Trouble finding Blondie (2 page)

“Hmmm, a little fishy, but fair enough. I buy it. So, you found me. What is it that I can do for you? Or should I just ask you why?”

“You can take me out of my misery and torture and answer some of my questions. I have overanalyzed them a million times. I’m still lost.”

“I needed a new start. New life. On my own.”

“I didn’t ask any question yet, and I don’t want your brush off version either.”

“Look, my drink and my break are over. This is clearly not a discussion for now.”

“Have dinner with me, please.”

“I’m not sure that is a good idea, Trouble.” She immediately stopped. It just slipped out and they both felt it.

Is this really happening??!!! God, are you kidding me?! I worked for months not to say this EVER again. Now I said it like it was the most normal, natural thing to say. Can one word, one name carry so much power? WTF is going on? How did I get here? Where are all these feelings coming from? I thought you buried it all!!! You are fired, Simona! Am I really talking to myself? I am not saying this out loud, am I? I’m loosing my mind!

She called me Trouble. Why is this woman so stubborn? And why is she driving us both so crazy?!Oh, Blondie, I just want to hug you, kiss you, tell you that I still love you...

“How long are you in town for?”

“Let’s drop this bullshit small talk. You suck at it anyway. I’m not going anywhere. We need to talk, so if it’s not tonight, it’s tomorrow night, the next day, or the day after.”

“I can’t. I don’t want to. I’m sitting here, having a drink with you just because I’m still in shock. I will get out of it eventually, and I will ....”

“What? Pack your bags and run? You already did that, proved you are good at it, but I proved I’m even better. So, are we going to play ‘catch me if you can’? Grow up.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Yes, you heard me. My turn to tell you that. Grow up, face the reality. We are going to talk.”

“Wow, what the hell happened to you?”

“I grew up. Isn’t that what you told me to do?”

“Fine. We will talk...”

“I still want to see you tonight. We don’t have to talk tonight. We can just have dinner. Would you be more comfortable if I invited Stephan and his wife? It will be a pleasant evening, I promise.”

“Ask your friends if they like Italian. I’m dying for some Italian food.”

“I know a great restaurant. Findi.”

“Come on, the most romantic, fancy restaurant? No, something casual.”

“Ok, then Gallo Romano. Is 8:30 PM ok?”

“Great.”

As they walked out of the bar, she turned to face him. “I’m this way. You can go out that way.” It wasn’t a suggestion, and it was pointless to argue. He knew her well.

He made a step to hug her; she took a step back. That hurt. It was like a stab, but ironically, through both of their hearts. She grabbed his arm. “Thank you, Andre. It is really good to see you.”

“Thank you for the drink, Blondie.” He was still hurt and knew that calling her Blondie would make her feel the same. He wanted revenge, but instead got more than he bargained for. He underestimated the feeling and the power of that magic name they had created a long time ago. The name that carried so much. They locked eyes, and it was very clear to both of them.

She turned and walked away. He walked the other way. They both had tears in their eyes.

❖ ❖ ❖

Andre, Stephan, and his wife Aurelie arrived early. The table was ready and they were seated right away. Stephan noticed how nervous Andre was. It was very unusual. He had known him for a long time and was very curious about this mystery woman who had such an impact on his friend.

It was only 8:35 PM, but Andre was getting worried. After he left the hotel, he realized he didn’t get her number. He called the hotel, only to find out she left early.

What if she chickened out? What if she doesn’t remember the name of the restaurant?

“Andre, relax. Have some wine.”

“Stephan, you don’t understand. This woman is never late. She is not coming.”

“She is coming. Let’s have some wine. Aurelie, cheers.”

“Are we talking English tonight, or French?”

“I have never heard her speak French, so I’m not sure how comfortable she is. English would be better. Are you guys ok with that?”

“Sure.”

“Bonsoir. Je suis désolée d’être en retard.”

“No problem, we started without you anyway,” Stephan smiled apologetically at Simona.

“Oh, vous parlez anglais? That’s great.”

“Madame préfère en français?”

“No, no. English is better, thank you. You must be Stephan. Very nice to meet you, and Aurelie, great to meet you, too.”

She walked over to Andre, opened her arms, and finally gave him a hug. She thought it would be safe with his friends, at a restaurant full of people. She walked miles to the restaurant just to calm down the anxiety and her heartbeat. It clearly didn’t work.
 

They both stood there, hugging. He felt her heart beat, she felt his shaking, and then it was just calm. They pulled away and smiled. It was a good start. The food was great. The restaurant was busy but very pleasant. The wine kept coming, and the mood was excellent.

The waiter came over with a message. “Excusez-moi Madame, vous avez un visiteur.”

They all looked towards the door. Simona stood up, excused herself, and walked over to a young man standing by the door. They were speaking French, but it was too noisy to hear anything from their discussion. Stephan and Aurelie didn’t think much of it, but Andre was on the edge. Who could possibly know where she was having dinner? When the man grabbed Simona’s elbow, Andre got up and walked over.

“Y-a-t-il un problème? Enlevez votre main.” Andre glared at the intruder.
 

“No problem at all. Monsieur is leaving. Good night.” Simona was pulling Andre away and back to the table.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing important. He was just a messenger. It’s work related. Sorry about that.”

“Who sends a messenger to a restaurant at 11 PM?”

“Ok, FBI. Drop it.”

They barely sat down, rejoined the conversation, when Aurelie interrupted.
 

“Oh, my God. Look who’s here. This is not a fancy restaurant, what is HE doing here?”
 

Everybody turned their heads except for Simona, who was calmly sipping on her wine. The noisy restaurant converted into a quiet chapel within seconds. You could hear all the whispers. The dinning room manager rushed to greet him and started to babble something when the man just raised his hand and said, “Non, merci. Je vais très bien, je n’ai besoin de rien.”

