Chapter 4:
Out of all the ways to wake up that would put someone in a bad mood, spilling hour old cold coffee on yourself is most possibly one of the grosser ones.
Allegra Deschamps had taken pity on her granddaughter and brought her a warm breakfast in bed to get the day started right. Simone had dozed off with the coffee tray on her lap, woken up every couple minutes to make sure she wasn't gonna spill it on her.
About an hour later, not having stayed awake for more than 5 consecutive minutes, the dark coffee was now all over her baby pink sheets. With the coffee seeping into her mattress, and her hoodie stained, Simone dragged herself out of bed to try to salvage her Tuesday morning.
"Oh dear." Allegra tried to contain the amusement at her granddaughter's misfortune from the door frame. "Looks like your streak of luck ran out."
Simone cast a dark look at her Nona.
"Don't give me that look young lady. I gave you breakfast in bed you should've woken up and this would not have happened." She chastised as she walked further into the room to help her strip the bed.
"Sorry Nona," The dark brunette sighed, the palm of her hand running down her tired face. "I'm just having a bad... month?"
"Then get your butt into gear young lady." She pointed a bony finger at Simone.
Before Simone could respond, her grandpa poked his head into the doorway.
"What happened here?"
"Uhm... I had a nasty fight with my coffee?" Simone replied.
"It won." Allegra clarified for her, rolling up the bedsheets in her arms and turning back to Simone, "You go ahead and get ready for the day. I'll put these in the wash and we can all go out for a coffee instead."
"I like that idea, pancakes and bacon too?" Andre walked into put an arm over his wife's shoulder, who rolled her eyes.
"Can you guys drop me off at work afterwards?"
"Of course, love" Andre smiled; the sixty-eight old man had lost the thickness in his French accent. The years had worn down his words after being submerged in another language, along with the English classes. Living in Florida was a hit or miss when it came to having an accent, people understood and at least tried to work with you while others said they didn't understand you because of the way you pronounce 'water'. The xenophobia was amusing to the family considering he was American born, raised in Marseille until he was sixteen years old.
Simone noted how relaxed he was around her and his wife, she knew he'd turn serious the moment he was in the public eye. It made her sad knowing such loving people were insecure about their accents, yet they put it aside for the love they had for their children.
She'd rather sit down on the living room couch and have coffee and European delicacies the couple made together in the kitchen. Simone would do anything for her grandparents, those who raised and loved her as if she was made by them, so she smiled at them as well. Agreeing to have breakfast, but only if she could choose.
Once she was seated in a corner booth with the view of the gulf coast directly in front of her hazel eyes and a hot cup of dark coffee in her hands, Simone couldn't help but sigh at the peace she felt.
The mug held up to her face provided warmth against the cold ac of the coffee shop, she peeked her eyes above the mug to look at the couple in front of her. She wondered what it would be like if there were two couple, three generation, sitting at the table with her.
Simone studied the golden hair on her grandfathers' head, it was almost fully gray. While the man had the build of someone who served in the navy, his high cheekbones were enough to make one believe he's malnourished. The only thing he and his granddaughter shared were their eyes, same shape and color.
Allegra and Simone shared the same height, the same wavy hair, though their coloring were different. Simone's dark hair contrasted like the night against Allegra's strawberry blonde hair. Most people thought the Deschamps had adopted her, no one noticed the subtle similarities, just the glaring differences. She knew her own features came from her egg and sperm donors. Simone liked to think she looked nothing like them either but considering she'd only ever seen pictures of her mother and had no idea what her father looked like, deep down she wasn't as independent as she pretended to be.
"You know Sims, we met in a little café just like this one." Allegra smiled secretly and bumped shoulder with her husband.
Simone smiled, having heard this story every time they visited a café. She lets it slide, loving the love story.
Allegra let out a small smile as she sipped her own coffee, letting her husband take the stage.
