Lily softly closed the house door behind her.
The Paris morning had fully awakened.
The air was slightly cold, but it carried that crisp freshness that precedes the city’s traffic by hours.
She walked with calm steps down the street.
Her university bag hung from her shoulder.
And her hair moved gently with the light morning breeze.
She was not walking directly to the university.
She had promised Madame Gondeau yesterday that she would stop by her place first.
Therefore, she headed toward Boulevard Saint-Germain, the street whose details she knew so well.
The cafes were starting to receive their first customers.
The aroma of French coffee filled the air.
And the sound of porcelain cups blended with the quiet morning conversations.
After a few minutes of walking, the small cafeteria where she used to stop appeared.
The wooden sign hanging above the door carried the name known to the neighborhood residents for years.
“The Family Cafeteria.” Its glass facade reflected the morning sunlight, while inside, the warm lights were still glowing.
Through the glass, Lily could see Madame Gondeau moving between the tables as usual, arranging cups and greeting a new day with her serene smile.
Lily stopped in front of the door.
She did not reach out her hand to the handle right away.
She remained standing for a few moments.
She remembered the promise she made yesterday.
She had promised Madame Gondeau that she would take Julia with her to the university.
It was not merely a ride.
Madame Gondeau hoped that Julia leaving the house, even for a few hours, would help her regain a piece of her normal life.
Lily lowered her gaze slightly.
And the same question returned to her mind.
Julia…
She could not forget the massive change that had overcome her during the past months, just as Madame Gondeau had told her yesterday; ever since Madame Gondeau separated from her husband, everything had changed.
Lily knew that divorce could be painful.
Yet she always wondered…
Why was Julia affected to this extent?
Julia was at an age that allowed her to understand that disagreements happen.
And that adults sometimes separate.
Yet she did not handle the matter with such simplicity.
It was as if she had not merely lost her father’s presence at home.
Rather, she had lost something greater.
Something that used to grant her a sense of safety.
She became quiet.
She distanced herself from people.
She spent most of her time inside her room.
Until leaving her home became a rare occurrence.
Gradually…
that sadness turned into severe depression, until Madame Gondeau began to fear leaving her daughter alone for long periods.
Lily sighed quietly.
She felt sad whenever she thought about Julia.
She did not see a spoiled girl exaggerating her feelings.
Rather, she saw a small human being who did not know how to handle the collapse of her world.
Perhaps the father’s absence alone was not the sole reason.
Perhaps the reason was that the house itself no longer resembled the house she once knew.
The same faces.
Yet life was no longer the same.
Lily raised her eyes to the glass door once more.
Then she smiled a slight smile, hoping that today would be the beginning of something better for Julia.
And finally…
She extended her hand to the handle.
And entered the cafeteria.
As soon as Lily entered the cafeteria, the small bell hanging above the door chimed, so Madame Gondeau raised her head from behind the coffee machine.
As soon as her eyes fell upon Lily, a warm smile appeared on her face—that smile that always made the entire place seem quieter.
She quickly took off the apron she was wearing and stepped toward her with gentle steps, saying with a voice filled with love: “Good morning, Lily…
I knew you would arrive on time.” Lily smiled automatically as she approached her.
“Good morning, Madame Gondeau.” Madame Gondeau was not content with merely shaking hands; she opened her arms and embraced her as she did every time she saw her.
Lily exchanged the embrace quietly.
At that exact moment, that strange feeling she could never explain on any previous occasion returned to her.
It was not merely an embrace.
Nor was it just a greeting.
It was something deeper than that.
She felt, for a few seconds, as if she were no longer a university student carrying her bag and heading to her lectures.
Rather, a little child who had found a safe place to rest.
Madame Gondeau embraced her in a way different from everyone else.
There was no affectation in her embrace.
No flattery.
No attempt to display forced kindness.
It was a sincere, simple embrace that carried a warmth resembling the warmth of mothers.
And for this exact reason, Lily felt flustered every time.
She was not accustomed to this kind of tenderness.
In Mr.
Antoine’s home, everything was tidy and organized.
Respect was always present.
Care existed.
Yet expressing it was quiet, calculated, and rarely appeared in the form of an embrace or a tender touch.
As for Madame Gondeau…
She acted with complete spontaneity.
If she was happy, she embraced.
If she was worried, she asked.
If she noticed tiredness on someone’s face, she prepared a cup of hot chocolate for them before they even requested it.
She possessed that motherliness that did not require words to be understood.
Madame Gondeau stepped back slightly while still keeping her hands on Lily’s shoulders, then contemplated her with a smile and said: “You look a little tired…
Did you stay up late studying?” Lily smiled a slight smile, shaking her head.
“Not too much…
I just went to sleep late.” She did not say that she stayed up watching the movie she had made.
Nor did she mention that she kept waiting for Adam to turn on his phone.
She kept all of that to herself.
Madame Gondeau smiled again, then reached out her hand and adjusted a small strand of Lily’s hair that had fallen in front of her face, saying with clear tenderness: “Despite that, you remain as beautiful as you always are.” Lily lowered her eyes slightly, smiling bashfully.
And she could not prevent herself from thinking about something that had recurred with her often.
Why did she feel this amount of comfort with this woman?
There was no familial relation between them.
Nor had she known her since childhood.
Nevertheless, whenever she entered this cafeteria and felt Madame Gondeau’s welcome, something inside her would settle.
Something she did not know was weary in the first place.
Perhaps because a human being, no matter how old they grow, remains in need of someone who looks at them through the eyes of a mother.
Through eyes that do not seek perfection.
Nor success, nor mistakes.
Rather, they look merely to make sure they are fine.
And perhaps this was what she found with Madame Gondeau.
That simple feeling…
which allowed her, if only for a few minutes, to forget that she was always trying to be strong, and to return, without realizing it, as a child standing in the presence of a mother who gives her reassurance without asking for anything in return.