Paris Summer (16 page)

Janine felt miserable. “I am sorry for the things
Sandy said. I do not understand. I have never seen him
this way before. Usually he is very nice, very
sympathetic, very polite. You must not judge him by
tonight.”

“But which is the true Sandy?” Jacques asked gently. “A man who is so nice cannot behave as he did
tonight.”

“I think,” Helene said quietly, “this is another Phil,
yes`? He reminds me much of the man you wrote me
about. The one has hurt you, especially your pride, so
when this other one, Sandy, says that he wants you,
your pride is soothed. And you accept him. But neither,
I think, is for you. If your pride had not been hurt you
would soon have tired of Phil and understood this.”

“That’s not true!” Janine said hotly. “They are very
different men!”

“Perhaps,” Jacques interrupted. “I do not know
anything about this Phil, but it does not matter. I
simply can not understand why you wish this Sandy.
Even if he is not often as he was tonight, he can be and
you could find a better man.”

“Who?” Janine flung back bitterly.

Jacques spoke calmly but he was irritated. “Don’t be
a child. You are very pretty. You are intelligent, wellbred and, I think, capable of much love. There are
many men who would want such a woman.”

Janine regarded Jacques warily. His description of
her was absurd but he truly seemed to believe it. She
was startled by its generosity but also by the
implication that he had spent much time thinking
about her. Helene intervened, “It is, of course, your
choice, Janine. But at least do not rush into anything
with Sandy. Perhaps you are right that he would be
good for you. I do not think so.”

“Don’t worry,” Janine replied grimly, “I have no
intention of rushing into anything!”

“Good,” Jacques said quietly. “Now it is late, and
perhaps you would like to go home?”

“Oui!” Janine said emphatically.

“We will walk you back to your apartment,” he
added.

They left her at the foot of the stairway to the
apartment. As she watched them leave, Janine
wondered if she would have a chance to see them again
before she left Paris. She really should begin traveling
soon. With a sigh, she turned to go up the stairs. “So
you felt sick!” a voice thundered at her elbow.

Startled, she turned to see someone standing in the
shadows. “Sandy! What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you,” he said cuttingly, “only it
seems I needn’t have bothered. You weren’t too sick to
go somewhere with your French friends.”

“We just stopped for coffee,” she replied wearily.

“Coffee? For an hour?”

“We were talking.”

“What about?”

“If you must know, we were talking about you,
Sandy. I was trying to explain to Helene and Jacques
that you’re not always as rude as you were tonight.”

“I was rude?” Sandy asked incredulously. “What
about the three of you? How do you think Alan and
Betty felt when you just walked out as if our company
wasn’t good enough for you?”

“Sandy, I’m sorry,” Janine began.

“And what did your friends say about me?” he asked
as if he hadn’t heard her. “Well? Why don’t you answer
me, Jenny? Never mind. I can guess. Jack doesn’t like
me so he tried to cut me out with you, right? He
probably told you I’m not good enough for you, and he
probably told you a lot of nonsense about how tall
blondes can have any guy they want. And that Ellen
probably backed him up!”

Janine didn’t answer. She was frightened by the look on Sandy’s face. After a moment he continued, “And
you probably fell for everything they said.”

Rage began to overwhelm Janine’s other reactions.
“I am quite capable of thinking for myself,” she said.
“Don’t try to lay the blame on my friends for any
trouble between us.”

Sandy’s tone became soothing. “It’s just that we’ve
never had trouble before tonight, kitten. So naturally I
wonder if it’s because your friends were there. Don’t be
mad at me, kitten. I love you.”

“Do you?” Janine asked quietly.

“Of course I do. Look, Jenny, we’re both tired. Let’s
get some sleep. In the morning it won’t seem important.
But don’t go to sleep angry with me, Jenny,” Sandy
pleaded.

Janine started up the stairs. Over her shoulder she
said wearily, “I’m not angry with you, Sandy. Good
night.”

Janine woke shivering from a nightmare. She
couldn’t remember much of it except that she had been
very frightened. The clock read seven A.M.Knowing it
would be hopeless to try to go back to sleep, Janine
swung her feet out of bed. It was too early to go get
croissants, but at least she could have a cup of coffee.

