22 January

Luc Eglise-Eglise rose from the warmth of the bed and the comfort of his lover’s arms as the light streamed in through the curtains from the east-facing window. He looked back at Monique ... Lovely, sweet, passionate Monique Eglise who was still fast asleep under the fabric and feathers. The bedcover could camouflage her magnificent form from a casual observer. But Luc had been with her, his beloved wife, for so long that he possessed that kind of x-ray vision that true lovers have. He could always clearly see her delectable naked form whether in pitch blackness, or through a fluffy down comforter.

As he returned from the loo and began to dress, she stirred.

“I wish you didn’t have to go.”

“Oh, Moni, I wish I didn’t have to leave. But there is important business to attend to. Things that I have to do for mom.”

“I know ... There really isn’t any way to have Monte do it?”

“No, as the executor of the estate, I have to do it personally.”

“Grandpa really didn’t trust outsiders did he?”

“He valued Monte’s advice and opinions,” Luc said as he finished dressing. “But no, he didn’t really trust anybody outside the family. I think that both of us should be able to understand that.”

He kissed Monique who moved to a sitting position still wrapped in the comforter.

“I understand ... But I don’t like it. That’s two different things altogether ... And I don’t like not being able to travel along with.”

“I know, but we both can’t travel together right now.”

“No, I know ... I think I’ll ring up Jeanne. We can go over to mom’s together.”

“There are times when it’s really good to have a sister, like right now. Another girl, someone who can be there for you in a way that’s different from the way a brother or a husband can.”

“Oh, you are okay ... I mean for a man.”

“Merely, okay?”

“C’est magnifique mon amie. Is that better?”

“I love you, Moni.”

“Oh, dear, getting all philosophical on me today are you?”

“Visits by the Angel of Death have a way of doing that.”

He kissed her again. Then Luc walked out the front door and through their garden. It was a nice little cottage in a neat little garden. Perhaps it was even picturesque. It certainly was convenient, located just outside of what passed for a town on L’Île-aux-Eglise. He walked down the winding street between the houses and small shops. They were mostly stuccoed to protect the locally made sun-baked brick from the wind and the rain. He walked to the ferry slip and onto the boat that would take him to the main town of the commune.

After receiving condolences from the ship’s master, Luc stood at the railing looking out at the seaway. The department consisted of two large and a dozen little islands, a few thousand residents, with half of them living in the main town. This Island, L’Île-aux-Eglise, was simply idyllic. Everybody knew and depended upon one another, so they had to get along. There was no town council, no police, no magistrates, and no solicitors. Eventually, the boat began its short journey from paradise to civilization.