Matthew felt his
phone vibrate in his pocket. She looked up at him through long, thick eyelashes, and smiled. He pulled it out to find the picture of the two of them that she had just sent.
When the concierge called to say their r
ide was waiting, Andy helped the bellman with bags as Carlee hung behind a minute to say good-bye to Matthew.
“
I’ve enjoyed this time with you,” she said.
“
Me too; I’m thinking of ways to see you again. I’ll talk to you very soon, Carlee.” He leaned to hug her as he pressed his lips to hers.
“
My turn,” she sighed, running her fingers lightly across her lips, feeling the warmth he left behind, and she smiled. “Now, I’ll be thinking about
your
lips.”
As they rode the train to Paris, Carlee dozed. She was still holding the daisies in her lap. Andy smiled as he saw her chest rise and fall in sleep. It had been a busy, exciting, week. He felt tired, and knew Carlee had been running on way less sleep than he had. He’d been trying to read, but closed his eyes to reflect…
CHAPTER EIGHT
~ Paris: The City of Lights
When the train pulled into the station,
Carlee gave Andy a light shake, “Wake up Papa, we’re here!”
“Must have fallen asleep,” he said.
“Me too, woke up just as we were coming to a stop!”
“There’s a driver meeting us,” he said as they grabbed their bags.
Andy booked a suite for them at The Aristocrat Hotel. “Wow, Papa!” she whispered as they were checking in.
“Wait
‘til you see the suite,” he whispered back.
The suite was on the third floor with an interior balcony that looked out over a beautiful fountain in the center of the lobby.
There was a common area, in the center of the suite, embellished with shades of grey and pewter, and a lovely crystal chandelier. Beautiful artwork adorned the walls and there was a bedroom at opposite sides of the suite.
“Pick your room, my dear.”
She looked in the room to the left and saw the canopy bed with a deep amber comforter and said, “I’m home! Papa, it looks like a butterscotch sundae!” She laughed, referring to the room’s soft, off-white and buttery amber color scheme, with accents of deep red here and there. Vases filled with white roses were sitting on tables around the room. “Wow,” she said once more.
They’d planned the evening to
rest and regroup. “This old man needs to rest these tired bones,” he laughed.
“
Me too,” Carlee agreed. They ordered a pepperoni pizza from room service for dinner. Carlee's phone rang as the delivery arrived. Andy smiled when it rang and played “Won’t You”, one of his biggest solo hits.
She looked at the phone, “Its’ Matthew!”
Again he smiled as she grabbed a piece of pizza and curled up on the sofa to talk to him.
“Papa,” she said, when she hung up. He could feel it coming and waited. She went to where he was sitting, plopped on
his lap, and lazily draped her arms around his neck. “I love you…”
“I love you too. What do you want?” he grinned.
“What makes you think I want something?” she said with a big cheeky smile, and a giggle.
“Oh, because I’m a softy, and you know it, and when you get that tone I know you are getting ready to drip some sugar on me because you want something. Experience sweet girl, experience,” he laughed.
“Well…”
Here it comes,
he thought and smiled,
I’m a goner…
As they had breakfast and coffee, Carlee shared her Paris ‘wish list.’ They planned to take their time and enjoy it. She knew that of all the things they planned, the Louvre would be Andy’s top pick, so it was at the top of her list. They left the hotel early and spent the day, having lunch at the food court so they could get right back to the museum. Carlee loved it, but she knew Andy loved it more. They visited Notre Dame Cathedral, and were back at The Aristocrat by late afternoon.
“Be ready by eight,” he told her and kissed her forehead.
“And…?”
Knowing what she meant, “Fancy…” he replied.
Another fancy date with Papa…
She’d purchased a dress at Harrods and was waiting for the right occasion. She knew it would come on their trip, she just didn’t know when.
She sprawled across the bed to relax a while, thinking about their time together. She was happy when he gave her the European vacation, but she was more excited when he agreed to come with her. She learned young that life was short. She adored Andy, he got her; he knew who she was. He spoiled her, but not rotten, and she knew she had him wrapped around her little finger, but she never abused it.
As she got ready, she thought about the evening ahead. She didn’t know where they were going, but when he said ‘fancy’ she knew it would
be special. She wanted that ‘wow factor.’ When she walked out of the room she wanted him to see her and think, ‘Wow, she’s grown up…’
She slipped into the dress, and turned to
look in the mirror. She heard him in the other room, and reached for the door. He was waiting there for her.
“Ready? Wow, Carlee… You are stunning.” He took her hand and had her turn to take it all in. It was purple and sparkly, and she looked like an angel.
A grown up, beautiful angel…
He stood back to get another look. “Wow,” he said.
“Yay!” she yelled.
“Yay?” he chuckled.
“
I was hoping for the ‘wow factor’!”
“
You succeeded. Let me hold your phone a minute,” he said, taking a few pictures of her and then walked to the mirror in the hallway.
“
Come here,” he motioned for her. He held the camera and snapped a few of the two of them in the mirror. They stood with their heads together looking at the pictures.
“
Send that one to Kimmy,” he said, and flipped through a few shots and said; “Send that one to Matthew…” he grinned. “Come on, we need to go. The limo’s waiting.”
He took her to The Apex at the Eiffel Tower, and
Carlee was in awe of the majesty of it all. Their table overlooked the ‘city of lights’ as they enjoyed their meal. Andy watched her, enjoying her excitement. Carlee’s company was a joy to him. Conversation was always easy with her.
She got that from her mama
he thought. Her excitement was contagious. Afterward, they took the elevator to the top of the Tower, admiring the view.
“I see why they call it the ‘city of lights’; from up here you can see for miles. It’s beautiful, Papa.” They walked
around taking pictures. When they were back on the ground, Carlee took pictures looking up to the top of the Tower.
