Opening Cheese

She lives in a crumbling old cottage on a clifftop.

Arthur stops there.

Jeanne Jugan is out in the garden.

Arthur gets off his bike, and wheels it towards her front fence.

Hello, remember me? says Arthur.

No! says Jeanne Jugan. Have I met you before?

Yes, says Arthur. A few years ago. You helped us to rescue Saint Roley.

Her eyes fill with tears.

Dear Saint Roley. Where is he now?

Somewhere out there, says Arthur. 

Come in, says Jeanne Jugan. 

Thanks, says Arthur. 

It's not often I get a visit from a young person, says Jeanne Jugan. Would you like a snack?

Yes, says Arthur. Can I leave my bike round the back?

Why? No one will steal it, says Jeanne Jugan. 

Someone's following me, says Arthur. 

How thrilling, says Jeanne Jugan. Come in. We'll use the back door.

Her kitchen is hung with onions and cheeses.

Arthur hopes she has other snacks than these.

Sit down dear. Arthur, isn't it? I do remember you now. And there was an infant, Terence, who looked like the baby Jesus and his friend Baldy who looked like the baby Jesus as well. And Saint Roley of course. Was it you who taught him to fly?

Yes, says Arthur. Kind of.

Ah yes, says Jeanne Jugan. After the first time went wrong.

She cuts down a cheese.

And that lovely girl, Belle, says Jeanne Jugan. Do you still see her?

I'm meeting her later, says Arthur.

How romantic, says Jeanne.

She's not my girlfriend, says Arthur. She's just bringing some frogs.

There is a knock on the front door.

Who can that be? says Jeanne Jugan.

She opens the door. 

Pierre-Louis Maupertuis stands there, with his bicycle.

Flat tyre, says Pierre-Louis. Hello, Jeanne. Got a repair kit?

Come in Maupi! says Jeanne Jugan. Come and meet Arthur. We're opening a cheese.