Trouble finding Blondie (8 page)

“Stop screaming! You are going to wake him up.”

“Stop giving me orders.” They fell down on the grass together. Simona started kissing Andre, getting exited again. He pushed her away.

“What is the number, Blondie?”

“Ten wasn’t enough? Fifteen then?” She kept laughing. He was tickling her until she started screaming again.

“Stop it! I’m going to pee in my pants.”

“I will stop. Tell me the number.” They were both still laughing when they heard Francois demanding attention.

“This baby doesn’t cry?” Francois was just making noises, announcing his nap was over.

“Blondie, this is not over. We are continuing this discussion tonight.”

“Hm, not tonight. I forgot to tell you. This is the last weekend of the month.”

“And? Some crazy rituals I need to know about?”

“Yes, and no. It’s going to be a full house. On the last weekend of the month Philippe has friends over, from different ‘walks of life’, different professions. Status and money don’t matter. Everybody is equal here. It’s all about intellectual conversations and company.”

“They all stay overnight?”

“Yes, the majority of them are coming from Paris. It’s a weekend in the country. There is going to be more staff around, too.”

By the time they walked up to the house, Madame Bonnet was already in full speed. She was organizing deliveries, housekeeping ladies, gardeners...

“Bonjour. How was your stay?”

“We had a great time. How about your days off?”

She smiled and pointed to her hair.

“Oh, my God! Madame Bonnet! La couleur de vos cheveux. Très joli.”

Simona walked over and gave her a big hug. She had been talking about it for a long time, and she finally had the time and courage to do it.

“How many people are you expecting today?”

“Nine, including Monsieur Bouchard.”

“Ok, great. We will get out of your way. It’s time for us to get out of the house anyway. Does Philippe have any other car in the garage except his toy car?”

“Yes, the Range Rover is there. I will get the keys for you.”

They drove to town. It was a beautiful, sunny summer day. First they went to the market. Simona seemed to know everybody, and everybody knew Francois. It seemed that every minute somebody came for a hug and a kiss. At the end of the market, Andre was exhausted just from watching it.

“I know you are a social butterfly, but how do you know all these people? Seriously.”

“I lived here after Francois was born. It’s very different in winter, but people are the same, and I loved it.”

Simona knew the town very well. She was pointing out different places through the tiny streets. They came to a cute brasserie. They walked in, more hugs and kisses. Simona turned to Andre…

“Is this ok for lunch for you?”

“It’s perfect. I’m starving.”

They didn’t order anything. The owner was making something special. Then the door opened, and a young woman walked in with opened arms, straight to Francois’s stroller. Andre almost jumped, but the baby was excited to see her. She got the baby out before she even greeted Simona. Another hug and kiss.

“This is Marie-Laure, Francois’s nanny.”

“Oh, very nice to meet you.”

“You are the father? I heard it through the grapevine. It’s a small town. You have blue eyes. Francois’s are green, but when he was born, they were as blue as yours.”

“Marie, would you like to have lunch with us?”

“Non, merci. I heard you were in town, and I figured you would be here. I just came to get Francois. I will bring him back in an hour ok?”

Andre didn’t look excited about that idea, but Simona was comfortable, totally trusting Marie-Laure. She kissed the baby, and before anyone could say anything else, Marie was gone.

“She is a little crazy, don’t you think? I feel like somebody just kidnapped my son.”

“Yes, she is the energizer bunny. But she loves him and he loves her. That’s what matters. He will be fine. Relax.”

“Easy to say, hard to do. This is a new feeling for me. I don’t like it. I’m worried.”

Simona knew exactly what he was talking about, the first time parent anxiety. It was cute to watch, something very new for her to see on a person she knew so well.

The food arrived. It was an amazing sandwich on a fresh whole grain bread with zucchini,
 
peppers, artichokes, pesto, grilled chicken, topped with lettuce and sprouts. It was beyond delicious, and both of them were ‘going to town’.

“So, how long did you live here?” Andre was like a Columbo discovering new lands.

“Full time, a little over three months. That is how I met most of Philippe’s friends. Reni lived with me here, too. Then I went back to Paris, but I would still come on weekends, at least twice a month. Reni got a break on weekends, and I had Marie-Laure. She has been with me since Francois was born when Reni went back to Paris, every ten or so days.”
 

“Which one does he like better?”

“I think they can’t be more different. Black and white. He loves them both. They bring a different energy. It’s a perfect balance.”

“How about the people coming tonight?”

“There is a steady group, and there is always some new blood passing through. Some of Philippe’s friends come from London or New York, occasionally one of the group of people bring a guest of their own.”

“Who are the people in the steady group?” Andre was beyond curious.

“One is a banker, one is a professor at the Sorbonne University, one is a lady writer, the other lady is a doctor, a famous fashion designer, and a composer. We always get good tickets to the opera. I’m assuming Jacques is coming tonight if he is still in town.”

“Oh, the orange ride. Is he really the former Formula 1 race car driver?”

“Wow, you recognized him?”

“No, but Reni called him by his last name, so I googled him.”

“Are you serious? That’s a cute confession. You are scoring points.”

“Speaking of points, can we go back to our number discussion?”

“What? Are you serious? You are still not over it?”

“Well, I know you are bullshitting. You were pregnant. You wouldn’t sleep with anybody,” Simona made a funky face, which threw him off a little, but he continued.

“After giving birth, of course, you can’t for a while and now, the last few months...”

