Coco Chanel Saved My Life (10 page)

I loved this woman, even more now.

I sat down on the fancy sofa while she disappeared into the kitchen. She returned carrying a tray with tea. It was a fragrant blend that I loved.

“It's a blend of cinnamon and orange peel. A tea by
Mariage Freres de Paris
. Do you like it?”

“It's fantastic!”

“I don't remember your name…”

“Right, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Rebecca Bruni. I moved here just a few weeks ago.”

“It's a great pleasure to meet you, Rebecca. My name is Sofia Leoncini. I have lived here now for so many years, that I've forgotten how many!” She looked out the window and began to sing an
aria
from some opera I didn't know.

She really was a peculiar woman, yet I didn't understand why the other people in our building thought she was completely crazy. To me she seemed to be just a woman of a certain age who, in spite of herself, was very lonely.

Trying to bring her back to reality, I pointed at the pictures on the wall, “Is that you in these photographs?”

Meanwhile, Ramon woke up and began to pace back and forth on his perch, where she had carefully tied him.

“Yes, it's me. A very long time ago I was an opera singer, one of the greatest. When I sang, you couldn't hear a pin drop in the theatre. I hypnotized my public. I was so happy. The music, the lights, the adrenalin, the applause…” Suddenly she stood up and went to her balcony, forgetting about me. She seemed far away.

I began to feel a little uncomfortable, but I was very curious to know why she had abandoned her stage life of success, the awards and luxury that the photographs seemed to show.

“And don't you sing any more?” I asked shyly, trying to regain her attention.

She turned and looked at me, as if she had completely forgotten I was there. She went closer to the piano and asked, “Do you play any instrument?”

“No, unfortunately. I would have liked to learn…” Like
my
Coco Chanel, I only regretted the things that I hadn't done in my life.

“What a pity!” And then, as if she had finally found the listener she was waiting for, she began:

“When Ramon left, I stopped doing anything.” (It took me a little while to realize that the Ramon she was talking about wasn't her yellow and blue parrot!) “I couldn't eat and couldn't sleep. I couldn't live any more. My life had lost all meaning. Even music had lost interest for me. He had taken everything with him. Everything. He left and promised me he would come back. He told me he was returning to Argentina to explain to his wife that their marriage was over, that he loved only me and that nothing could separate us.”

I didn't know what to say. I had goose bumps… I wasn't even sure she remembered I was there, sitting on her sofa.

“I was waiting for his return with great anxiety and dreamed about our future together. Without Ramon I couldn't breathe and the sky had turned dark. Weeks went by without news from him. He didn't come back. I was inconsolable. I couldn't sleep at night. If I fell asleep, I awoke with my heart in my throat. I spent hours looking out my window, hoping to see Ramon re-appear. I was desperate. I couldn't believe he had abandoned me.”

And I knew exactly what she was talking about.

“I stopped going to the theatre for rehearsals. I stopped singing and playing the piano at home. I forgot to wash my hair; I forgot to dress, eat or drink. I was overcome with grief, but didn't want to give up the hope that one day he would come back to me. Then I received a telegram from Argentina. It was from Ramon's brother. A terrible accident had happened – a tragedy.”

She came to sit next to me on the sofa. She seemed exhausted: her eyes were shiny with tears.

“He was on an airplane that crashed during a terrible storm. It had taken them weeks to recover Ramon's body. They found some of his documents and a photo of me. His brother had searched for my address and, when he finally found it, he sent me that telegram. I've never understood if my despair and grief were worse when I thought he had decided to stay with his wife, or when I discovered he was dead. I lost him twice. Since then I only sing for Ramon.” She stood up and went to caress the huge parrot. Then, as if nothing had happened, she said: “Would you like another cup of tea?”

I thanked Mrs Leoncini and went back to my apartment. I was shocked by her painful story. It was incredible to see how love could completely change someone's life. Love was so very powerful, for better or worse. The heart can bear the weight of incredible sadness and infinite joy.

I was thinking of Sofia and Ramon's love, and of her choice to remain faithful to him, faithful to a memory, when I suddenly remembered another story: Coco Chanel and Boy Capel.

Arthur Capel, nicknamed Boy, had been Chanel's great love. He had always believed in her talent and it was thanks to his financial help that she started her career. For a while they lived together in Paris, and she once said that he even asked her to marry him. But it seems that she worried about depending on a man – especially financially – and didn't accept his proposal. Gabrielle Chanel had always been an independent woman. However, there was another aspect that would have made that marriage difficult: the difference in social status. Chanel was a poor orphan and Capel was from an upper bourgeois family. But the love that bound them was absolute. Even later when Boy married a very rich woman, they remained close friends, until the terrible car accident that killed Boy Capel when he was only thirty-eight. It was after Boy's death that Coco had decided to dedicate herself, body and soul, to her work – to become the greatest designer of the last century. She revolutionized the concept of femininity, and placed herself as the fundamental leader in fashion and popular culture.

I realized that at the beginning of her incredible story and career, there was a broken heart, a broken relationship. Maybe this was why she never married, remaining the eternal and elegant Mademoiselle Chanel all her life.

I compared her story with Sofia's. Both were tragic love stories, and I reflected on the human capacity of loving someone to the point of remaining faithful to a person, even after they had been gone for a long time, and the desire to live one's life for them, in spite of the incredible, immense emotional solitude it brings us.

I heard the sweet music from her piano downstairs. That night those notes told me many things. I came closer to the window, closed my eyes and listened.

At the end of my first month at the agency, Paolo called me into his office to analyze the state of my training and plan the next move. That morning I wore a pair of light grey pajama pants with a white shirt and black tweed jacket. I had rolled up my jacket sleeves, and put on my pearl earrings.

