It was really hard to concentrate that summer. Ashley lived in a strange place with strange people and had no means of making friends. She could barely understand a word they said, much less strike up a conversation with the first semi-willing victim she came across. She found it lonely and depressing, especially considering that all of her thoughts were on the kiss Taylor and she had shared in the airport.
She really tried not to dwell on it. Chloe's older (much older) sister, Madelaine, was visiting her parents for the summer along with her husband and 2 small children. Ashley found them to be adorable, even though she couldn't make out a word of their jibberish. They supplied her as much entertainment as any television or radio could, and they kept her busy. But at nights whenever Madelaine and her brood would head back to the resort they were staying at for the time being, Ashley could help but remember.
She remembered the first time she sat down to write a letter Taylor. She wrote it mostly in English, but then a few parts (parts that eluded to her confusion about the kiss) she wrote in French. She prayed that he couldn't find someone who spoke French to translate.
The nearer it got, however, to the first day of school and the more confident Ashley became in her new life, the less she reminisced about it. After all, she had to worry about not making a fool of herself when she spoke which meant she doubled up on her studying, and she was constantly shopping for school supplies and clothes (which she was thrilled to know that the de Contres folk didn't mind buying for her). Still, it came to mind every so often and she wondered how she would treat Taylor when she came home, but home was very far away.
And there was so much time left to her life in which she could worry about that.
