If That Is What You Want✔

54

Lyra couldn't believe how upset her stomach felt, last night. She couldn’t help feeling her belle-mère disliked her and the thought tied her stomach in knots but she ate everything on her plate, she didn't want her future mother in law to think she didn't like her cooking. The food was delicious.
Unfortunately her stomach only became more upset until she had to quietly vomited it all back up later that night, at least she hoped she wasn't heard.

Lyra felt her stomach grumble as she rode the bus towards Paris. She decided to stop at a café along the way. She looked at the menu and sighed. She wondered if her stomach was still too upset to eat but she ordered hot chocolate and a pastry anyway. She sat in the café trying to figure out a plan on how to get along with her mother in law.

She couldn't let her emotions keep getting to her, she had done everything right as far as she could think. She was respectful, polite and, when she felt it was appropriate, firm when dealing with Laurent's mother. She wasn't even sure if the woman even really disliked her. For all she knew, her mother in law liked her fine for someone that wasn't French or a descendent of the French Antilles. Mother's usually liked her. She was well spoken, intelligent and cute.

She slowly chewed her pastry then sipped her hot chocolate.

It wasn't the end of the world if she wasn't liked by her mother in law, she would learn how to build a relationship with her belle-mère. If in the end her mother in law did truly hate her, she'd be okay. After all, she had over twenty years of practice with her own mother.

Lyra sighed.

She didn't want to start a life with Laurent at odds with his mother. The thought of it was too depressing and stressful for her to ponder on any longer. She had a long morning ahead and the sooner started trying to on dresses the sooner she could check into a hotel and decompress.

~~~

“Where is she going?” Larry asked.
“To buy a wedding dress.” Laurent replied.
“With her mother?” His mother asked.
“No, her grandmother.” Laurent replied.
“Tell me about her family, are they good people?” She smiled.
“No.” Larry replied quickly, earning an angry look to shut up from Laurent.
“Her brothers and her grandmother are good.” Laurent clarified.
“Her parents? What do they do?” She asked.
“Her father used to run a business and her mother stayed home.” Laurent answered.
“Are they dead?” She asked.
“No.” Larry looked away.

~~~

Lyra meet her cousins and Nonna at the robes de mariée (wedding dress) shop. She hugged them as they ran up to greet her. Each giddy about picking out a dress with her.

“Why do you get two wedding dresses?” Lily, one of her small cousins, asked. Lyra kneeled down and held her little hands.
“In France you are married in a city hall wedding but only one additional person is allowed to see it. That is why we will have a church wedding on a different day for everyone to see.”
“It sounds like so much fun to plan a wedding.” Lily smiled.
“It is. You get to pick flowers you want and…a wedding cake no wedding desserts, uh, what were they called again? Do you know?” Lyra smiled at her little cousin.
“Croque-en-bouche!” Lily said proudly.
“That’s right! You are so smart!” Lyra replied kissing her hands before she stood up.
“Patatina?” Catarina called Lyra over to look at the dresses she picked out. Lyra smiled at the mountains of fluff in front of her that supposed to be a wedding dress.
“Let's see how it fits.” Lyra replied.

~~~

Their mother knew them well enough to see something was bothering her sons.

“Did her parents do something to you? Did you argue?” She asked them looking from Larry to Laurent.
“No,” Laurent answered.
“Her father hit her and hurt her bad. She end up in the hospital…” Larry vented.
“Larry shut up!” Laurent interrupted.
“Did he hurt you?” She asked angrily.
“No!!” Both Laurent and Larry said quickly.
“He hurt her in front of you?” She asked.
“Yes.” They both answered lowering their heads.
“Why did he hurt her?” She asked.