by A.N. Meade
lift her left eyebrow and smile at him that would have made him concede to whatever she said. “Actually, my love, as far as I know, whatever is real and present has a reflection.”
The light from the flash made her wince a bit. Usually she hated having her picture taken, but she was excited to see Paris and she felt comfortable, for once, in the moment.
After Natasha and Kate were out the door, Enric approached Marc. “Forgive me, but are you sure that you should do this?” He had clearly held his tongue earlier in front of Kate. He felt he had cause for some genuine concern.
“Of course. She wants to go to France, and I want her to be happy. I want to make her happy this time, Enric. I’ll do whatever it takes.” Marc knew why Enric was worried, but he didn’t see it as a reason for concern. He had left his maker on good terms. He was allowed to go. It was not like he ran away. Being given leave is not the same as desertion.
“What about Damian?” Enric decided to just be completely blunt. He had heard some horrific things over the years about Marc’s maker. He didn’t want to think that his dear friend was walking into a vipers den.
“What about him worries you so much?” Marc knew better than anyone what Damian was capable of. This wasn’t about him and Damian, it was about Kate.
“He’s still there isn’t he, in Paris? Will you be safe to just show up there?” He needed Marc to think about this, to really truly think this through.
“If Damian wanted me dead, don’t you think that I would be dead already?”
“Maybe, or maybe he prefers an ocean between you. Have you even told him that you are coming? I’m not saying don’t go, I am just saying to take time to prepare for this properly.”
“I see your concern.” Marc sighed deeply and let his head fall back against the wall while he considered what to do. He didn’t want a surprise visit to be taken as a token of disrespect. “I’ll send word that I’m coming.”
Marc picked up the phone and dialed several numbers. He waited a few seconds before he began to speak. “Hello, can I get the number for Darien Bertrand, Paris?” He wrote the number down on his left palm. His fingers shook a little as he punched in the next number. He didn’t usually feel afraid, but before now he hadn’t really had anything worth losing. “Bonjour. C’est Marc. Comment ca va? Je suis bien. I called to let you know I am planning to come to Paris this weekend.” The line was silent for a moment, and then Marc continued. “Can you tell Damian that I’ll be in the city? Just let me know when or if he wants to see me. Yes, this number is a good contact line. Merci beaucoup. Au revoir.” After he hung up, Marc sat there in the armchair staring at the wall for a second. His eyes were focused and full, but he didn’t give voice to what he was thinking.
“You did the right thing, Marc.” Enric knew that if Marc was serious about Paris then it had to be with Damian’s knowledge and consent. There was no other way to go about this without invoking his anger.
“I hope I have.” Marc hadn’t thought about Damian being a problem. He had liked to think that all of his years in service to his maker had earned him his freedom. There was a time for hope, though, and a time for reality. He knew the kind of man Damian was. He had learned that if nothing else in their time together. Things could become much more complicated than they had anticipated. Marc wasn’t sure if he should bring this up to Kate or not. He didn’t want to worry her for no reason. She would give up her dream of the couple at the Eiffel tower if she thought it could cause a problem for him. He didn’t want her to give up anything for him. If he asked her to, then in his mind he wasn’t any different than the human that took her happiness.
In town, Kate was glad to have Natasha along to guide her. She had never even been out of her home state before. She had no idea what she needed for a trip to Europe. It was different for Natasha. Travel was like a second nature to her. As they were driving in her Mercedes convertible with the top up, she was spouting off things from her mental checklist. “You’ll need a good set of luggage. I’ve had a few sets. The one I have now is Gucci. It’s really nice. Maybe we should get you that. Then, we’ll need a few basic pieces for your wardrobe. We’ll probably have to go by a few different places to find everything that we will need. By the way, what size are you?”
