Tales From a Broad (20 page)

“You’re right. I apologize,” Simon said
quietly.

I closed my eyes again for a brief second. “I
have to figure out what to do.” I rose to my feet. “I’d like to
read this email. I’m dying to know what he had to say that was
suddenly so important.”

Uneasy, I loosened the scarf around my neck.
“I’m going to go back to the hotel and deal with this,” I waved my
phone in the air, “and freshen up for dinner. Can you just tell
Tess I went on ahead?”

“Sure.” Simon gave me a blank stare.

“What time did you guys want to meet later?
Mark mentioned a sunset boat ride on the Seine?” I gathered my
things and tossed my bag over my shoulder.

“Lucy,” Simon said, looking up at me. “I
think I’m going to pass on tonight. You need to deal with things
that are far more important than a night out with me.”

“Simon.” I twisted my ponytail around my
finger. “I want to go out with you tonight. Please,” I said
softly.

“Lucy, you just said...”

I held up my hand. “I know what I said. I’ve
been sending mixed messages, and I’m sorry, but that’s exactly how
I feel. Mixed up,” I cried.

“Well, let me make it easier for you,” Simon
said wearily. “Go sort out your head. I hate to say it, but I think
you might be right.” He looked down and made circles in the dirt
with his sneaker. “You’re out of my league,” he mumbled.

My mouth fell open. “I never said that.”

Simon looked at me with sad eyes. “You
didn’t have to.”

Chapter
Nine

The living freak me out more than the
dead.

Facebook Status June 10 at 4:00pm

Lucy

Date: 6/10/14 at 3:01 PM

Subject: Hi

Dear Lucy,

I hope you’re having a good trip. Ever since
you called, you’ve been on my mind non-stop. Did you get the
flowers I sent? I thought you would’ve called by now, so I wanted
to double check.

Hope to hear from you.

Love,

Cooper

I suffered a state of confusion after Simon
kicked me to the curb, but once I read Cooper’s email, my brain
reeled with something entirely different. How dare Cooper harass me
on my vacation? Who did he think he was? And shame on me for
allowing him to ruin my date. Probably even the whole rest of my
day. Sorry wasn’t good enough, and did he really think he could
just say it with flowers?

With anger coursing through my veins, I
backtracked my way to familiar territory, and by the time I
returned to the Louvre grounds, I was able to take my first slow
breath in an hour. I didn’t know whether it was the memories of my
visit with Simon or the calming nature of the gardens outside the
Louvre, but something turned the X-rated language in my brain to
plain old PG-13.

I found a seat at the Tuileries and opened
the lunch I had bought from one of the cafeterias on the street. I
scooped a forkful from the beet and mache salad that rested on my
lap and dipped it into the cup of champagne dressing perched on my
knee. I discovered the dressing tasted like truffle oil and poured
the contents of the container all over the salad. The balancing act
had not been an easy feat, considering that my knees had been
knocking since I’d left Simon.

A group of American tourists congregated
around me, nose deep in identifying the different flowers in the
magnificent park. I tried to pay attention to the botany lesson,
but was too distracted by their attempts to look French. There were
a whole lot of berets and striped shirts going on.

Once I’d finished my lunch, I tossed the
remnants in the trash and leaned against a tree to reread the email
from Cooper. I slid down to the ground as I read the words that
were almost committed to memory by then.

The bark stuck to my leggings, and when I
separated myself from the tree, I discovered a tiny hole in the
seat of my pants.

“Just what I needed, another a-hole,” I
muttered aloud as I began to type a response.

Dear Cooper, thank you for the flowers.

No. Too nice.

Cooper, the same flowers I planned to carry
down the aisle? Really? Too late.

Was it though? The jury was still out on that
one.

Dear Cooper...

Oh, f... this. Before I could change my mind,
I pressed the numbers I had dialed thousands of times before on the
phone.

Ring.

I swallowed and took a breath. Please don’t
pick up.
Ring.
Please let it go to voicemail.
Ring.
Oh, thank God.

Three rings down meant that I was probably
safe. I cleared my throat and swallowed in anticipation of leaving
a message.