I looked very professional, even though the night before I stayed up late again with Emma, drinking wine and chatting. I was sleepy; it was difficult to focus on anything and I had no desire to work. In spite of three espressos, I kept yawning.

I went to Paolo's office. He invited me to sit and offered me a coffee. I thought that a fourth dose of caffeine might make the difference that morning. I accepted it.

“So, Rebecca, how are things going? At this point you've been on board with us for four weeks.”

I detest the use of maritime metaphors, especially to describe business and employees. However, I decided of course to smile.

I said, thinking up my own ‘sea worthy' metaphor, “I feel like I'm sufficiently afloat.”

“Great! That's the spirit it takes to overcome the stormy seas of life. I'm sure you have noticed that it's easier to row in the right direction when the team is working together.”

Useless! That morning he was acting like the commodore of a great fleet. I had only to follow his desire to lurch towards the harbours of
events
.

“Yes, I've noticed it.”

“And now that we've provided you with the right oars, all you have to do is to use all your energy to row the boat as far as possible.”

Honestly, I would rather have gone back to sleep that morning. But so as not to disappoint him, I tried to remain focused as much as possible, with a fake smile on my face.

“Your training period has come to an end. Now the most complicated part of your navigation begins. Are you ready?”

It was already complicated enough to organize weddings, but to imagine crossing the seas seemed impossible!

“Umm… Sure!” I swore to myself that I would never stay up late at night again during the working week…

“You don't sound enthusiastic. Something wrong?”

“No, no, everything is fine. I can't wait to begin, and hope to do my best… although…”

“Although?”

“Although I still struggle to see myself as a wedding planner.”

“On the contrary, in Valentina's opinion, you have a real knack for the job.”

So, the bitch, indiscreet and fixated on internet dating, actually found the time to observe my work! For a moment, I was almost tempted to reconsider my first impression of her. Maybe she didn't have to stay in the number one position on my
hate list
!

“Really?”

“Yes, really. She says that the only thing is – you lack the
ingredient
.”

“The ingredient?”

“In our agency we always say that everyone possesses a
special ingredient
to make an event a great success. It can be a small thing, but it's what makes the difference. It makes each convention, party and event we organize a complete success. It's a personal talent, something innate, in which our agency strongly believes. You must discover yours, and use it as a
spice
for every wedding reception you'll be organizing.”

From maritime to cooking metaphors! But I confess, I liked this idea of a special and unique ingredient. I wondered if I would be able to find mine and make that difference.

“So, all I have to do is find my special ingredient,” I said, trying not to yawn.

“You will succeed. I trust you. I'll give you some advice: think of something that makes the good moments of your everyday life unique.”

Well, it would be more complicated than I thought.

“Ok! I will think about it.”

“So then, to work! We don't want to waste our time below deck, when all other sailors are already at their posts.”

No, of course. I too wanted to earn my position in the galley…

I left Paolo's office and headed to my floor. I kept wondering what could be the formula to transform my work into a great success.

As soon as I stepped into my office, Valentina's squeaky voice of assaulted me.

“There you are! Today is going to be hellish… We are already late!”

I tried to apologize, explaining that I went to see the boss, but she didn't listen and continued to address the whole team.

“We don't have any time to waste: today we have to begin working on a very important wedding and we have only a few months to organize it. The client is immensely rich, an aristocratic family and almost six hundred guests! We can't overlook the smallest detail. I've decided to give top priority to this event, and I'm going to work side by side with Rebecca. We'll be sharing the work in order to do the best job possible. Since our colleague, Rebecca, has little experience with weddings, I may need to ask all of you to help. So, please, make yourselves available. And now, back to work!”

The anxiety made my adrenalin rise; finally, I began to feel awake. The sleepy fog that enveloped me all morning started to fade away.

The few instructions have been strong and clear. I will be working for this grand event paired up with the most fastidious woman on the planet! In addition, I was still missing that
special
ingredient
…

“I hope you feel ready for your first big wedding reception. Of course I don't want to risk it being a f
iasco
.” Valentina followed me to my desk.

“Yes. I believe I'm ready.”

Up to then I had only organized small receptions. It was easy to organize them just from my desk, with a few site visits. But this seemed to be a very important event. The bride's family was very influential and the agency had all the intention of making this a splendid reception. It was very important for both our reputation and for marketing reasons.

“Good, because I need smart people, fast on their feet.”

“You can count on me.”

“Perfect. Look! Today you're even dressed like someone from our century. Not bad!”

I took a deep breath and decided not to reply.

“This afternoon we'll meet the couple at the bride's villa. The first meeting and first conversation with bride and groom are always very delicate. We need to understand their expectations, what kind of atmosphere they are looking for, what kind of magic… More than any other event, weddings must be created from the expectations, dreams and wishes of the client. This is fundamental. We must make their dream day truly unique.”

I nodded in agreement, yet thinking that these words were somehow predictable.

“Even though they will soon discover this is only the beginning of hell…” Valentina added with her usual sarcasm.

I was not a big fan of marriage. Actually, at that point in my life I seriously wondered about the happiness of married couples, so I smiled at her. But my priority now was just to be left alone, to run to the coffee vending machine to get my fifth espresso of the day.

I spent all morning working on the new project. I called suppliers to ask for quotes, I set up appointments to visit locations and sent e-mails to catering companies to look for the most exclusive menus. I also looked at several magazines to come up with some cool ideas. We were all very focused and everyone's enthusiasm was contagious. For the first time I really felt part of a team.