A French Girl In New York

by Anna Adams

  “You’re risking jail and for a long time,” Cynthia concluded. “That and a very noisy trial which I think you would like to avoid, am I correct?” she smiled sweetly.

  “Yes,” Mr. Ruchet finally relented in an inaudible mumble.

  “Then I think we have nothing left to say to each other,” Cynthia concluded. “You’ll be in touch with our lawyers for the adoption procedures. For now, adieu!” she cried triumphantly.

  The Baldwins-Laurent were stunned with amazement, but quickly gathering their wits, they hurried in joyous clamor out of 29, rue du Général de Gaulle.

  Mrs. Ruchet turned angrily towards her husband.

  “You fool! What good are you?” she bellowed. “Get me some Lipton Iced Tea,” she ordered.

  Her husband headed towards the kitchen.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked, waving the orange basin wildly.

  Mr. Ruchet sighed and went back to get the orange basin.

  “And don’t forget the ice,” she sneered.

  Outside of the house the Baldwins were celebrating their victory.

  “Cynthia, you were incredible!” Jazmine exclaimed. “How did you know all of this?”

  “I researched it online. I’ve been working with Nathalie and she’s taught me how to research legal texts. I took Maude’s contract yesterday and researched French labor law and human rights.”

  “I must say, I’m impressed,” Victoria admitted. “I guess not all lawyers are useless. I’ll definitely have to thank Nathalie for taking you under her wing.”

  “We’re proud of you, Cynthia,” James said warmly.

  “Say, is ‘For now adieu!’ your new catchphrase, because you’ve been using it a lot these days,” Jazmine observed.

  “Come on, let’s leave this town. I don’t want to stay a minute longer,” Victoria said, repressing a shudder.

  They headed back to the Grand Place, but before leaving, Maude had just one more stop to make.

  “Back already?” Mrs. Bonnin asked as she saw Maude enter her bakery. She was humming a tune while cleaning her counter.

  “I’m leaving,” Maude answered solemnly. “For good.”

  Mrs. Bonnin paused and smiled a sad, tired smile.

  “I’m happy for you. They seem like kind people.”

  “They are.”

  And as a parting gift, Maude gave Mrs. Bonnin the greatest gift of all.

  “They’re my biological family: aunt, uncle and cousins.”

  Mrs. Bonnin’s eyes were likely to drop out of their sockets as she choked on this delicious piece of news. This gourmet gossip would last her for months!

  Maude hugged a stunned Mrs. Bonnin who could barely move one inch for astonishment. She kissed her goodbye.

  Then she left Carvin “for good” as she had so elegantly put it.

  Chapter 15

  “Maude Laurent Williams Baldwin, you are officially welcome in your new room!” Jazmine cried.

  Maude had finished transferring her belongings into the Baldwin sisters’ room, and the girls wanted to celebrate with a girls’ night out. She had come a long way since January. Back then, she had wanted her own space apart from the Baldwin sisters. Now she knew she wanted to spend as much time with her newfound cousins as she possibly could.

  “Jaz, you still haven’t cleaned up your side of the room!” Cynthia admonished. “You are such a slob! You know what Maude? We should kick Jaz out of this room.”

  “You’d miss me too much,” Jaz answer “Three cheers for Maude, the upcoming release of her self-titled album, and tour!”

  “Hip-hip-hurray!” the girls answered in unison.

  “I’m just grateful I’ll be allowed to sing at my own release party this time,” Maude smiled wistfully.

  “After seeing your live performance in Paris, Alan couldn’t wait to have you on stage again. Your performance was breathtaking. I almost cried when you sang ‘Coming Home.’ It’s a good thing Matt was there before you performed,” Cynthia observed, with a side glance at Jazmine.

  “He was there when I needed him the most. He’s a true friend,” Maude acknowledged.

  Jazmine and Cynthia looked at each other before Jazmine spoke up.

  “You do know he doesn’t see you just as a friend, right?”

