“Only one more. You almost killed me with the first one.”
“Moi aussi. Me too. But I was thinking… I was thinking that would be a great way to die.”
Awakenings
Anne slept in until eleven twenty a.m., awakened by romantic piano music emanating from her cell phone. “Good morning, Emily.”
“You sound like a frog. Were you still asleep? How late did you stay out last night?”
“I came home before midnight, but Henri didn’t leave until almost two a.m.”
“You’d be fussing at me if I ever let a guy stay at my place that late.”
“You’re right.” Anne yawned. “Even though he behaved well, it was a bad idea. I’m exhausted.”
“I got the picture you sent. You didn’t tell me how gorgeous he was. If you decide you’re not interested in Henri, you could introduce him to me.”
“I’m not letting Henri within five miles of you. He’s a bit too hard to resist, and he’s downright charming.” Anne laughed. “And I mean that in the worst possible way.”
“I don’t know, Mom. Maybe I shouldn’t let you date a guy like that. Were you able to resist him? And I mean that in the worst possible way.”
“The answer is mostly yes, but I did find out he is a great kisser.”
“Woo-hoo, Mom! I never thought we’d have this conversation, but I love it! Do we need to have ‘The Talk’?”
“Very funny, Em. Your very existence indicates I don’t need to have ‘Th
e Talk.’”
“Or maybe my existence means we do need to have ‘The Talk.’ But I’d like to meet this Henri. You know, check him out in person, and see if I approve.”
“Ha, ha. I bet you would, but it’s too late. By now he’s in the air over the Atlantic on his way back to Paris.”
“What? He’s gone back already? That was a short romance.”
“It’s not exactly over.”
“He’s coming back to New York again?”
“No. But I’m going to Paris to see him.” Saying it out loud made her stomach flip over.
“What! You’re going to Paris? I can’t believe it! When are you going? This is sooooo romantic.”
“I know. I can’t believe it either. I’m finally going to use my passport. Woo-hoo!” Anne laughed. “I’m going during Thanksgiving holidays, so you girls need to make sure Grandpa has someplace to go for Thanksgiving dinner.”
“No problem, Mom. We’ll take care of Grandpa, if we can pin him down. Hey maybe Henri has a son who looks like him and you could introduce us.”
“Ha! We can talk about it in a week, right? You’re coming next Friday?”
“We’re flying in on Friday, and we’ll be there by the time you get off work. And we don’t have to go back until Monday, so we have two whole days in New York with you.”
“I can’t wait—I miss y’all so bad.”
“I don’t know, Mom. It doesn’t sound like you’ve been moping around without us.”
“It’s been pretty exciting, but I don’t like that you’re both so far away. And I miss Gandalf too.”
“I would tell you Gandalf misses you, but he seemed perfectly happy last week when I visited him and Grandpa at the house. I think Grandpa shares his cooked food with him. He’s so spoiled, now.”