“Hello?” Cooper said breathlessly.

I closed my eyes and clenched my fist. “Hi,”
I said coolly.

“I was hoping to hear from you.”

The sound of his familiar voice brought tears
to my eyes. I inhaled to steady my shallow breaths.

“Did you...?”

“Yes, I got your flowers. Thank you.” Don’t
be a wuss. Make him work.

I cleared my throat and sat up straighter,
feeling the bark scrape along my shoulder. “You were right, by the
way.” I winced and cast a sideways look at the long scratch.
“Orchids do not withstand the humidity too well. Good thing we
didn’t make
that
mistake.”

My forced chuckle, which sounded more like a
horse being strangled, was met by an awkward silence.

“Um, Luce, I was really happy to hear from
you. When you called the other night...”

The all familiar twisting in my stomach
started, and I pulled my knees to my chest to make it stop.
“Cooper, um, I was stoned. Calling you was not part of my plan that
day.”

I swallowed the hard lump that formed in my
throat and wondered if he could hear the razzing sound as it
dissipated. “It was a really emotional day for me. Had my wits been
intact, I never would have called.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad that you did. How’ve you
been? Where are you?”

“I’m doing great. I’m at the Louvre.” I
smirked to myself, knowing he and I had talked about going there
together.

“Good for you. You’ve always wanted to go
there. How is it? Did you see Mona?”

“Yeah. She was about the size of a postage
stamp, but for a little lady, she attracted quite the crowd.” I
clenched my teeth. Why was I being so nice?

I cleared my throat and tried a different
tactic—to say what was on my mind. “Cooper, do you really think I
can just make small talk when the last thing you said to me was
that you didn’t want to marry me? What do you want from me?”

“Luce, I’m sorry. I know you probably hate me
right about now. I just want to talk to you.”

“About what? What can you possibly have to
say? Where have you been for the past three months? I’m trying to
move on with my life. If I wanted to pine away for you, I would’ve
stayed in New York. Do you have some sort of a radar on me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you sense I was having a good time? Did
you
feel
I was getting over you? Don’t worry. I’m not there
yet.”

“I don’t need any reminders of you. It’ll be
a long time until I stop thinking about you. Are you happy now? Yes
Cooper, I still think about you. So please...” My voice broke and I
rested my head against my knees. “No more flowers. No more
emails.”

“How about a visit?” he said in a quiet
voice.

“What?” I snapped.

“Can I come see you?”

“See me? Where?”

“Paris. Or wherever you’ll be this
weekend.”

Was he kidding? He would come all the way
over here? Just to talk? I rapidly tugged on the grass to the
rhythm of my heartbeat.

“Please, Luce. I can be there by Friday.”

I chewed the bottom of my lip and tore off a
piece of skin.

He began to talk faster. “We can meet for
dinner, and if it goes well, I’ll stay. If not, I’ll never bother
you again. Please, just give me one chance to talk to you.”

Holy mother of God. He wasn’t kidding. I
rubbed my eyebrows back and forth, a weird nervous habit of mine.
“Cooper, I don’t think that’s such a great idea. I’m vacationing
with Tess, and I don’t need her to see you skulking around.”

“Luce, it’s just one dinner. Please?”

One dinner. Tsk. One dinner could do a lot of
damage. Look at what one dinner did last night. It led to a
knee-buckling kiss and intense feelings for a younger man. Cooper’s
flowers pretty much ruined the high I had been riding. Who did he
think he was, anyway?

“No, Cooper. I’ve come here to start my life
over.”

“I’m really, really sorry,” he said in a low
voice.

I tapped my toe against a root. “Oh wow.
Finally. Wait; I’m assuming you’re apologizing for breaking up with
me on the day I discovered I couldn’t have kids, right? Or are you
just sorry for hunting me down on my trip? I’m supposed to be on my
honeymoon, you know,” I spat.

“I just thought that after you called, maybe
you still cared.”

“Maybe
I still cared? Do you seriously
think I can just shut my feelings off? Cooper, I have to go. I
should never have called you the other night. Or today, for that
matter.”

