by Lacey Legend
“Well, for the time being it seems like there’s only one woman that he wants,” Angelique said, lifting her brow.
“Exactly, for the time being . . .” Diamond replied.
“Why are you so insecure?” Angelique asked.
“Hm?”
“You are insecure. I can tell. You shouldn’t be. Just accept that Baptiste Laurent has taken a keen interest in you, and that there’s a very good chance it will last for a long time. Maybe even forever.”
Diamond couldn’t reply. Angelique had a point. Why was she being distrustful, and even doubtful of herself? She wasn’t going to explain to Angelique the horrible history that she had with Malik. That would be some major TMI. Instead, she chose to just let Angelique’s words sink in.
“I appreciate what you’re saying,” Diamond said.
“Good, because I’m a very smart woman,” Angelique said with a laugh. “And I know a good person when I see one. You are a good person, Diamond. And you’re worthy of Baptiste’s love.”
“Damn,” Diamond replied, overcome by Angelique’s warmth. “Can I give you a hug?” she asked, on the verge of tears.
“You may,” Angelique replied with a smile.
Diamond walked over and gave Angelique a big, American hug. The shop owner was taken aback by it at first, but then she understood.
“Now I must give you a kiss on each cheek. It is the French way,” Angelique said.
Diamond received a graceful kiss on each cheek, and couldn’t help but marvel how the French way of doing things was far more elegant than the American way.
“Well, I’m off. But I can’t thank you enough,” Diamond said.
“Yes, go out into town. I want as many people as possible seeing you in that dress today!”
“I’m gonna work it,” Diamond said with a smile, then exited the shop, the little bell on the door chiming as she left.
In lieu of chocolate, Diamond decided that she was going to go into an entirely new shop that she’d never been in before. Le Petite Fleur was right on the corner, but she’d never thought to go in. Emmanuelle always had fresh flowers in her apartment, so there was no need to buy any. But she couldn’t help but notice how, no matter the opulence of Baptiste’s estate, there were very few flowers. It seemed odd, as though no one was there to give it a feminine touch. Diamond decided that she was going to amend that in some small way.
“Bonjour,” Diamond said as she entered into the shop.
“Hmf,” was the sour reply.
Diamond thought that it was rather odd that the little, old man behind the counter was so moody and silent. He looked down at his newspaper and smoked a cigarette.
“I’m here to buy some flowers,” Diamond said, wishing to engage him a bit.
“Pas de merde,” was his lifeless reply.
“Damn,” she said to herself under her breath.
She wasn’t going to get much conversation out of the flower shop owner, so Diamond decided to explore the place on her own. It was like walking into some kind of mysterious, fertile jungle. There were flowers in every color of the rainbow, and the smell of the shop was rich and fragrant with botanical wonder. Vines clung to the ceiling and crawled down the walls. Hanging plants abounded. Might that be a mini hanging garden of Babylon, hidden in one tiny shop? It sure felt like it.
“This is magical,” Diamond said.
“Hmf.”
“I mean, really. Some of these flowers I’ve never even seen before.”
“Are you going to carry on all day long?” the man finally said, lowering his paper. “Can’t you see I’m busy?” he added, taking a puff from his cigarette.
“I’m sorry,” Diamond replied, becoming sheepish. She stifled a laugh. The man was not intimidating her in the least, but she found it amusing that she finally encountered the one unhappy person in Veules-les-Roses.
She continued her little journey through the tiny rainforest and felt the dampness of the air on her skin. Off in the corner, there was a case that displayed only roses, of every imaginable color. That’s what Diamond had in mind. She walked over to the case and pulled open the door, a rush of cool air hitting her face.
“What are you doing?” the shop owner protested.
“I’m sorry, I was just picking out some roses,” Diamond said.
“I’m supposed to do that!” the man said, getting up from his post and bringing his cigarette with him.
“Okay,” Diamond said, stepping back.
