I Promise You This (Love in Provence Book 3) (15 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

In the elevator after leaving the chapel, Katherine and Philippe studied each other in silence. Katherine shook her head repeatedly. Philippe bit his lip. His eyes were wide with astonishment.

“Life does get strange at times, doesn’t it? Don’t bother answering, it’s rhetorical,” Kat mumbled.

It was Philippe’s turn to shake his head.
“Incroyable . . .”
he muttered. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Well,” Katherine continued slowly, “I guess for now there is nothing to say. Father De—um, Tony—took us into his confidence and we have to respect that. It’s quite a sto—” She stopped in midsentence.

Philippe stared, waiting for her to continue, as they stepped into the parking garage.

Kat stared back, her mouth wide open. “Oh my God. Pardon the expression, but the light just went on. Father Tony DeCarlo—Father Anthony DeCarlo—has got to be Molly’s hot Italian lover! Even though the thought crossed my mind from time to time, I really did not expect it to be true.”

Philippe still said nothing.

“Seriously! Now it all makes sense! They’ve had a relationship for years! And the good news is that he loves her. He loves Molly, and she won’t be alone!”

Katherine was leaping about the pay station area while Philippe fed the machine.

When he was finished, she grabbed him and hugged him. “Do you see what I mean? This is serious business about him leaving the church, but he loves Molly! They’ll be together! They have been together! They are together!”

Other people got off the elevator and looked at her strangely. Laughing, Philippe put his arm around her and guided her to the car.

“Minou, settle down and tell me what you are talking about.”

And so she explained as they drove home. As the story unfolded that this was Molly’s friend with benefits, he understood Kat’s happiness for Molly’s future.

“But now you have to reign in that excitement of yours. We have to keep Tony’s confidence in us a secret until he indicates otherwise.”

Kat nodded, becoming serious, “I can do that. It’s such a relief not to worry about her future.”

“And you don’t have to do all that matchmaking you were planning,” Philippe said.

Katherine giggled. “I still think Molly and Gilles would make a good couple. But of course, I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize her future with Tony.”

“Somehow I don’t think anything will put that love in jeopardy . . . and besides, I can’t believe it never dawned on you that Gilles is not interested in women.”

Katherine looked at Philippe in disbelief. “What? Gilles is so gorgeous and charming, all the women love him . . .”

Philippe chuckled. “And your point is?”

They talked all evening and made plans for the rest of the week. “Once we know Molly’s treatment plans, we can book our flights back to Nice,” Philippe said. “You know, this is the longest I’ve been away from the market in years. In fact, the only other time, you were involved too. Remember?”

Katherine thought about it for a moment. “Do you mean when we first met in Provence?”

Philippe grinned. “That’s right. When I met you at that lunch at Joy’s, I had been there for a few days looking after Oncle François after his episode. You never knew that the reason I stayed through that next week was because I wanted to get to know you.”

“I’m so glad you did.”

The remainder of the week seemed to be over in no time.

One day Katherine took Philippe to her favorite Middle Eastern restaurant, Jerusalem, and they debated whether it was better than their favorite Les Pins d’Alep in Nice. Finally, they agreed it was a draw. Both were excellent.

In between visits to Molly, Philippe took charge of much-needed repairs around the house. Katherine sorted and purged, clearing out everything she forced herself to admit was unnecessary to keep. At the end of each day, they would open a bottle of wine and feel very satisfied with their progress.

One morning, they got a late start and stopped in at a shop Katherine had discovered in her university days after her study-abroad trip. The love of French cheese she developed during her six-week stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer demanded that she investigate further than the local grocery stores when she arrived back in Toronto. She was thrilled when she discovered this “epicurean emporium,” as they called it on their website.

Within minutes of entering the atmospheric shop—its floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed with a vast selection of products ranging from ordinary to artisanal—Philippe nodded his approval to Kat.

She was delighted to see their
maître fromager
behind the counter and introduced Philippe to him. They had an engaging conversation, and he invited Philippe to return at the end of the day to take a personal tour of their prized cheese vault. Exchanging cards, they agreed to stay in touch.

“You’re right, Minou,” Philippe said as they walked out to the car. “That’s an exceptional store. It’s like a mini Provençal market in one spot. No wonder you love shopping there!”

“Now, wait a minute—nothing here compares to the Provençal markets.
Rien du tout!
But it is a special shop, that’s for sure.”

When they got to the hospital, Philippe told Molly where they had been and how impressed he was. He handed her the small package of three exceptional cheeses he had chosen for her.

“Oh, I love that shop!” Molly chirped with delight. “Thanks so much! That’s my favorite place to buy cheese—until I discovered your market stall, of course!”

“We’re going to leave a little early today, Moll, so Philippe can have a personal tour of their cheese vault. I knew he would be intrigued.”

