qu'un renard." (As cunning as a fox.) she commented.
Jay started by peeling a few onions and dicing them. He then heated up a pan with some olive oil and started to fry the onions, but not enough that they'd turn golden. He threw in the mushrooms and waited a bit before adding the crème fraîche. He peppered, salted and added an ounce of water. And… done.
He tasted a spoonful and it brought a smile to his lips; it was as good as he remembered.
Since there was nothing else for him to do besides cooking the rice, Freja called his mom to help with the bouchées and he was rudely ushered out of the kitchen.
He went to the library, joining Lou who was trying to read with difficulty.
"Ooh, that's a good one." he commented, his elbows resting on the back of the couch she was sitting in.
Lou turned around and beamed at him happily, but her lips soon morphed into a pout. "I… I still can't read alone."
Jay smiled, he came around next to her and eyed the 'The Little Prince' book in her hands. "You're still learning, it's okay. Want some help?"
She nodded and they spent some time with Jay teaching her how to decipher words faster.
"LOU!!" they both heard after a while.
"Pau!!" Lou exclaimed at the little girl who had appeared at the underground's doorway.
Both of them ran towards each other and started jumping happily.
"T'as grandi!!" (You grew up!!) Pauline excitedly observed.
"Oui! Toi aussi!" (Yes! You too!) Lou replied in kind.
Jay laughed and before he could say anything, someone else peeked out the stairs.
"Coucou les hiboux! C'est là qu'vous étiez cachés." (Hey busters! That's where you were hiding.) she let out.
"Chloé!!" Lou giggled and ran towards the young woman who picked her up and pinched her cheeks.
"Ohhh, t'es d'venu encore plus mignonne, ma chérie." (Aww, you became even cuter, sweetie.) Chloé beamed before switching her sight to Jay.
"Salut l'étranger!" (Hey, stranger!) she smirked.
"Salut, ça fait un bail. Ma sieste a duré plus longtemps que prévu." (Hey, it's been awhile. My nap took longer than I expected.) he grinned and she laughed.
"Ugh, come here you!" she hugged him tightly and couldn't stop a few tears from spilling. "I missed you so much, we were so scared… Thank God you're fine." she hoarsely whispered.
Jay patted her back in silence, and when she let go, she eyed him appreciatively.
"Damn, you're looking fine! Do you work out? This is so weird." she blurted out and turned to her little sister.
"Pauline, say hi to Jay. He's Lou's big brother, remember? We saw him at the hospital before, he's our cousin too."
The strawberry blonde haired little girl nodded her head, "Hi!" she waved, "I'm Pauline, but everyone calls me Pau. I'm eight! What about you? You look big!"
"Hi, I'm Julien, but everyone calls me Jay. I'll be sixteen in January." he let out a laugh at the girl's forwardness.
Pau nodded and went back to chatting with Lou. Chloé grabbed Jay's arm and dragged him upstairs to her parents.
Marie and François were chatting with the others, when they saw him and froze.
His aunt hurried towards him and embraced him tightly, her lips trembling, "It's so good to see you sweetheart. So good."
François came around and replaced her after she was done, "Bienvenue à la maison." (Welcome home.)