Paris and us

Chapter 16

It had been a month since Louis and I broke up. I wasn't sure if we were in a relationship before. In any case, we had stopped talking or seeing each other ever since that dinner. He just disappeared in a puff. I carried on living my normal life, minus all the glamorous private jet or weekend in the villa. It was just a dream. Or it was a romantic comedy that I watched. It didn't happen at all. I felt a bit numb and I seldom thought about him. Whenever I saw a tall man with blond hair in front of me in the office lobby, my heart sank and I would slower my pace so I wouldn't have to find out if it was him. Perhaps he had been avoiding me too. It was my fault, because I didn't, and I couldn't tell him about Aurélien myself. I understood his frustration. I deserved what I got.

"So that was it? It was over?" Marianne asked when she was munching the mini éclair.

We were having an afternoon tea in the Angelina tearoom in Rue de Rivoli. Coco Chanel and Proust were also the regulars here. Madamoiselle Chanel could write a foodie blog if she lived in the 21st century, while Proust was probably still searching for the memory of the Madeleine cake. Although the afternoon tea is an English tradition, the French also has a tea time called 'le goûter' (snack) or 'quatre heures' (four o' clock), but it is mainly for children. At four o' clock, the French children will eat bread with butter or jam, or add a piece of dark chocolate in a baguette to make a chocolate sandwich. The fancy version will have pain au chocolat ( a chocolate puff pastry) or chocolate cookies. Whatever with chocolate will be fine for the four o' clock menu, really. Now the French adults can also enjoy the lovely tea set with canapés, mini pastry, and a glass of champagne in Angelina. (Alcohol for tea time, why the hell not?) One can never say no to cake and hot chocolate.

"We will never share a future together anyway. He is seldom with the same woman for more than 100 days. So it was better to end it now, before I went too deep and had my heart broken," I confessed while sipping the famous Angelina hot chocolate. It was so thick and creamy. I didn't think I would be hungry for dinner tonight, but I needed chocolate badly to flood in my bloodstream. It calmed me. Others injected heroine or sniffed cocaine, some got drunk, I needed chocolate. Drugs and Alcohol were expensive, you know. I did not like the hangovers. Chocolate was a cheaper option.

"When he kissed you in public at the end of the show, I thought it would be serious for you two. Well, it sucked still." Marianne shook her head and sighed.

"We had a few nice date nights and a weekend vacation. I was very glad that we crossed our paths. It was enough for me. It was a pity that I can no longer take the private jet. Going back to Economy class sucked," I laughed.

"I have never taken a private jet. My life is a failure! What a disappointment!"

"It was a tiny plane, pretty scary during the turbulence. You don't miss much, really. Enough about me. How are you? You looked like you had partied all night long."

"Yeah, I partied like crazy with Léa last night. I sang Pirouette, Cacahuète like a 100 times, and she was still wide awake. Maybe next time I will take her to a nightclub, at least I will enjoy it more than singing nursery songs for hours."

"I am sorry."

"That's why I needed a break this afternoon, otherwise I would go mad again."

"You deserved these lovely cakes and macaroons. Let's drink all the hot chocolate to forget all our pain and sorrow," I raised my mug.

"Yes, there was nothing that chocolate can't solve! To us! Delphine, can you cover me for the show next Saturday? I can't find a nanny and my husband will be on shift that day."

"For you, I will do it. Just for you." Even it meant I would be in the same room as Louis. It didn't matter, I told myself. I would disappear in the background and nobody would notice me, just like before I met him. Work was work, I couldn't avoid him forever.