Chapter 51

Five months later...

The driver was speeding, swerving in and out of traffic, but so were the other cars on the road. Having spent the last ten hours in a plane the chaotic ride was making Patrick Kane even more discombobulated. He grabbed the handle on the roof of the car as a bus careened in front of their car. When they arrived at the destination in one piece he felt both relieved and surprised. He was dropped off on a narrow road in front of a wood and stone gate. The property was mostly obscured by a line of trees, but when a small corgi wriggled under the gate to greet him he knew he was in the right place.
“Hi Buffles,” he said, kneeling to pet the dog.
“Salut, bien venue!” called a familiar voice coming up the brick path. Elia opened the gate, skipped up to him and wrapped her arms around Pat's neck. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight.
“I'm so excited you are here!” She said, stepping back to look at him and smiling. She picked up the dog and gestured for him to follow her towards the house. It didn't look like much from the outside. It was like a square house a child would draw, with two windows on the second floor, and a window and a door on the first floor. The front door looked like an old barn door, with opened shutters on the windows to match. It was a pinkish cream colored home, made out of a stucco like material. Immediately inside was a sitting room with couches around a fire place and a tv. They passed through a short hallway to a kitchen with a small dining room attached. Three young men were seated around the table drinking coffee. The windows along the back of the house were larger, with a glass sliding door between the table and the kitchen counters. It was wide open, and a sheer curtain flowed out the door in the light breeze. One of the cats sat in the door way, pawing at the curtain.
“You know my brother Taylor,” Elia said to Pat. She pointed to a young black man at the other end of the table. “That is Spencer, Spence. He goes to school with Taylor. And that guy over there is Cheyne.” Elia said, motioning to a sullen man with chin length black hair and brown eyes. He stared at Patrick momentarily before shifting his eyes downward. “This is Patrick Kane.” Elia continued, completing the introductions. Cheyne stood up, waved, and walked out the back door. Spencer and Taylor laughed, sharing some kind of inside joke. Elia took Patrick upstairs to show him his room. It was a tiny room, half way up the stairs to the second floor. There was enough room for a twin bed and a desk. Elia showed him some drawers under the bed for his clothes. Across the stairs was a small closet he could put his suitcase. He put his luggage away and Elia gave him a tour of the rest of the house. All the way up the stairs were two small bedrooms and a small bathroom. There was a second half bath on the first floor.
“Do you want to sleep or anything? I've been told the best way to adjust to the new time zone is to just stay up and jump into it.” Elia said.
“Let's just stay up then.” Pat replied.
They walked out the back door, and Patrick could see why Elia had bought the house. There was a small stone patio with a table set and chairs, and a pool. But beyond that, further down the way, was a large fenced paddock with three horses in it, attached to a barn. Across a path from that was a small riding arena. Pat looked out over the fields and could see the chickens pecking around in the lane between the arena and the pasture. Both the cats were laying in the yard now, sleeping. The horses ran to the back of the field where Cheyne was throwing in some fresh hay. Patrick looked at Elia. She was staring out at the horses too, but feeling Pat's eyes turned and met his eyes. She curled half her mouth up, a partial smile, and squinted in the sunlight.
“I'm so glad you're here,” she said again.
“Me too.” Pat replied.

He wanted to stay awake, and had tried to sleep on the plane over from the U.S., but didn't want to sit still in case he started to get tired. He wanted to see what Elia was doing over here, in France. He wanted to see her routine. They decided to head into town. Elia didn't have a car, and normally walked or rode a bicycle the two miles into the heart of Aix en Provence. Pat was not interested in a two mile walk just then, so they took the Vespa. Taylor and Spence were not pleased with this arrangement, since that was how they usually got to school in the morning. Now they were going to have to ride bikes or walk.
Driving in a car had been scary, but riding on the Vespa was down right terrifying. Especially when they got into town. Most of the roads were cobblestone, narrow, and curving. Pedestrians were everywhere. Some of the streets were more like alleyways, and there were no sidewalks to separate the people from the vehicles. Cars parked wherever they wanted, and drove wherever they wanted. Elia arbitrarily stopped in the middle of a street and pulled her helmet off.
“You alright?” she said, turning around as Patrick got off the back of the moped.
“Why does everyone here drive so crazy?” he asked.
“I don't know, but seriously be careful. Cars will hit you here, and they give no fucks.”

