Tender Spaces

Dear Mummy,

I had quite a good trip back, although I didn’t even try to sleep. A pleasant read and then I looked at the movie (which was rather silly) and then breakfast and then we’d arrived - ahead of time even though we left late.

I saw Paul as soon as I got here (luckily the phone hadn’t been cut off) and kept him abreast of recent events. He feels as I do that Gaëtane will need more psychiatric care. It is unfortunate that she did not get involved in some activity which would have forced her to snap out of it. Now that the Benthams have her she will be more or less forced to go to school - write her matric, which is what we’ve been wanting for some time, so let’s keep out of it and wait and see.

As the taxi-driver said I have “retrouvé mon quartier” and it’s a wonderful feeling. When I was with Michael in the taxi I suddenly caught a glimpse of the mountain and Saint Joseph’s oratory and I said “Oh I do love Montreal!” But now I am saying “Oh I do love Paris!” I didn’t want to go to Paul & Frédérique for dinner because I have so much to think about and don’t want to think in French until I’ve got the Canadian trip settled in my mind and various letter written. There’s a little grocery shop next door which is open on Sundays and I have just had supper - two feuilles de vigne farcies (which is really a Greek specialty), a Rollmops, which is a pickled herring (?) rolled around a pickled cucumber with onion, and then a gorgeous camembert, runny right through, with rye bread and a little more than half a bottle of Vin de Pays du Dept. des Bouches du Rhone Cuvée spéciale. The food tastes so good! Even without it being cooked in some special way it tastes so much better than in Canada - could it be the water?

It is raining on the roof outside my window and I’m falling asleep listening to it.
With much love, Fiona.

P.s. By the way, did you write to the lawyer in Vancouver about stopping G’s allowance? And have you seen Mr. Stead?
Peter’s address is: 954 West 7th, Vancouver. I don’t imagine he’ll appreciate too many phone calls because he asked me to pass the message on to his mother that he didn’t want her to interfere in any way. You could perhaps get Mr. Stead to phone him if anything comes up.

By the way, I got the vitamins from that credit at the drug store and I’ve kept them for me (as a little birthday present). Is that O.K.?