The French Exchange

Chapter 8

Will arrives at the home of his hosts and is amazed by what he finds, for more than one reason...

The car journey took about twenty minutes. There was no traffic on the roads which helped and while there were a few bakeries and shops on route, the family seemed to live in a relatively quiet residential area of Lyon.

Audrey clearly was keen to make Will feel comfortable. She had turned to smile at him several times on the journey back and when they were close by, she used her hand to signal when they were only five minutes away.

Will appreciated her efforts to make them feel welcome but was also slightly unnerved by her not so subtle efforts to look at his crotch. He thought he was probably just tired and being paranoid but it did definitely seem that she kept looking at his trousers. He thought that the wet patch was not that obvious but the way Audrey was acting was making Will concerned that she had noticed his little accident.

As they pulled up into a large driveway, Will was amazed at how big the house was. It was more like a Chateau - it was certainly the biggest place that he had ever had the pleasure of living in.

He remembered reading that Louis was a lawyer so assumed they would have a lovely house but this had far exceeded his expectations.

There was a large gravel driveway and front garden which was overlooked by the road. To the side and back of the house, there was a large garden and in the distance, Will could see a clay tennis court and swimming pool.

He had always enjoyed playing tennis and swimming so he was very excited at the prospect of being able to use the facilities while he was staying. Will also hoped that Guillaume might like tennis because it was a sport that could be played with limited communication so even with the language barrier, he thought it would be a fun way to pass the time.

As they entered the house, he was greeted by a huge entrance hall with a grand staircase. It felt very odd being in someone else's house and knowing that he would be living here for the next few weeks. His nerves were starting to be replaced by excitement as he couldn't believe that he would be able to stay in this incredible place.

Louis and Guillaume carried all of the bags upstairs while Audrey showed Will into a large open plan kitchen diner. On the table, there was a feast of food. He was starving after the journey so this was a very welcome surprise.

Guillaume returned from upstairs and showed Will to a seat at the table. He offered some bread and then began tucking into the food himself. Will temporarily considered waiting for the others to sit down at the table but given that his host had already started, he decided to begin eating as well.

The Dad offered Will beer and wine as he sat down at the table. He didn't want to be rude and reject the offer but he was also very conscious that beer had led to him having accidents in the past and that was not a risk that he wanted to take.

He thanked Louis for the offer but made the decision to stick with his water. It was however flattering to be offered a beer because it made Will feel like a real adult.

During the course of the meal, the family tried to involve Will in conversation where they could but it was clearly challenging with the language barrier. They did also make a conscious effort to smile a lot which made him feel more at ease.

While the family chatted in the background, Will contemplated what a big step he had taken and commended himself for taking the leap. His concerns of being away from home and his troubles over the last 24 hours seemed to have faded away for now and he was enjoying the moment. It was early days but he was relieved as he had not felt homesick at all yet. That was a surprise to Will as he had expected to really struggle being away from home.