Faux Pas Read online

  “Can you not drink so much?” Meghan leans forward. “We have lots to do today.”

  “If I’m going to be kidnapped, I want to do it semi blitzed,” Diana says, and Kate then picks up the bottle, adding it to her orange juice.

  “She has a point,” Kate says, taking a big gulp. “I mean, how do you know we’re tourists?”

  I smile at her. “It’s ten a.m., and you’ve almost finished off a bottle of champagne,” I point out to them.

  “Do people not drink in Paris?” Diana asks. “I can never move here.”

  “We drink,” I tell her and stop talking when the waiter comes back with my coffee. “Did you guys order some macarons?” I ask them, and they shake their heads.

  “I don’t like them,” Meghan says, and I smile at her.

  “That’s because you haven’t had them from here,” I say, then turn back to the waiter. “On va prendre quatre macarons pour commencer, un à la rose, un à la pistache, un au caramel salé et le dernier à la framboise.” I order one each of rose, pistachio, salted caramel, and raspberry.

  “D’accord,” Okay, he says, nodding his head at me.

  “So what’s this no drinking rule?” Kate says, and I take a sip of the coffee.

  “It’s not a rule. It’s just that French women who order a glass of wine, well,” I say, looking at all three of them, “it takes them about an hour to finish it.”

  “An hour?” they all say in shock. “Like sixty minutes?” Diana says.

  “Yes,” I say, nodding.

  “Why?” Kate asks. “I mean, sixty minutes? That’s at least four glasses if not five on a good night.” She turns to Meghan. “When we decided to book this trip, how long was it?”

  “Forty-five minutes and almost two bottles,” Diana says, smiling and picking up her drink. “To Canada!” Kate picks up her glass, and I look at Meghan who sits back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Why are you here?” she asks, and the other two stop what they are doing to listen to what I have to say.

  “Well,” I start, trying to find the words of exactly why I’m here. “I wanted to make sure you guys were okay.” I don’t have time to say anything else before the waiter comes back and puts the plate with the four macarons in front of me. “Merci.”

  Kate leans in. “You should hire him. He is really good.” I laugh at her and then take my butter knife to cut the first macaron in four.

  “This one is rose,” I tell them, passing the plate around, and they each grab a piece, putting it in their mouth.

  “It legit tastes like I’m eating a rose petal,” Kate says, picking up her glass of water and drinking it to get the taste out of her mouth.

  “It’s an acquired taste,” I tell them, cutting the pistachio next. They don’t say anything; they just nod.

  “That one is good,” Diana says. The next one they taste is the salted caramel. “Yup, that one is my favorite,” she says, and the other two just nod. The last one is the raspberry.

  “Oh my god,” Meghan says, closing her eyes. “It tastes like a fresh raspberry you just picked from the bush.”

  “Still don’t like macarons?” I smile at her, and she scrunches up her nose, and for the first time in a long time, I actually laugh.

  Chapter Four

  Meghan

  “Meh,” I say with a shy smile, grabbing my mimosa and taking a drink. When we walked in this morning, the lady was about to turn us away, but then she asked if we were from Canada. We just thought it was a funny question, but now, I’m not so sure.

  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of him last night while I was falling asleep. I’d also be lying when Diana asked if I remembered what he looked like, and I just shook my head. I couldn’t forget his midnight black hair, cut short on the sides and falling over the front. I couldn’t forget his brown eyes even if I wanted to; I definitely didn’t forget his strong jaw covered in whiskers, or the way he looked at me.

  Seeing him walk toward the table, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me until he got much closer, and I smelled it. My body recognized his smell. “So seriously, why are you here?” I ask him. I can’t see his eyes because he has his sunglasses on, but when I look at him, he takes off his glasses, folding them and putting them on the table.

  “I wanted to make sure that you guys made it here safely,” he says, drinking his coffee.

  “Why?” I ask the big question. “You don’t even know us.” I look at Diana and Kate and see their eyes going back and forth from Alex and me. Almost like watching a tennis game and watching the ball volley from one side to the other.

