Coco Chanel Saved My Life (24 page)

So tomorrow would be the last performance. I definitely had to go. I called Elodie to ask her to come with me, and then I bought the tickets online. I was lucky, a few seats were still available.

Finally, I would see my Prince Charming again! Perhaps Axi's tarot reading was right after all.

The next morning, I got to the office full of energy. We were just hours away from the beginning of the show. I couldn't wait to surprise Cristian.

I found Elodie at the vending machines. She looked tired, like someone who has not had a good night's sleep.

“Were you up late last night?” I thought with horror that I may have sounded like Valentina!

“
Oui
, I went out with a friend and we stayed up late. Awfully late.”

“Lucky you…”

“It's a dirty job, but somebody had to do it!” She gave me one of her brightest smiles.

“I got the tickets for tonight.”

“Why do you want to go to the theatre? A need for culture?”

“I hope to see a friend again. He is an actor with the company.”

“Ha, ha! A friend… this is getting more interesting. Is he the kind of
friend
I imagine?”

“More or less…”

“Well, you were right to invite me. I have plenty of good advice for you!”

“Thank you, but I think I can manage this…” I laughed, pinching her arm.

“But we are in Paris, the city of love. Everything is different here…”

“I promise; I will be very Parisian tonight.”

“Well said, Coco.”

We returned to our desks, but I was very absentminded. I hadn't seen Cristian for months and felt nervous at the idea of meeting with him again… and in Paris! I dreamed about our encounter after his performance, his surprise and his delight at seeing me. I couldn't focus on work. Finally, destiny seemed to be on my side.

*

Once I got home, I started to think about what to wear. I wanted to leave Cristian breathless.

I chose a black sheath dress with long sleeves and a deep V neck. I put on my pearls and dressy high heels. My make-up was especially provoking this evening. I sprayed myself all over with Chanel No 5, put on my black coat, and went out to look for a taxi.

Elodie was waiting for me in front of the theatre. She wore a pink dress with ballet flats, and her hair was up in a ponytail.

I admired the simplicity of her look and I said: “You're very understated…”

“I wanted to make sure you looked the best. Tonight is your night; you must be the sexiest.” She took my hand and dragged me in.

“Did you see who's here?” Elodie whispered in my ear, pointing to the bar.

I looked over there and saw Etienne in an elegant dark jacket, drinking champagne in the company of a beautiful, slender woman. Was she the famous Juliette? She looked bored. At some point she whispered something to him and left.

“Do you think we should go and say hello?” Elodie asked.

I wasn't sure, but I didn't want him to see us and think we were avoiding him.

“I guess so,” and we struggled through the crowd towards the counter, where he was now alone. Etienne's gaze crossed mine, and for a moment we stared at each other motionless, then he cordially smiled.

“Rebecca! Elodie! What a surprise. Are you theatre lovers too?” He looked slightly nervous and kept looking over our shoulders, probably waiting for his friend to return.

“It happens that a dear friend of mine is acting in this show tonight, and I came mostly to see him.” I answered.

“A friend?” He seemed curious.

“Right… umm… an acquaintance.” Why did I feel the need to justify myself? Really, it was none of his business…

The sound of a bell signalled the beginning of the show.

“Let's go find our seats,” said Elodie, nodding to Etienne and leaving.

“It's great to see you, Coco.” Etienne said.

I smiled and joined Elodie.

I already had seen Cristian's show a couple of times before, but I was extremely excited anyway. When he appeared on the stage, he took my breath away. He was so handsome. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

“Is the guy with dark curly hair your friend?” Elodie asked me. I was staring at the stage completely enchanted.

“Yes! That's him!”

“Now I understand why you wanted to see him again. A very good choice!”

“I can't wait to go to the dressing room to hug him…” I was so moved.

*

At the end of the performance, we went backstage. There was already a line of fans, so we waited patiently for our turn. I couldn't see Cristian, so I asked one of the other actors where he might be. He answered that he had just left the theatre.

Without thinking of Elodie, I rushed out to try and find him. And then I saw him, as beautiful as a Greek god, walking in the dark of the Paris night. I tried to run to catch up with him, but my damn high heels made it impossible! I was going to shout his name, when I saw he was heading towards a woman with long dark hair, who was waiting for him on the other side of the square. He stopped a few steps away, just looking at her. Then he went closer and they embraced each other. They separated slowly, Cristian caressed her face and lifted her chin. They kissed for a long time, passionately.

It felt like my heart stopped beating. I had really fallen hard for him, but there was nothing I could do. He had found his
French Rebecca
. He didn't need me any more.

I cried all night. Honestly, I think I knew deep inside me that we didn't have any future together. Still, seeing him kissing another woman had devastated me. Maybe it was an act of masochism that made me want to see him again, but Cristian was more than just a flirt. He had been my hope. Hope to find love again, in spite of all my disappointments. Hope to rewrite the ending and have my humiliated heart beating again.

For months I naively believed that Axi's tarot cards were talking about Cristian, the foreign man of my destiny. That thought had unconsciously kept me going.

I had been very silly to believe in this fairy tale, and even sillier in hoping for him to return. An all-consuming love never comes back. The happy ending exists only in giddy movies. Real life is another story.

At dawn I finally fell asleep. Two hours later my alarm went off and I got out of bed to go to work. My face looked like a battle field. I seemed to have regressed to Niccolò's time. Men were the cause of these dark circles under my eyes. All my exes deserved a medal from cosmetic companies that sold under-eye concealers!

I took a quick shower and dressed without any motivation. I wore khaki pants and a simple black sweater. I made a super strong coffee and spread some butter on an old piece of bread. I put on my pearls anyway, took a beret, and left the apartment. That morning Paris looked much less magical to me.

As soon as I arrived at the office, I met Elodie in the hallway.

