Child's Play 1991
"What can I give her to play with?" My neighbor asked herself. Glancing around her beautiful apartment my eyes could only see one fragile object after another. "Don't worry, I have plenty of toys in my diaper bag." Though my reply fell on deaf ears, she continued opening buffets and shuffling things around.
While I was admiring the entrance walls, which were covered in thin hand-painted leather, something that had belonged in her family since the 15th century- Chelsea had crawled under the dining room table and was pressing the servant's bell button. Jeanette came down from the hallway, where the kitchen was located, whipping her hands on her apron she smiled, "Oh little one what is your desire?"
Madame Lombard waved her finger, "Ca-va ça-va, I have found something to interest her." With that, she added, "Jeanette, we will take our tea in the salon." Picking up Chelsea, I followed her into another stunning room, were in the corner sat a harp that belonged to Marie-Antoinette. How was I going to manage my baby from touching that, plus sip my tea lady-like?
"Come here Chérie," as she placed a shoebox with wine stoppers on the rug, "look at these shiny things." All I could think about was how someone's tiny hands were going to have a field day tossing them about. Concerned I questioned whether it was a good idea to let Chelsea play with the crystal wine bottle stoppers? Without lifting her head up she reasoned, "Bien sur, not a problem, these things are old and the bottles are long gone. Anyway, Chelsea is "sage," she won't throw them." Next to the shoebox of stoppers, Madame Lombard put a silver wine bottle holder.
While we sat on the signed Louis 15th armchairs sipping tea, Chelsea seemed to be under a spell. Like a Princess, she was picking up the stoppers as if they were precious jewels and placing them into the wine bottle holder.
At the end of the afternoon, with kisses given to both sides of our cheeks, Madame Lombard had Jeanette gather up the stoppers in a "sac plastic," for Chelsea to take home.
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