  “Can’t a man be a gentleman?” he asks, leaning back in his chair, and he laughs again when I roll my eyes.

  I don’t get a chance to ask him anything else before the waiter approaches and places my eggs Benedict in front of me and Diana and also Kate’s. It looks like art, but where English muffins are supposed to be, there is a thick croissant with a thinly sliced piece of ham, and then the egg and hollandaise sauce on top.

  I grab an empty plate and put one of them on the plate to hand to him, and he smiles at me. “I’m not really …”

  “Eat,” I tell him as I cut my own. “So what do you do?”

  He looks down and then cuts into his own piece. “My family owns restaurants.”

  “Oh,” Kate says, “are they all like the one yesterday?”

  “No.” He shakes his head. “The one last night was Italian; we have different ones.”

  “Which one is the best?” Diana asks. “That’s including service also.”

  He laughs and looks at me, then them. “It’s hard to choose,” he says honestly. “I would have to say Chez Pascal is the best one based on location. It’s right in front of the Eiffel Tower.”

  “Oh,” Diana says, getting her phone out.

  “Add that to the list,” Kate says.

  “The ratings on Yelp are amazing. Let’s reserve it for tonight.” She looks at us, and I just shrug.

  “If you want to eat there, let me know. I’ll call and let them know,” Alex says, and Diana and Kate high-five each other.

  “Tonight at eight,” he says, and I look at him with my mouth open. “Unless you want later?”

  I look at the girls. “No, that should be good.”

  He picks up the white linen napkin from his lap and places it on the table. “It’s been fun, girls,” he says, and I’m suddenly sad that he’s leaving. “But I have to get to work. Apparently, I need to find better help.”

  “Cheers to that,” Diana says.

  “We even tipped that guy,” Kate says, “twenty percent.”

  “Good to know,” he says, grabbing his glasses. “Ladies, be safe.” He nods and walks away.

  “He is all that and a bag of chips with dip,” Kate says, watching him walk out.

  “He really is hot,” Diana says, watching me. “You,” she says, pointing at me.

  “Me?” I ask, pointing at myself.

  “He’s here for you,” she says, picking up her glass.

  I roll my eyes. “You’re crazy.”

  “Really?” She leans back with a smile. “We could have been here naked, and he would have had eyes just for you.”

  “Whatever,” I say, not even bothering to argue with them. “Let’s just get the check and start the day.”

  I raise my hand for the waiter. “l’addition s’il vous plaît.” The bill please.

  “Elle a déjà été réglée.” It’s already been taken care of, he tells me, and Diana looks at the waiter.

  “We should have ordered another bottle of champagne,” she says. “Fuck.”

  “You guys,” I say, getting up and pulling my green long jacket on. “Let’s go.” I open my purse and grab my sunglasses as I walk out. “It’s such a beautiful day.”

  “Where should we go?” Diana asks, and Kate grabs her phone.

  “L’Arc de Triomphe is to the left, and the Seine River is to the right.”

&
nbsp; “Let’s do the left and walk down to the right,” I say, grabbing my lip gloss. We walk down Avenue des Champs-Élysées, taking our time and going into stores that look cute. We buy little knickknacks, but nothing too big since we have to carry our purchases.

  When we get to the circle, we check the direction to get to the other side as horns blaze and people zoom around. “How the fuck hasn’t there been a million accidents?” I watch as cars go around in the circle, some of them rushing from the outside lane to the far end, and the endless honking.

  “No clue,” Kate says, pointing at the brown sign with the arrow leading to the underground walkway to get across the street. “Apparently, you need to watch for pickpockets.” We walk down the long cement tunnel.

  “I heard that,” Diana says, and we make it to the ticket booth. “Do we want to go to the top?”

  “Um, yeah,” Kate says, grabbing her wallet. “Trois,” Three, she tells the teller and hands over her credit card. She grabs the receipt, and we walk up the steps, and all of a sudden, we are in the middle of the circle. I look up at the stone pillars, taking in the beauty of it. Stone angels are on one side, and I look up at the gold ceiling, taking in what looks like flowers. “Over there is where the stairs are to go up to the top.”