Natasha had barely taken a breath between all of those thoughts. Kate was reeling a bit still from the feeling of riding in the car. She was still getting used to all of the extra sensory perception that was part of her transition. It was very hard for her to adjust to the sensation of the car flying along the road, and Natasha’s erratic driving and nonstop talking didn’t help at all. It was hard to focus on what she was saying. This all seemed so surreal. She never thought that she would ever actually be going to see Paris, or that she would be shopping for designer luggage. She never dreamed that she would be the girl who at a given moment had one primary concern of finding the right pieces that she would need in her winter wardrobe. What a different life this was. Only a few days had passed and her whole life was changing.
Natasha noticed that Kate had drifted off in thought. She slowed down a little bit when she saw that Kate seemed extra pale. “Kate? What size are you?”
The sound of her name roused her from her thoughts. She saw Natasha staring at her with those big doe eyes and realized that she must have seemed very ungrateful for her company. She felt a flush of shame at the thought and tried harder to focus on what Natasha was saying. “I’m a seven.” Kate took a moment to think of what she would actually like to talk about and then started again, making sure to engage herself in the conversation this time. “Natasha, what do you think about the idea of going by Aimee?” Kate couldn’t help but think that this may be just what she needed. It seemed fitting that with all of the changes that were going on that a new name, or in this case, an old one, would be just the thing to help ease her into her new life. Besides, she liked the sound.
Natasha had been aiming for a more superficial conversation, but she could see that Kate was serious and wanted her opinion so she made up her mind to give it. She thought about it carefully a moment before she answered. “I think that could be good for you. There wasn’t anything positive in your human life that you wanted to hang on to. There’s no reason you should have to keep that name forever. If you like Aimee then I think it’s a great idea. The only thing is you should call Marc before he gets the passports done though.”
Natasha had some good points, and Kate was thinking the same thing. She was excited to call and tell Marc. “Can I use your phone?”
“Sure.” Natasha pulled over at the first store, just a few hundred feet in front of them. She could tell Kate was feeling sick and she didn’t want her to have to dial numbers while they were moving. Natasha took out her cell and dialed the number for her.
Kate smiled in appreciation. She felt like for the first time that she and Natasha may actually become good friends. Natasha was smart, and she was beautiful, but this showed her she could also be considerate. It was almost instantly that Marc picked up the phone. Kate slid right into the conversation she was so eager to hear his reaction. “Hi. I wanted to let you know before you got the passports made that I think I have decided to change something. I am thinking I may want to go by Aimee again. How would you feel about that?”
He could almost see her smiling through the phone. Marc was a little surprised at first to hear her excited about taking back her old name. It was, however, a name that he deeply cherished. He was pleased to know that she identified with it again. “I think it’s wonderful. I would love you of course, by any name, but Aimee I always thought suited you best.”
“Good.” It was empowering to take back her name. In some small way, it helped her feel more ready to take back control of other parts of her life.
Shopping with Natasha was a little overwhelming, but it was fun to be that carefree for a little while too. Aimee couldn’t remember the last time she had went shopping without worrying about how much she was spending. This was obviously, on the othe
r hand, a pastime that Natasha was very familiar with, and very much enjoyed. It was late afternoon by the time that they got back to the house. Marc and Enric went out to help them carry everything inside. Aimee, as she now wished to be known, was standing upstairs by the bed, putting everything away inside the luggage cases when Marc caught up with her.
“Did you enjoy yourself with Natasha today?” Marc scanned the bed which was covered in anything he could perceive that a woman would possibly need or want while traveling. He came over and stood by her, smiling in amusement. It made him happy to see her so content and relaxed, especially with what had happened early that morning.
He looked kind of boyish when he smiled. She noticed his face in more detail in that moment than she had before. His features were strong and masculine. His jaw line was well defined. His lips were full and straight, and he had dimples beside his mouth that she had never noticed before. When he smiled he looked like he could not possibly be much older than twenty five. His eyes were so bright and youthful. Happy suited him well.
She had to fight to remember what his question was. “I did have fun actually. Natasha says that I have everything that I could possibly need now.” She
