by Kiera Zane
* * *
The Church Notre Dame de Paris began life in 1163 during the reign of Luis VII. It fell in and out of disrepair and disuse until as recently as 1991, when a a decades-long restoration program gave rise to a shell of scaffolds around the outside of the famous buildings, which remained during Caitlyn and Julien’s tour.
Inside the Sainte Chappelle and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, stained glass windows rose to give color to the stream of sunlight shining down on the rows of empty pews. Visitors muttered to one another, the din of their amazement hovering around the vacuous sanctuary.
In the courtyard, Caitlyn and Julien took in the gentle midday breezes, dewy with mist form the Seine. “It’s really incredible,” Caitlyn said. “I mean, the cathedral, the river, the whole city is like some huge museum.”
Julien brushed her cheek with his fingertips. “And you are its newest treasure.” They kissed again, his breath hot against her chin.
Caitlyn tried to smile. “I wonder how I’ll like living in a museum.”
Julien chuckled, but only a bit. “It’s is only a metaphor, no?”
“No. Well, yes, I mean, oui, but... well, I dunno, I was talking to a professor, and my parents, of course... they all thought it would be a good career move for me, maybe museum curator. Y’know, keep the masterpieces of the past alive, keep all this wonder preserved for future generations.”
“Une impossibilité!” Julien spat out, as if offended by the mere notion. “For a creature of such life and beauty and vitality to spend her life in some dusty old museum, haunting the halls like a ghost, taking care of old paintings of dead people, painted by dead people for the benefit of dead people and those who are not yet dead. No, mille fois, non!”
Getting the gist of what he said if not the exact letter of it, Caitlyn said, “Well, what do you suggest?”
“Mon Dieu, anything at all would be better than that! Take some time away from school, get a real education. University will always be available to you.”
“That may be true,” Caitlyn said, “though I don’t know that I’ll always be able to count on the funding. And Paris isn’t going anywhere, right?”
“Paris? No. Paris will remain. But time; Caitlyn, time slips away so quickly. Of all the things in this world; love and food and wealth and pleasure and pain, time is the only truly finite resource. Time is the one thing we cannot afford to waste.”
“S’funny,” Caitlyn said, eyes cast up at the wondrous cathedral only a few yards away; greater than anything she could ever accomplish in her lifetime, or in ten of them. Built over centuries, a monument to what mankind can achieve; and to what Caitlyn herself knew she never would. “I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but killing time.”
“Then now is the time to change that pattern,” Julien said, his voice quick and smooth, with an urgency that made it sound almost like a plea. “Now is the time in your life when you must embrace change, Caitlyn, take in all that the world has to offer you. Laissez l'aventure commencer; let the adventure begin!”
Caitlyn turned her attention back to Julien. She knew the subtext of their conversation, and knowing it was something she enjoyed. Even pitting her wits against this formidable and impressive man, so sophisticated and experienced, Caitlyn was holding her own.
Caitlyn lobbed, “What’s the offer?” with a little smile.
Julien said, “Stay here in Paris, with me. Forget going back to school. I can teach you what I know about the business world, skills that will keep you living well for the rest of your life; real world experiences that are education enough for a lifetime.”
Caitlyn allowed herself to drift even closer to Julien, their faces only a tantalizing few inches apart. With a slinky pout in her voice, she asked, “Is that all you’re going to teach me?”
“What I can teach you cannot be described,” Julien said with a sexy growl. “It must be experienced.”
They kissed again, the spark between them only growing hotter with each passing moment, every kiss increasing the pitch of their intimacy, their cheeks trembling with every little caress.
“I do not believe you are taking me seriously,” Julien said, his eyes fixed upon hers.
“It’s not that, I know you’re not a frivolous man. And I’d like to stay here in the land of dreams and romance and passion with you -- ”
“Then say you will. Simply ask, and everything the world has to offer will be yours -- ”
Caitlyn smiled, but the discomfort was changing the shape of her lips, bending them downward at the corners as her shoulders arched upward toward the bottoms of her ears.
