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were in the last time? Moping around the house for months, crying enough tears to end the drought...” He couldn’t hide his amusement at my look of relief. He waved me away in dismissal. “Go on, get to bed.” I gratefully turned to go up to my room, but not before Pops flinched and called out, “And protect your other parts too, for crying out loud. Have we learned nothing from past transgressions?”

My room was across the hall from Alex’s. My windows faced the back of the house, and if I pressed my face against the glass I could just catch a glimpse of the southern most part of the solarium below and to the right of me. It was dark. Julien had turned off the lamp.
    Was he asleep?
    I climbed into bed and slumped against my pillows. I didn’t expect to get any sleep. My brain was overflowing with thoughts of our unexpected visitor. How had he not known about Alex? What were his plans now that he did? Was he going to stay? I snuffed out the flame of hope that sprung from that thought. I wasn’t a strong enough person to let myself fantasize about happily ever after scenarios. The facts were the facts; Julien was a hedonistic playboy. Playboys didn’t make good parents - they were practically children themselves.

    “You are traveling alone Chérie ?”
    We were lounging on a secluded stretch of white sand beach. The yacht was anchored towards the middle of this small cove. We had come ashore alone. It was mid morning and all the other members of our party were still abed.
    I shaded my eyes from the glare of the sun. Julien sat up taller so that the shadow of his head fell across my face, blocking the sun. He was backlit in a glorious halo.
    “Of course not,” I answered. “I have Gus with me.”
    Julien looked surprised. “Gus?”
    I shifted my weight a bit, reaching around to the waistline of my pants. I unclipped the latch by feel and held Gus up for inspection.
    Gus was a very worn handmade bear. He was small enough to fit easily in the palm of my hand. He was attached to a carabiner clip for ease of securing him to baggage or clothing.
    “ Bonjour, Gus. Comment faites-vous, monsieur? ” Julien said to the little bear. “He looks well traveled.”
    “He is.” I studied Gus closely, though I knew every stitch by heart. “My mother made him to accompany her on her first European adventure. I thought it fitting I should bring him with me on mine.”
    Julien took Gus in hand and held him up to his ear, pretending to listen intently. He answered agreeably in French, “ Ah, oui, oui. Il est le plus beau de cette période de l'année ,” then let Gus have another turn to speak. This went on a few more times before Julien handed Gus back to me with a look of approval.
    “I imagine he has proved himself most useful. He knows a great deal about the area.”
    “Does he?”
    “Oh yes. He thinks I should show you intérieure l’anse.”
    My heart skittered at the unknown word. It’s true what they say; French is most definitely a sexy language. He could have just said he wanted to show me a landfill, but the way he said it he made it sound like paradise.
    I looked down at my clothes. I was wearing my trusty khakis and a tank top. “Am I dressed appropriately for ...lonce?” Not that it would have made a difference if I weren’t. I had packed extremely light, and much of my wardrobe was on par with my current outfit. He made a big show of assessing my ensemble, cocking his head first left, and then right. “Hmmm, we can deal with your wardrobe when we get there,” he said cryptically. He stood and held out his hands to help me up.
    L’anse turned out to be a small inlet that divided the cove’s beach in half. We followed the mini stream into the lush vegetation. The greenery was too thick to allow for walking on the edge of the stream, so we plodded through the shallow water, enjoying the feel of the silty sand on our bare feet.
    After several minutes the vegetation began to clear a bit. We followed a