French Twist

by Glynis Astie

  “Have you gotten any sleep?” He had told me he used to go a night or two without sleep in college if his workload was high, but he was way out of practice.

  He coughed. “Just a little. I had to get up to speed on a few things before we meet with the clients tomorrow.”

  “You sound totally drained, Louis. You’d better get some rest.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me already?”

  I laughed. “Not at all. I would much rather keep you on the phone, but I’m not sure you’ll be able to form sentences for much longer.”

  He sighed. “Sadly, you are right. I am not as young as I used to be.”

  “That’s right! You’re all washed up at twenty-four. Maybe I should trade you in for a younger model.”

  “You were lucky to score me in the first place! A woman of your age?!?”

  “Ouch! Your comment was cruel and unnecessary. Besides, you’ve made your choice. Now you’re stuck with an older woman.”

  “And I couldn’t feel luckier, mon coeur. I love you.”

  I smiled. “I love you too, Bluey. Now go to sleep.”

  “You win! I will call you tomorrow.”

  I hung up the phone and was already wishing it was tomorrow. I wasn’t looking forward to two weeks of this. I had been searching for Louis for a lifetime and since I had found him, I didn’t want to be without him for any longer than I had to. Not that I didn’t have enough things to keep myself busy in his absence. I was working diligently on being the perfect sister for Kate, now I could also work on planning the perfect wedding. In fact, Kate loved designing ANYTHING, so perhaps the two could overlap quite nicely...

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Due to an unexpected visit from our largest investors, my boss and I were kept busy for the next few days planning events to impress them. From seminars by our in-house scientists on our latest technological breakthroughs to themed outings to our most popular local tourist spots, all parties involved were going to have an excellent time. The good news was I was so busy I didn’t have time to miss Louis. The bad news was I also didn’t have much time to talk to him. Since my boss had two sick children at home, I had to work through the weekend hosting all the events. Every detail had to be perfect if we had any hope of additional funding. I was ecstatic when Wednesday night arrived and the investors went home. This meant I would finally be able to stay in one place for an extended period of time.

  My first stop was Kate and Nick’s house. Nick had graciously invited me over for dinner since I hadn’t been able to stop by much over the last week. The best part? He was planning to make his famous chicken cutlets. I had often tried to reproduce these cutlets, but to no avail. I didn’t know exactly what his secret was since I had used the same recipe, but his results were mouthwatering. Mine were mouth spritzing at best.

  I rang the doorbell and heard Nick yell, “Come in!”

  The smell was heavenly. I guess the chocolate bar I had inhaled earlier in the afternoon hadn’t done the trick. I was ravenous. I fervently hoped dinner was almost ready.

  “Hi, Nick!” I grinned and walked over to hug him.

  “Hey, Syd. Dinner is almost ready.” Excellent!

  “Thanks for inviting me. I brought you some wine.” I set the bottle down on the counter.

  “Thanks, Syd. And what did you bring for the patient?”

  Poor Kate spent the majority of her days utterly nauseated. Most smells made her run for the bathroom (or in one case, a welcoming shrub) and very few things would stay down. I pulled a container of matzo ball soup from Max’s out of the bag in my other hand.

  Nick beamed. “You rock, Syd! She still loves the smell of the cutlets, but the grease is too much for her stomach to handle. This is perfect.”

  “Mom always made it for us when we were sick. It’s the perfect thing for a delicate stomach.”

  Just then I heard noise from the doorway. “I thought I heard something.” Kate smiled at me and held out her arms.

  I walked over and hugged her gingerly. “How are you feeling?”

  “The same as I look - like crap.” She laughed weakly.

  She wasn’t kidding. She didn’t look like herself at all. She was always so bright, happy and...clean. A quick once over told me she hadn’t showered for a couple of days. But more than that, her eyes lacked their usual shine and her skin appeared slightly grey. Damn. I hoped morning sickness wasn’t genetic. I wanted no part of that mess.

  I carefully smoothed her hair back. “You don’t look like crap. You look tired, and rightfully so. Growing a human is a lot of work!”

  “You never were a very good liar, Syd. But I always loved you for it. It made it easier to torture you...” She laughed.

  Nick came over and put his arm around Kate. “Why don’t you two sit down and relax while I finish getting dinner ready?”

  “Are you sure you don’t need any help, Nick?” The delightful aroma was starting to take over my thoughts and I was willing to do anything to taste the cutlets as soon as possible.

  Kate was definitely not on the same page. “Don’t worry, Syd. Nick has it covered.”

  I grinned. “Because Nick’s your buddy.”

  She giggled. “Nick’s the kind of guy you can trust.”

  I bit my lip. “The kind of guy you can drink beer with.”

  Kate was barely keeping it together. “The kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car.”

  I winked at her. “Nick!”

  That was it. We burst into a fit of giggles which was most unladylike. There was definitely some snorting involved. (It was well deserved though. I think we did John Cusack proud.)

  Nick stared at us with disdain. “It never gets old, does it?”

  I beamed at him, while Kate tried to recover from her fit of cackling.

  “No, it doesn’t!” We said in unison.

