Sharks in the Moat

“The Twins”

It was a gorgeous summer evening in the Loire Valley in France. The sunlight was setting over the 19th century Château. The water from the moat was glowing against the ancient stone fortress, with its wide twin turrets. Erected near the banks of the Loire River, the ancient fortress was a defense outpost during the 12th century. The new Château was constructed over it in the 16th century and then reconstructed by Dominique's family in the early 19th century.

Dominique and her spouse, Gàetan, were inside the vast kitchen with its thick stone walls and wood beam ceiling. As he stood in front of an old wooden cart, he poured wine from a small oak barrel into an ordinary wine bottle with a unique barcode number on the front. Dominique was relaxing close by supervising him.

After placing the bottle down on the cart, Gàetan declared, “Ok, the first bottle is ready. We have two dozen more bottles to fill with our vineyard's white wine.” As he filled the second bottle, Gàetan paused when he heard loud thumping noises coming from upstairs. As he glanced up at the ceiling he heard, “Thud, thud, thud.”

Annoyed now, Gàetan set the bottle down on the cart. Dominique stood up and proclaimed, “Ok, that's enough playing around upstairs. The girls should get ready for bed. And it sounds like Celia is practicing her gymnastics, or her martial arts, using the upstairs hallway as her special gymnasium. I hope she isn’t hopping over the top of André or Sienna?”

Meanwhile, sleeping under the large table on the cool tile floor was a young Jack Russell Terrier named Obi-Wan Kenobi, who bolted out of his dog bed over to the staircase. He was expecting some excitement. Even Brigitte, the enormous English Mastiff who was snoozing under the kitchen table opened her eyes and lifted her giant head, acknowledging the deafening thumping.

Dominique accompanied her spouse down the hall to the main staircase. In his stern dad voice, Gàetan hollered upstairs, “Celia, time to quiet down and get ready for bed. You’re not jumping over the top of your dogs, are you?”

Obi began jumping eagerly around in circles on the stairway next to his dad, seeking his attention. Next, a girl's voice hollered down the staircase.

“Papa, I was being very careful. But I’ll get ready for bed now.”

As the dark-haired ten-year-old girl stepped down the staircase within view, a huge fawn color Dogue de Bordeaux French Mastiff with a wrinkled face appeared at her side. The little girl reached over affectionately and put her arm around the enormous dog's head. And, with her other hand, she rubbed the top of his head.

Smiling now, Dominique instructed her daughter, “Darling, please go back upstairs and put on your pajamas and quietly read your book. Your father and I are sorting out the wine for the competition tomorrow, and then we'll come up and kiss you both goodnight. By the way, what is Clara doing?”

“She’s at her desk, studying.

Gàetan stepped partially up the stairs past Ceila, and hollered, “Clara, honey. It's time to get ready for bed. Please turn off your laptop and give your eyes a rest. We’ll be up as soon as we get the dogs settled in, and after we have filled the wine bottles for the competition tomorrow. We love you, Honey.”

Clara replied, “Ok, Papa.”

Gàetan was beaming as he walked down the stairs. “Celia, off you go, and please help your sister put on her pajamas.”

Now André, accompanied his dad down the stairs. And a few seconds later, two dogs with the same wrinkled face emerged on the stairway. It's Sienna, along with her puppy, Chico, and both are excitedly wagging their tails. Gàetan now picked up his 40 lb. male puppy. “Chico, you are so cute.” Holding his face next to the puppy's head as they walked down the steps into the kitchen.

As Dominique stood in front of the wooden cart, she said, “Honey, it's time to put all the dogs outside while we fill the rest of the wine bottles.”

Nodding his head, Gàetan opened the kitchen door as five dogs of various sizes ran outside, enjoying the last bit of sunlight. As the door shut the door behind him, you could hear the dogs playfully growling and wrestling with each other while they ran around in the courtyard.

“France Challenge du Vin”

An hour later, Gàetan walked out of the cold cellar and up the stone stairway. “Ok, we’re all set for tomorrow. I’ll let the dogs inside and meet you upstairs.” But first, he held Dominique in his arms, giving her a passionate kiss. He stopped when he heard the house phone ring.

Dominique reacted “I’ll get it. It’s probably my mother.”

But Gàetan had longer arms than his wife. He reached the phone first. Before talking into it, he asked her, “I thought your mother was coming down from Paris tonight?”

Without waiting, he answered, “Good evening, this is Gàetan.” Then, after a pause, he added, “Good evening Jules, how is everything at the Mayor’s office?” He looked over at his wife intently, a bit shocked.

Dominique held up her hands, quietly asking him, “What's going on?”

Gàetan was nodding his head up and down, and a minute later he replied, “Oh yes, I understand, no problem at all. And, thank you for wishing us good luck at the annual wine competition tomorrow. Good night now.”

Now turning to Dominique, he said, “Well, some issues happened in the Village today. Our son and his friend’s engineering project created some problems.”