  Maude looked down at her glass, embarrassment painting her cheeks.

  “I’m not sure. He seems to think I’m with Thomas, and I haven’t had the time to talk to him about it.”

  “Matt likes you . . . a lot,” Cynthia declared. “I promised him not to tell you, but the night you were at Ambrosia with Thomas, he waited hours for you at the Met.”

  “Are you sure?” Maude asked raising an eyebrow.

  “I was there,” Cynthia insisted. “And it’s not a small thing considering Matt—”

  “Hates museums,” Maude completed softly.

  The memory of their evening in Paris floated back to her mind. Suddenly she realized. She was his foolish mistake. She was the girl “on a date with a total loser, not half as handsome” as he was. Matt had feelings for her. Real, genuine feelings. That’s why he had been angry about her dinner with Thomas at Ambrosia. He’d waited hours at the Met for her, poor thing. And that explained his reaction when he thought she’d agreed to date Thomas.

  She needed to talk to him now!

  Maude jumped off her bed, but at that moment Victoria appeared at the girls’ door.

  “Maude, can I speak to you alone?” she asked. “And Jazmine?”

  “Yes?” Jazmine asked sweetly.

  “Clean that room before I come back, or you’re the one who’s going to be needing a human rights lawyer.”

  Maude followed Victoria to her room where photo albums and pictures were scattered on her bed.

  “We haven’t had time to talk since we came back from France last week, but I think you must have a lot of questions.”

  “You have no idea,” Maude let out with a heavy sigh.

  “First, I have to say that my family and I had no idea that Aaron had had a child before dying. We would never have left you on your own if we’d known.”

  “I know that. I’m guessing you didn’t have any contact with Aaron after he left.”

  “Let me start from the beginning. When our family fled what history would call the Biafran War, Aaron was thirteen. I was younger and couldn’t really understand what was going on. He was confronted to the horror of the war in the media. He saw pictures, images of children sick, crying, starving, and he felt helpless. He thought we shouldn’t have fled and that we should’ve helped the population. When he became a young man and years after the war ended, he wanted to go back to Nigeria as a human rights activist. My father, Saul Williams, forbade him from leaving. He said our lives were here, and he also looked down on what he didn’t even consider a profession. My father warned him that if he left, he was to never contact our family again. I loved Aaron so much. I had two brothers, but Aaron was my best friend, my protector, my hero. He used to call me Queen, which I thought to be totally appropriate.” Victoria laughed then sighed painfully. “I’m ashamed to say I selfishly begged him to stay.”

  Victoria paused and shook her head sadly.

  “I remember that night like it was yesterday. I cried and pleaded. I told him I needed him more than any of the unnamed persons he would save. He smiled sadly at me and said, ‘If I stand by and watch what is going on without doing anything, Queen, I am as guilty as the perpetrators. I hope someday you will understand.’ That was the last time I saw him or heard from him. Until that day in October 1995 when we received that fateful letter. Aaron and his wife, Danielle Williams, had been killed.”

  A tear rolled down Victoria’s cheek.

  “I hadn’t known he’d married,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “My father took it very harshly. My mother died not long after, blaming my father for Aaron’s demise. I never fully got over it myself, but I can say that today I understand Aaron’s choice. I fight for women’s rights,
and there isn’t a single day that passes in which I don’t thank Aaron for showing me that we all have our part to play in making this world a better place. Your father and mother were heroes, Maude. They helped a lot of people, and you have to be proud of that.”

  “Even if it means I never got to know them?” Maude asked, bitterness echoing in her tones.

  Victoria smiled sadly.

  “I don’t expect you to understand now, just like I clung to Aaron years ago. I hope one day you will.” She took her hand and pressed it affectionately.

  “You are my redemption, Maude. I never got to thank my brother for everything he’s done for me, but now that you are here I know I will find peace once more.”

  “Thank you! Thank you very much!” Maude gushed, breathless as she waved to the cheering crowd.

