Anne-Merry Lafitte St. Denis
perused the just-arrived mail. In it -- addressed to Nicolas St. Denis -- was a many-stamped thick envelope from a Church with an address in the Apennine Mountains. When in small villages in the Apennines, she and Nico posted flyers seeking information about the history of the Music Box Book of Hours, they used Nico's name. The St. Denis family was known in Europe.
Nico was out. Somewhere. With his colleague, Jack O'Brien? Anne- Merry considered the coincidences. Caydance O'Brien, who worked with Sido on the Music Box Book of Hours, was the sister of Nico's colleague, Jack O'Brien. Caydance's husband, Griff McGuire, was the son of Anne Merry's former coach, Genevieve McGuire.
"Ils font le tour du monde
Mais comme la terre est ronde
Ils reviennent chez eux."
And, there was a possibility that Genevieve would arrive with her once again husband, Claude McGuire, when for a conference, in a few weeks, he came to San Francisco. It had been years since she had spent time with her former coach, and Anne-Merry wanted to show Genevieve the plans she was making: a kitchen garden in the wine country. To herself, she confessed that she wanted her once beloved coach to know that despite giving up skating, her life had turned out well.
Anne-Merry picked up the envelope from Italy. She wanted to open it, but it was addressed to her husband. She held the envelope up to the light; no writing was visible.