He groaned aloud. “Maybe we should not have let Théo and his college friends drain the moat and install that automated shark exhibit? It turns out Clara’s website is too believable. Now, a small group of tourists showed up in the Village from Belgium and they are searching for the Château with the sharks in the moat. The Mayor said he is not pleased about this distraction. He requested that we put a sign outside our gates, and another one at City Hall. He said it should read: 'No live sharks.' We'll have to ask Clara to change the website tomorrow.”

Dominique promptly needed to do some damage control. As he sat down at the kitchen table, she ran her fingers through his pepper gray and black hair, caressing his scalp.

She softly whispered, “But honey, remember how thrilling it was when they drained the moat? Think of all the ancient coins we found, and the swords, and other small daggers. Plus, the pieces of soldier’s amour and the stone cannon balls. Remember how Théo took everything to the university, where they evaluated and cleaned everything? He was so proud when it was on display. And don't forget the party we had for the engineering department after his graduation.”

Dominique continued, “Plus, engineers studied the moat and the Château's foundation, it's in excellent condition, and the moat will not leak for another 500 years.”

Gàetan's head was rolling around on his shoulders in sync with her gentle hand movements.

He replied, “All right. Let’s go to bed. By the way, where is your mother? She's expected to keep an eye on the girls tomorrow morning until Théo and his friends show up in the afternoon?”

Sighing deeply, Dominique replied, “My mother is with Floria, and her new boyfriend at some local bar in the Village. She agreed to arrive by 7:00am before we leave.” But now Dominique sighed deeply.

As Gàetan took her hand, he said, “I'll go outside and make sure the gates are locked, and bring in the dogs. I'll meet you upstairs.” But first he kissed her passionately again.

As he opened the kitchen door, a small herd of dogs ran past him, through the kitchen, and up the stairs to claim their beds. The extra-large senior Mastiff, Brigitte, and Sienna's puppy, Chico, calmly walked over to the glass elevator located inside the turret next to the kitchen.

When Gàetan returned ten minutes later, he ushered inside Lulu, Penelope and Bleu's six-month-old blue Italian Mastiff puppy. Three of the dogs preferred to sleep outside at night, so Gáetan and Théo made nice enclosures for them.

Before closing the kitchen door, Gàetan hollered outside once more, “Goodnight Coal, goodnight Penelope, and Bleu.”

As he opened the elevator door, he petted each dog on the head and gave them a biscuit. He stood there examining the glass elevator as it went upward, then he turned off the kitchen lights. He peered one last time around the main floor before going upstairs.

Like most ten-year-old’s, their bedroom walls were pasted with posters. One side of the room was covered with posters of famous Olympic gymnasts, and martial arts posters of many legends. The other side of the room had posters from Star Wars, and Jurassic Park, and other superheroes. He observed the metal walker and the cane sitting nearby Clara's bed. Gigi, the tiny white toy poodle, was already curled up in a ball near her legs. His youngest daughter was born with a personal handicap that required some assistance to walk.

In his stern dad's face, he said, “Did your mom tell you about the two 'no live sharks' posters you will need to make tomorrow? When Théo arrives, he can put one outside our main gate on the street, and then he should take the other sign over to City Hall. Grandma is spending the evening with her friends in the Village, but she will arrive before we leave for the wine competition. Are we all on board? Questions?”

As Gàetan held Clara's hand, he said, “My Angel, you have created quite a commotion with your 'Sharks in the Moat' webpage. Tourists are coming to the Village looking for the Château that has the moat and the live shark exhibit. Will you work on fixing the webpage tomorrow? Can you do this for me? My sweetie-pie?”

Giggling, the dark-haired girl replied. “Yes Papa. “

Firmly now, he said, “It was enormous fun for the summer, but after Halloween, we will disassemble the project. Your brother and his friends can open up an amusement park somewhere else.” It was too late to call Théodore tonight, so their discussion would have to wait until he returned tomorrow evening after the wine competition.

“Girls, time for bed now.”

Gàetan noticed Milo, the fluffy white cat, had appeared and was sitting on the shelf next to Clara's bed. Milo was now staring at him and his tail was swaying back and forth. He wondered if the cat would bite him if he tried to pet him on the head? Milo had been a stray cat that showed up one day five years ago.

After kissing both girls, they made their way out of the bedroom. First, they stepped over Sienna, Chico, and Lulu. The dogs were now fast asleep in their beds in the middle of the doorway. Walking further down the hall at the top of the stairway, they carefully stepped around André spread out on the wood floor, now snoring loudly. Tonight, he was keeping watch over the main floor.

Reaching their bedroom, they found Brigitte and Obi were already asleep in their beds near the window. Now, finally, they have safely made their way to their own comfortable bed.

The Château was quiet now. But before falling asleep, Gàetan had to laugh to himself. He pitied any intruder who ever tried to break into his home.

“Missing”

The lights in the local Village bar were dim and romantic. Dominique's mother, Charlene “Cheri”, and her best friend Floria were sitting at the cafe table with their dates, drinking and laughing. When Floria's new boyfriend, Matteo, and Cheri's blind date Lorenzo, got up to meet their friends at the door, Floria leaned over to Cheri, “So, what do you think of your blind date? Italian men are so much fun.”