Golden buildings rose up around them casting a warm glow down into the streets it small shards. Laundry and blankets hung off balconies dried in the mid fall air. Elia led them down the small street, stopping at a fountain in the middle of a cross road. She told Patrick that all the fountains in Aix en Provence poured potable water. They turned down another street where shops were opening their doors and setting out signs and some merchandise. The streets curved in random directions, and Pat had no idea how Elia could tell where they were going. Down a slope, another turn, a short block, and they opened up onto a large main street, the Cours Mirabeau. White bark trees stretched up into the sky, their branches reaching up, lifting their green leaves to the sun. It turned out that Elia hadn't meant to bring them there, she was a bit lost. She found it difficult to orient herself without a grid street system and a giant lake to the east.
Eventually they arrived at their first destination. Carrefour Bar, identified by a red awning over the patio seating area. They sat down outside at a small table. A few others were sitting outside, reading books or newspapers. Elia waved to an older man sitting by himself. He nodded back to her. She told Patrick he was there every day, and sat there waiting for people he knew to pass by so he could chat with them. Pat noticed one thing odd about the people: none of them were on cell phones, or laptops or tablets. A server walked up to their table. He had short brown hair and blue eyes, and the perfect amount of facial hair.
“Bonjour Elia,” He greeted Elia, holding a pad of paper and a pen.
“Bonjour Lionce!” she responded.
“Un cappuccino?” He asked.
“Sil vous plait!” Elia said, smiling.
“Tu travailles ce soir?” He asked, tapping his pen against their table.
“Non, je fais les vacances cette semaine car mon ami visite. Ceci est mon meilleur pote Patrick Kane.” Elia said, gesturing towards Pat. Lionce looked at Pat, expressionless. “Il ne parle pas francais, est-ce qu'on peut parles anglais?”
“This is France, we speak French. Not American.” Lionce responded, grinning.
“You don't have a problem taking my American Express card,” Elia replied, staring at him. He laughed.
“Okay Patrick Kane, nice to meet you. What can I get for you? Coffee?”

After Lionce walked back into the cafe with their orders Pat and Elia jumped in to conversation. In mid summer Elia had been in Paris to do a film. Her brother was accepted into a study abroad program through his college and moved to southern France in August. Elia fell in love with the south while visiting him, and decided to move there when the film wrapped. So far she was loving it.

“Did that guy ask if you were working later?” Pat asked, breaking the silence.
“Oh, yeah. I actually have a couple part time jobs. I bar tend at this irish pub three nights a week. It's a lot of fun. And on Thursdays I host a karaoke night there.” Elia responded.
“Why?” Pat asked.
“I don't know, have to do something to pass the time. It's a great way to meet people too. And then I also substitute teach english at one of the schools in town.” Elia smiled a little bashfully.
“Are you serious?” Pat said, laughing. The thought of Elia working a regular job was kind of funny. Also a little concerning. If she was putting down roots here when would she move back to the States?
“Tell me about your new job though! What's up with this lockout?” Elia asked.

The reason Pat was in Europe in the first place was the lockout. Not that he didn't want to visit El, but he should be starting a hockey season right now. Unfortunately, the players and the owners hadn't been able to come to an agreement. There was a mass migration happening, with more and more players signing in Europe every day. Pat had held out longer than most, but finally signed with EHC Biel in Switzerland a few days before. Momma Kane was in Switzerland right now getting him an apartment.
“You're going to come see me play right?” Kane asked Elia.
“For sure, I'm going to come visit you all the time. It's only like a two or three hour train ride from here!” she replied enthusiastically.
“Okay good. Just so you know Tyler Seguin is playing on Biel too.” Pat said quickly. Elia glared at him and tried to take back her promise.
“It's too late, you said you would. If he tries to mess with you I'll kick his ass.”

