Her

CXXXIII

Ella and I immediately run over to the roaring fire
Set in a stone fireplace
Surrounded by chairs and a couch.
Teeth chattering, we wave our numb hands over the flames.
Soon enough, the feeling returns to my limbs
And the man returns with two warm towels,
Which we wrap around ourselves in an attempt to dry our clothes.
"Adalie, vos amis sont lá," the man calls down the stairs.
"What did he say?" I whisper to Ella.
"I don't know that much French," she whispers back.
"But I think he said 'Adalie, your friends are here.'"
Adalie appears at the tip of the stairs.
'Oui, Oncle?" She asks.
Then she spots us.
I've never seen her look this surprised.
Finally, she speaks.
"What happened to you two?"
I jerk my thumb towards outside.
"Storm.
Canoe.
Not a good combination."
She cracks a smile.
"I'd say so," she says.
"You look pretty cold.
I can ask my uncle to make us some hot chocolate,
If you want, you can come with me.
I have some clothes you can borrow."
"Yeah, that'd be great," Ella says.
"Thanks so much Adalie," I add.
She grins.
"Welcome."
Turning to her uncle, she rattles off somethings in French.
I pick out the words chocolate chaud and vêtementes secs so I can assume
She's talking about hot chocolate and getting us dry clothes.
I shiver and inch closer to the fireplace.