  The Mood was packed for Maude’s release party and the atmosphere was thick.

  Maude had performed ‘Leaving You Behind’ and ‘Reckless’, and the feeling was exhilarating. Her fear, her anxieties were gone. The only thing that mattered was communicating with the crowd. And as she watched the crowd applaud and cheer energetically, she felt an indescribable sense of empowerment.

  She noticed Matt in the crowd, talking earnestly to a reporter and sighed. She still hadn’t found the right moment to clear the air with Matt.

  Maude went back to her piano and started on her last song.

  “How many of you have felt that feeling of utmost joy and bewilderment when discovering you’re falling in love?” she asked as she started the introduction.

  The crowd screamed its answer.

  “Yeah,” Maude agreed. “I know the feeling. How many of you don’t know how to voice that feeling?”

  Again the crowd cheered and a female voice rose out from the crowd and said, “Show us how it’s done, girl!”

  “I’m going to show you how it’s done,” Maude laughed.

  How long have we been friends?

  It feels like forever

  Will this phase come to an end?

  Or become something stronger?

  Looking at his niece perform, James felt once more comforted in the choice he’d made seven months ago. He remembered arguing with Alan before signing Maude.

  “What more does she have?” Alan had asked. “Why do you want her and not Thomas Bradfield?”

  James hadn’t hesitated as he’d answered,

  “She’s got soul, Alan. She’ll put the soul in Soulville. Thomas won’t.”

  Today as he watched her he knew he’d been right all along.

  “Maude’s leaving for her tour in a couple of weeks. Is she ready to leave her newfound family behind?” Alan asked as he came near James.

  “Look at her. She’s more than ready. Besides, I’ll be with her,” James answered.

  “I’ve got to hand it to you James, you know how to spot a shooting star in the midst of a starlit sky.”

  “That’s because I don’t look for dollar bills in that starlit sky.”

  Alan just laughed, a slow cynical laugh.

  “Your company needs someone like me, or it would be a sinking ship,” he replied. “Is Matt leaving on tour with Maude?”

  “I don’t know if he’s made up his mind yet,” James answered. “I feel like he’s waiting for something, but I don’t know what. I know he’s thinking of getting started on his new album. I thought Maude could work with him. They make a great team together.”

  “That’s undeniable. The best I’ve seen in a long time,” Alan agreed before walking away. “As soon as she gets off the stage tell her Rita Hems wants her to answer a few questions.”

  “I’ll do no such thing,” James answered back.

  James shook his head. If it were up to Alan, Maude wouldn’t get a moment’s rest.

  Maude left the stage with a round of thunderous applause and went to get some fresh air.

  The city was filled with shining lights, and Maude wanted to breathe in the city air.

  “Am I interrupting?” Matt asked as he came up behind her.

  “You know you’re not,” Maude answered.

  “That’s not what you would’ve said six months ago,” he reminded her. “If I recall, you told me we would never be friends.”

  “I was pretty ridiculous back then,” Maude acknowledged a smile creeping on her lips. “I was prejudiced against you after our first encounter in the subway, and I shouldn’t have been.”

  “And now? You never answered the question I asked you in France. I asked you if we could be friends if I remember correctly.”

  “I do,” Maude answered, blushing profusely. “It’s just that, I was surprised. You seemed to be under the impression I was dating Thomas Bradfield, which I wasn’t at the time. Or now,” she added flustered.

  Matt smiled a slow, satisfied smile.

  “I never thought he suited you.”

  “I totally agree. And I wouldn’t want to be dining with ‘a total loser half as handsome as you’ while you’re waiting for me at the Met,” Maude replied slyly.

  Matt laughed, trying to hide his embarrassment.

  “She told you didn’t she?”

  “Absolutely every detail,” Maude relished. “How you huffed, puffed, and drowned in your tears when you realized I wasn’t coming.”