Elia wasn't sure that Kaner could ever kick someone's ass but she appreciated the sentiment. They paused the conversation as Lionce brought their cappuccinos and took orders for some food.
Elia told Pat she had heard from Paul, Stalberg, Frolik and Niemi about where they were playing during the lockout, and had made plans to visit them.
“I talked to Janna last week. Hoss is starting to feel better. He can go outside now without the light bothering him.” Elia told Pat.
“That's good to know. I've been meaning to call him.”
Elia twisted a ring on her middle finger and looked up at Pat with a strange look of caution. He knew what she was thinking, and reached across the table and took her hand in his. She was wondering about Toews. Kane didn't have anything to tell her even if she asked. He hadn't spoken to him since last season. Through the Hawks personnel he knew Jon wasn't signing overseas, but that was it. In the end, she remained silent. Elia knew Pat didn't want to be in the middle and had been very respectful of it.
Following breakfast they walked over to the outdoor market place. There were two sections of vendors. The first was full of food vendors. There were tables full of fresh produce, stands for seafood, meats and sausages and specialty cheeses. An entire row of spices and salts. This was where Elia did most of her grocery shopping now, and had become friends with several farmers, cheesemongers and butchers. They picked out some things to cook for dinner that night.
Through a small path they arrived at another square which sold items such as clothes, plates and bowls, decorations and flowers. They walked around the city for hours. Elia excitedly showed Pat various fountains, gardens and cathedrals she had grown fond of. Most of the buildings in Chicago were less than 200 years old. Here there were structures built by the Romans thousands of years ago. Elia couldn't explain why, but it comforted her. For lunch they stopped by a crepe stand in an underpass and ate sitting on a bench along the street. Pat had gotten a ham and cheese crepe, and Elia a ratatouille with cheese. They switched mid way through so Pat could try both. Pat was starting to feel the jet lag after lunch and they decided to head home for a nap.
Elia's bedroom in the house faced the backyard. Her windows opened up like shutters without a screen. An iron guard rail crossed the bottom half of the long window like a pretend balcony. They lay down in her bed and talked about silly random things like old times, but they both had heavy hearts. As their words died out they fell asleep, both staring out the window at the fields beyond.
The sound of a saw woke Pat up a couple hours later. It was four in the afternoon there, and morning in the United States. He was tired but his body was telling him it was time to wake up. He walked to the window and saw Cheyne setting wood boards against the front of the barn. Elia was sitting on the top of the pasture fence, pointing at something and talking to him. Kane must have slept through her getting up. He looked around the room. The walls were plain white and bare, except for an old painting in a dusty wood frame that looked like it had been there for ages. An antique armoire stood in the corner. It was hard to tell somebody actually lived in the room. He stood up, taking a long stretch before heading down the stairs.

“Hey sleepy head!” Elia called to Pat when she saw him walking down the path from the house. He couldn't stop himself from yawning as he approached.
“Do you want to go for a ride before dinner? There's a lavender field not far from here that hasn't been harvested yet.”
Provence was known for herbs and lavender. Throughout the summer the purple flowers bloomed row after row across the countryside. They were cut throughout the fall, being used to make essential oils. During the height of the season sunflowers were also farmed, making Provence a landscape of yellow and lilac. The climate of southern France was mild and often saw temperatures in the 60's through November. Still, the flower fields were normally spent by September. Even with most of the land bare, Kane could see it was a beautiful place. Romantic and ethereal, unlike the flat, never ending corn fields of America's midwest and Chicago's concrete and steel. It felt almost like a fantasy land, a place frozen in time, sheltered from the realities of the twenty first century.

After dinner the household took a taxi back into the center of town to get drinks at their usual place. An Irish pub called O'Shannon, the same place Elia had been bartending. The pub was at the corner of two streets and had a row of tables outside along one of the roads. A group of young people stood outside talking and drinking. Inside the bar was almost empty. The people went in to get drinks, then took them outside. Elia said that was just the way it was there. Cafés, bars, everyone wanted to sit outside for some reason. Their group brought their drinks to one of the tables on the side where they met up with a few friends. This was the core social group, but occasionally others would walk by to say hi and chat. There was no rowdy dancing or drama. Everyone just drank and chilled. And smoked. It was true what they said about the French, they all smoked. Late night they walked up the street to Pizza Capri for a slice before heading back to the house.The rest of Kane's visit was similarly relaxed. They got coffee in the morning, walked around town and hung out. There was a trip to the neighboring town of Arles which had been built by the Romans and a day hiking a mountain. They took a bus to the coast one day and lounged on the beach. Throughout it all Pat never saw the tv on or saw Elia on the internet. He started to get a creeping feeling that this wasn't just a vacation for her.

Notes