Page 68 of My Best French Wedding
Hildy shook her head. She’d never pegged Walter as a wide-eyed idealist. Maybe he was on new meds.
“I disagree,” she said with great restraint and maturity. Had he met the two of them? Giving airtime to all their grievances would be like bringing two toddlers and a box of Sharpies to the Museum of Modern Art.
He reached past her for the sugar, keeping both his expression and his tone perfectly pleasant. “It’s not a one-woman show, Hildy.”
“It’s not Wrestlemania either. We haven’t even gotten through one breakfast, and you want to do freestyle couple’s therapy?”
“Interesting.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What is?”
“That you used the word ‘couple.’”
“Let me guess. Your amateur psychoanalysis is also going to help us pretend to get along?”
Walter shrugged. “It might.”
“Alternative proposal.”
He gestured for her to proceed.
“Act like we just met. Blank slate.” Hildy pinched the rim of her white plate, angling it toward Walter as a visual aid. It would have been more effective without the crumbs, scrapes of butter, and smears of purple-red jam, but presumably he got the point.
“I don’t know.”
“Tell you what. While you think about it, I’ll fix you some breakfast.” She pushed back her chair, ignoring Walter’s wary expression. On her way to the buffet, Hildy bent to whisper in his ear. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to spit on it.”
She took her time selecting an assortment of fresh fruit and pastries. When she returned to the table, Hildy presented it to him with a flourish.
“Ta-da!”
He frowned at the plate. “Are those raisins?”
“It’s a pain aux raisins, yes.”
Walter looked up. “I hate raisins.”
“Really?” She pursed her lips, pretending to be surprised. “That’s too bad.”
“And pineapple makes my tongue itch.”
“I didn’t realize you were such a delicate flower. I guess that’s what comes from being total strangers who just met at this destination wedding.”
“That’s funny.”
“What is?”
“For someone who just met me, you have an uncanny knack for choosing all my least favorite foods.”
“Thatisfunny.”
Walter nodded. “Fuzzy apricots, no thank you. Pineapple and raisins, we’ve covered. What’s this?” He pointed at a white blob.
“Plain yogurt.”
“Sour dairy. Yum. Definitely wouldn’t want to put any honey on that to make it more palatable.”
She beamed at him. “You have to admit, it’s kind of impressive.”