  I follow Diana and Kate into a small room with a spiral staircase leading up. “Okay, here we go,” Diana says, and I swear, ten minutes later, we’re still climbing. “My thighs burn,” she says, and I’m too busy huffing to even comment or talk.

  “This better lead to something fucking spectacular,” Kate says. “Is there any water in that backpack, Dora?” she asks, and we all laugh out loud.

  “It’s all poking fun at my backpack until you need it,” Diana says and then squeals. “I see a light.”

  “Don’t go into the light,” Kate jokes with her, and I laugh as I look up and see glass covering the last step. I walk onto the roof, and it’s a panoramic view of the city. “Look.” Kate points at the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I walk to one side of the railing, looking over at the cars driving in the circle. I look out into the distance, my mind running.

  “How beautiful is this?” Diana says as Kate takes a picture from next to her.

  “It’s peaceful,” I say, grabbing my own picture of the view. I walk around to the outside, seeing what I think is the countryside.

  “I think that is where they make all the wine,” Diana says, pointing at the green in the distance.

  We spend a good thirty minutes just enjoying the view and taking pictures. “Do you guys want to go walk along the Seine River?” I ask them, and they both nod.

  We walk down the stairs. “It’s always easier going down than up,” Kate says.

  “I don’t know about you,” Diana starts. “It may be easier when he goes down, but I like him when he’s up.”

  I laugh at her as we walk down. “I can’t argue with that,” I tell her, and we walk side by side down the street. I look around at the tall buildings and the cars parked on one side of the street. We pass little cafes with tables outside and the chairs all facing out—some vacant, some not.

  “Look into the house,” Kate says, pointing at an apartment on what looks like the third floor. The ceiling is white, but it’s the molding all around the room that sticks out.

  “It looks like it’s been hand-carved,” I tell her, pointing at the molding.

  “It’s magical almost,” Diana says as we continue our walk toward the river. We get to the beginning of the Champs-Élysées with the gold statues on top of the columns.

  “I swear I feel that if you look too closely at them, they will fly off,” I say of the dragon statue as Diana and Kate laugh at me. I duck to the side slightly while I walk by them. “What? It’s true. Look at it.” We walk on the bridge where tourists are taking pictures from every angle. Once you get on the bridge, the cement railing on each side has gold on it, and after each five steps, it has tall black lantern lights. “Isn’t it crazy that it’s so old, yet looks so new?”

  “I’m sure all old people would love to hear that,” Kate says, laughing.

  “I mean, think about it,” I say. “How many people have walked this path or were in their horse and carriage?” I outstretch my hand for her, spinning in a circle on the sidewalk.

  “Look,” I say, pointing at a black boat floating along the Seine River. A wooden plank leads out of the boat, and two people are walking up. “Let’s see if we can have lunch there.” We walk down the cement steps, walking past fifty tables with white chairs and white sun umbrellas scattered throughout.

  “What is this place?” Diana asks as we walk past the white tables toward the boat. Right in front of the boat are tables also. “Do we want to eat on the boat or at those tables?”

  “Um, we are in Paris, and if there is a boat, we sit on the boat,” I say, so we walk up the plank toward the boat, opening the door. I step onto the boat, seeing it transformed completely. A long wooden bar faces us with tables in front of them.

  “Bonjour c’est pour manger?” Hello, the man asks, is it to eat?

  “Oui,” Yes, we answer, and he turns to the left, going to the front of the boat. Walking through the door, they have transformed the outside also. All along the boat is a bench with cushions and tables in front of them with chairs scattered.

  “Let’s go to the front of the boat, and we can do I’m the king of the world,” Diana says, and we just laugh. Walking to the front of the boat, Diana and I take a seat on the bench, and Kate sits in front of me.

  “It’s so pretty,” I say, looking around as people walk along the Seine River, some even running. The wind blows my hair everywhere, so I tie it on the top of my head. “We should order some wine.”

