Restoration [Shawn Mendes] AU

Chapter 7

After putting Beau to bed, Michelle and Robert passed Joseph and Bernice going up the stairs to their room. Joseph said he was going to watch some TV and Bernice had a book she was reading in her hands. Chloe came back in from the porch, talking on her phone again. Probably the same guy from earlier, or maybe another one...who knew. She was never at a loss for male attention even when she was hundreds of miles from home. She smiled and waved goodnight and headed up to her room.

They found Michelle's parents snuggled close together on the sofa, looking at one of the old family albums that was kept on the bookshelves by the fireplace. They were laughing at pictures from when they were a young couple and just dating. Michelle leaned over the back of the sofa and looked at the pictures of them on the beach in 1980, when Maurice had first brought a nubile 21-year-old Joanne Matthews to the beach house for a long weekend to meet his parents, Millicent and Phillip. They both looked so young and tan and beautiful, just starting a serious relationship after months of long distance phone calls between Boston and LA where Joanne was attending FIDM working toward a degree in interior design, with plans to work as a set designer for movies and television...or at least that had been the plan up until Maurice Devereaux walked into her life at a Malibu beach house party one fateful night.

"Geez dad, how'd you get a California hottie like mom to even go out with you?" Michelle teased her dad.

"Excuse me, missy...you know I was quite the ladies' man before I met your mother. I had all this French-Canadian charm working for me at Harvard, plus I knew when to break out the French sweet talk when it served my purpose. When I got to LA on vacation and your mother met me, I completely swept her off her feet. After she took one look at me, Yankee boys and those California surfer dudes just couldn't cut it!" her father informed her.

"Hmm, and you're modest too! No wonder she couldn't resist!" Michelle laughed.

Her mother gave them both a bemused look. "Yes, it was definitely the French-Canadian charm that did it. Is that even a thing?"

Maurice wiggled his eyebrows as he looked at his wife. "Well, I'm sure I still have many other talents from back then that I still possess, merci beaucoup."

Her mother blushed and laughed as she smacked his arm. "OK...OK...enough! We are done with this subject!"

Michelle snuck a look at Robert and grinned. "Well on that note, I'm going to bed. See you guys in the morning." With that she pecked them both on the cheek and headed for the bedroom, as she called to Robert, "Coming to bed now honey?"

He affirmed that he was coming to bed, but first made a detour to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine out of the fridge and a corkscrew, before walking back to their bedroom. When he came through the door he had his hand behind his back prompting Michelle to give him a quizzical look wondering what he was up to. He slowly grinned as he showed her what he had brought with him as he closed their bedroom door.