TIFFANY

Tiffany came by with Karen and Nico to say goodbye. She is heading up to Paris on Saturday, and then flying home to Chicago on Sunday. Nico took this picture of us standing in our kitchen. They all had an impromptu dinner with us.
Tiffany is Karen’s niece by marriage – her dad married Karen’s sister after he divorced Tiffany’s mom (I think I have that right). Tiffany is 19 and has completed one year of college in Chicago. She has spent the summer being Karen’s au pair, looking after Nico while Karen is away leading the bike tours that she manages for Butterfield and Robinson. She arrived in May, a shy, unassertive American with a little French. She is leaving as a confident young woman who has learned how to handle herself in a foreign country. Along the way, she has become quite competent in French and has a self-confidence that was hard come by working with Karen and Nico in the house and preparing the lunches for up to 20 cyclists at a time.
Unfortunately, because of Karen’s schedule and Tiffany’s commitment to her job we didn’t get to spend as much time with her as we would have liked to. We did have one memorable day out in Loudon, memorable because it rained, that we enjoyed spending with her without Nico. Maybe next year we will spend more time together now that she knows how to manage Karen.
Goodbye for now, Tiffany. Perhaps we will see you in California during the winter.