Lucky Charm (22 page)

“Simon must be so excited that you’re coming.”

Lilly nodded. “He is going to meet us at the airport. He took next week off from work, so we’ll be able to spend time together,” Lilly added dreamily. “These past two months felt like an eternity
.
I don’t know what we’re going to do once this trip is over.”

“Well, you know, you could always open a store in Paris
. I
t is the capital of fashion, after all. And you speak French very well,” Annabel added.

“Don’t you think they have enough designers in
Paris
already?”

“That’s not the question you should be asking,” Annabel countered. “What you should be worrying about is whether those designers are as good as you
are, and frankly, I doubt it.”

Despite Lilly’s confidence when it came to men, she was constantly questioning her talent, forever doubting if she had what it took to break into the fashion industry. Her small shop was moderately successful – as much as could be expected given her limited advertising budget, but she was still a long way off from
“
making it big
.”
T
his fashion contest could be just her ticket to fame
. B
uyers from major department stores would be there.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Lilly frowned. “Let’s just take it one day at a time.”

“O
kay,
” Annabel nodded. “I’m sure you’ll do great, though.” She squeezed her friend’s arm for support
. W
hen it came to talking about work, she was always the one reassuring Lilly.

Almost three hours later
,
Annabel and Lilly were finally seated on the plane: traffic to the airport had been a nightmare
,
and the security line
had
seemed to go on forever
. A
pparently
Paris
was an even more popular destination than they thought
,
and they barely made the boarding in time.

“Wow, this is nice!” Annabel exclaimed as she stretched out in her seat. One of Lilly’s old boyfriends worked for Air
France
,
and he
had
got
ten
them a complimentary upgrade to business class.

“I love flying first class.” Lilly raised her champagne glass. “Here is to a great trip.”

Annabel nodded. “To a great trip.” She took a sip of champagne
. H
er last memory of champagne was far from a pleasant one, and she had thought that the image of Jeremy and Athena toasting each other would be forever seared in her mind, but now the sparkling golden liquid failed to conjure up the hated association
. I
nstead, it made her feel carefree and slightly lightheaded. “To dreams coming true,” she added.

“To dreams coming true,” Lilly agreed.

After the mandatory safety demonstration, the plane’s engine finally stirred into action
,
and Annabel fastened her seatbelt in anticipation of take off
. T
ake off was her favorite part of the plane ride
. I
t reminded her of adventure rides she had gone on as a kid. She had heard people say that life was one big adventure ride – a mix of ups and downs
. N
ow she hoped that soon it would be time for the upturn in her life.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Annabel
asked
Lilly, but
she
received no answer.
Lilly had nodded off almost immediately after takeoff
. A
ll those sleepless nights of scrambling for the fashion show finally
had taken
their toll.

Annabel reached for her book, but then she too felt the onset of drowsiness, so she snuggled up in her roomy seat and closed her eyes.

“Wake up, sleepy head!”

Annabel heard Lilly’s voice and jerked upright.

“Where am I?” she mumbled, the memory of the trip coming back to her as the question was leaving her lips. “Oh, what time is it? Are we almost there?” She stretched her arms to get the stiffness out of her neck and shoulders.

“We’re there
. Y
ou’ve slept through the whole flight. I wanted to wake you up when they brought dinner, but you wouldn’t budge, so I let you be. It’s only five p.m. local time, so we still
have
the whole night ahead of us
.
I hope Simon planned something good for tonight. Are you ready to paint the town red?”

“I can’t wait
.
” Annabel played along, although she feared that her presence was not exactly what Simon was looking forward to.

After filling out custom forms, picking up luggage
,
and going through customs control, Annabel and Lilly finally emerged into the arrivals area of Charles de Gaulle airport.

“There he is!” Lilly dashed toward Simon
,
who was standing in the arrivals area.

“Lilly!” Simon’s face lit up as he spotted his girlfriend. He scooped Lilly into his arms, and their lips locked in a long, passionate kiss.

For several moments
,
Lilly and Simon were oblivious to everything around them, as Annabel stood back, embarrassed
. S
he was happy for her friend
,
yet she could not help feeling out of place, secretly wishing that she too had someone who would be so glad to see her. She scanned the crowd in an effort to distract herself, but regretted her decision almost immediately
. I
t seemed that everywhere she looked
,
there were couples hugging, snuggling, kissing. Annabel had never seen so many people kissing at the same time
. W
as there something in the air? Granted,
Paris
was a renowned destination for lovers, but this was surreal
. E
ven the middle-aged, gray-haired couple she remembered from her flight w
ere
now smooching as though they were a couple of fifteen
-
year
-
olds. Even a saint would be jealous being alone in the middle of this love fest, and Annabel was far from being a saint.