“
Papa, it’s so beautiful!”
“
Come on, I want to show you something else,” he told her as the limo picked them up. “Can you drop us off on the Champs-Elysees, at a spot in walking distance to the Arc de Triomphe, and pick us up on the other side,” he asked the driver.
It was a beautiful
evening and Carlee couldn’t believe she was there, and couldn’t be happier that Andy was her companion.
When they got back to the room, Carlee said good-night and got ready for bed. After she lay there for a while, she knew she wasn’t ready to fall asleep. She peeked out of her room and saw the light was still on in Andy’s. The door was open a bit and she lightly knocked, “Papa?”
“
Yes,” he said and she opened it a bit, and stuck her head in. He was sitting up reading. “Everything OK?”
“
I just wanted to say thank you.”
“
You already did,” he smiled. “What’s on your mind?” He patted the place beside him and she sat down. She leaned against the headboard and stretched out her legs.
She was quiet a moment befor
e she began, “All those nights… the phone calls… hours on end…” she mumbled. “What did you and Mama talk about?”
“
Well,” he took his glasses off and put them on the table beside the bed. “Everything,” he said finally, and laughed. “Your Mama could talk about anything and it captivated me,” he smiled remembering. “In the beginning we talked about each other, what we liked and didn’t. We shared what we knew, and asked what we wanted to know. We were learning about each other. Sometimes we talked about the day before, and the day ahead. I would share every detail I could think of from that night’s show, or whatever city we were in. She would tell me about work and school.”
“
I miss that most,” he said after a moment. “In the end, she just talked. All those tapes for Norton for the book,” he said, explaining. “She told stories, shared her wishes, and some of her fears. When it was just the two of us, she talked about all we’d done together, but cried over what we missed, about what we would never be able to share. And she talked about how sad she felt that she would miss seeing you grow up.”
He looked at her
and found tears rolling down her cheeks. “Come here,” he said. She leaned into him and he hugged her. “What brought this on?” he asked when he let her go.
“
I was thumbing through the book. I have that paperback copy; I carry it everywhere. It keeps her close,” she said, the tears still flowing. “I’m so lucky to have that. And Matthew,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “Thank you for letting him join us tomorrow.”
“
He’s a nice young man.”
“
He is Papa, I like him.”
“
Really?” he asked sarcastically.
She laughed, leaned into him
, kissed his cheek, and started to get up.
“
Wait,” he reached for his phone. She wondered who on earth he was going to call so late. “Listen,” he said and started it.
“
Mama’s little baby loves short’nin, short’nin, Mama’s little baby loves short’nin bread’.” It played through, ending with a light, child’s giggle.
“
Mama… The biscuit song… Oh Papa, I remember…”
“
Get some rest. I have big plans for tomorrow.”
“
Papa, I love you.”
“
Right back at ya,” he said lightly, trying not to allow his own emotions to show.
Tuesday morning at seven, Matthew took a train to Paris. The closer it got to the station, the more anxious he grew. He’d been to Paris since he’d been living in London, but never like this. He liked Carlee a lot, and he couldn’t wait to see her again. He arrived two and a half hours later. Andy made arrangements with the hotel concierge for a limo to take Carlee to the station to meet him. Matthew saw the limo as he exited the terminal, and Carlee opened the door as he approached.
“
Well, hello there,” she said as he got in.
“
Hey,” he said, happily. “Where’s Andy?”
“
Back at the hotel, we’re going to pick him up.”
After he was in and the driver pulled away, Matthew leaned to hug her.
He liked the way she felt as he put his arms around her. “May I kiss you,” he whispered in her ear as he held her.
“
Well, if you need to ask,” she whispered back, “then probably not…” She grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her and their lips met. “Welcome to Paris.”
“
Carlee…” he said.
“
Matthew,” she replied with a devilish grin.
The limo pulled
up in front of The Aristocrat, Andy exited the building and got in the car.
“
Hello, young people.” He grinned, noting that the two of them looked like the cat that ate the canary; there were feathers still floating. The driver pulled away and they made their way up the block.
“
When do you need to return Matt?”
‘
Matt…’
Carlee liked that.
“
I have a ticket for the train at ten tonight.”
“
Class in the morning?” Andy asked.
“
No sir,” he replied.
“
Work?”
“
No sir.”
“
Been to Moulin Rouge?”
“
No sir,” he laughed.
Andy turned and knocked on the window to the driver.
“Take us back to The Aristocrat, please.” The driver circled the block. Andy turned back to Carlee and pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed her a credit card. “Take Matt and get him something to wear to the show tonight. It’s not fancy like last night, but nice, and get him something to sleep in.”
He turned
to Matthew, “Can you change your ticket to around one tomorrow afternoon?”
“
Yes sir,” Matthew nodded, with a big smile.
The limo pulled in front of the hotel. Andy exited the car and talked to the driver a moment. Sticking his head back in he told them;
“The car is yours for the day. I told him what we need and he’ll take you to shop. He’ll wait wherever you want to stop. Carlee Elizabeth…”
“
Yes, Papa?” she laughed.
“
You are shopping for Matt, not for you,” he winked at her. “Be back in time to get ready. Our reservation is at seven.”
As they rode Matthew said; “Your dad seems cool.”
“
He’s not my dad, he’s my Papa.” She smiled at him as she explained the difference, “My mama and Papa were a couple for a really long time. They kinda had a rollercoaster life. In one of their down times she met and married my dad, and then,” she paused. “And then, when she got sick,” she had to stop, choking back the lump in her throat. “When she got sick, Papa came back and well… they realized that they still loved each other,” she explained in the short version. “My dad and mama divorced when I was four and she married Papa. They were only married a few months, but they were ‘together’ a life time.”