"I'd just spent the whole night studying; school was a little harder because it was now in a language that I knew but didn't think in. As you know... it's all French in here." He tapped his forehead before clearing his throat. "I was exhausted, but I had school the next morning and there was this little café across the street from the school I could take my time to eat and study more. I had my parents drop me off before they went to work so I could eat." Andre leaned back in the booth they sat in, his right arm laying behind his wife's shoulders while his left rubbed the stubble on his chin in thought.
"I remember this tall, too thin boy slouching over his food trying not to fall asleep on his books." Allegra giggled, eyes bright as she watches her favorite memory in her mind. "I'd been reading and enjoying my breakfast when I noticed him. For twenty minutes I watched as a waitress would fill up his mug when he dozed off."
"I thought I was dreaming that I drank my coffee already," He shook his head. "Eventually, my head falls on the table. Right into my empty plate." He now rubs his face in embarrassment.
"He woke up." Allegra grinned. "I guess waking up to food runs in the family" She sent a look to her granddaughter who's eyes suddenly found the paint on her nails more interesting.
"I look up to find this one standing next to my table, she'd been trying to get to me before I faceplanted-"
"I wasn't fast enough, I almost knocked down a waitress." They smiled at each other. Simone couldn't help but admire the way the woman lived up to her name and brought out a new side to the serious man that sat next to her. He hadn't shown an ounce of expression until he sat and shared stories with his favorite women.
"She wiped my face like a child"
"he was so rude too!"
"but she uh... put me in my place very fast." He scratched the top of his head, wincing at what Simone knew was better than just a couple strong words. That lady could probably scare the devil back to hell when she was mad.
"Speaking of young love..." Allegra paused, thanking the waiter as he placed their food on the table, who looked familiar to Simone. She couldn't place from where though. "How are you and August doing my darling?"
Simone let out a loud, short, sarcastic laugh. Not knowing what to say, not wanting to dampen the image of August her grandparents had.
"I don't know..." She rubbed her thumbs to the mug and stared out the window towards the beach again.
Andre studied her for a moment, his lips thinning into a line.
"You'd tell me if he laid a hand on you right?"
"Its not like that Nono" She tucked her hair behind her ears, "I just don't know who he is anymore." She shrugged. "It's like he's clueless now, not clueless but he doesn't care enough to catch a clue I guess." Her finger circled the border of her mug as she thought.
"What's Olivia got to say about it?" Allegra inquired.
Simone tskd at this.
"She thinks I'm letting a boy bring me down... It's more than that though." Her grandparents nodded, understanding what she meant.
Maybe it was just family, or maybe it was the fact that they had no other family anywhere near the continent. More than having been through what her mother put them through together, the three of them had a sort of way of reading each other. Simone could only dream of having what Allegra and Andre did, and she thought she'd caught a lucky break and won the lottery with August.
"It's our one year tomorrow, and we're going to a party. A stupid, lame, rowdy party. It'll probably have drugs and alcohol and while I don't mind that on a usual Halloween..."
"A nice date with the man you love after dedicating a year of your lives to each other would make you feel more valued than dressing with your ass...ets out." Simone nodded, trying not to smile at how her grandma referenced the slutty outfits her and Olivia prepare for Halloween. Clearly, she'd never see this year.
"I'm gonna talk to him tomorrow. I don't know what to say yet. Every time I just get so mad and so upset, I don't even want to look at him." She shrugged. She looked up to catch the warm brown eyes of the waiter who'd served the food walking out with a camera hanging from his neck. She looked back down.
Where do I know him from? She asked herself.
"Well, we won't tell you what to do. Just know we're here when you need us." Allegra patted Simone hand.
"Besides," Andre whispered to his wife "from the looks of it, I think if August doesn't appreciate what he's got someone else will." He smirked, catching the way the brown eyed boy kept his eyes on the young girl even after she'd looked away.
**
Sometimes, parents do know best. Hopefully Simone gets some clarity soon.
Thoughts? questions? comments? concerns? moans or groans?