  “Those tears were really pouring,” Matt joked. “I just,” he hesitated. “I just don’t know how to act around you,” he admitted. “I’ve never felt this way before for any other girl, Maude Laurent. You’re infuriating, proud, and stubborn, and I swear your eyes can throw daggers and make the most confident guy melt with insecurity.”

  Maude laughed, “You’re irritating, too, you know. Why didn’t you just tell me you’d waited at the museum?”

  “I thought you’d had the time of your life with Thomas,” Matt admitted shamefacedly. “How was Ambrosia anyway? I’m sure it wasn’t half as good as Las Fajitas.”

  “That’s true,” Maude acknowledged cautiously. “I couldn’t stop comparing Ambrosia to Las Fajitas and the fun time we had that day.”

  “Even the whole spicy dish episode?” Matt teased.

  “Especially that!” Maude admitted. “The evening went from bad to worse when I heard our song on the radio sung by Thomas and Lindsey. Dinner was definitely ruined for me at that moment. You know, you and I haven’t really talked about it, but I was really bummed about the fact they stole our song. I love ‘Betrayed But Not Broken,’ but it’s not the same.”

  “I know how you feel,” Matt admitted. “We put a lot of hard work into it.”

  “Maybe there’s a support group for singers whose songs were stolen,” Maude quipped.

  They laughed together, both of them feeling a tinge of regret.

  “Matt, I need to know something,” Maude declared resolutely.

  “What is it?” Matt asked, a worried look on his face.

  “Have you and Lindsey ever had anything going on? I mean, I know it’s none of my business but—”

  “Lindsey and I have never dated and we never will,” Matt reassured solemnly. “That’s what I was telling you our first day in the Creation Room, but you told me you weren’t interested in hearing about my love life.”

  Maude’s face flushed as she recalled their conversation.

  “Then why did you take her to the Summer Dance?” she moaned. “I can assure you that I came pretty close to strangling her that evening.”

  “I went with her because she told me you and Thomas were an item and that you were attending the dance with him!”

  “Well I wasn’t,” Maude refuted dejectedly. “The night of the dance when Thomas told me he loved me. I realized I didn’t want you and I to be just friends,” she admitted slowly.

  “I don’t want that either, Maude,” he answered turning towards her. “I want more.”

  Maude hesitated then turned fully towards him.

  “Matt, would you come on tour with me?” she asked half-boldly, half-shyly.

  Matt heaved a deep sigh o
f relief.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he answered.

  Then he kissed her, and the bright, shimmering lights that illuminated the city seemed to explode in a joyous, dancing array of fireworks.

  July’s summer glory had taken over the city and with her came long, warm summer nights and hot and dry summer days as well as Ben’s twelfth birthday.

  Ben’s birthday had finally arrived, and it was difficult to decide who was the most excited Baldwin. Victoria loved traditions and this was to be her last twelfth birthday tradition so she wanted everything to be perfect. It would also be the last family gathering before Maude and James left for the tour. Maude was impatient to know which instrument Ben had chosen. As for Ben, he enjoyed being the center of so much attention and wild speculation. Even Matt, who always managed to wiggle secrets out of Ben hadn’t the faintest idea, as he confessed to Maude that evening when she asked him.

  “Mrs. Bonnin was right: men are of no use,” Maude huffed in mock despair.

  Matt just laughed and followed her into the living room where the rest of the family was gathered. The lights were dimmed, and candles had been lit all over the living room. Ben was sitting on a chair in the center of the room. At his feet was a large, dark case.

  “We are gathered here to celebrate Benjamin’s twelfth birthday,” Victoria announced. “This is a very special birthday for you. You’ve spent the last months discovering and exploring all sorts of instruments. We will soon discover which instrument you’ve chosen but first, you must hear the Birthday Chant specially made for you.”

  Victoria stood up and started reciting:

  On this special day

  We’re all gathered here

  To light the way

  To your twelfth year

  James got up and continued:

  A boy no longer

  You’re now a man

  But as your father

  I’ll always hold your hand

  As if on cue Cynthia followed with a grin:

  Music is a gift