Tales From a Broad (17 page)

“What time is it anyway?”

“9:10. Mark made me wait until a socially
acceptable time to call.”

I laughed and quickly calculated that it was
the middle of the night in New York. It’s not like I could call
Cooper now, anyway. Besides, he made me wait three months. I should
at least make him wait a day.

“Okay, I’m in. Let me go ask Tess.” I hit the
mute button one more time and walked back into the room.

Tess was climbing back into her bed and
looked at me through hooded eyes. “Morning. Who was on the
phone?”

“Oh, just Simon.” I rolled my eyes in
response to the slow smile that spread across her face. “He wants
to know if you and I would like to sightsee with them today.”

Tess’s eyes grew wide. “Like a double
date?”

“No, not like a double date. More like a
double hang.”

“Or a pick up where you left off?”

I drew in a breath and gave her a sideways
look. “You know what? Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea!” She jumped to her knees,
suddenly wide-awake, and clasped her hands together. “Say yes.”

“Okay, fine, but, just so you know, the only
reason I’m going is because I know how much you like Mark.”

“Oh, whatever,” Tess said, rolling her eyes.
“You didn’t exactly look miserable yourself, last night.”

“No more of that.” I held up a finger. “Now
shut up,” I whispered as I unmuted the phone.

“Hey Simon. We’re in.”

“Cool. Dress warm. I’ve heard it gets pretty
chilly down there.”

I hung up the phone and looked over at Tess
who was already rifling through dresser drawers.

“I have no clothes,” she whined. “What does
one wear to an underground cemetery, anyway?”

“Well, it’s not like we have too much to
choose from. Plus, Simon said we should dress warm. So, I’m going
to go with leggings. I may even use the very same ones I wore to
bed, as a scarf. And make no bones about it!” I laughed.

“Stylish. Why don’t you wear this, instead?”
Tess pulled a thin chocolate brown knit scarf from her backpack,
rolled it up into a ball, and tossed it to me from across the
room.

“I made it, so technically it’s not a real
scarf either, but it’s probably a little better than wearing a
crotch around your neck.” She chuckled and turned her attention
back to her own clothing crisis.

When I caught the scarf, it unraveled to
reveal thin multi-colored swirls that blended into little circles.
They were made of pale pastels and the pink, green, and yellow hues
really stood out against the rich brown background. My mouth was
agape as I marveled at my niece’s handiwork.

“Aunt Lu, we really need to shop. It’s so
hard to live out of a backpack in the fashion capital of the
world.”

“No kidding,” I mumbled. I wrapped the scarf
around my neck and looked in the mirror. I’d definitely pay money
for this.

“Well, we’ll be back amongst our peeps again
in two days,” Tess sighed, focusing her attention on her backpack.
“I’m sorry we already paid for the hostel in Germany.”

“You and me both,” I replied with a chortle.
“Although I think we could probably swing the thirty dollar
loss.”

Tess didn’t reply, and from the way she was
just staring into her bag, it looked as if she had been
instantaneously sucked into a vortex of dreamland.

“However, maybe in the meantime,” I said,
giving her butt a playful swat, “you can whip yourself up another
one of your homemade skirts. Show those Parisians what a real
designer can do.” I wiggled my eyebrows as Tess turned to face me
with a smile.

Never one to take a compliment, her cheeks
had turned a deep pink. She glanced at the scarf around my
neck.

“Ooh, that looks good on you. Do you like
it?” She crunched her nose as she waited for me to respond.

“Are you kidding? I love it. You know, Tess,”
I paused thoughtfully and caressed the soft fabric on my cheek.
“You could probably make a career out of this.”

“Please.” Tess said with a wave of her hand,
“I’m a teacher. Well, I will be if I ever find a real teaching
job.” Her face grew solemn and she looked at me in alarm. “Aunt Lu,
what if I never find a job?”

I frowned. “I know it’s what you went to
school for, but have you ever considered trying something else? Is
that the only thing you want to do?”

Tess shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said
with a sigh. “I’ve been saying that I wanted to be a teacher ever
since I was old enough to play school.”

“I remember. I spent many, many Saturdays in
your school.” I smiled fondly at the memory of the makeshift
classroom that Landon and Tess had set up in the basement of their
house. “You were a very impatient teacher.”

