Dispatch No. 004: Two travelers, one lavender field, and the beginning of a love story.
Provence
She came to see the lavender.
He came to paint something beautiful.
Neither expected to find their one true love.
Before Antonio, There Was Tony
Before the lavender, the red beret and Ooset, he was simply Tony—a young farm dog from Oregon’s Willamette Valley with a paintbox and dreams of Paris.
When Their Eyes Met
Ooset had come to Provence for the lavender. Antonio had traveled south from Paris with one final assignment from the Académie des Beaux-Arts:
Go into the world and paint something beautiful.
Then, across the lavender, their eyes met.
And just like that, neither of them was searching anymore.
Something Beautiful
Antonio set his easel among the lavender, and Ooset settled before his canvas.
He lifted his brush and began to paint—not simply what he saw, but what he already felt.
With every stroke, his final assignment became a love letter.
A Picnic for Two
Nearby, Ooset’s picnic waited among the lavender: French pastries, fresh fruit, a crusty baguette, fine wine and, naturally, dog bone biscuits.
With his masterpiece complete, she invited Antonio to join her.
The painting had brought them together. The picnic gave them nowhere else to be.
They settled together on the picnic blanket, their hats cast aside and the lavender stretching before them.
For a little while, there was nowhere else to go and nothing left to say.
Then Antonio leaned a little closer.
At Long Last
Somewhere between the painting and the picnic, the last bit of distance between them disappeared.
Antonio leaned closer. Ooset met him halfway.
Their lips touched among the lavender.
Until We Meet Again
Their time together in Provence had passed far too quickly.
The Floofy Newfie World Tour was calling Ooset onward. Antonio still had to return to Paris, present his final painting and complete his studies at the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
With one final look across the lavender, they promised this was not goodbye—only until we meet again.
When the Letter Arrived
After leaving Provence, Antonio returned to Paris to complete his studies at the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
His mentor had instructed him to paint something beautiful. Antonio tried. But without Ooset, his canvas remained empty and his muse appeared to be somewhere else on the Floofy Newfie World Tour.
Then, at long last, a letter arrived from his beloved.
With every handwritten page, Ooset carried him back to the lavender, the picnic and their first kiss. By her final words, the blank canvas no longer seemed quite so impossible.
Antonio had found his muse again.
From Ooset, With Love
From somewhere along the Floofy Newfie World Tour, Ooset wrote to the artist she had left behind.
Five handwritten pages later, there could be no doubt: Antonio was still very much her one true love.
Read Ooset’s letter below.
Inspired Once More
With Ooset’s letter beside him, Antonio returned to his easel.
This time, the canvas did not remain empty. He painted the lavender, their first kiss and the beautiful Newfoundland who had changed everything.
He believed Ooset was somewhere far away, continuing her journey without him.
He was mistaken.
Meanwhile, Katharine Had Questions
While Antonio painted and Ooset quietly rewrote the family itinerary, Katharine and Stephen were left to make sense of what had happened in Provence.
Their maps were in tatters. Their daughter had fallen in love. And somewhere between Paris and Aix-en-Provence, the Floofy Newfie World Tour had acquired considerably more baggage than anyone anticipated.
Katharine’s latest dispatch explains everything.
More or less.
Dispatch, August 19, 1958
Aix-en-Provence
Dear Terri,
… As I crawl across the floor on my hands and knees gathering up the confetti that was our maps, I guess having a direction is highly overrated. If travel doth broadenth the man … and slim the purse, then one’s choice of traveling companions also increases the one and lessens the other.
Are you confused yet? Well imagine just how gobsmacked Stephen and I are feeling. Ooset has fallen in love with an artist she met in Paris, run off, adopted a baby and come home with both in tow and is now announcing they’re going to find their own apartment and live off his nearly invisible income.
He seems like a sweet boy. We’ve met his parents and they’re every bit as bemused as we are. One minute it’s a fine summer romance and the next minute we’re setting up housekeeping - with an instant family, just add water and bake for one hour. Ta da!
Stephen and I have already talked to the authorities and begun the adoption process. The kids are not happy with us but I put my foot down and told them that part of being a parent is putting the baby first. Now that they’ve been out shopping a few times for baby supplies they are beginning to see the upside of having Mom and Dad on the hook for the big ticket items.
Her name is Meret and she is two months old. She’s the veriest image of Ooset and I think that just makes Tony love her more. He keeps repeating - oh, but she has your eyes my love. Fortunately for everyone she’s an easy baby. Very little crying - although lots of razor sharp teeth - notice how Tony glosses over that comparison.
We have no idea what will happen next, except by the end of September we are moving on to Romania and eventually Halloween in Transylvania. I hope by then the cool winds of autumn will blow a little commonsense into the kids. Tony is welcome to come along but he seems very devoted to his mother so I think when it’s time he’ll go back home and continue his studies at the conservatory. And we will have a new family member and Ooset a lifetime responsibility.
So as you can see, the little dog laughed to see such a sight and the dish ran away with the spoon!
Love, Katharine
Next Stop: Transylvania
Ooset’s journey through Provence had come to an end, but the Floofy Newfie World Tour is far from over.
The next dispatch will arrive from Transylvania—where moonlight spills between ancient columns and a garden of crimson and purple roses blooms after dark.
And this time, the Floofy Newfies may not be traveling alone.
Pawsports will soon be available to every dog who wishes to wander with them.
First destination: Transylvania.