“Is that your official analysis of my sex life in the past year and a half?” Simona was starting to get irritated.

“Yes, and I believe it’s pretty accurate.” He was so full of himself that she almost started to laugh. Then he added, ”And we both know your number is still five.”
 

Now, THAT took her to a complete different stage.

“Ok, let’s do this! You were asking for it. I really didn’t want to go on this subject. You pushed and wanted to know badly, so here it is… I was three months pregnant when you broke my heart. I was also divorced for many months. I wasn’t showing yet, and one good friend, with whom I was comfortable to cross the line with, provided the service a few times. You know, friends with benefits. Then apparently, I was pregnant and radiating sexy, which was a new fetish for the bachelors and satisfaction for my uber-horny self, so a win win situation.

After giving birth and loosing all the weight, I needed a confidence boost. Philippe got me into a circle of some fabulous people. There was always someone, looking exactly for the same thing, a fling. Discretion was a must.
 

There were plenty of parties, weekend getaways, an occasional wedding, or even a business trip. Once you get over the stupid morals, you can actually have fun. Well, I guess the real number is eleven. One I didn’t go all the way with. You know me. I like odd numbers.”

Andre was just sitting there, flabbergasted.

Is she kidding? She doesn’t look like she is kidding. Is this really possible? She had five men in twenty years, and now another five in one? Is that for real? I really can’t tell! Could I have fucked up this much? One stupid phone call?! One stupid ass day, bad mood, ass attitude! I almost lost my child, and now I have to stomach my woman sleeping with another five men? This is nuts. This can’t be true! She is not like that. The speech was convincing. She does look serious. I really can’t tell. And she slept with someone, while being pregnant with MY child?! Are you fucking kidding me??!

Ok, get it together..., this is not over yet...

“Ok, fair enough, I guess. Do you want to know my number?”

“I already told you. No, thank you.”

“Why not? You are not curious at all?”

“Why? To do the same thing you are doing right now? Torturing yourself, processing the information, trying to stomach it?”
He didn’t respond to that, but they both knew she was right on the money.

“Why should I want to know? To agonize over how many other women you had in your arms, pleasing them, being in them, while I was dying for your touch?! Why? To torture myself? No, thank you. Remember, ‘what the eyes doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Which part? The number, or the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell policy’? Look, believe it or not. Don’t worry. They didn’t mean anything. Isn’t that what you men always say?”

Marie-Laure walked in with Francois. Andre was still trying to process everything he just heard. They drove home in silence. Simona was playing with Francois, and Andre was driving, staring at the road.
 

When they arrived back at the house, everybody was working, but not stressing. It was a very pleasant busy. Madame Bonnet came out and took Francois for a stroll ride, knowing it was his second nap time. Simona tried to protest that she must be busy, but she just smiled, ignoring her protests.

Andre took a wipe out of the diaper bag and started to wipe Simona’s face.

“What are you doing?”

“There were at least a hundred people who kissed you today.”

That brought a smile back to her face. “Ok, let me do it.”

“No, I want to do it because I want to kiss you. Blondie, were you really serious back in that restaurant? Please, put me out of my misery!”

“You are in misery? You started this. You are the one who wanted to know. So, what is your lesson here?”

“Don’t ask questions if you are not ready for the answers?”

“Bravo! Good, you are making progress.”

“What else do you want me to say?”

“You assumed the answer, and you projected something. But when you got a taste of your medicine, you couldn’t handle it.” Simona was on a roll.

“You are loosing me a little here, what medicine?” Andre was getting lost.

“It would have been ok for me to find out your number and forgive you because it ‘didn’t mean anything’, right?! I told you the same thing. Why should that be any different?”

“You are really sticking to your story?”

“Are you saying that you are not going to forgive me and get over it? Despite that I’m telling you it was just a fling?”

“This is going nowhere. I’m getting into the shower.”

I’m gonna shoot myself! She is really serious! Am I really going to believe it? Is she just pulling my leg to teach me a lesson? Ok, so what if she isn’t? What if this is really true? Am I going to be able to get over it? Her questions are valid. Am I able to forgive her? I have to! Otherwise I would be pretty hypocritical, right?? Holy shit, this is the true meaning of I got more than I bargained for...

❖ ❖ ❖

People started arriving in the early afternoon, taking naps, walking outside, feeling at home. Philippe called to say he was stuck in a meeting, and that they should not expect him until dinner.

The shower helped a little. Andre was watching Simona getting ready for dinner. Madame Bonnet was feeding dinner to Francois in the kitchen.
 

Simona still sensed some tension, but she wasn’t going to back down.

“Are you going to be in a crappy mood the whole evening?”

“No, I just can’t get the image out of my head of you and another man. Thanks a lot.”

“Ok, stop it! We are not going to spoil everybody’s evening with our crap.”

“You are right,” Simona smiled, and they both knew why.

“Don’t worry. The day is coming when you are going to be wrong. And you are going to have to kiss me.”

They finally burst out laughing. Madame Bonnet brought Francois. It was a little early for his bath, but better now than rushing through it later.

After these last few days, Andre was a pro at it, and it became the highlight of his day. Simona got stuck with cleaning the bathroom disaster every night, but she didn’t mind at all. Watching them laugh and splash was so precious. Those were the tiny, little moments worth living for. Francois had blue elephant pajamas on. He smiled as if fully aware of how cute and handsome he was. Simona took him down to greet people as Andre was getting ready.