  Nick pushed us out of the kitchen in disgust. While he normally took part in our movie reenactments with great pleasure, whenever we quoted this particular dialogue from The Sure Thing, he felt that we went a little too far. Such mockery of his name was simply not to be borne.

  As we sat down on the couch, I wiped tears of laughter from my eyes and focused on Kate.

  “I love you both so much, Kate. I feel lucky to live so close to you.”

  She held her arms out to me. “Come over here, Syd. I need a hug.” I moved over to her end of the couch and she pulled me close.

  When I peeked over at her, she had real tears in her eyes.

  I put my hand on the side of her face. “Kate, what’s the matter?”

  “Don’t mind me.” She laughed. “Pregnancy hormones are a bitch. I just want you to know how happy I am to have you here to share this with me.”

  I smiled at her. “I can’t tell you how overjoyed I am to share this with you.” I took her hand and held it next to my face. “I honestly don’t know what I would do without you.”

  She sighed contentedly and put her head on my shoulder. I held her hand and we sat in silence for a few minutes. Then I heard the soft snoring. Poor Kate; this baby was sapping all of her energy.

  Nick came into the room, assessed the situation and carefully scooped Kate up into his arms. He whispered that I should head into the kitchen as he took Kate into their bedroom. I entered the kitchen to find a platter full of delectable chicken cutlets waiting for me. I stopped for a moment and inhaled the amazing smell.

  Nick walked back into the kitchen and laughed. “What are you doing, Syd? I thought you were hungry? Dig in!”

  He didn’t have to ask me twice!

  The next couple of days passed in a blur and before I knew it, it was Friday. I was excited to have time to catch up on my sleep. I know, I’m lame, but the past week and a half had been so exhausting that all I could think about was my bed. Of course, it would be much better with Louis in it, but I would have to wait four more long days to see him and there certainly wouldn’t be much sleeping going on...

  Thankfully, Lou
is had been able to call me every day, which helped me to miss him a little less. Each call was full of his family’s latest adventures and by the end I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt. I told him he could totally turn their lives into a lucrative reality TV series, but he didn’t think the American public would find the lives of French country folk very exciting. I beg to differ.

  How often does your day involve chasing two dozen chickens out of your house with a broom because your dog let them out of their pen and you always leave your front door open? It took Louis’ mom a week to clean all the feathers (not to mention droppings) out of her house. Or would you honestly expect to have your childhood seamstress whip out a tape measure when she runs into you in the big city and measure your bust to see how much your breasts have grown in the last few years? Louis’ cousin Sophie had to brave that particular nightmare. But my personal favorite was the day the transvestite accidentally took the bus to Louis’ hometown (total population four hundred) and was told by Louis’ father that the auditions for the town play had been held the week before. They were performing La Cage aux Folles. You just can’t write this stuff!

  As I walked in the front door, the phone was ringing. I threw my bags down and ran for it. I was hoping it was Louis since I hadn’t heard from him all day.

  “Hello?” I said breathlessly.

  “What have you been up to lately, young lady?” I could tell Louis was a little drunk and therefore, more than a little horny.

  I laughed. “Nothing as exciting as you, my love.” I took the phone into the bedroom and laid down on the bed. I needed to be in a horizontal position as soon as possible. This week had kicked my ass.

  “I am out with my cousins. They took me to this club owned by a friend of theirs. It is insanely crowded and there is way too much touching going on.” That explained the loud voices and the heavy drumbeat.

  “Are you getting old? I thought touching was a good thing.”

  “I only want to be touched by you, mon coeur.”

  The sexy smolder in his voice sent my heart racing. I really missed him. Only four more days...

  I sighed. “I miss you. I can’t wait for you to come home. I mean, back to California.” I knew France would always be home for Louis.

  “Wherever you are is home for me now, Syd. You are what I need.”

  I felt tears in my eyes when I realized we were forming our own family. It was a thrilling, but petrifying feeling. I had always relied on my parents and my siblings as my sounding boards in decision making. Now everything would start with Louis. He and I would make all our decisions together. This would definitely take some getting used to.

  “You’re what I need too, Louis.” I felt my voice catch.

  “Are you OK, mon coeur?”

  How embarrassing! He’s out at a club having a good time and I’m at home crying. Seriously, Sydney, you need to get it together.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m fine. It’s been an exhausting week.”

  “At least you have time to relax now. You should take it easy this weekend. You will need a lot of energy for my return.”

  I laughed. Louis knew just what to say to put me in a good mood. “So, how are your parents doing?”

  He snorted. “My mom is in heaven. She has already started making plans for our wedding.”

  What?!? She’s doing what? “Um....Louis, how could your mom start making wedding plans when we’re getting married in California?” She doesn’t speak English! And she doesn’t know anyone outside his home town. And what is she doing making plans for MY wedding without even speaking to me? My heartrate was starting to pick up for a very different reason than earlier in our conversation.

  Louis was quiet for a moment. “I suppose we have not talked about specifics, have we?” I could hear the sadness in his voice.