A digital coo leaked up out of her purse. Daddy’s cell phone! Caitlyn realized. Crap! It’s been in my purse the whole trip, I never called him to check in or anything.
“You’re expecting a call?” Julien asked.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, pulling the phone out and raising it to her lips. “Hello?”
“Caitlyn, it’s your father.” His voice was quick and level. Something was wrong.
“Hi, Dad! Hold on a minute.” She cupped her hand over the phone and called, “It’s my dad, Jenny, I’ll be right there!” loud enough for him to hear, then raised the phone back to her ear. “What’s up? How’s everything back home?”
“Not so great, sweetheart. We got a very troubling call from your friend Jennifer’s parents.” A cold stone of dread sank in Caitlyn’s stomach, the few seconds between her and the truth she’d have to face burning painfully away. Harrison added, “Turns out your friend is having a wonderful time... in Cancun.”
Caitlyn thought fast. “Oh, yeah, well, I didn’t want to trouble you. But she and I weren’t getting along, and she decided to change her plans. I know she paid for it herself, the way she was going on about it. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to leave Paris, but I didn’t want to worry you either.”
After a nasty little silence, Harrison exhaled tiredly and said, “Caitlyn, she told her mother everything, and her mother told us; about your plan, the hundred dollars you paid Jennifer to go along with it, everything.”
Crap!
“Why’d you lie to me, Caitlyn?”
“I didn’t mean to -- ”
“Caitlyn, stop it!” he barked, his little metallic voice still strong and imposing, even coming out of a tiny speaker from a half-a-world away. “You knew you were lying then, you just now spun a web of lies at the drop of a hat. Is this the girl I raised? Didn’t I teach you anything about the value of the truth, about right and wrong?”
Caitlyn turned away, as much as to direct her attention more effectively and completely toward her father as to misdirect Julien’s attention away from her and especially that particular conversation. “I’m sorry, Dad, I know I messed this up. I just... I couldn’t find anyone to go with me, and I didn’t want to miss Paris to go to stupid Cancun.”
“That’s not the point, Caitlyn, and you know it.” Another ugly, disappointed silence crawled past before Harrison added, “What are you doing there now? Who are you with?”
“Why do you ask that? What do you mean, who am I with?”
“Don’t give me any more of your sass, young lady. It doesn’t matter anyway. Every minute you spend there alone, you’re in danger. I’ve already bought a ticket for you on Air France, tonight’s red-eye. You get to the airport now, have a meal, do some shopping, get some rest. But don’t miss that plane. I’ll pick you up at LAX.”
Oh no, Dad, don’t! Caitlyn wanted to plead. Please don’t ruin this for me! It’s no big deal. Why does everything have to be about truth and right and all that stuff? I’m young and in Paris, with an incredible man I think I might really be in love with. Please don’t ask me to walk away from all that just because I hurt your feelings, because I stretched the truth this one time!
Instead, Caitlyn turned and caught a glimpse of Julien in the corner of her eye, quietly observing without wanting to intrude. Caitlyn turned back to the phone and her expectant, angry parent on the o
ther end of the phone.
Caitlyn said, “No.”
A moment passed, swelling with disbelief until it finally popped with Harrison’s astonished, “What?!”
“I’m an adult now, you can’t keep treating me like a child.”
“Okay, that’s fine, Caitlyn, then take a vacation like an adult and pay for it yourself, plus your school, your dorm, your expenses. As long as I’m paying for those things -- ”
A hot pride rose within Caitlyn, filling her soul and her imagination. Julien’s words echoed in her memory, humming in the back of her ears. She said, “You’re right, Dad. I’m sorry, you’re right.”
“Well all right then, get to the airport and -- ”
Caitlyn felt the little half-smile push her right cheek back. “No, I don’t mean it that way. I mean that you’re right, you shouldn’t be paying my way anymore. It’s time for me to strike out on my own.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t know what you’re saying -- ”
“No, Dad, you’re the one who doesn’t know what I’m saying. I love you and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done. But it’s time for me to really start living, to get a real education.”