“Last night I lost you! I imagine you found your handsome friend and ran away with him. Did you have a night of hot passion?”

I really didn't want to talk about it, but I had abruptly left (abandoned) Elodie, so I owed her an explanation. After seeing Cristian kissing that woman, I caught a taxi and rushed home.

“Well… it didn't go the way I hoped.” I said, yawning. I really began feeling exhausted from lack of sleep.

“Oh… so no getting back together?”

“No way! Unfortunately, my friend had better things to do.”

“Don't feel bad about it. These things happen. People grow apart with time. It's physiological. And those who once appeared to be princes, reveal themselves to be just frogs.”

“Right. We had a very limited time for our fairy tale. I should have known this. Actually, I did know it, but I preferred to ignore reality.”

“Ah,
cherie
, men have been created to disappoint us. It's for this reason that I recycle them often. I try to get the best from each one, without too much expectation. Yet, we shouldn't abandon hope, exceptions do exist.”

“Sorry, but I don't believe in exceptions any more. Ok, let's stop talking about men. I'm in Paris – I am young and pretty. Everything will be all right.”

“Great! Don't let yourself get discouraged by some man or other.”

It was easier said than done. Yet, I began to feel accustomed to these disappointments in love, and my recovery time was definitely getting shorter and shorter. A whole night of tears was enough for a flirt with a bad ending. For sure though, now I needed a lot of coffee!

“Do you know what the best cure is for when a man breaks your heart?” I asked Elodie, recovering some of my enthusiasm.

“Going to Laduree and eating a dozen of macaroons?”

“Are you crazy? With all those calories!? No, the best way to heal your heart is going shopping for shoes…”

“You're the leader! This afternoon I will be your gallant servant…” and she laughed out loud.

I laughed too and forgot about Cristian and all the other men who had hurt me.

“So, see you later this afternoon,” I said to Elodie, heading to my desk.

“I will be ready with my credit card to follow my six-inch heel priestess!” She was giggling as she left.

*

Mid-morning I received a call from Etienne, while I was trying to close an order for dozens of white roses. “Can you stop by my office in half an hour?”

“Hmm, sure!” I was curious, wondering what he had to tell me. I went to the bathroom and rinsed my face with cold water to wake me up. This morning I looked absolutely dreadful. Compared to Etienne's slender and elegant fiancée, I resembled a housewife in the middle of spring cleaning!

I put on some lip-gloss and headed to Etienne's office. I knocked on the door and almost immediately I heard him saying, “Come in!”

I found Etienne in splendid form. He was on the phone and nodded at me to take a seat. I was nervous and kept playing with my hair.

“Sorry if I kept you waiting. How are you?”

“Great,” and I tried to restrain myself from yawning.

“Did you like the show last night?”

“Oh, well… I'd already seen it a couple of times…” I answered, hoping to change the subject.

“Ah, I see,” and he stared at me for a long moment.

“And you two? Did you both enjoy it?” I didn't want to mention his fiancée, but wanted to break that embarrassing silence.

“Sure. Interesting performance…” he didn't sound sincere.

“And your friend? Did you meet him after the show?” I wondered why he was so curious about my friend.

“He was very busy, you know, the fans, the press…”

“I understand.” He was very serious. “So, how are you doing in Paris?”

“Really well. I love Paris.”

“And how do you like working with us? Do you like this kind of job?”

I had only been there for ten days, but already I felt like I had been there forever. It was true that I worked with a harmonious team and everybody was very helpful.

“I like everything. Really. I would like to stay here longer. Three weeks go so fast, and soon I will be back in Milan.”

He looked at me as if he had something very important to say, then forced a smile.

“That's all. Thank you.”

“Is that all? May I go?”

“Yes, you can go back to your work. I only wanted to be sure you were settling in without any difficulty.”

I was confused by his questions, but I was already looking forward to the end of the day to go shopping!

*

At six I found Elodie waiting for me outside the building. She was smoking one of her long cigarettes.

“It's been a long and very tiresome day. Actually, a shitty day,” she said, giving me the two little kisses, so typical of the French – they sure do kiss a lot!

“Right – tell me about it! I only slept two hours and I cried for five!”

“This morning Etienne was really tense and irritable – he assigned us a ton of extra work…”

Something I had noticed as well.

“Maybe he needs to have more sex,” she added.

“Ok – let's make a deal,” I said, “from now on we won't talk about work or men. We'll just relax and try on
beaucoup
of shoes!”

“I like you when you haven't slept enough… you're funnier!” She took my arm and we headed to the metro. “Let's go, shoes are waiting for us!”

We had fun looking at shop windows. Later we had a couple of beers in a nice bistro, and the tension of the day began to melt away… And I also bought a pair of incredible shoes.

When I got back to my apartment, I immediately noticed the letter. It was a square white envelope, with only my name and address on it. Again, without the sender's name!

I couldn't wait to take off my coat, sit down and open the envelope. Inside there was a black and white card. I had to read it several times to be sure I understood correctly. It was an invitation to the Chanel fashion show!

Paris fashion week would begin in a few days, and I was holding the invitation of my dreams! I couldn't believe it – who's granting my wishes? My secret admirer knew my Paris address too. The puzzle was becoming increasingly complicated.

Whoever it was, he'd given me a fantastic gift. The best gift ever! I'd completely recovered my good mood. I had an invitation for the Chanel show! I didn't give a damn about the rest!

I put the card where I could see it and went to lie down on the sofa to fantasize. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep with all my clothes on.

The next morning, I woke up in high spirits. I immediately looked around for the invitation, afraid it had all been a dream. But the invitation was still there in front of my eyes in all its elegance. I picked it up and stared at it for a few seconds. I was ecstatic.

I made a coffee, took off my rumpled clothes, then went into the shower.