Page 54 of Meet Me in the Garden

Outside, just a small group remains gathered at the fence, talking and laughing. I take a seat on the steps, away from all of them. Light a cigarette. A minute later, Felix sits next to me.

“I just read the strangest book to Clément and Nathalie,” I say, wondering if he heard it.

“Oh yeah?”

“It hypnotized me.”

He laughs. “Sounds like a good story.”

Goodnight, nobody.I see the bunny in her rocking chair, the mouse and bowl. A yelp comes from across the yard. We turn to see what it is—one of the younger girls, doubled over and laughing—and the group around her is laughing, too. “They’re drunk,” I say.

“Very. It’s a good party, isn’t it?”

“You said that same thing exactly seven years ago, at the Laurents’ party.”

“Did I? I guess I like most parties.”

“That’s a nice quality in a person,” I say. “To like things.”

“Well, thank you.”

I nod. Sip.

I’m aware of all of it—the jasmine vine, fragrant in the dark. Clément and Nathalie, curled together, sleeping in my bed. Al at the card table and Adele washing the dishes and Claire at home three doors down. Aware that I’m an adult, a woman, here, now, and different from the group at the far side of the yard.

“Felix,” I say. “Let’s get married.”

He turns to me in surprise. Says nothing at first. I’m calm, ready for whatever might come. Without speaking, he reaches for my cigarette. Takes a drag, lets it out. “I… I don’t know what to say. You’re a ravishing girl, Odette. Truly. But I’m afraid I wouldn’t make you a good husband.”

I take the cigarette back from between his fingers. “You want to be a family man, I can see it. You adore the children—”

“What’s not to adore?”

“And they adore you. We enjoy each other’s company.”

“We do.”

“That’s all I need.”

“There are other factors.” He looks pained, like he’s worried about hurting me. I remember something else from that last New Orleans New Year’s Eve.

“You have a condition,” I say.

“Well…” He hesitates. “Yes.”

“Al isn’t going to run away with you,” I say, soft so no one might overhear us, and as gently as I can.

His eyes widen. “Ah,” he says. “You saw. But you still want to marry me? Why?”

“I want to adopt Nathalie. I can’t do it unless I’m married.”

“An arrangement,” he says.

“An arrangement,” I say. “I wouldn’t ask much of you. Just… Al’s off-limits.”

He grimaces. “That was a mistake. It won’t happen again.” He looks at me, and his charm slips away. His face is bare now. “I want a family,” he says. “I want to come home to people who love me. But to be perfectly honest, I’d still need certain freedoms.”

“Of course. I’m not asking you to change any of that.”