  “Oui, madame,” Yes, ma’am, Diana says, grabbing the menu and opening it. “There are so many wines from Chateau Deville,” she says. “I guess it’s the loyal vineyard or something.”

  “I think the one I ordered last night was a Deville,” Kate says. “Then Mr. Dark, Hot, and Scary became the Hulk and almost turned.”

  We all laugh, and my mind goes back to the man who drove us home; the man who showed up at breakfast almost as though he’s a figment of my imagination. “Earth to Meghan.” I hear Kate laugh while she waves a hand in front on my face. “Can you see me?”

  “Very funny,” I say, pushing her hand away and then grabbing the menu and opening it. “What do you think we should have?”

  “Charcuterie board,” Diana says. “Even though I’m still semi full from breakfast, I feel the need to eat bread. Lots and lots of bread.”

  “I agree,” I say when the waiter comes over and smiles at us, taking our order.

  “It’s so pretty,” I say, looking around. “That place is happening, and it’s not even four.” We look over at the white tables that are filling up. Most of the people have buckets of wine on their table and are laughing. Dancing music softly plays in the background.

  “Holy shit,” Diana says while I see her on her phone. “It’s a club, and it closes at five a.m.”

  Kate grabs the phone from her, covering the screen with her hand to block out the sun and see the pictures on there. “This is where we are going tomorrow night.”

  She hands me the phone, and I see the pictures. “I wonder if we can make reservations for dinner and then get into the club?”

  “Well, either way, that is the place to be on a Saturday night,” Kate says. The waiter comes back and uncorks our bottle of wine, then pours some into the glass. She picks it up and tastes it. “Perfecto.” She smiles at him, and he fills our glasses.

  “Perfecto?” I laugh. “I think that’s Italian.”

  She shrugs her shoulders. “What can I say? I’m multilingual.”

  “I don’t think knowing one word in a language is considered multilingual.” Diana laughs, picking up her glass. “To Paris.”

  We all raise our glasses and clink them, saying, “To Paris,” at the same time.

  I take a sip of the whit
e wine, and it slides down smooth. “Oh, this is good,” I say, grabbing my phone and taking a picture of the bottle. “It’s called Amour.”

  “Fitting,” Diana says. “Because I amour the shit out of this wine.” She turns and raises her hand to the waiter who comes over. “un autre s’il vous plaît.” Another. She winks at him, and he just nods his head.

  “We aren’t even done with this one,” I tell her, and she drains her glass and pours another full glass, emptying the bottle.

  “You were saying?” She laughs and sips the wine when the waiter places the food in the middle of the table.

  There are three rows of meat—prosciutto, salami, and what looks like a hot salami. Three cheeses are also included; I know one is brie, but I’m not sure of the other two white cheeses. A little bowl on the side with a marmalade spread. I look up and see him coming over with two baskets of bread.

  “Merci,” I say when he places it on either side of the board. We devour the meat in record time and the cheeses also. By the time we look around, the second bottle is also finished.

  “I could totally live here,” Kate says, leaning back in her chair. “Running by the river.” We both laugh at her because she hates to exercise. “With a baguette under my arm.”

  I close my eyes and let out a huge belly laugh. “To snack on while you run.”

  “I mean, it can’t hurt, right?” she says, and Diana looks for the waiter. “I think we should get the bill and go home and nap so we can be in full form this evening.”

  “Oh, I so want to nap,” Kate says. “Three pigs in a blanket,” she says, getting up. We make our way off the boat, all three of us focusing really hard not to trip.

  We interlock our arms as we walk down the path. “Oh, we have to stop,” she says, pointing at the restaurant.

  Walking to the girl standing at the hostess stand, we smile at her. Her blond hair is tucked into a low tight bun, her outfit is a white button-down shirt and tight pencil skirt, and she wears minimum makeup with her blue eyes. “Bonjour,” she says, and we look at her.

  “Parlez-vous anglais?” Do you speak English? Kate asks her, then looks at us. “I’ve had too much wine to think of French words, and knowing our luck, I’ll probably book us the whole place for a million dollars.”