  Now I felt terrible. Louis was an only child and there was no doubt his mother wanted the entire town to come to his wedding. Crap! This wasn’t the wedding that I wanted. But he did move to the US for me. Did this mean I had to do this for him? I suddenly felt extremely selfish, because I really didn’t want to. I had been dreaming about this day for as long as I could remember and I didn’t want the wedding to take place so far away from my friends and family.

  I sighed. “No, we didn’t. We’ll have to do that very soon.”

  “Indeed. Do not worry, I will talk to my mother. I am sure she will be on board with a wedding in California.”

  I felt like such a bad person. I had to do something. “Louis...let’s talk about it when you get back. There has to be something we can do so everyone will be happy.” My mind was whirling. “What if we have the wedding in California and then have a reception in France shortly afterward?”

  “That is not a bad idea. My mom will still be able to host all the traditional events, though she may ask us to have a small reenactment ceremony.” He laughed. “I am glad to say, I finally made her realize we would not be getting married in a church.”

  Louis had grown up in a VERY catholic household. Not only was he required to attend church every Sunday, but he also had to attend extra religion classes twice a week. Louis was well known for his use of logic and reason and was therefore disliked by the priest. He would question all tenets set forth and would not relent until he was given an answer which made sense to him. Consequently, his mother was often called in for conferences. Since Louis refused to change his behavior for the sake of his mother’s reputation, he was removed from these classes after a few months. He now joked if he set foot inside a church he would burst into flames.

  I snorted. “That must have been tough for her to hear.”

  “You got that right.” He laughed. Louis had been working very hard on picking up American slang. I didn’t want to tell him the expressions he used sounded totally adorable with his accent.

  I smiled. “You’re too funny.”

  “Please do not worry, mon coeur. We will figure this all out. I want you to enjoy your wedding day. I know how long you have been dreaming about this day in particular. I promise it will be what you want it to be.”

  I was marrying the most amazing man in the world. And if you stop to think about it, I was going to end up with two weddings! And who wouldn’t want to have a wedding in France? How beautiful and romantic! Everyone would work out just fine. I had to believe that. Besides, the main focus was that Louis and I were going to spend the rest of our lives together. I couldn’t get too stuck on the details of the day which would mark the official beginning of it.

  “Thank you for always taking such good care of me, my love.”

  “It is my job now. I take this responsibility very seriously. Your happiness is of the utmost importance to me.” His voice was very soft and sincere.

  “And your happiness is very important to me. If you want to be married in France, then we’ll have to have two weddings. Besides, doing this will allow your mom to drive you nuts about one and mine to drive me nuts about the other. Now that I think about it, there’s no way one wedding would have been able to contain the two of them.”

  He laughed. “We have very luckily averted disaster.”

  “You got that right.” I giggled.

  “I really miss you, Syd.”

  “I really miss you too, Bluey.”

  “You sound exhausted. Get some rest, mon coeur. I will call you tomorrow.”

  I didn’t want to let him go, but he was right. I could barely keep my eyes open. “Until tomorrow, then. I love you, Bluey.”

  “I love you too, Syd. Dream of me.” His voice was almost a whisper.

  I sighed. “I always do. Goodnight.”

  After I hung up with Louis, I laid in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling. While I felt pretty satisfied with our plan to essentially have two weddings, I was a little freaked out by the idea of having to consult someone in most of my decisions from this day forward. Everything would now be about compromise, which meant neither one of us would actually get what we wanted anymore. We would e
ach have to give to a certain extent. I have always been so focused on the joys of sharing my life with someone, I hadn’t thought about the drawbacks. Kate had often told me marriage was a lot of work, but I merely thought she told me this to make me feel better for being alone. Now I was starting to see that she was being honest with me. This relationship was certainly going to be far from perfect, but I was starting to think this was how it was supposed to be...

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The next four days dragged by at a snail’s pace. I was so eager for Louis’ return, I could think of nothing else. It was easy enough for me to indulge my obsession over the weekend, but once I returned to work on Monday morning, life became more complicated. I sincerely hoped regular travel would not be part of Louis’ job. Otherwise, I might end up being out of one.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Tuesday night arrived. I had wanted to pick Louis up from the airport, but he insisted he get a car service since he would be leaving the airport around rush hour. He knew traffic made me crazy, and due to the fact that his company paid for his travel to and from the airport, he thought it made perfect sense to keep me as happy as possible.

  Little did he know that the crazy was already taking over my normally mild mannered personality. Ever since he mentioned his mother initiating plans for a wedding in France, I had begun a slow descent into madness. I had heard stories about issues with mother-in-laws, but I hadn’t even met her and already I felt a certain animosity towards her. I knew this was totally irrational, but I was the BRIDE. Didn’t she know I was the one to decide on all the important wedding details, like the LOCATION???

  As you can see, I had already been possessed by the spirit of Bridezilla. I was hoping Louis’ return would help to put the pieces of my sanity back together. There was something about him which grounded me; forcing me to see the big picture instead of focusing on all the minutia. I sat on the couch waiting for him to return from the airport and tried to clear my head. I didn’t want our first encounter in two weeks to be tainted by my lunatic alter ego.