She winced as the coffee grinder began its highpitched whirring, and made a mental note to buy
herself a hand grinder if she ever needed one. But the
fresh-ground coffee was worth the noise. Over the
steaming cup, Janine was able to relax. Ralph, the
porcelain cat, was regarding her calmly from the other
side of the table. That reminded her of Rena. “I wish,”
she thought aloud, “I were with you in Switzerland.
Knowing you, I’d have a great time and I’d have a
chance to sort out how I feel about Sandy.”

The more Janine thought about it, the better the idea
sounded. She could find out Rena’s current address
from Mark and be there in a few days. Monday she
would find out about trains. She wondered if they were
very crowded this time of year. Probably.

Suddenly the phone rang. Janine jumped, spilling
her coffee. She mopped at the mess rapidly as the
phone continued its insistent noise. At last she growled,
“Allo?”

“Kitten! Good morning. Did I wake you up?”
Sandy’s cheerful voice responded.

“No,” Janine said cautiously, “I’ve been up for a
while.”

“Good. Listen, I want to apologize for last night.
And to tell you I love you. Also, if you want, I’ll come
spend the day with you going to museums. Then we’ll
have dinner somewhere nice,” Sandy offered.

“That’s sweet of you,” Janine replied, “but I know
you hate museums. Besides, you know I spend Sundays
with Mark.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. Of course I understand. I was
thinking…you seemed to enjoy the theater last night.
Maybe I could get us tickets for something for Friday
or Saturday.”

“That would be nice only I’m thinking of going to
Switzerland to see Rena and I don’t know when I’ll
leave.” Janine faltered. “I mean, I thought it was about
time I saw the rest of Europe.”

“That’s a great idea!” Sandy said.

“You think so?” she asked with some surprise.

“Absolutely. Listen, have a nice day and I’ll call you
tomorrow.”

“All right,” Janine said with relief

Still puzzled, Janine replaced the receiver. She
didn’t quite know what reaction she had expected to her announcement, but it certainly wasn’t enthusiasm
from Sandy. Perhaps he understood more than he
seemed to. If so, he was being awfully sweet. With a
sigh, Janine picked up her coffee cup and took it to the
kitchen. It was time she got dressed anyway. Mark
would probably arrive soon. He actually seemed to
enjoy getting up early and only consideration for
Janine kept him from appearing before nine-thirty on a
Sunday morning. I’m glad, Janine thought, that I’m
not the one who’s going to marry him. I couldn’t stand
facing a cheerful smile over the breakfast table every
morning at six or seven A.M.!

She had just finished dressing when the doorbell
rang. She looked at the clock and noted that, as usual,
Mark was precisely on time. “Coming!” she called,
glancing around the apartment quickly to be sure
everything was in order. “Hi! Come in.”

Mark brushed past her and walked over to the table
where he set something down. “I picked up croissants
on the way over. I figured you probably hadn’t had
time for breakfast yet. Besides, I could do with a cup of
coffee.”

“Yes, sir. Right away, sir,” Janine teased. “Actually,
I’ve been up for hours, though I admit I haven’t had
anything to eat yet.”

Mark drew his eyebrows together. “Don’t tell me it
was noisy here on a Sunday morning.”

“No, though I did get an early phone call from
Sandy.”

“I see.”

Janine sighed. The coffee was almost ready and she
couldn’t hide in the kitchen much longer. She carried
the pot into the living room. “Actually,” she said
lightly, “I’ve been thinking of doing some traveling. Starting with Switzerland. You know…maybe join
Rena for a bit, then go on to somewhere else.”

Mark stared at her without saying a word. Janine
sipped her coffee uneasily. At last he said, “Isn’t this a
rather sudden decision?”

“Does it matter?”

“Perhaps not,” Mark conceded, “but have you
considered Rena’s point of view?”

“What do you mean?”

It was Mark’s turn to sigh. “Janine, I have the feeling
Rena might not welcome your company.”

“Why not?”

Mark hesitated, wondering how much he had to tell
her. Finally he plunged on. “Rena’s letters have seemed
rather odd since she left Geneva. A few weeks ago I was
sufficiently worried that I wrote her saying I planned to
come to Switzerland to join her for a short holiday.
Well, she wrote back saying I shouldn’t come. In fact,
Rena said rather bluntly that she wanted to be alone for
a while. So I wrote again and asked if you could go and
stay with her and-”

“You what?” Janine demanded.

