𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 | 𝐁𝗼𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐲/𝗥𝗙𝗞

XIII: "Croque Madame"

[June 1, 1948]

It was a warm and breezy morning in Hyannis Port, the sun had only been accompanying the sky for a few hours — the Bellamy household was up and awake. Maurice was picking out the right tool to prune the flowers in the garden, while Julia was in the heated kitchen; cracking eggs into a hot pan as she hummed along with Édith Piaf's La Vie En Rose playing from their Magnavox record player. Evelyn swayed to the music while making a pot of Café au lait to complement their breakfast.

"Bonjour!" A young boy in a blue polo shirt and khaki shorts greeted Maurice as he was pruning red roses in the garden. "Ah, bonjour, Edward!" The older man put down the tool he was using inside a toolbox. "How are you, Mr. Bellamy?" Ted walked closer to Maurice as he was taking his gardening gloves off. "Mighty fine, how about you?" Maurice squinted his eyes; the sun was shining utterly bright. "Well..." Ted stretched his neck up, taking a good look at the bright-colored sky. "It's a beautiful morning, so I'm feeling good." He stated with a virtuous smile.

"Have you had breakfast?" Maurice roamed farther from the garden, leading Ted to the patio where he recently had tea with his daughter. "We're having Croque Madame with Café au lait." Though Ted already ate a buttered toast, he could always go for another mouth-watering breakfast. "If a buttered toast count as breakfast, yes I had it." He said as he was pulling a stool next to Maurice.

"Haha, Rose must've cooked up something nice, right?" Maurice interpreted Ted's words as a joke, but when a confused look appeared on the boy's face — he no longer thinks it was a humorous remark. "Well... my mom isn't exactly— you know, well enough to cook for all of us." Ted being so bluntly honest made Maurice realize how much Kathleen's death actually affected the mother.

"Bonjour, Papa— Oh, Teddy! What a nice surprise." Evelyn glowed, she quickly placed the tray with a teapot and three cups on the table. She jogged to Ted and gave the boy a brief hug. "I'm sorry I couldn't see you when, uh, it all happened. I just couldn't do it. But I'm happy that you're here— are you joining us for breakfast?" The words that came out of Evelyn just splattered all over the place. She was nervous and Maurice took notice of it.

"Yeah, I wouldn't pass on a Croque Monsieur—" "Non, Croque Madame." "Oh! Of course. Madame." Maurice chuckled and nodded in approval after he corrected Ted for mixing up the two similar dishes. "Also, it's totally fine, Evelyn." Ted dismissed everything the girl had just said. The eldest eyed them both — back and forth. "Well, I'm gonna see if my mom needs me. Oh, and get another cup for you, Monsieur." Evelyn felt like she just humiliated herself wilfully, she excused herself from the patio.

Maurice stealthily palmed his face as he realized Evelyn didn't make any effort to console Ted, it was clear she went to the house only for Bobby. "Well, on behalf of my entire family, we're sorry we couldn't visit — and when we do, we messed it up." Maurice glanced at the door Evelyn had just used to exit, indicating his words. "It was honestly a very confusing time, and as you know, your sister was somewhat like a daughter to me. I didn't know how to react." His lengthy apology received a weak smile from the sixteen-year-old boy.

"Mr. Bellamy, you don't need to do this. Wholeheartedly, I understand— the whole situation was perplexing." Ted spoke with politeness, but somehow Maurice sees through him; he was numbing himself from anything that was pertained to the tragedy. "My father appreciates that you still came to visit him, he said that you're a good man. And I agree." The young boy gifted Maurice a genuine smile.

"You're a dear. Here, have some coffee." Before Maurice could grab the pot, Ted intervened, "please, let me." He poured a good amount of liquid into Maurice's cup. "My mother taught me not to let elders pour the drink, unless it's the lady of the house."