“Lucy, wait. Please don’t hang up. Please
give me the chance to explain.”

“Goodbye.”

I hung up the phone and tossed it into my
bag. An instant later, it began to ring.

“Yeeees?” I sang wearily.

“Aunt Lu? Are you ok? Simon told us you
weren’t feeling well, and you don’t sound too hot either.”

I was relieved to hear it was Tess and not
Cooper, but dizziness washed over me, the aftermath of my emotional
roller coaster ride. “Oh no, I’m fine,” I answered with artificial
gaiety. “Just tired. I felt a little claustrophobic in the
Catacombs, but once I got more air, I felt better.”

“You and Simon both.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. When we got out of the Catacombs, he
seemed a little off. He said he was going to walk back and pick up
a few souvenirs for his buddies. Can you believe it? A guy who
shops for souvenirs? I think he’s a keeper.”

I leaned my head against the tree and looked
up at the sky in despair. “I don’t think he wants to be kept,” I
muttered under my breath.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing.”

“Aunt Lu, I have to ask you something and
please be honest.” Tess continued talking, oblivious to my
emotional turmoil. “Would you mind if I went out alone with Mark
tonight? He wants to have an official date and I kind of want to
go.”

“No, go ahead. I have work to do anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Thank you!” she squealed. “What do you think
of him, anyway?”

“Well, just last night I had said that I
wasn’t going to let you out of my sight. So, the fact that I am
sending you off with my blessing should be an indication of just
how much I like him. He seems great, Tess. Really.” I smiled.

“He is. We just stopped for a glass of wine
at this adorable little bistro. We sat outside at a table for two,
chairs facing the street. Just like they do in the movies! We could
even see the Eiffel Tower. It was so romantic.” She sighed. “He
even bought me a rose from a vendor on the street. The rose man
didn’t even ask him. Mark called him over.”

“That’s serious business, Tessie. You watch
‘The Bachelor.’”

“That’s what I thought, too!
And
the
best part is that he and his girlfriend broke up. I noticed he was
being overtly flirtatious all of a sudden, and now I know why. I
guess last night after he and I parted ways, they had a
heart-to-heart on the phone.”

Tess paused and seemed to take a deep breath.
I was about to say goodbye and wish her luck on her date when she
suddenly continued. “Um, Aunt Lu, can I confess one more
thing?”

“Sure, hon.” What now? I loved my niece, but
I was suddenly so exhausted I just wanted to get off the phone and
get back to the hotel.

“I wasn’t sure how to handle this with Jack.
That was, before—”

“Yikes. I almost forgot about him,” I
interrupted with a cringe.

“You and me both. When we decided to take a
break, without saying it in so many words, we both knew it was the
softer version of breaking up. Kind of like a pre-break up, an
easier way to end things without feeling the finality of our six
and a half year relationship. Regardless, we promised to be honest
with each other before anything happened with anyone else. I just
logged onto Facebook to see what he was doing ... okay, truth be
told, I was going to shoot him a message and take the easy way
out.”

“Tess!” I cried.

“I know, I know, I’m a wimp. But let me tell
you, he’s worse. Not only had Jack changed his relationship status
to single, he also had been tagged in about a dozen photos, looking
anything
but
single. You have to check out Facebook and
Instagram. You’ll see he’s moved on pretty fast.”

“What is with men these days? They’re all
cowards. Did that bother you?”

Tess hesitated before she answered. “No. I
felt more relieved than anything. I guess in my mind it has been
over for a while, but it’s kind of sad to think this is like the
end of an era, you know?”

“It
is
the end of an era. But now
you’re free to explore whatever this thing with Mark is.”

“I know,” Tess said happily. “I really like
him.”

“Good for you honey. I hope it works out the
way you want it to.”

I was happy for Tess, yet I couldn’t help but
envy her newly discovered carefree ways. Had I been a little more
carefree, I wouldn’t be sitting here all by myself.

“Well, wish me luck on my first official
night as an unattached woman.”

“Good luck, and you know the drill. Be
careful.” I wasn’t too worried since I knew she was in good
hands.