“I was worried about Rena. I thought that if she
agreed I could ask you to go, even offer to pay your
expenses if necessary,” Mark said unhappily.

“Why on earth didn’t you ask me first?” Janine
persisted.

“Because I was pretty sure she would refuse and I
figured it would upset you if you knew,” he explained.

“You’re darn right it upsets me!” Janine said hotly.
“Did she give any reason?”

“Just that she wanted to have fun without her sister
tagging along.”

Janine stared at Mark in shock. Gradually the shock gave way to hurt resentment. Often when they had been
younger Rena had gone off alone saying she didn’t
want a sister tagging along. As if Janine were five years
younger or something! The memories only reinforced
her resentment. She forced herself to speak but could
do nothing about the stiffness in her voice. “I see. Well,
that ends that idea, doesn’t it?”

Mark looked uncomfortable. “Janine,” he began,
“I…No, dammit, there’s nothing I can say to make it
sound any nicer. You know Rena as well as I do.
Anyway, I’m sure now that she’s okay. I guess she just
wants to kick up her heels a little before we set the
wedding date.”

“Yes, I know Rena,” Janine repeated in an odd
voice. Then she looked at him sharply, noting the slight
catch in his voice. “You’re awfully tolerant, aren’t
you?”

“Our relationship is none of your business!” Mark
said roughly. “Finish your coffee and let’s go.”

“No,” Janine said calmly.

Mark looked thunderstruck. “What do you mean`no’?”

“Just that. As you ought to know by now, I have an
aversion to being ordered about. I also have an
aversion to bad-tempered ogres. So, unless I’m sure
you’re not going to be like this for the rest of the day,
I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Very well, then…good-bye!” Mark answered,
getting to his feet and striding to the door.

Janine watched him calmly over her cup of coffee.
She was not at all disturbed as the door slammed shut
behind him. She was still sipping her coffee when the
door quietly reopened. “It doesn’t close without a key,” Mark said unnecessarily. Then, somewhat sheepishly,
he added, “Was I really being a bad-tempered ogre?”

Janine nodded. “Definitely.”

Mark ran his hand through his perpetually rumpled
hair. “I’m sorry, Janine, I…”

He looked so much like a small boy caught with his
hand in the cookie jar that Janine laughed. “Sit down
and I’ll be ready to go in a minute,” she said, getting up.
Then, “It’s my fault for asking questions that are none
of my business.”

Mark released a sigh of relief. “Where shall we go
today?”

Janine looked at him wryly. “You mean that for
once you don’t have some specific place in mind?”

He grinned. “Well, I was thinking of the Rodin
museum. We haven’t been there yet.”

Janine smiled. “Okay. And don’t worry, I’ll be ready
right away.”

In the bedroom, Janine stopped to check her
reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a dress she
had made herself It was a sleeveless cotton lavender
print that flared subtly at the hips, emphasizing her
figure. Best of all, the dress had pockets so she wouldn’t
have to carry a purse. She wore her usual comfortable
white sandals and tied her hair back with a scarf. The
effect was one of young innocence rather than
sophistication, but Janine had learned long ago that it
suited her best.

“Two and a half minutes, actually,” Mark said with
a grin when she indicated she was ready.

Janine made a face. “Where is the museum?”

“Rue de Varenne, just before the Hotel des
Invalides. It’s not far. I think we might as well walk.”

Janine’s first reaction was that the museum was
beautiful. The place had once been Rodin’s home and
the grounds were well cared for. Statues were
interspersed among the flowers and trees. There was
even a pond. Janine’s second impression was that it was
the most crowded museum she had ever seen. “Very big
with Americans,” Mark explained.

They spent several hours wandering through the
museum, but Janine barely noticed what she saw. She
was thinking about Sandy. He wanted her. Janine
admitted to herself that he was hardly perfect, but then
neither was she. And Sandy would give her security
and even luxury. And he wanted her. It always came
back to that, didn’t it? Janine was afraid of never
finding someone to love and care about and live with.
And, after all, were there any men better than Sandy?