TWENTY-FOUR

Sept 22, 2012

11:30 a.m.

The first full day of fall was a blast of late summer, the temperature a hot 25C and a humidex of 33C. The fan in the garage did little to make the air cooler and Mathieu’s t-shirt clung to him like a second skin. He was cleaning up while waiting for the Kirkpatricks to arrive, hoping they’ll be happy with the dresser, which he thought was one of his best.

He’d upped the quality and the care he put into his work for this one as it had become special to him.

Right on time the Kirkpatricks arrived and Mathieu watched as the minivan backed up. Little Elissa came running toward him, her pigtails bouncing off her shoulders and a smile as big as the sun on her face. She stopped in front of him and looked up. “Is my dresser ready?”

Mathieu crouched to remove the child-adult barrier between them and returned a smile that was just as big as hers. “It’s right behind me. Want to have a closer look?”

She jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “It’s sooooo preeettyyyy.”

Little Elissa’s innocent wonder made him look at the dresser differently, not from the point-of-view of its maker who could still find flaws but instead from the eyes of a three-year-old. And it was pretty.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Elissa took Mathieu’s hand. “I love it.”

It only lasted a moment, and then she let go of his hand and started opening the drawers one by one, but that innocent gesture, that simple touch, was so powerful, so magical, that it reminded Mathieu of the precious moments he’d shared with Nadia long ago, and as he watched little Elissa and how happy she was, he knew that she had come into his life for a reason. Warmth spread through him, and a smile, a real genuine smile, finally found his lips.

“It’s gorgeous,” Amie said. “It’ll look so nice beside her bed, which by the way, she loves.”

“Thank you. It makes me happy that she loves it.”

They watched Elissa until she’d opened the last drawer and turned their way.

“Come here, honey,” Amie said, “so Daddy and Mr. Delacroix can load the dresser into the van.”

“You’re not going to bring it to our house like last time?” Elissa said.

“It’ll fit in the van,” Brandon said. “Mr. Delacroix has work to do.”

“Oh,” Elissa said. “I wanted him to see how it looks in my room.”

“We’ll send him a picture on the computer,” Amie said. “If that’s okay?”

“Can we?” Elissa said.

“Absolutely. My email is on the invoice. I’ll look forward to seeing it. I’m sure it’ll look just beautiful.”

“Yippee!”

Mathieu watched them drive off a few minutes later, thankful he’d taken that order after all. Little Elissa Kirkpatrick, blond pigtails and blue eyes and a smile that was so pure and real it had made him believe that happiness was something not just possible again, but within his grasp.

The smile remained on his face for quite some time.