Tess grinned. “Well, now I’m learning I’m a
very impatient nose wiper. As a matter of fact, I’m beginning to
wonder if teaching is what I really want or just something that I
think
I want?” Tess groaned as she picked up a towel that
hung from her bed.

“Or was it another one of your mother’s
suggestions? Something that she might have reinforced over the
years?” I said with an eyebrow raised.

“Hmph.” Tess nodded thoughtfully.

I felt a stab of disloyalty towards my sister
and immediately regretted opening up that can of worms. “Well, who
knows,” I said quickly. “But what I do know is that it’s normal to
be confused at your age. If it makes you feel any better, I’m still
confused.”

“It does. Thanks for the support, Aunt Lu.
Jack’s eyes would glaze over whenever I talked about this.” She
rolled her eyes and stretched her arms overhead. “That’s why I sew.
It takes my mind off the job stuff and mellows me out after those
exhausting days at the daycare. And speaking of jobs, how much do
you
love
being on vacation? It’s been so nice taking a break
from reality.”

“It really has,” I replied with a smile.
Especially from the reality I’d been living in.

“I’m going to take a quick shower.”

I sat on the bed and leaned back on my hands,
smiling to myself. I could still feel Simon’s presence in the room
from the night before. There was a definite aura of happiness
hanging around, and I sure was going to miss it there. That room
had nothing but good memories—with the exception of the
not-so-special delivery.

I looked at the flowers and felt a knot form
in my stomach again. Just when I was finally on an upswing, Cooper
had to come and torture me. I walked over to the flowers and pulled
them from the vase, wrapping my hands around the stems.

“Dum dum dee dum, Dum dum dee dum.” I hummed
the wedding march and stopped in front of the garbage can. It
seemed to have beckoned to me. I paused for a moment and then
stuffed the flowers, with all thoughts of Cooper, straight into the
receptacle with vengeance.

Chapter
Eight

Feeling the love at the Louvre!

Facebook Status June 10 at 1:00pm

“I feel like we’re still at the Musee
d’Orsay. How is a subway station just as nice as a museum?” I said
to Simon as we entered the Cite station stop.

We had been walking around Paris for hours
and had seen everything from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe.
Moments ago, we had stumbled upon the ornate Art Nouveau metro
entrance, and it had lured us like an exquisite menu on a
restaurant wall.

Orange globe lamps surrounded the entrance
and loomed over the
Metropolitain
sign, like two flowers in
bloom. A cast iron balcony enveloped the staircase that led
underground to a sea of shiny white beveled tiles. Mass transit
never looked so good, and it wasn’t just because we were tired of
walking. My eyes surveyed the station.

“Well, I’ve read the subway stations in Paris
are often works of art,” Simon commented. “Apparently the Abbesses
Station is a spectacular sight. Like graffiti-covered walls—done on
purpose. I think Hector Guimard also designed this one.”

“I think you might be right.” I nodded but
had no clue what the hell I was talking about.

I’m sure Simon couldn’t spot the difference
between a real Fendi and a fake one, but he probably could sniff
out a phony person. So what if he’d been rattling off all sorts of
cultural trivia today? And that I barely understood any of it. How
the hell did he know so much, anyway?

I followed Simon as he walked towards the
tracks. Old-fashioned glass bulbs lit up the tracks as far as we
could see. The ceiling and walls looked as if they were covered
with thousands of tiny prisms as light particles radiated from the
tiles.

“Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a
subway station,” I heard Mark’s voice behind us. “Where’s all the
litter? The homeless?”

I turned around and saw him approach with
Tess.

“Yeah, it doesn’t quite remind you of
Chicago, does it?” Simon said to his brother. “Marko, I have a
feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

At that moment, I spotted a homeless looking
man who happened to be rummaging through the garbage. Simon
followed my gaze, and we shared a smile. He and I locked eyes, and
a moment of intimacy passed between us.

Mark held up a hand. “Hey, take it easy, bro.
Don’t disparage our great city. They’ll never come visit.”

I glanced at Tess and once our eyes met, she
quickly looked away. The corners of her mouth turned up, and she
pressed her lips together, probably in attempt to wipe off the
silly grin that threatened to take over her entire face.

