One Summer in Paris

Audrey picked up the cup and sipped. Her hand shook a little. “This tastes good.”

“It’s Sophie’s favorite whenever she has had a bad day and needs a little comfort.”

Audrey watched her over the rim of the cup. “I was rude the other night. I don’t get why you’d do this, that’s all.”

That was easy to explain, but did she want to?

Exposing your weaknesses didn’t come easily, particularly to someone you didn’t know. But if she wanted Audrey to trust her, didn’t she have to trust Audrey?

“My daughter is eighteen and leaving home, my husband no longer wants my company—I feel a little useless.” It was easier to say than she would have expected. “A lot useless, if I’m honest. When you know me better, you’ll discover I have a tendency to organize everything and everyone. I don’t blame you for being a little freaked-out. Sometimes I’m like a Labrador dog. I mean well, but I’m clumsy.”

Audrey gave a cautious smile. “I have a Labrador back home. His name is Hardy, and he’s exactly like that. He knocks everything with his wagging tail.”

“Do you have a picture?”

“Yeah, somewhere.” Audrey picked up her phone and scrolled through photos until she found one of a dog. She showed it to Grace.

“He’s adorable. No wonder you love him.”

“I miss him a lot.”

The waiter delivered their food. Plates of soft fluffy scrambled eggs and crispy bacon. Muffins toasted to a golden brown. Grace pushed the plates toward Audrey.

“Help yourself.”

Audrey speared a strand of bacon and glanced at the guidebook by Grace’s plate. “You were about to spend the day exploring Paris. You don’t need me hanging around.”

Grace heard the edge in her voice and sensed that she was being tested. “One of the advantages of being alone is that I can be flexible about what I do. There will be plenty of time to explore Paris.”

“Just to warn you, teaching me wouldn’t be fun or rewarding. I’m useless. If you believe the teachers at school, my life is basically over.”

Grace thought about Sophie. She knew enough about teenagers to know that living with them was like riding a roller coaster. One minute they were up, and then they were down. All you could do was keep yourself strapped in and go along for the ride. “You’ve had a bad morning. It’s natural to feel low when things aren’t going right.”

Audrey reached for a muffin, and Grace noticed that her fingernails were bitten to nothing.

At eighteen she’d had no fingernails, either. She’d wanted to help her mother but hadn’t been able to.

“Would you like me to come to the bookstore with you? Maybe I could translate so that you can talk to Elodie.”

Audrey gave a half smile, but it lacked the suspicion of her earlier offerings. “What are you, my fairy godmother?”

“Let’s settle for friend. I want to help, that’s all.”

“Okay.” Audrey devoured the eggs and bacon and then started on the muffins. “What if you teach me something and I just don’t get it?”

Grace saw the insecurity behind the flippancy. She’d encountered it many times. Students who struggled but were afraid to admit it. It was particularly difficult in the teenage years when no one wanted to be different and everyone was trying to find their place in the world. “Then I’ll try another way. There isn’t just one way to teach something. We can focus on learning the things you’d find useful.”

“Okay, but I can tell you now that the bookstore idea is a waste of time. Elodie is a dragon.”

“Why don’t we talk to her anyway? I want to ask her about the history of the bookshop and see if there is anyone who might remember my grandmother.” Grace poured more hot chocolate into Audrey’s cup.

Audrey fiddled with her fork. “She’s mad about something else, too.”

“What else?”

Audrey’s cheeks were pink. “She thinks I stole money.”

Grace remembered the money she’d seen Audrey push into the pocket of her jeans. “Did you?”