“Does all this cheese talk make you eager to get back home, Philippe?” Molly asked.

Philippe gave her a warm smile. “The only thing I’m eager about is you getting better. The cheese can wait. It will always be there.”

“And soon you will be there with it, Molly!” Katherine piped up, the thought lighting up her face. They spent the remainder of the day making plans for the time they would spend together. Molly asked them to go to her apartment and collect a few books about the South of France that she had purchased after her visit there with Katherine the previous summer. She also asked for her iPad so she could catch up on reading.

“The one good thing I can say about being in the hospital, now that I’m conscious again, is that it’s a great opportunity to whittle down my to-be-read list.”

The next evening, Lucy organized a dinner at the Peking Palace with Laura and Dr. Henderson and his wife, and two other of Katherine’s former colleagues.

Katherine would always be grateful to Dr. Henderson for being the first to encourage her to return to France for her initial three-month exchange in Antibes.

“I’ve never forgotten how you and Susan inspired me to do it,” she said, hugging them both. “In fact, if I remember correctly, you not only encouraged, but I believe you insisted, Susan!”

Susan laughed her cheery, infectious laugh and wheeled her chair over to where Katherine could sit as well. “I was about to correct you there, Katherine! I would have put you on that airplane back to France myself if I had to! And look what has happened. Your entire life has changed. Now, let’s meet that lucky man who’s stolen your heart!”

Katherine looked around for Philippe, who was standing at the end of the table, absorbed in conversation with Laura and Lucy. Inspired by Katherine, Laura was excitedly explaining that she had just booked her first overseas trip. She was going to Paris with a women’s group and was asking Philippe to give her some sightseeing tips.

Katherine was about to interrupt, but Susan stopped her. “They look like they’re having a good chat, Katherine. Introduce Philippe to me later. In the meantime, let’s stay sitting here. I want to hear all about your new life in France. You’re living my dream, you know.”

“Oh Susan, you’re so well-traveled. Nothing has ever stopped you and Dr. H. from visiting far-flung places. I’ve always admired that.”

“You’re right. Travel has been our addiction since we were first married, no matter how difficult it became for me to get around. You have to be married to a special guy to do that, and of course, our whole family has pitched in to make some of our voyages such joyful experiences.”

Katherine reached over and hugged her again. “Your family inspires me.”

“Well, I have to admit that it gets more difficult each year as this damn illness progresses, but we’re not about to stop making plans and seeing them through as best we can.”

She took Kat’s hand in hers, and their eyes met. “Katherine, you are fortunate to be blessed with good health. Take advantage of that as you follow your own dreams. You never know when things might change. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, just realistic. Seize the day, my dear, and count your blessings—and stay in touch with us.”

Katherine’s admiration for this woman knew no bounds. In spite of the increasing challenges Susan faced as time went on, Kat had never known her to complain or be anything less than cheery. She was a fine role model of the proper way to approach life and how to deal with the increasing challenges of multiple sclerosis.

Kat smiled warmly. “Thanks for those words of wisdom. I’ve been struggling with doubt and insecurity lately, so your message comes at the right moment. I hope you know your family has a standing invitation to visit us any time—as soon as the inn is ready. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.”

“I think we might just take you up on that! You know how we loved visiting that part of the world so many years ago. Say, Katherine, you should start a website so we can follow your progress.”

“That’s a great idea! In fact, I’ll get Molly to help me when she’s with us.”

The rest of the evening passed quickly. Philippe spent a lot of time fielding questions about life in France and his career as a
fromager
. He and Kat shared their plans for the future, and Philippe showed them all photos of the Cap property on his phone.

On the way home, he told Katherine how much he enjoyed her friends and that he looked forward to return visits. “In spite of the fact I’m speaking English nonstop!”

Molly continued to improve. The next step was to move her to a rehab center early the next week.

“How lucky is that?” Kat asked Molly when they discovered the facility was conveniently located within easy access of Kat’s house.

Tony continued to be a constant presence. Since their talk, Katherine told Philippe she felt much more comfortable calling him by his first name, as some of his priestly aura had given way to a less-ministerial persona. They invited him to have dinner with them on Friday night.

Andrea and Terence planned to come back to the city on the weekend so they could have a last visit with Katherine and Philippe.

Lucy and her cousin prepared to move into the house right after Katherine and Philippe vacated.

Boxes had been shipped in a crate to France, while a few were stored in the basement. Several loads had also gone to Goodwill. Katherine was increasingly crossing her emotional hurdles and feeling more content that “home” would be wherever she was.

She had been deeply touched by the emotion Philippe showed in arranging the shipment of Elisabeth’s carpet. He had insisted they have the carpet professionally handled by a top-notch Persian rug company. Once cleaned and carefully packaged, they had sent it by priority mail to Véronique and David to keep for them.