“Ahh, the patriarchy alive and well. You on the pill? Maybe you can go back-to-back on a pack to avoid having your period just this once.”

I was on the pill, so I guessed I could consider doing that.

“What’s a period?” asked Dauphine.

“Tes règles,” Andrea explained, translating it to the French.

Dauphine shuddered, her eyes wide. “I do not want to get that. The girls at school say you have blood. Is it true?”

I slipped an arm around her small shoulders. “Every woman gets them. It will be a sign you are growing up.”

“Is it with pain?”

“It can be a little, yes.”

“Then I do not want to grow up. And I do not want them.” She frowned as if remembering something. “Last year one of the girls, Cécile, I think she got them and everybody was laughing at her. She cried.”

“It’s okay, when it happens for you, you don’t have to tell your friends, just tell your—”

Shit.

“Papa,” Andrea jumped in. “Or me.”

“Or me,” I added. “You have my phone number, and you can call me whenever you need to.” And I found that I meant every word. I’d only been here a week when Dauphine had cornered me and asked me very seriously if we were real friends, and if I would call her when I was back in America. I’d given her my American number and told her to use it anytime.

I shared a look with Andrea.

Dauphine sat in troubled silence and continued to eat.

“Anyway, put whatever you like on the list for Evan,” Andrea said to me. “We’ll see how he handles it.” She stood and took her coffee cup to the dishwasher. “And put at least one outrageous thing on there. I swear, one of these days I’ll find something he can’t get me.” She gave a smirk. “That man sure is resourceful.”

“Anything going on there?” I asked with a sly glance at Dauphine to make sure she didn’t get my meaning.

A cloud passed over Andrea’s face. “No,” she said emphatically, but somehow I didn’t quite believe her. “I don’t … date. I can’t. You sure you don’t want this last piece of baguette?”

“Ha. No chance.”

“Oh, before I forget, you and Dauphine are accompanying Mr. P for lunch today. You are all going to Le Cinquante-Cinq. It’s a famous beach club.”

Dauphine clapped with joy. “Today?”

“We are?”

Andrea smiled at Dauphine’s excitement.

That didn’t leave us a whole lot of time. “Come on, Dauphine. It’s time for our morning yoga class.”

She hurriedly stuffed her last bite of baguette in her mouth.

“Oh,” I said. “Is Evan picking us up to go to the beach club? What time should we be ready?”