The man walked over, and that’s when Diamond first noticed how impossibly short he was, almost like a munchkin. He ceremoniously closed the door that Diamond had opened, then opened it again, as though fixing a situation that she had ruined.
“Now, then,” the man said.
“Do you have any suggestions?” Diamond asked. The man lifted his brow.
“It’s not my job to give suggestions,” he said with a heavy French accent. Diamond sensed that he resented that he had to speak English at all.
“Alright. I’ll take the pink ones,” Diamond said, and the man shook his head in disgust.
“That’s not the right choice,” the man replied.
“You just said that it’s not your job to give suggestions,” Diamond said in dismay.
“What is the occasion,” the man said, relenting and rolling his eyes.
“They’re for a man,” Diamond said. “To apologize.”
“Are you insane?” the man asked. “You would give a man pink roses?”
“Well, I can’t see why not,” Diamond replied.
“These flowers are feminine. The man will be offended. He cannot understand your intention with these.”
“Okay, help me out here,” Diamond said.
The shop owner walked across the room in a huff, and Diamond followed him. One of her braids got stuck in a vine along the way and Diamond stopped to untangle herself. The man turned to look at her and shook his head in disapproval. She wanted to say that it wasn’t her fault that she was tall. You’d have to be as short as the shop owner in order to traverse that place safely. Finally untangled, Diamond walked over to where he stood.
“Bird of paradise?” Diamond asked, noting the flowers that he was suggesting.
“Yes,” he replied.
“And what makes these better?” she asked.
“This is the flower of sex,” he replied simply, satisfied with his choice.
“I beg your pardon?” Diamond asked.
“The flower symbolizes sex. When you give this to a man, you’re offering yourself to him.”
“Offering myself to him?” Diamond asked, unsure what to make of it.
“Yes, with this you’re saying ‘I’m sorry. But I’m a woman and you’re a man, and I’m offering you my sex,’” the shop owner explained.
Diamond couldn’t possibly be offended by this, because she found it all incredibly amusing and couldn’t wait to tell Tanesha about it over the phone.
“You know, I ain’t going to argue with you. I’ll take your word on this one,” Diamond said, picking up the flowers. The bouquet was pre-arranged, and had not only bird of paradise, but other exotic flowers that she could not name. She had to admit that it was a very beautiful arrangement, indeed.
“That will be one hundred Euro,” the man said, walking back behind his counter.
“Say what?” Diamond replied.
“Are you deaf?” the man asked.
“Damn,” Diamond replied, opening her wallet. “That’s a lot of money.”
“These are very special flowers,” he replied, lighting another cigarette.
“If you say so.”
Diamond payed for the flowers and exited the shop, all the while wondering why it was that the owner of Le Petite Fleur was so salty. What had happened in his life to make him that way? With so much beauty surrounding him, there was no reason that that man should be the Scrooge of Veules-les-Roses.
A better explanation would be provided by Jaques at the chocolate shop.
“Clement has had a hard life,” Jaques explained while stirring a vat of chocolate. He had invited Diamond into the back so that she could see the process of making chocolate in his shop. Diamond was perched on a little stool, while licking a wooden spoon that was covered in chocolatey goodness.
“That much is clear,” Diamond said. Jaques was kind enough to provide a vase to place Diamond’s expensive flowers in. That would hold them over until she brought them to Baptiste that night. “Maybe he needs to eat more chocolate,” she added.
“That is not a bad idea. I have known Clement for most of my life, and never once has he come into La Maison du chocolat.”
“Yah, he probably lives off a diet of salted fish. Cause that’s what his personality is like.”
“He used to be happier, I must say. Back when he was married. Sadly, his wife died when she was rather young, and Clement has never been the same,” Jaques said, continuing to stir.
“Oh God, that’s so sad,” Diamond said, putting down her spoon.
“Indeed. He never remarried. I think that his love for his wife was too great.”
“Damn,” Diamond replied, looking down at the floor. “Terrible what can happen to people in life.”