“Oh, please. You can’t scare us. I’ve
actually seen a homeless man doing
numero deux
.
”
I
laughed and held up two fingers. “These walls would never make it
in New York. In no time, they’d be covered with urine and God only
knows whatever else.”

“Gross,” Tess replied, wrinkling her
nose.

“Very gross, but very true,” I said as I
walked down the track to a bench. I plopped down and stretched my
arms overhead. “Speaking of which, I don’t know about you guys, but
I’m pooped,” I called out.

Simon laughed and took a seat beside me.
“Oh?”

“You Anderson brothers take sightseeing to a
whole new level. Who makes a pit stop at the Louvre?”

“Well, when we were at the Eiffel Tower, you
declared you desperately wanted to see Mona. What’s a guy to do?”
Simon tossed his hands in the air.

“I didn’t mean right then and there.”

“Well,” he shrugged, “I wanted to be the one
to see her with you.” He opened up a bottle of water and held it
out to me.

“You’re the best.” I gratefully accepted the
bottle and sipped. I paused and held the bottle mid-air. “Note to
self: I must watch what I say. I also happened to mention I wanted
to
see
the top of the Eiffel Tower. That didn’t mean I
needed to walk to the first and second levels. I feel like death.”
I handed Simon the bottle and watched his Adam’s apple bob as he
took a big gulp.

“Perfect timing. We’ll be at the Catacombs in
no time.” Simon’s cheeks formed perfect dimples as he smiled.

He patted my knee and let his hand linger
there for a moment. A tingle swept over my body and I felt anything
but
dead. My racing pulse reminded me how very much alive
this guy made me feel.

I looked over at Tess and Mark who stood
close together at the track. Tess turned her head in our direction,
and I jumped up with a start, causing Simon’s hand to fall from my
leg.

It had been like this all morning. Simon
would reach for my hand and I’d shift sideways to stay out of his
way. When he met us in the lobby at the hotel, I thought he was
about to lean in for a hug or kiss, but thinking of Cooper’s
flowers and Tess and Mark watching, I just couldn’t add anymore
fuel to my mental fire. I simply gave his arm a pat and said,
“Let’s go. Can’t wait to see the sights!” Tess had given me a
strange look, but I just couldn’t go there with Simon this
morning.

“I think I hear the train,” I sang.

“You must have bionic ears,” Tess cried. “We
see lights in the tunnel but can’t even hear a sound.”

“Interesting,” Simon said with a wry
grin.

Not knowing how to respond, I smiled
awkwardly at him and walked towards the track.

The train pulled into the station, and as it
slowed down, the only sounds that could be heard were the
whispering from its rubber tires and the whine of its brakes. We
hopped on and a short ride later, we reached our destination. After
we walked up the stairs and stepped onto the street, I stopped to
catch my breath and survey the neighborhood.

The area definitely was different from the
one where we were staying. Markets and cafés replaced the upscale
stores. Instead of Hermes or Christian Dior—boutiques, cheese
shops, bookstores and antique shops filled the streets. Bohemians
replaced the stylish. Despite the people that loitered, there was a
sense of calm in the air.

“Is it just me or is everything abnormally
peaceful here?” I said. “It even smells relaxing.” I took in
another breath and a strong scent of lavender filled my nose and
lungs.

“Well, we are on top of a cemetery.” Mark
laughed.

“Creepy.” Tess shivered and buttoned up her
sweater. A sudden gust of wind blew her hair over her face.

“Where did that come from?” she demanded.

“Must be the ghosts,” Mark said. “They don’t
like to be called creepy.”

He gave Tess’s ribs a gentle jab with his
elbow. She swatted at his arm and in turn, he grabbed her hand.
Simon shot me a quick glance and took a guidebook from his back
pocket.

I pulled myself into my jacket like a turtle
and kicked around a coin that lay on the ground. Using my toe, I
flipped it over and wondered if I’d hurt his feelings when I
knocked his hand off my knee earlier.

“It says here to enter through a green ticket
office,” Simon murmured from behind the book. He lifted his head
and squinted across the street. “
Voila
.” He pointed his
finger to a green hut.