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[sylvie--chevalier-blog]

Sylvie blinked a few times before glancing over at Monique across the street. “Oh, yes,” she nodded after he posed his question. She tried to add she’s also yours but the words died on her tongue. Her gaze softened as she watched Monique and saw the gentle nature with animals she had; Sylvie might have only known Frankie for a day but she’d known he was a gentle giant. She sometimes felt she’d imagined the similarities between the girl and her father, but being back in his presence had proven her right.

Sylvie’s eyes turned back to Franklin and she was quiet for only a moment more before she felt the flood of words force their way out of her. “I would have called, because I returned to France not too long after our... evening,” she started, tucking her brown hair behind her ear, “And a few weeks later, I found I was...” She motioned towards Monique for a moment before squeaking out, “Pregnant.” She blinked at Franklin a few times before clarifying, “And... You were the only person I had been with while I was here.” Not that she had been with many people before him; she’d only been seventeen at the time.

She could feel the flush that had been on her cheeks before was now traveling down her neck and onto her chest. She felt so guilty for him not knowing about his child. She’d had no way to contact him, and pregnancy hadn’t been easy on the teen or she would have flown back to the states. She’d come to terms later on that flying back would have been futile anyway. Like he’d said, he moved around so much it would have been silly to think he’d have been in the same place had she returned.

“I am... So sorry,” she whispered, still feeling she had something to apologize for. Tears brimmed her eyes for a moment before her heavily french accented voice continued, “I have hoped all of her life that I would find you again, so you could know her and she could know you. It seems fate is on my side today.” She raised a gloved hand and wiped away at the tears in her eyes, “I know that this may be... much for you to handle, or to... understand. I do not expect this to be any certain way...” She hoped she wasn’t coming across any type of way that might be negative. “I want what is best for my child - our child. And if you would like, then I would like to have you in her life. Now, or later.” She shook her head a little and looked down to her feet. She didn’t expect it to be instant. She half expected him to stand there staring into the distance for a week or so.

under (the) covers | sylvie + frankie (ft. monique)

Frankie loved this time of year, and maybe a bit more than he was willing to admit, he really loved this town. Finding an extended family here, of all places, was still a slightly surreal experience for Frankie, but definitely not an unwelcome one. As he left the tavern, he extended a goodbye to a couple outside of the bar, a joke and a quip and a promise to see them in a few days before he made his way down the sidewalk towards the direction of his car, his cheeks slightly rosy – and not all from the cold wintry air. 

He’d met a lot of people throughout the years, it almost shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he’d run into a few repeats, but as Frankie looked up from the snow to see a familiar yet vaguely so face looking up at him, he almost stopped in his tracks. Sylvia Chevalier. He hadn’t seen her in years, and yet he still knew the dark brown pools swirling in her eyes and the way his name had once slid off her tongue in a way that nobody could ever mimic. There may have been more than a few people that Frankie would have gladly avoided for the rest of his life, but she wasn’t one of them. He smiled warmly as she spoke, not yet registering the quiver in her voice until a little girl appeared beside her, tugging on her hand and speaking rapid French as she pointed at a dog across the street. And it almost felt…. off, somehow. Like there was a familiarity to the young girl as well, despite the fact that Frankie was sure he’d never run into the girl before in his life. And then it registered… Her daughter. “Sylvie, yeah, of course I remember you,” he spoke softly, lowly and knowingly, as though they shared a secret. Which they had. “Don’t worry about it – back then I was moving around so much I don’t think I had a stable phone number to save my life.” His gaze moved across the street to the girl, briefly, before he looked back to her and quirked his brow. “She yours? She looks… exactly like you.”

[sylvie--chevalier-blog]

I have never been more proud of myself

[sylvie--chevalier-blog]

[sylvie--chevalier-blog]

under (the) covers | sylvie + frankie (ft. monique)

“Reviens!” Sylvie called out to her eight year old daughter who’d taken off down the sidewalk at the sight of a puppy. She knew that losing their dog back in France had been hard on Monique, but she also knew that she got her love of dogs from her father. Sylvie smiled as she caught up to her daughter and caught one of those moments where she could see true joy in the smaller Chevalier’s face. She could also see so much of the girl’s father in her. “Come, Monkey,” she cooed softly, placing her hand on the girl’s curly head. She smiled to the owners of the dog who seemed more than okay with the random child who had assaulted their schnauzer.

Sylvie finally did pull her daughter away from the dog and they headed on down the street. They’d been staying at in Inn in the middle of town while they looked for a place to live. It wasn’t easy being that she was still an alien, technically. She fully planned on getting citizenship once she was eligible, but until then things would be a little difficult. That was okay. As long as she could provide for her daughter.

They’d been to three showings today of places she could rent, but none had exactly stood up to her tastes. She had a good stack of money she’d put away from her parents passing, and she wasn’t keen on using it all to get a good place, but she wasn’t going to stay somewhere she thought unsafe either. Not with an eight year old. “How about ‘ere?” she asked the blonde at her side, motioning to the restaurant to her right. Monique nodded and was already looking over the menu posted outside the door. Sylvie laughed warmly and went to open the door, but froze at something - rather, someone - farther down the street. She’d all but convinced herself it was a delusion and was ready to go eat.

But then she saw the man smile, and heard his laugh carry down the snowy sidewalk to her. She took in a sharp breath and then glanced down to Monique, who was still reading the menu. “Monique, je reviens. Reste ici.” Monique glanced back and nodded before going back to reading about the chicken parmigiana. Sylvie turned and took two steps towards where she’d seen Franklin to find him saying goodbye to whomever he’d been speaking with and walking towards her.

Suddenly her feet felt as if they’d frozen to the ground. Her heart pounded with anticipation and she wondered what the hell she was supposed to say. The last time he’d seen her was almost nine years ago. Did he even remember her? Was this about to be a huge debacle?

“Franklin, bonjour,” she greeted him as they finally met on the sidewalk. “I, uh… I do not know if you remember me, it was so long ago,” she started, her french accent hanging heavy on every syllable, “I am Sylvie Chevalier… I came to the states around nine years ago?” Her eyes gazed up at him, hoping beyond hope that he would remember and would still be the kind, lovable idiot she’d had one whirlwind night with as a teenager. “I never got your phone number before I left for France, or I would have called to tell you-” she started, unsure any other way to tell him he had a kid than to just come right out and say it, but she was cut off by Monique running up and grasping her hand. “Mère peut caresser ce chien dans la rue?” Monique asked, eyes trained on a poodle across the street that looked like the dog they’d lost a few months ago, “Il ressemble à notre chien!”

“Monique,” Sylvie gasped softly, glancing down at her daughter, and then back to Franklin. There was a weird tightening in her chest to see Franklin looking at his daughter for the first time. “Oui, please be careful. And remember to ask before you pet them! Et parler l’anglaise!” she called out as she watched Monique’s blonde curls bounce away. Sylvie raised a hand and combed it through her long, dark hair. “Well,” she glanced back to Franklin after making sure Monique had crossed the street properly.

She swallowed hard at the lump in her throat, mouth going rather dry. What did she say? How did she say it? She’d been so keen to just spit it out a moment ago, but having all three of them in the same space had robbed her of her confidence. “I am so…” she started to apologize, but the words died in her throat. She felt her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. 

[sylvie--chevalier-blog]