“Indeed. His shop is like a rainforest. He’s letting it grow bigger and bigger, slowly enclosing him till he can’t get out,” Jaques explained.
“You know something? That’s exactly what it is. You’ve described it perfectly.”
“But we all have our special walls that we build for ourselves. Me? I’m drowning myself in a vat of chocolate,” Jaques said, patting his rather large belly.
“Well, I think there’s worse things to drown yourself in,” Diamond said with a laugh.
“Tell that to my wife!” Jaques exclaimed. “She threatens me if I don’t lose weight. She says that she will serve me nothing but yogurt.”
“Just yogurt?”
“Yes, only yogurt and fromage, until I have lost twenty kilos.”
“That’s so French,” Diamond said in wonder.
“It is torture. But what can I do? I’m surrounded by this all day long,” Jaques said, motioning towards the blocks and vats of chocolate that surrounded him. “I don’t stand a chance.”
Diamond laughed at this, but she had to stop to consider what kind of walls she put up in her own life. Clement had his plants, Jaques had his chocolate, but what did Diamond have? Maybe her mama’s ghost, or Tanesha. At one time, her wall had been Malik, but in Veules-les-Roses, she felt defenseless. Diamond supposed that that was the whole point of uprooting yourself and starting again. You’re forced to break through all your walls. It was a scary thing to do, but it had to be done.
“I’m gonna bring Clement some chocolate today,” Diamond said with determination.
“And do you think that he’ll accept?” Jaques asked.
“Well, he ain’t gonna have no choice cause I ain’t taking the chocolate back!” Diamond exclaimed.
“We’ll need to select the right kind of chocolate. Nothing salty and bitter, as that will make Clement’s predicament even worse,” Jaques mused. “No, it will have to be very sweet, indeed.”
Jaques led Diamond to the front of the shop again, where he inspected the case. They were like little works of art, those chocolates. Some had remarkable, artistic decorations on them. While others were plain and simple. There were also little chocolate sculptures and a few expertly decorated cakes.
“Raspberry creme,” Jaques said with assurance.
“Yah?” Diamond asked.
“Indeed, it’s the sweetest chocolate that I have. It is a bon bon,” Jaques explained.
The seriousness with which Jaques said the word ‘bon bon’ made Diamond crack up. But when it came to chocolate, even though Jaques seemed like a lighthearted man, he spoke of it as though discoursing on science.
“Have one,” Jaques said, taking out a raspberry bon bon with a pair of tongs, and placing the dainty chocolate in her hand.
Diamond took the chocolate in her fingers and brought it to her lips, biting it in half so that she could see the magenta center.
“Oh. My. God,” Diamond said, emphasizing each word. It was as though a whole field of sweet raspberries were melting in her mouth.
“It’s my grandmother’s secret recipe,” Jaques said with pride.
“Jaques, how you not be 400 pounds at this point?” Diamond asked.
“It’s from all the yogurt,” Jaques said in a huff.
Diamond bought a whole box of the raspberry cremes, and she hoped that they wouldn’t melt into a pool of raspberry stew in the warmth of Le Petite Fleur. She opened the door cautiously, and of course, there Clement sat behind the counter with his paper and his cigarette.
“You again,” he said without looking up. How did he know that it was her?
“I brought you a little something,” Diamond said, holding the box of chocolates up.
“Take it away,” Clement said, again without looking.
“Just give it a try,” Diamond said, walking over and placing the chocolates on the counter.
Jaques pulled his paper away from his face and looked down at the chocolates.
“Hmf,” he snorted.
“Well, I just gonna leave that there for you. You don’t have to say nothin’,” Diamond said, making her way out of the shop.
“Did you put those flowers in water?” Clement asked, not acknowledging the gift.
“Sho did,” Diamond replied.
“Fine,” Clement said, returning to his paper.
