THAT EVENING was Christmas Eve and therefore the evening at the restaurant that Edith's parents were waiting for so much. A good part of the village was there. People were happily eating while the band was playing on the small stage near the counter. There was almost all of Edith's class there. Some came with their families, others came alone. The redhead and her brothers were running around with the dishes while their mother worked the cash register and their father was in the kitchen.

       Edith had just brought a plate to a table when she saw Alain enter the restaurant and a smile automatically appeared on her face. Even though she hadn't told anyone, since the evening had started, she kept wondering if he was going to come. Over the last two months that had passed, she and Alain had become much closer and she had to admit that she liked him much more than she should have.

       She quickly approached him before one of her brothers get the chance to and gave him a big smile. "Hi!"

       "Hi. Merry Christmas." he replied, smiling at her.

        "Merry Christmas! Are you alone?" she asked and he nodded. "There are other people of the class. Some came with family but the others gathered at a table. Do you want me to place you with them or would you prefer to stay alone?"

       "With them, it will be fine."

       She nodded and gestured for him to follow her. She guided him to a table between the front door and the stage where several boys from the class were seated. There were also Michelle and Simone sitting on the edge. Michelle's parents had allowed Jean-Pierre and her to go out for the evening.

      She took the order from Alain and those who had not yet ordered and ran back into the kitchen. "For table 7." she declared to her father and one of the cooks as she placed the paper with the orders on the counter.

       "Table 14." her father replied, pointing to several plates.

        She placed two on her forearms and took two others in her hands before leaving the kitchen. She walked through the restaurant, avoiding the children running around and the people dancing, and placed the plates in front of the customers. As she turned around, three of Thierry's friends approached her.

       "Hey! Where's your brother?"

        She pointed towards the bar, where her brother was busy making drinks and they nodded as she left again. As people continued to arrive, a person no one expected to see walked through the door with a couple of people. He was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. His suitcase in hand, he shouted. "Merry Christmas!"

       Edith's eyes widened in excitement. "Mom, Dad, it's David!" she yelled as she rushed towards him.

       He immediately dropped his suitcase to hug her as she jumped into his arms, soon followed by Thierry and Lucas, and then their parents. "Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" he smiled as his mother went to kiss his cheek while Lucas and Edith were still glued to him.

       Thierry gave him a quick hug but his two other siblings stayed by the eldest. Thierry didn't really like display of affection and physical touch.

        "We have a week's leave for Christmas." David explained, before nodding towards the boy next to him. "Here's my friend Nathan. Can he stay with us? His family lives too far."

       "Of course, of course! Oh, we're so happy to have you back." Victoire smiled as she cupped her son's face in her hands.

       "David's back for the week!" their father yelled and some people who knew the boy stood up to greet him.

      "Edith, honey, take their bags upstairs." Victoire told her daughter.

      "Sure." she replied before grabbing her brother and Nathan's suitcases.

       The boy thanked her and the redhead crossed the room to go up to their apartment. She went to put the two suitcases in David's room and took care of making her brother's bed and preparing the sofa for their guest before going back down to the restaurant. David and Nathan were chatting at the bar with Thierry's friends while the Lefebvre parents had returned to the kitchen.

       The rest of the evening passed quite peacefully after that. People were eating, others were dancing to the music and gradually the restaurant emptied, leaving room for Edith and her brothers to clean up.

      While she was sweeping the locker room between the kitchen and the toilets, Alain joined her. Edith glanced quickly to make sure her parents hadn't seen him— she knew they would jump to conclusions, they didn't want her around boys.

      "Hi, am I bothering you?" he asked and she put her broom against the wall.

      "No, not at all. What's up?" she smiled at him. "What are you still doing here?"

       "I wanted to give you something." he replied, opening his bag. "It's a Christmas present."

       A surprised look appeared on Edith's face. "You bought me a Christmas present?"

       She suddenly felt guilty. She didn't think he would buy her something. She didn't have anything for him.

       "It's nothing much, really, it's just something I saw and I thought you'd like it." Alain told her gently before handing her the gift.

      She took it with a slight smile and tore off the wrapping paper. It was a book by Louisa May Alcott.

      "I hope you haven't read it already. I walked past it last time and after your presentation last time, I thought you liked her so..."

       "I do! It's perfect." she gave him a wide smile. "Thank you so much."

       She took a step forward and took him in her arms. Although he seemed surprised for a moment, he was quick to wrap his arms around her. She let out a quiet sigh as she closed her eyes. She loved the feeling of being in his arms. She liked him, a lot. He was gentle, and caring. He was perfect.

— where's my alain fr 😞

this chapter is totally out of the show bc i wanted to show a little of edith's life as well as the return of her brother and his friend because it'll be very important for the rest of the story. hope it wasn't too boring though! xo