Enough About Love

THOMAS AND JUDITH

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THE WIND BLOWS through Louise’s blond hair streaked with the white she now allows to grow in. It is a very mild winter day on the Normandy coast.

“Come and help us, mommy,” says Maud, “Judith and me are going to dig a hole down to the water.”

Thomas squints in the light. Louise is rolling on the sand with her daughters, all three of them wave. With every move Louise makes, Thomas feels a sense of wonder as he glimpses the cheeky little girl he never knew.

Judith runs over to him, she wants a waffle, she is the one who takes his hand and drags him over to the crepe stall. Because Thomas “saved her life,” the child thinks, by some mischievous inversion of logic, that he is now her property. A waffle with sugar.

“Thomas?” Judith asks when Maud and Louise join them. “How did you meet mommy?”

She does not look away: she wants to know. Her cheek is white with sugar, Thomas wipes it with a napkin. Maud is also listening closely.

“I’ll leave you to explain it,” says Louise. “Make sure you tell it properly. I’ll be right back. And can you order me a tea?”

Thomas tells them, in his own way. He tries to be accurate, talks about the first evening, the first exchange of e-mails, he even talks about the Galápagos iguana whose skeleton shrinks when there is not enough food. But Judith is not at all interested in the reptile.

“And did you fall in love with mommy right away?”

“I think I did,” Thomas smiles, before correcting himself. “I’m sure I did.”

“And did you know about daddy?”

“Yes,” Thomas replies, as frankly as the question was asked.

Louise is back, she takes his hand.

“You know, my darlings,” she says, “I’ve told you, there were already lots of things that weren’t right between daddy and me. We used to be very happy and the proof is that you’re both here, but we hadn’t been happy for a few years, even if it didn’t show. And then I met Thomas, and I really, really fell in love with him — in spite of his gray hair, I know — and everything felt so clear to me.”

“What wasn’t right, mommy?” Judith asks.

“For example, daddy and I didn’t want to have any more children together. But I, well, I still wanted a baby.”

“You want a baby, mommy?” Judith reiterated.

“Yes. Very much. Your daddy could still have one in five years, or ten years. But I’m a woman, it’s not the same. I’m nearly forty, and if I don’t have one soon, I won’t be able to anymore, because I’d be too old, and that would make me so sad. Do you understand, girls?”

“Yes, mommy,” Judith says, concentrating.

Maud nods her head. Louise drinks her cup of tea.

“Well, I think we’ve managed it, Thomas and me. And we’re all going to have to move in together soon, into a bigger house. I’m pregnant. I’ve got a baby in my tummy.”

Thomas looks at Louise, dumbstruck. She has not told him anything. She kisses him gently on the side of his head, takes Judith on her lap.

“I’ve known for exactly three minutes. When I went to the pharmacy, it was to buy a test.”

“And does the test say if the baby’s going to be a little brother or a little sister?” Maud asks.

“No, my darling, it just says that I’m pregnant. And I’m very happy. The baby will be here in seven and a half months.”

“In September?” Thomas asks.

Louise nods.

“Hey, mommy?” Judith asks.

“Yes, sweetheart. I’m listening.”

“Hey, can I have another waffle?”