Exiting the shop, Diamond felt good. Whether Clement tried one of the bon bons or not, her heart was warmed by giving them to him. Maybe their sweetness would bring a bit of sunshine to his day. Diamond was walking back to retrieve her flowers from the chocolate shop when her phone rang. Looking down, she was relieved to see that it wasn’t Malik.
“Hello?” Diamond said.
“Diamond, are you alright?” Emmanuelle’s voice asked.
“Yah, I’m fine. Why?”
“Something has happened to your apartment. It has been broken into and it’s a wreck,” Emmanuelle said. There was fear in her voice.
“You kidding me?” Diamond asked.
“I’m afraid not,” Emmanuelle replied.
“Okay, I’ll be right over,” Diamond said, hanging up her phone.
Why did I know this was going to happen?
Chapter11
Diamond’s beautiful apartment was in shambles. Emmanuelle looked frightened, but she was trying to hold it together, making tea on the kettle. She had already called a police officer, who was inspecting the apartment by the time that Diamond returned.
“This is just awful,” Diamond said, bringing her hands to her cheeks.
“Here, drink this,” Emmanuelle said, bringing her a cup of what smelt like chamomile.
“Thank you,” Diamond said, taking the cup.
“Who do you think might have done this?” the police officer asked, writing down some notes on a pad of paper.
“I dunno. There’s one person who coulda done it, but it seems impossible,” Diamond said, seating herself on the couch and sipping her tea. It looked as though whoever broke into Diamond’s apartment was trying to find something. Had it been Malik—and there was no way that he could have found her—then there would be nothing he’d try to find. What would he be looking for? The only thing that he would have wanted was for Diamond to return to America.
“Whoever it was, they broke through the front door,” the police officer said.
“Where else would they come in from?” Emmanuelle asked in dismay.
“He could have climbed up onto the balcony. I’ve seen it before,” the police officer explained.
“Oh. I see,” Emmanuelle replied.
“Have you noticed anything missing?” the officer asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to check,” Diamond said.
“Why don’t you take a moment to find out, no?” t
he officer asked.
Diamond got up from the couch. Her hands were still shaking, but she willed herself to look around the apartment, reminding herself to be calm and steady. Papers were flung here and there, there was a shattered vase with flowers all over the floor, but so far she didn’t notice anything missing. She walked into the bedroom. The sheets had been torn off the bed, clothing was thrown from the closet, but still, it didn’t seem like anything had been stolen. Finally, she walked towards the dresser, and looked in the one place that had anything of value. It was her jewelry box, and it was where Diamond kept her favorite diamond stud earrings. Sure enough, they were gone.
“My earrings have been stolen, I think,” Diamond said, reemerging into the living room.
“Were they of much value?” the officer asked.
“They were the most expensive thing that I own, yeah,” Diamond said with a sigh.
“Well then. It seems like this is a simple case of breaking and entering for the sake of theft,” he said, taking more notes on his pad. “Can you show me where the earrings were taken from?”
“Of course.”
Diamond led the officer into her bedroom, and Emmanuelle followed close behind. She pointed towards the jewelry box, and the officer inspected it.
“It seems odd,” he said.
“What’s that?” Diamond asked.
“There is other jewelry here that was not taken.”
“Yah, the rest of that stuff ain’t worth nothing. It’s all fake.”
“So, how was the criminal to know that?” he asked.
“You smart,” Diamond said. She would never have thought of that.
“I’m Officer Dubois,” he finally said, by way of introduction.
“My name is Diamond,” she replied.
“That only drives home my point,” Dubois said.
“What do you mean?” Diamond asked.
Officer Dubois walked around the room, seeing if there was anything else that he needed to take note of.
“The man clearly knew that not only did your earrings coincide with your name, but they were also of the most sentimental and monetary value of anything that you owned. That means that whoever broke into this apartment knew you in some way. There was no chance that a petty thief would break in, turn the place upside down, and only happen to leave with a pair of diamond earrings that you treasure most.”
