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"Karine? Mary!?" 2

"Hi, little sister." Karine smiles, hugging her sister excitedly.

"But how? Why?" She asked dumbfounded after being hugged by Mary.

"What? You are not happy to see us?" Karine pouted jokingly.

"Of course I am! I'm just surprised, that's all! You could have called to warn me!" She reproached.

"What fun would be in that?" Karine smiles playfully.

"So, there are only the two of you? Where is my nephew!?" She asked expectantly, looking behind them.

"He was on the phone. Ah, he seems to be done, he's coming." Mary said, looking to the side.

"Sorry, it was Maggie." Nathaniel excuses himself.

"Is Maggie your girlfriend?" His aunt asked with a mischievous expression.

Laughing, Nathaniel focused his attention on his aunt. She was almost a copy version of his mother with the same exact blond hair and blue eyes. The difference being that she had much longer hair than Karine. She was also a little shorter than Karine. Born from french father and american mother, both of them were fluent in english and french and both have dual French/American citizenship. But when Karine chose to stay in the US after being born, Muriel decided to make her life in France.

"Oh no. She's my agent and I believe also the fruit of the union between a female dragon and a male boogieman." He said with humor, triggering a few knowing giggles from his mothers.

"I never heard a more apt description of Maggie." Mary adds between fit of laughter.

"Oh come on, she can't be that bad." Muriel laughed.

"Yes she is and I'm really lucky to have her in my life. But still, I need to be back in New York by tomorrow night. I have an interview scheduled."

"Are you really going to stand there and not even hug your old aunt?" She lifted a questioning eyebrow.

"Sorry!" Nathaniel hurried to take his aunt in his arms.

"You got so handsome! You must have girls throwing at you everywhere. I'm glad that you feel better, I did visit when I was in the US for the wedding, you were so skinny it was heartbreaking." She recalls with a sad smile.

"I'm okay now, better than okay even." He smiled brightly at her.

"Wow. Okay I get what you were saying when he smile sister. If I was not happily married and his aunt, I would probably hit on him after receiving a smile like that."

"Auntie!" Nathaniel shouted horrified, his mother happily laughing at his discomfort.

It was at this moment that his uncle chose to appear to save him. Seeing the husband of Muriel arriving, everybody starts to speak french. Even if Mary french was not that great, the english of his uncle was really atrocious.

"I knew it was you Karine. There is only with you that Muriel becomes a little girl again." He smiled.

"Cedric, I'm happy that you are here!" Karine said joyfully hugging him.

After the round of hugging was finally over, Nathaniel took a moment to look at his uncle that he had never seen before. 5"11" with short brown hair and piercing black eyes, he was globally charming with an authoritative air around him and stern expression that was slightly undercut by the fact that he was smiling right now. He was also wearing a uniform and had a holster on his hips.

"Uncle, I did not know that you were a cop!" Nathaniel said, surprised.

"Come inside, do not start a talk outside." His aunt said, ushering them inside.

Entering the house, He realized it was not opulent by any means and neatly organized. The interior was beautifully furnished and Nathaniel found himself liking it quite a bit. Passing the hallway, Nathaniel could see pictures of them framed, some old and other fairly recent. A picture shows the couple with a young boy around thirteen years old with brown hair and blue pale eyes. It must be his cousin that he had yet to meet.

"I'm not a cop in fact but a Gendarmes." His uncle pointed out after they were seated with a drink in front of them. Nathaniel had not strayed from his original orange juice.

"Gendarmes? What is it?" Nathaniel asked curiously.

"Do you know anything about law enforcement in France?"

"Absolutely nothing." Nathaniel answers honestly.

"Fair enough." He laughed. "In France we have two law enforcement agencies. We have the Police who is a civilian institution and they are in charge of keeping the law in the cities as they are better suited for this. The Gendarmes on the other hand is a military organisation created in 1791 who are responsible to keep the law in the countryside and in the department outside of metropolitan France."

"That is interesting. What is your rank?" Nathaniel asked curiously.

"Usually when you become a Gendarmes, you are classified as a non-commissioned officer. me, I'm a captain." He said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"That's impressive uncle." Nathaniel complimented nicely.

"It's nothing. I got lucky and caught a huge ring of drug dealers in the south west and seized five hundred kilos of heroin. I earned a nice medal and a few commendations that got me on the short list for officer."

"I can say it was a big catch but I learned that the more talented you are, the more lucky you get." Nathaniel added.

"I never heard that one before." He said, an absent smile on his face, thinking about it.

"I'm sorry that you missed Theo. He's on vacation with his grandparents in the Pyrenees. Do you want to stay and eat with us tonight?"

"I don't think we will have the time." Nathaniel said hesitantly.

"Sweetie." Karine called.

"Yes, mom?"

"When French people invite you to eat, you never say no. Ever." Mary answers, Muriel and Cedric a big smile on their face, watching the exchange.

"Alright, we will stay for dinner. I will make it work." He sighed.

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