May- July 2022 • Nola

                                    

                                          
*** A/N: We are jumping ahead- by a YEAR. To the end of May 2022, because nothing huge happened then for Harry 😉 
This is also a very long chapter- 11,000 words long. So, find a snack and a comfy spot and enjoy!!
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MAY 2022
We lived with grandma Colette for the first months after Conrad was born. There was plenty of space for us to stay, but it wasn't our space. So, last summer, after the girls finished preschool, I bought an apartment in the 16th Arrondissement in western Paris. In the months since then, we have fallen in love with living closer to the city center and have all become true Parisians, even little Conrad. 
Elodie, the nanny, made the move with us. I procured a small apartment in the building across the street from ours for her, as our apartment only has three bedrooms and a rather large office space (which is in now the playroom with a murphy bed for guests). The girls have all been sharing the largest of the three rooms, with a partial wall being placed to separate the twins from Hattie. Conrad has a tiny room next to mine that he has yet to move into because he is still sleeping in a crib in my room. Yes, he is a mama's boy.
Conny, as the girls call him, is a wonderful baby. The easiest baby that I have had, hands down. I think that I've kept him in my room longer because I like having someone else there. I find that I'm less likely to let my mind wander and I am also less likely to deep dive on the internet, afraid that the glow of my phone will wake him, or at least that is the excuse that I use. When I do deep dive, it's just to see what Harry is up to and I never like what I see. The whole Olivia thing, that I was so sure was just a passing infatuation or a way to make me jealous, seems to have turned into a long-term relationship. With no access to his private account, I have only what the tabloids are reporting to go off of, so I know that not everything I am seeing is reality. That being said, I also know that you don't parade someone around half naked on a yacht in Italy, kissing her and giving her the eyes he only used to give me, if she is just a fling.
I'm happy for him, if he's happy. I never meant to hurt him the way that having Conrad had to have crushed him. In all of my conversations with Sarah, I've never asked her about him, or Olivia, because it was established early on as a topic that is off limits, but I wish that it wasn't. I'd just like to know how he is REALLY doing. 
This morning, I am going to work for a few hours while the girls attend preschool. I've been working for a small florist a few blocks off the Champs-Élysées doing marketing and uploading new product images to their website. I am still doing marketing for the winery in California, as well, but that is very seasonal after new products launch and right now is off season there. 
"Bonjour, Nola!"
"Bonjour," I greet Maeve, taking off my jacket and walking farther into the back of the shop.
"Les nouveaux arrangements sont ravissants," I tell her, as I get the lenses swapped out on my camera. 
"Merci. J'étais très content des fleurs d'été qu'ils ont envoyées cette fois-ci."
I take in the options of the different bouquets I have to photograph, deciding to start with the one with a lot of purple hues. I work to adjust the lighting and arrange the bouquet so the composition seems balanced. "Les violets sont superbes. Hattie adorerait ça."
"Je pensais qu'elle pourrait," she replies with a smile as I start to photograph the bouquet, all the while knowing this one is coming home with me today for a very special two-year-old. 
After I finish photographing a the rest of the arrangements, Maeve returns to the back room after helping a few customers. "Quand partez-vous en Californie?"