“A real edu -- ?” Harrison’s voice cracked, confusion clogging his retort. This conversation clearly hadn’t gone the way he’d anticipated, and something about that pleased Caitlyn. It meant she was the one guiding the conversation, and guiding her future; for once.
“I’ll let you know what my plans are as I make them,” Caitlyn said, her own voice taking on the brassy intonation of confidence and control. “Until then you may want to get a refund on that red-eye.” Without waiting for an answer, she clicked the phone shut and slid it back into her purse.
She stepped toward Julien with a new sensation, like a new person; stepping into a new future, a new life, leaving the old life behind.
Julien wrapped his arms around her, clearly pleased as she pressed her body against his and her lips against his, tongues re-engaged in a friendly dance, a happy reunion. After their moist disengagement, Julien said, “And I thought that was bad news.”
“On the contrary, good sir,” Caitlyn said, kissing him again. Afterward, she added, “Now, we were talking about my future...”
* * *
“Unbelievable,” Harrison said as he poured himself a Remy Martin, not even bothering to swirl it around the snifter before taking a big, fiery gulp of the dark brown brandy. “I can’t imagine what’s gotten into her.”
Sabrina looked up from her tea, her legs folded under her in her easy chair. She raised her brows, blew into her tea cup and said nothing.
“I’ll bet she found a boyfriend,” Robbie said, poking his head into the room. He stepped in to the room and turned around, saying, “and she’s all...” before wrapping his arms across his chest so that his hands appeared to be the hands of a lover, stroking his/her back as they kissed. He groaned and mimicked exaggerated sounds of kissing and moaning while stifling his own chuckles.
“Good night, kid,” Harrison said with an impatient growl.
“Night, Robbie,” Sabrina said as Robbie shrugs, turned with sagging shoulders and shuffled out of the room.
“Night.”
Left alone, the adults conferred. “I’m getting on the next plane,” Harrison said, already stepping toward the phone.
“And do what, follow the clues through the streets of Paris? I love you, Harrison, but Liam Neeson you’re not.”
Harrison had to chuckle, in spite of himself. He nodded, saying, “You’re right, baby, as always. But there are people I can call, professionals -- ”
“Who will spy on your daughter against her wishes or, worse, kidnap her back to the States.”
“Precisely,” Harrison said, picking up the phone. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
“No, Harrison, we’re not.” Sabrina stepped slowly toward him, carefully taking the phone from his hand and setting it down. “But let’s turn this page together anyway, shall we?”
Harrison sagged a bit, but his posture was so rigid and uptight that it was hardly noticeable. Sabrina added, “She’s a bright and capable young woman.”
“She’s a liar and a thief,” Harrison said. “I can’t believe I raised such a person!”
“That’s because you didn’t,” Sabrina forced a little reassuring smile. She set her hand gently on his chest. “She lied, yes; and since she lied I guess you could say that she took the trip dishonestly -- ”
“Stole it -- ”
“No, Harrison, you gave it to her; and you’ll give her a lot more. Because you’re her father, and it’s your job to provide for her.”
Harrison stepped away, barely clinging to his anger; confusion pushing his offense to the corners of his mind. “It’s my job to protect her!”
“No. It’s your job to teach her how to protect herself, and to learn how to stop protecting her, Harrison, to let her learn to protect herself.”
“But not there,” he said, his voice louder, more impatient, more desperate and afraid. “Not now, not this way!”
To counter his increasing agitation, Sabrina’s voice was deliberately calm and smooth, serene, her smile shaping her tone. “True, this isn’t the way we’d have chosen, but this is the way it happened. And really, given any set of circumstances for such a thing to happen, which would have been acceptable?”
Harrison took a moment to consider, staring off into the imagined distance of his fractured reasoning. “Well, she could have... I mean, if she’d just ... “ Harrison drew and discarded mental card after mental card, each image inspiring the same ire, the same frustration. “She... I mean, there are times when...”
