Marguerite wakes up to the sound of her boyfriend's snore. She puts on her bathrobe and goes to start up the shower. As she takes a bath, Chad wakes up and checks the time; it's 10 AM. He wakes up and enters the shower where his girlfriend is to brush his teeth and tame his bed hair. He takes out a new razor that her girlfriend bought and cleans himself up.
Marguerite finishes her shower and wraps herself in a towel. Chad gives her a playful grin to which she frowns and hits him in the back of his head while Chad laughs it off. She gets changed into some loose track pants and a turtle neck tank top. Chad just rocks the first white shirt he finds with some random black jeans. In front of the mirror, they both put on their earrings; one small earing for the boy, two small earrings for the girl.
After getting ready and sorting the room out, Chad prepares breakfast and Marguerite drinks her coffee on the sofa with a book in hand. The same one from yesterday. It is titled: 1984.
"How was your night?"
"It was great thanks."
They start idle conversations while eating breakfast, sometimes sitting in comfortable silence. Checking their phones and the latest news, reading and enjoying the food mixed with the nice smell of morning coffee.
These two are not the type of couple that confesses their love for each other every chance they get, they barely kiss and are not planning on having intercourse before marriage. They are like an old couple in young bodies. You will never find them doing PDA in a parc or hugging in public. The most they will do is hold hands. If they want to show affection, they usually do it with actions instead of words; for example making dinner, buying gifts, giving massages or playing around with hair. The times they told each other I love you can be counted on two hands, and they've been together for 6 years already. One might think that this is a rather dry couple, but only they can understand their kind of love. Only they know how many times they told each other I love you, through a language that does not need any words, and cannot be replaced by words.
When Marguerite and Chad are done, the woman decides to go visit her father's family. She takes the bus to Heimdal and puts on her headphones for the 20-minute-ride.
Used to spend my nights out in a barroom
Liquor was the only love I'd known
But you rescued me from reachin' for the bottom
And brought me back from being too far gone
Tennessee Whiskey starts to play and she is suddenly reminded of Chad. He was the one that introduced her to Chris Stapleton a year ago. Since then, she remembers him every time she listens to the song.
You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey
You're as sweet as strawberry wine
You're as warm as a glass of brandy
And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time
She slowly closes her eyes, leans her head onto the window, and feels the rumbling of the motor in her legs. Marguerite falls into a deep sleep.
———————————————————————————————
Meanwhile, Chad is talking to the phone with his friends.
"Guess who's back in town?"
They get excited and propose to throw a welcome party next week for his return. He gladly accepts and they start to discuss who they should invite, where it should take place and what the scale of the party should be. Chad is more of a quiet party guy with a couple of private friends and Jazz playing in the background. But his friends are having none of it.
"Geez dude, you're 22 for crying out loud! Stop acting like an old grandma and live for God's sake. You're not going to stay young forever you know?".
Another voice cuts him before he can protest.
"Justin is right. You've been gone for MONTHS. If we're throwing a party it's gotta be big mate."
Chad reluctantly gives in and braces himself for a headache next week. Sometimes he does feel like an old grandma. But grandmas are cute, right?
After two hours of calling and facetiming, Chad hangs up and stands up to get himself a snack. He turns on the radio but there seems to be a disc inside that was playing before the radio got turned off. He realizes that it's the playlist Marguerite put on for the surprise candlelight dinner yesterday. He decides to press play and listen to the rest of it while he works on his computer with his colleagues.
Surtout, ne m'en voulez pas trop - [Please, don't blame me too much]
Si ce soir je rentre chez moi - [If I go home tonight]
J'ai tellement de choses à faire - [I have so much to do]
Avant que le jour se lève - [Before the sun rises]
A French song he never heard before starts to play. He stops in his track as the melody enchants him. He doesn't speak a lot of French, but from the little he learned through his lover's family, he can understand the gist of the lyrics being sung.
Et pendant qu'elle dormira - [And while she sleeps]
Moi, je lui construirai des rêves - [I, for her, will devise dreams]
Pour que plus jamais, au réveil - [So that never again, in the morning]
Elle ne se lève les yeux en pleurs - [she wakes with tears in her eyes]
He sits down with his laptop with a smile as he enjoys the music. He seems to recognize Richard Cocciante's voice as the music plays on and fills the small studio. The melody was a bit sad as if reminiscing heartbreak. It left a string of pain in the heart, but this is the sort of feeling Chad loves to get when hearing a love song.
Et pour que cette longue nuit - [And so that this long night,]
Ne soit plus jamais noire et profonde - [Shan't ever be dark and hollow]
Je demanderai à la lune - [I shall ask the moon]
De remplir le ciel tout entier - [to fill up the whole sky]
Et pour que je puisse encore la voir - [And so that I can see her again]
Me sourire comme avant - [smile at me like she used to]
Je demanderai au soleil - [I shall ask the sun]
De brûler, même en plein hiver - [to burn even in the middle of winter]
He was answering his mail while hearing the beautiful symphony when his cellphone suddenly rings. It was an unknown number. Chad takes the call with an uneasy feeling in his heart for some reason.
"Hello."
"Hello, we are contacting you because you are registered as Marguerite Sonderegger's closest family and contact in case of emergencies. Are you Chad Sheerin?"
This didn't bide well. Chad's heart gets heavier by the second, and he wishes time could stop so that he can catch his breath and prepare himself for what he is about to hear.
"Yes. Who am I talking to?"
"I am calling you from St. Olavs Hospital to inform you that Marguerite Sonderegger has been admitted into the emergency department."