The next morning Stella took her time getting ready for the day. She lounged in bed for an hour before getting up. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, and then headed to their home gym. Since Stella’s parents lead a busy lifestyle, they didn’t have time or energy to always go to a gym in town or a long jog in the morning. They had decided to have a gym at the house so they could take advantage of it on the days they were home or in the evenings. Stella used it too, mainly for doing yoga. The skylights let in a lot of natural light and the TV on the wall was perfect for playing the instruction video. Stella rolled out the yoga mat and searched for a video that would be perfect for a relaxing Sunday morning and not too strenuous for her recovering wrist.

After an hour of yin style yoga Stella felt flexible and relaxed. She returned to her room to finally change out of her pajamas. She headed downstairs for breakfast and stopped at the kitchen doorway, eyes wide from surprise.

The kitchen was in full chaos mode. Her parents were cooking. Marisa dashed between the stove and different cupboards, looking for ingredients she had forgotten to take out before starting the food. Gideon calmly chopped vegetables and every now and then stirred one of the pots that threatened to boil over while his wife was occupied.

“What is going on?” Stella asked.

Her mother stopped her frantic search. Marisa’s cheeks were red and strands of brown hair had escaped from her ponytail.

“Stella, good morning baby. We’re making food. Do you know where the whisks for the electric mixer are?”

“Did you look at the top drawer on the right?” 

Marisa dove towards the drawer and after quick rummaging pulled out the whisks with a triumphant “aha”.

Stella poured muesli and milk into a bowl and took a seat at the kitchen island trying to occupy as little space as possible. Mila wandered in the kitchen as well, and Gideon dropped a piece of beef to the cat.

“So, what are you making?”

“Your mother decided she wants to cook for our guests,” Gideon explained. “So we’re making roast beef, some sort of chutney? Honey, was it a chutney?”

“Yes.”

“Red wine sauce, and some vegetables as sides. A tomato soup as a starter. And cake for a dessert.”

“Wow, you’re really going all in.”

“Yes, and because it’s Mathilda’s day off, we have to cook it ourselves. And I might be regretting it greatly right now,” Marisa said. She wiped sweat from her forehead.

“Do you need help?” Stella asked.

“If you could take the strawberries from the fridge and cut them into pieces. Leave a few as decoration.”

Stella finished her breakfast and jumped into work. She cut the berries, trying her best to not slip too many in her mouth. 

The roast beef came out of the oven just as the doorbell rang. Stella ran to open the door with excitement sparking in her chest. It had been a while since she had seen aunt Claire and her wife Monique.

“Oh, Stella. My favourite niece. You’ve grown so much,” Claire chittered in excited French when the door opened, and pulled Stella into a hug and cheek kisses.

Monique greeted Stella in a calmer manner but just as warmly as her partner. Gideon and Marisa came to greet the guests as well, and Stella slipped out of the way before she was caught into another round of hugs and kisses.

Gideon guided the guests to the living room. Stella caught a glimpse of Mila’s tail when the cat dashed into hiding. She wasn’t fond of guests, especially loud ones.

Marisa and Claire chatted in an excited mix of English and French. Their parents were French, but Claire was the one who had felt a stronger call to France and had moved there to continue her studies after high school with the purpose of coming back after university. But she had met Monique, and now they had lived in Paris for over 20 years.

“We brought you some souvenirs,” Claire said and set a bag on the table.

Stella inched closer, curious and excited to find out what she would get.

“Wine, of course. I couldn’t come without some,” Claire started and pulled two bottles of red wine. Next was a box of delicate biscuits from a Parisian bakery, and then another box.

“Stella, this is for you.”

Stella straightened herself and reached for the box. It smelled softly of lavender and she opened it. Inside the box was an assortment of different lavender products: lavender oil, handmade lavender soap, lavender face cream, bath salt, and lavender and honey hand scrub.

“Oh, wow,” Stella whispered. She picked the jar of face cream and sniffed it. “This is lovely. Thank you.”

“One last thing here. Monique’s new book is coming out next month, but we got one of the author’s copies for you guys,” Claire said.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Marisa said and took the book.

“It’s a murder mystery set in a quiet village in France’s countryside,” Monique explained. “We’re in negotiations about a movie adaptation right now.”

There was a collective “What? That’s amazing!” and everyone started congratulating Monique. Even Claire was surprised to hear the news.

“This requires celebration. How about we open the bottle of wine you brought and enjoy it with some good food?” Gideon suggested.

No one had any objections. They moved to the dining room. Gideon set the table while Stella helped her mother to carry food to the table. They opened the gift wine bottle, and Stella got a little bit in her glass as well. Over food Monique told them more about the highly confidential movie project. 

When they started eating dessert, aunt Claire’s attention shifted to Stella.

“So, Stella. How are you doing in school? Have you found a boyfriend yet?”

The piece of cake on Stella’s spoon dropped back on the plate.

“Oh, school’s going well. No boyfriends in sight though.”

“Almost three years in high school and no boyfriend still? The boys here must be blind.”

Stella smiled a little. She had thought about it too. Everyone said how she was so pretty, and how all the boys must’ve been swarming around her, but no one was. On the other hand, she hadn’t pursued anyone either. There were good-looking guys in the school, but no one caught her eye in that manner. So, maybe it was better that no one wasted their time on her.

“Unbelievable situation. Next summer I’ll introduce you to some French boys if this nonsense keeps up. We know a few potential ones, right, love?” Claire continued. 

“Yes. Our neighbour has two sons. They’re quite handsome young men. And my agent mentioned he has a son around your age as well,” Monique said.

Stella blushed and shoved cake in her mouth to avoid replying. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, but wouldn’t complain about a chance to meet handsome boys either. Who knew what could come out of it? The topic reminded Stella of Justin’s date with Melanie. She was curious to know how that was going, but maybe it’d be best to wait until tomorrow before jumping to the interrogation. The date could last late, and Stella would hate to interrupt it.