Perestroika In Paris

After mass, Madame walks home with Etienne, whom she believes was with her the whole time. She reflects on the service she could not see or hear, filling in the details with services from years past. Raoul has been trying to find a window to fly escape from and flies out the door as soon as Etienne opens it for Madame. Paras falls asleep on the carpet in a sunny patch next to a window.

Frida roams the streets unsure of what to do with her friends trapped behind a door. She runs in circles until she makes herself hungry, then heads to an unfamiliar street. She lies down outside a meat market and takes a short nap. When she wakes, a woman reaches out a hand gently. Frida sniffs it and the woman pets her, Frida’s first petting since Jacques died. The woman then gives her a sausage, which she only eats after the woman leaves.

Meanwhile, Etienne settles his great-grandmother in for her lunch and nap. He wants to see Paras, who is now awake and working to get up, but he must listen to Madame’s stories and let her fall asleep before he can do so. After she falls asleep, he finds Paras awake and standing, having left a pile of manure in the corner. She ventures to the kitchen for water and food, trying various foods to find out what she likes and does not like. She then goes outside to lick snow, creating an understanding between her and Etienne about what she does inside and outside. Etienne scoops the manure, tosses it out a window, and mops the floor.

The manure does not go unnoticed. Two rats live inside the walls, Kurt and Conrad. They notice both Paras inside and Frida outside and plan how to bring the dog in as their protector so they can venture out and find rat partners.

Madame is in bed after Etienne brings her a quick drink and a snack. He must find somewhere for Paras to stay since Madame normally spends a lot of time in the kitchen and the grand salon where Paras has been spending time. While Etienne takes Paras outside, Kurt cleans up the scraps from Etienne and Paras’s meal.

Frida spends her days walking outside the de Mornay residence or otherwise aimlessly roaming the Paris streets. One of her favorite places is the cemetery where she and Jacques spent much of their resting time. While she roams, she finds Raoul, who observes that Frida frequently mumbles to herself without communicating effectively. They debate the merits of overcommunication versus undercommunication. A bakery owner invites Frida in after seeing her sitting outside. She performs tricks she learned and gets food from the owners but being inside makes her nervous because it is harder to be on guard. At her next opportunity, she slips out through the open door. She finds a spot to fall asleep out of the wind. Raoul assures her that warmer weather is coming.

Meanwhile, Paras talks to Kurt about how they choose to live. Before the conversation can continue for long, Etienne leaves his room to let Paras into the backyard. She walks around and considers the life she left behind. She misses gallops and the stability of her old life but her curiosity encourages her not to return to the racetrack.

Pierre, the gardener who had previously noticed Paras in the pond enclosure, wonders where she is and considers calling Animal Control. Unknown to him, he walks past Paras as she tries to push through a closed gate. When she fails this, she returns to the house and sleeps in her corner. Elsewhere, Raoul claims his territory above Benjamin Franklin’s head and settles into his nest to groom himself.

Madame wakes up and settles herself in the grand salon close to Paras. She does not see or hear the horse, but Paras investigates her. The older woman calls for Etienne, who lets Paras outside before caring for his great-grandmother. Paras explores the courtyard, avoiding the decision of whether to leave or not. She finds an outside place to sleep that would be more suitable for her and may encourage Frida to stay with her.

Frida returns to the pond to recover the purse and enters town. Paras smells and hears Frida and lets out a powerful whinny. Everyone with whom Paras has interacted hears the whinny and feels different emotions. Frida goes to Paras and feels annoyance when Paras claims ownership of the purse. The disagreement is soon forgiven when Paras shows Frida the safe place she has found for her to stay. Frida digs under the fence and agrees it will serve for now.

Sleeping in her room, Madame remembers the house as it was in years past and smiles.

Christmastime approaches. Frida wants to find Etienne a gift to make him happier, as she recognizes the holidays do not make him happy. She takes money to Jerome, the grocer, and buys some items she calls “offerings” to give Etienne. Along the way home, she stops at a second shop and purchases a ball after playing with the owner for a few minutes to ease her fear of dogs. With her purchases in her bag, she carries the now heavy bag back to the de Mornay residence and falls asleep.

As Madame crawls into bed on Christmas Eve night, she celebrates what she feels may be her last Christmas by reminiscing on her previous 96 Christmases. Paras does not understand that Frida has brought gifts, but she approaches the door for food when it gets light. Etienne trips over Frida’s bag of offerings and exclaims to Madame that Father Christmas has come. He takes Paras into the kitchen and wishes her a Merry Christmas.