“There are times when you have to learn to let go,” Sabrina said, “times that aren’t ours to choose. And this is one of those times.”
“Okay, I’m not saying I’m perfect,” Harrison said with a nod, “that I’ve got nothing to learn. But I’ve still got plenty to teach that kid! What she’s doing is reckless and dangerous -- ”
“And that’s a part of youth, a part of life.” Sabrina adjusted the collar of his robe. “Anyway, what she’s doing is defying you, and that’s what’s really bothering you, isn’t it?”
“No, Sabrina,” Harrison said, noting the snap of his own voice and also the inappropriateness of its direction and of its inspiration. “I mean, I’m not so crazy about that, I’ll admit, but it’s not what’s really bothering me. It’s... I’m upset because... she... and I... she...”
Harrison stood, dumbfounded, the lucrative lawyer stumped by his wise wife. She kissed him on the cheek and said, “She’ll call back, and she’ll come back.”
“And when she does, we’re gonna come to an understanding.”
“No,” Sabrina said, a loving correction, “when she does all of this will get settled in its own way and in its own time.”
Harrison’s confused expression turned from the swirl of imagined horrors to the plain and simple beauty that stood before him, smiling, calming him; bringing him back from the shores of distant, unknown lands to the comfort of his own home, heart and hearth.
He said, “How did I ever get so lucky to find you?”
Sabrina smiled and kissed him. “I can’t imagine. But since we’re both here...” She kissed him again, and he kissed her back; two souls singing an old, loving tune in their own distinct harmonies.
That night, they sang for hours.
* * *
Monet’s Gardens at Giverny were like the living incarnations of Monet’s great paintings; which of course, they were. Caitlyn stepped as if into a surreal environment of a painting come to life; water lilies seemed to burst up out from the dark, glassy pond surfaces that only magnified the blue of the skies in its reflection.
“It’s breathtaking,” Caitlyn said, the thick perfume of flowers drifting up her nostrils to intoxicate her. “I’ve loved the paintings, naturally -- ”
“That is the only way to truly enjoy them,” Julien interjected.
“But to see it all up close, in person, it’s just... amazing. I can see why Monet was so inspired.”
“It is natural beauty almost too great to improve upon,” Julien said, eyes scanning the thick, lush flora around them. “And that is the genius of art, to find a way to improve upon the masterpieces of God himself.”
“Yet you don’t think to preserve such pieces is worthy of my life?”
“Not your life, no. Your life should bring forth masterpieces anew, works that others will adore and admire and care for.”
Caitlyn tilted her head, her own eyes casting a long and longing look over the great inspirational garden surrounding her. “That’d be great, but isn’t the age of the great artist really past? Like the age of the prophecy?”
Julien nodded with a knowing smile. “They are quite similar, despite their seeming opposition. It takes insight to understand that, Caitlyn, wisdom you possess and dare not ignore or cast aside. And that may not produce paintings, Caitlyn, or tunes or popular films...” Julien sneered into a distant dissatisfaction, turning his attention quickly back to Caitlyn.
“What greatness you may bring forth upon this world is unseen and unknown, Caitlyn, but it is nonetheless certain.”
Caitlyn’s right eyebrow rose alone, the other two skeptical to join its partner. “I suppose right now I may not have much choice but to find out.”
“I will ensure that your discovery is a pleasurable experience.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Caitlyn said, resting her head on his shoulder as they strolled over an arched Japanese-style bridge. “So, what is it that I’ll be doing for you, exactly?”
Julien considered, shrugging one shoulder. “You will act as my personal assistant, and observe my consultations with clients, how I implement whatever courses of action my clients and I deem necessary. What will you be doing? What will you be learning? Everything.”
“That’s sounds interesting,” Caitlyn said, “don’t get me wrong. But I’m not going to feud with my family and turn my back on the only opportunity I’ll ever have for a truly bonafide education just to be your personal servant, for you to toss me aside when you’re finished with me.”