“Who is that, Stephan?”

“He is the most influential, rich Parisian. And bachelor too.” Aurelie explained with a confused smile because it became immediately clear that he was heading towards their table.
       

All eyes were on him, except Simona’s. She was still sipping her wine, trying to pretend it had nothing to do with her.
 

Now he was standing above their table. They were all staring at him, then her. She didn’t move.

“Bonsoir Madame Simona.”

“Bonsoir Monsieur Bouchard,” she still hasn’t looked at him. She was staring at Aurelie across the table whose eyes were about to pop. Andre was sitting to her left, Stephan to her right. Everybody was staring at her. Simona finally turned to look at the ‘intruder’ with one arm over the back of her chair and the other on the table. She pushed her chair away from the table to get a full view. She slowly crossed her legs and arms. Her smile was simply saying ‘nice show, what now?’.
 

“Vos amis sont americans?”

“Non.”

“Français alors?”

“No, speak English, please.”

“Alright. I came to apologize for my assistant’s rude behavior. Please, let me buy you all dinner.”

“Hmm. Your apology is accepted,” Simona said. “But you didn’t have to come here. You didn’t have to cause a scene, and you don’t need to buy us dinner either. And as I said to your assistant, I’m still considering your offer. I will give you my answer. I guess not tonight, but I will call you tomorrow.”

“I would prefer tonight.”

“As you can see, we are still not done with dinner. It may be too late tonight.”

“I will be up, waiting for your call.” There wasn’t any room for more negotiation. It was settled.

“You know what? You personally came to apologize. I guess you earned yourself a hug.” Simona stood up, gave him a hug and a kiss on each cheek, and sat back down. He smiled with victory and satisfaction.

“Excuse me again for interrupting your dinner. Good night.”

“Wait. One more thing. If this makes tabloids tomorrow, I will have you killed.”

“Always a pleasure, Madame.” He was still laughing as he walked away.

The restaurant became noisy again, but the table was still in a state of shock.

“More wine, please.” Aurelie raised her empty glass to be filled.

“Is everyone able to get over Bouchard, or is this evening done?”

“Would you like to elaborate on this scene, or do you just want us to ignore it?” Stephan inquired.

“I understand this may not be easy to stomach. We can either forget that it happened and enjoy our dessert, or we can all go home now.”

“Does that mean you are not going to say anything?”

“It’s work related.”

“Where do you work again?”

“At the Four Seasons hotel.”

“Alright then, Nikita.” Stephan was laughing out loud.

“Stephan, you are terrible.” Simona was pretending to be mad.

“Could you get me an appointment with him then? I have been trying for years. How long have you lived here?”

“Off and on for three years.” Simona was smiling, fully aware of her mysterious position.
 

The evening was done. They did have desserts and coffee, but nobody managed to get over the incident. Andre became very reserved. He looked as if his mind was somewhere else. Stephan and Aurelie were very entertained and intrigued. They asked for the check, but Simona started ordering something.

“Puis-je s’il vous plait commander un double cappuccino et un biscotti?”

“No, no, this is to take with me. I will pay for it. And thank you very much for dinner.”

“Don’t be silly. S’il vous plait, rajoutez ça à notre addition.”

“Who is it for?” Stephan was being curious.

“For Monsieur Bouchard, probably,” the sarcasm was very evident in Andre’s voice. He got up to pay the bill. Simona simply smiled.

As they were walking outside, figuring out how many taxi’s they needed, and which directions they were all going, Simona walked straight to a limousine with the cappuccino and biscotti in her hand.

“Marcello! Where are you?” She walked over to the driver’s side, but nobody was there.

“Seriously, dove sei?!!! Hai davvero intenzione di sprecare questo cappuccino?” /“Where are you? Do you really want to waste this cappuccino?”/

“Le mie scuse, signora.” Marcello walked out from the back of the restaurant, looking apologetic.

“Marcello, così bello di rivederti. Dammi un abbraccio. Il tuo capo non c’è.” /“Marcello, so nice to see you again. Give me a kiss. Your boss isn’t here.”/

He walked over and gave Simona a hug and a kiss on each cheek. She was still holding the cappuccino in one hand and biscotti in the other, doing her best not to spill it down his back. The rest of the group was more confused than ever, looking at them both.

Marcello was a great looking man in his early fifties. He was Swiss, born in Lausanne, went to school in Lugano, and married a French girl. His mother was Italian, his father was Swiss, and he spoke a million languages.
 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Everybody, this is Marcello. And this is Andre, Stephan, and Aurelie. He is our taxi for tonight. Please hop in.”

“Assuming he is Mr. Bouchard’s driver, did you just expect him to be here?”

“No Stephan, I didn’t assume, I knew. And yes, I know him well. Did that answer your follow-up question?”

Stephan looked at Andre who just shook his head. Aurelie was enjoying the ride, completely mesmerized. She started to talk with Marcello, giving him directions.

2

"TO KEEP TRACK OF TIME AND YOUR HEART, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE PLANET."

SIMONA WAS SITTING in a management meeting, unable to concentrate…

Another warm beautiful sunny day in Paris. I’m going to leave early today and go to the park. Should I say something to Reni? In all fairness, she is the closest person I have here, and it’s not just because we are cousins. Quite the opposite, we are both the odd ones in the family. She knows all my secrets from the last three years. Well, I guess not all... No, I think it would freak her out. Better not.

❖ ❖ ❖

Andre woke up and realized Stephan and Aurelie had gone to work already. Thank God. He wasn’t ready for any discussions about last night. He couldn’t sleep all night, trying to figure out what happened. How did she build this life that fast? How does she know these kinds of people?! But then again, it’s Simona. Nothing she does is normal.