Suddenly, coming to
Paris
did not seem like such a good idea anymore
. S
he had armed herself with maps and brochures to explore the city, but being alone in the sea of lovers was something that she was not prepared for.
Breathe
, Annabel thought,
calm down
. With nowhere else to look, she turned her gaze to the floor and began studying the pattern of the gray carpeting.

“Ann! What are you doing over there? Come on!” Lilly urged her. “I’m so sorry we got carried away
. T
his won’t happen again,” Lilly added in a guilty whisper.

“Don’t worry about me.” Annabel shrugged, hoping that her expression looked convincing enough.

“Hello
,
Annabel
. I
t’s so nice to see you again.” Simon smiled and leaned in to kiss her on both cheeks, true Frenchman that he was. “Let me get your bag,” he offered, and before Annabel could object, he grabbed both hers and Lilly’s suitcases as though they weighed nothing at all. “This way
. M
y car is parked a little way off.”

The glass airport doors parted
,
and Annabel felt the gust of Parisian air on her face. Well, to be precise, she was not in
Paris
yet, since Charles de Gaulle airport was in the suburbs, fourteen miles away from
Paris
. This was
a fact that she remembered from the numerous travel guides that she had perused in preparation for
her
trip. Still, as corny as
it
sounded, Annabel had to admit that even the air smelled different. For starters, there was no
ne of the
leaden humidity of
New York
’s summer heat
. I
nstead, the air felt fresh and full of movement, but there was more to it
than that. There was
an indescribable, magical quality that transcended into the way people walked and talked, as though they were determined to appreciate every moment of their existence, even while performing the most mundane of tasks.

“Here we are.” Simon motioned at his black Mercedes in the parking lot. After loading the suitcases into the trunk, he opened the door for Annabel in the back and then for Lilly, up
front.

A few moments later
,
they were on the highway
,
and Annabel was struck by the view, but admiration was not the emotion that she felt
. T
he landscape consisted of dreary rows of block buildings that looked like card boxes covered with graffiti.

“Is this your first time in Paris, Annabel?” Simon asked. “Don’t worry, the scenery will get much better soon
. T
his is the area where all the projects are
. T
hey are trying to improve it, but it’s still a long way off.”

Annabel nodded, smiling with embarrassment
. S
omehow she had managed to miss this point in her guidebooks.

“It looks like we are in luck
. T
raffic is light
,
and we should be there in less than an hour,” Simon observed. “On a bad day you could get stuck for over two hours
.
”
H
e added, “
T
hat’s what happened to me when I flew back from
New York
.”

“Well, that’s because it’s us,” Lilly chimed in
.
“
W
e brought good luck.”

“Yes
,
you did, baby.” Simon’s hand slid onto Lilly’s knee as he leaned in for a quick kiss.

“Eyes on the road.” Lilly placed his hand back on the wheel.

Meanwhile, the dreary block buildings were replaced by a cluster of skyscrapers
. A
ustere and entirely modern, they did not look like they belonged in
Paris
at all, and they did not
,
since this area was still outside of the city limits.

“That’s the financial center,” Simon remarked. “Luckily, my office is in the center of
Paris
.
I would hate to commute to this wasteland.”

T
hen the landscape transformed itself again
. F
irst came Bois de Boulogne - the very forest that served as a setting for trysts in Alexandre Dumas’ novels
-
and finally, the majesty of Paris un
veiled itself
before them.

By now
,
Annabel had given up trying to identify the names of the streets or the famous landmarks that lurked behind the car window
. I
nstead, she savored every moment, every si
ght
.

I was right to come here after all
, she thought
,
for already the trip had given her the answer she had been searching for since her break up with Jeremy
. D
espite it all, she was still capable of love
. S
he was certain of it now, for she had fallen in love with Paris
at
first sight.

“Are you sure thi
s is the right address?” Simon eyed
Lilly dubiously,
as he steered the car toward a townhouse on
Quai Voltaire
overlooking the
Seine
.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Lilly confirmed. “I remember the address perfectly
.
I’ve visited Jackie here before.”

Moments later
,
they were standing near
a
gilded front door that looked like it was an artifact from a museum.

“Jackie told me that she left the key with the concierge,” Lilly explained, as she rang the doorbell.

Several minutes later
,
a disgruntled elderly woman poked her head out of the ground window and demanded the reason for their visit.

Lilly responded in flawless French, after which the concierge immediately smiled and exclaimed apologetically, “Un moment!”

About five minutes later
,
shuffling footsteps were heard behind the door, and then the front door finally opened.

“Welcome! Welcome! Mademoiselle Lilly! You must forgive me for not recognizing you right away!” the concierge apologized in heavily accented English.