Charlene asked. “How did you meet Matteo? Didn't you tell me you had car trouble, and that you were stuck on the road near his auto repair shop? That was convenient for him, wasn't it?”

Floria knew her best friend could be very stuck up, and she didn't want to get into an argument over Matteo or Lorenzo tonight. So, she ignored her and waved at Matteo and his friends.

Then Floria replied sharply, “Oh come on now! Forget about everything and have fun tonight. Matteo and his brothers own two auto repair shops. On the weekends, they race cars at Le Mans. But I like him because he's lots of fun. He likes to drink good wine, and we have romantic dates. We go to Le Mans nearly every weekend, and his friends at the track are also very exciting.”

Cheri replied, Yes, I understand, and now I need to have some fun. After all, it has been nearly two years since Hugo passed away.”

Cheri added, “Dominique is going to be furious with me. I was supposed to go directly to the Château tonight from Paris, but I came here to meet instead. That was hours ago, and now it's too late to go to the Château. I don't want to wake up my grandkids and all the dogs. I'll have to stay at your place tonight and then go over in the morning.”

Floria was patient. “Let's have some fun.” Leaning closer she added. “Lorenzo is good looking, isn't he? And, he dresses really nice and has nice hair. Matteo said he has a small villa North of Rome, and we're going to go visit in a few weeks. Maybe you should come along?”

Meanwhile, near the bar entrance, Matteo greeted his two brothers, Boris and Pascal. He sarcastically said, “You're on time for once. Very good.”

Boris was shorter than his older brother, and he was much heavier with less hair and he wore a thick mustache. Pascal was taller and thinner than both of his brothers, with thick wavy hair. Plus, his mother always told him he was the best-looking son.

Matteo asked Boris, “Did you get the large bottle of Scotch? Did you put a fake note on it for the old caretaker? Did you put it outside the front gate at the Château for him to find?” Then he turned to Pascal, “What about the steaks? Did you get them? And the tranquilizers, did you buy them from the girl at the veterinarian’s office?”

Boris and Pascal were nodding their heads the entire time. In unison, they replied, “Yes, yes.”

Now, Matteo patted them on their backs. “Good, my brothers. I knew I could count on you. We're ready to rob the Château tomorrow while the parents are away. Lorenzo will help us open the safe. Now, come over and let me introduce you to our dates, have a quick drink with us, but don't say anything, stupid.”

“Home Alone”

Dominique finally reached her mother at 7:00am. “Mother, we have to leave for wine competition in a few minutes. Where are you? We mentioned we were wanted to leave at 7:00am?”

Cheri carelessly countered, “Honey, calm down. Floria and I are preparing breakfast for our friends, and we'll be there shortly.”

She was still in her seductive low black nightie and flip-flops with feathers on the top, as she rested next to the stove flipping eggs and sausages. Lorenzo was relaxing at the breakfast table nearby.

The atmosphere in the room shifted when she loudly proclaimed, “What do you mean I can't take my friends over to the Château this morning? I have to delay until Théo and his friends show up in the afternoon? But why?”

As the two ladies argued, Gàetan, grabbed the phone from his wife's hand. “Hi Charlene, No, we do not approve of any strangers in the house while we are away. Théo and his friends will arrive in the early afternoon and then you can invite your friends over for a late lunch.”

Gàetan was grinning when he handed over the phone to Dominique.

She told her mother, “We're looking forward to seeing you, later today. After all, it has been over a month since you were here. What happened to your boyfriend in Paris? Have you been taking care of the apartment?”

When Dominique put the phone down, Gàetan held her in his arms. He declared, “Sometimes, I can't tell who the parent is?” He was making light of the situation, but Dominique was not happy.

Celia and Clara were at the breakfast table, and they both giggled as they listened in on the phone conversation.

As Gàetan was placing their things near the kitchen door, he pointed out. “Girls,

Grandmother should be here within half an hour. Do you feel comfortable staying here with your dogs until she shows up? Uncle Leon is in the gate cottage, and you can call him there if you need anything. I'll make sure we lock the gates as we leave.”

Dominique added, “Now, we have rehearsed the emergency evacuation plan many times. But today it is very important. If anything, suspicious happens, please push the emergency button and go into the safe room. Then, you can go out of the secret tunnel under the moat to the garden house. Wait there for us. The dogs know their roles. Are you comfortable?”

Both girls shook their heads, “Yes, Mother.”

Dominique kissed the girls on their cheeks, and then she patted André on the head. “André, you are the alpha dog. Take care of the girls until grandmother arrives.”

Now, André barked, making everyone laugh.

As the parents walked out the kitchen door, Dominique saw Celia and Clara were both wearing their white karate outfits with a pink belt. She told her twins, “You both look fantastic.” The girls beamed back at their mother and waved as the glass elevator door closed and it gently raised upward.