Nonstop from Oakland in December, Sido and Tyrone arrived in Montreal. They were not accustomed to driving in the snow, and the Lodge la Belle Montagne was not easy to find. Pete Lafitte met them at the airport.
It had been many years since walking down the trail from Canada to Vermont, Pete and Merry first saw the lodge that Grandpierre Lafitte gifted them. Now, Pete's brown hair was flecked with gray. At ease in his role as a trail guide and lodge owner, he wore a well-used dark green parka, and there was about him a youthful energy.
But there were times when the casualties of the 1945 battles in the Apennines replayed in his mind.
"Welcome to the road to the Northeast Kingdom". He greeted Sido and Tyrone as if they were old friends. Snow was deep on the ground as they drove towards Vermont in Pete's four-wheel drive vintage jeep. The border crossing was friendly and without incident. "I often cross the border to pick up lodge guests at the airport," Pete explained.
Their room overlooked a snow-laden forest; out the window there was a view to the mountains across the way. A chest with clean warm sweaters, long underwear, and heavy socks was thoughtfully provided. Not every guest arrived at the Lodge la Belle Montagne with warm enough clothing for the Northeast Kingdom in winter.
In the main lounge was a majestic fireplace. A leather couch. Comfortable chairs. Evidence of storm day puzzle making on a table. Snow and mountain views out the windows. Not far from the kitchen, was a smaller lounge where the Lafittes gathered with friends and family. There, followed by the aroma of baking bread, Merry Lafitte emerged from the kitchen to greet them.
The Lodge had already served dinner, but in the family lounge, Merry served Beef Bourguignon and freshly baked bread; red wine for Sido; Labatt Blue for Tyrone. Wearing a dark green knitted sweater, Merry was tall and handsome. There was little gray in her curly brown hair. While they ate, she told them the story of opening a package from overseas on a dark evening in the bunkroom of the dairy farm where she worked as a Land Girl. "When I unwrapped the small leather bound book that this package contained, it fell open to a castle high above a river that often I saw in my dreams."
