A French Pirouette by Jennifer Bohnet

some extra clothes and bits and pieces I’ll need for a longer stay.”
    “I’m so glad you want to stay here for the summer,” Libby said smiling at Evie. “I’ll make sure the gîte is ready for you to move into when you get back.”

Chapter Ten
    Suzette
    Suzette stood on the small balcony of her apartment looking down at the Paris traffic. Normally when she returned from being away she was relieved to be back and stood here to soak up the frenzy of the City of Light contentedly knowing she was home. But today, for some reason, the magic simply wasn’t there.
    Today the
rue
looked unkempt with litter blowing about in the breeze and somehow the noise and bustle of people and the city traffic with its loud hooters and sirens made everything feel belligerent. As if everyone was personally fighting a war of survival. Suzette sighed. How was it possible things had changed so much?
    This was silly. It was her home. She only felt unsettled because of the changes she knew she was facing in her life. A long holiday in the countryside would surely help her in deciding which way her future lay but it was to this apartment she’d have to return at the end of summer to begin her new life.
    Resolutely Suzette went inside and closed the French windows. She had two whole days ahead of her with lots of things planned and she was determined to make the most of them but first she’d have a session in the studio. See how her ankle responded.
    As the slow melodic music filled the air, Suzette placed her hand on the barre and began her familiar five-position exercise routine, carefully placing her feet in the correct positions and trying to ignore the increasing twinges from her ankle. Ten minutes later, after attempting to keep her heels flat on the floor in the demi-plié position and almost losing her balance, she switched the music off. Pointless to force things. Her ankle would be better for a longer rest.
    She made her way to the bedroom cupboard and took out a suitcase. Might as well make a start on packing a few things. Shoes and clothes first. What next? Her gaze fell on her beloved musical jewellery box. A present from her mother when she was just three, it had always held a very special and important place in her life.
    As a tiny toddler she’d watched enchanted as the ballerina in a classic pirouette pose twirled around and around. She’d wound and rewound the tinkling music, spending hours in front of her bedroom mirror trying to twirl on her toes like the miniature ballerina on the box. And every night the gentle strains of the ‘Vienna Waltz’ by Johann Strauss Jr had soothed her to sleep.
    Taking the box to Brittany and having it in her bedroom at the gîte would instantly make the place feel more like her home for the summer. Carefully she wrapped the box in a protective cloth before placing it in the suitcase.
    Now for some material and embroidery silks. The cape with its intricate Lesage tribute she’d been working on before Monaco was finally finished and she was itching to start something else.
    Infuriatingly she couldn’t find anything in the pile of new material she kept in her sewing cupboard that inspired her. At least she now had an excuse to go to the Marché Saint-Pierre tomorrow and see what treasures she could find.
    With the suitcase already half full Suzette decided to leave the packing until she’d done the shopping she planned to do. At this rate if she wasn’t careful she’d end up having to take two suitcases back to the auberge.
    Suzette was up early the next day and after nipping out for a croissant and coffee, which she ate sitting on the balcony, she got ready for a happy few hours wandering around her two favourite markets. First up would be the textile market.
    Suzette loved choosing material at the Marché Saint-Pierre. So many shops and bazaars full of a variety of her favourite materials—velvets, linen and silks to name but three.
    Today she even loved the time-consuming business