Woman of Letters

The Meeting

William found himself on the train heading to Paris, with a change of clothes in his backpack, with nothing but his wallet, passport and no electronic devices as per instructions.

"First off, this may or may not work. Devlin is not a fan of meeting people, he may or may not show up in your meeting place." Fran had informed him on their call previously.

"How come?"

"Devlin does not always agree with Cameron. But he did advise you to give it a shot." Fran explained and William understood his chances.

"I understand." "There are other guidelines you must follow. First, you are to leave all your electronic devices. Yes, including your mobile phone. William's mouth hang agape and there was silence.

"Take it or leave it. "

"Okay, I can live with that, and the other guidelines?" William said, "This conversation never happened, and you are to tell no one. If someone asks you about this, you will deny it. Do you understand?" Francine broke the silence, William sighed and agreed.

"If you do meet Devlin, you will not utter a word about his identity. Not one thing. Not even the color of his hair. If you are okay with all these rules I will give you further instructions where you could meet him."

"Alright, take the first train ride to France tomorrow, I'll email you the address where you'll wait for Devlin. I advise you to wait as long as you can, but you are free to leave anytime you please."

He arrived soon after, taking a cab to the deeper parts of Paris, speaking fluent French as he gave the cabbies the address.

The cab stopped in front of a corner, and the cabbies told him that he had to go there by foot, and he did so, soon reaching a Cafe. Which name is translated to 'Dream Cafe'. He took a seat and ordered earl gray with a splash of milk and scones.

He checked his watched and it read 3PM.

El scowled at the video feed of Cameron on the screen of her laptop, "No." She said indignantly. "Yes." Cameron repeated, this was the 23rd time she said no, and he kept saying yes. "You are to see him at 3:30PM. Don't make him wait too long." Cameron said.

"No." "YOUR choice. Bye." Cameron ended the call, waving at her. "NOOOO!" She shouted but he was already gone.

El looked at the watch on the wall, it read 3PM, and she rolled her eyes. What has her agent got her into? She walked towards the Market, passing the said Cafe on her way. In the distance she saw him immediately, his blonde hair and towering physique, made him stand out of the crowd. She passed him, hiding her face with her the hood of her blue jacket. She continued on her way to go buy her routine thursday shopping.

An hour later, she walked back towards her apartment, passing the cafe again. It was 4:20pm, and she saw him still sat there on the same spot. She proceeded back to her place and restocked her kitchen . She boiled some tea and sat patiently waiting for it to boil, eyes coming back and forth to her wall clock, now reading 6:05.

Her kettle reaching a boil, she turned it off immediately, then headed to the door. She grabbed her jacket on the rack and stepped out, locking the door shut after her. She fast-walked towards the cafe in a hurry, only to halt when she saw him still seated there. Sadness and disappointment was clear on his mascule face. He looked exactly like he did when she first met him months ago.

Blonde curly hair, strong chiseled jaw and ocean blue eyes anyone could get lost too.

'Son of a--' El mentally cursed her agent Cameron for putting her in that spot. After thinking it over and taking a deep breath she walked in the cafe thru the back door, sneaking in, while she acted inconspicuous.

William's head whipped towards the door when it dinged, like he had been doing the past 3hours. He saw a couple walk in, not looking for anyone, and he knew they were not Devlin. He wondered if he/she would even show up. But he did not lose faith, he will stay there till the Cafe closed, that was how important that role was for him.

How much he wanted to give justice to the main character, the antihero Aldren. El watched him, as he just sat there for hours, waiting for him to grab a phone or something, anything that will break the guidelines Cam had given. Instead, he just sat there drinking tea, eating macaroons, and reading HER Novel. While she sat observing in a corner, quietly drinking tea.

Soon, the clock hit 8PM, William scowled at that--he only have 2 more hours of waiting, and he was losing hope. His eyes were torn away from the pages of thee book in his hand, when he heard the chair across of him pulled. And she sat there, the last person he thought he'll see. And in all places, in that very same Cafe in Paris.

"Hey." El greeted casually, inviting herself at his table.

"Hi." William replied in shock whisper. "What are you doing here in Paris, Mr. Knightly?" She pried, feigning cluelessness. "I am to meet someone." He answered, "and you?" He added, almost out of breath at the chances of crossing paths with her again.

"Work." She shrugged. "And what time were you supposed to meet this someone? I mean, I've been sitting there at the back for the past hour, and I saw you when I walked in." El said, pointing at a back corner. William frowned slightly, he can't believe he missed her come in.

Then he realized her question, and his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Well?" She pried.

"3:30." William answered rubbing the back of his head. El feigned surprise, she could be a good actor if she needed to. "And its 8 in the evening, what allure does she possess, that a man like yourself would wait for almost 5hours?" El commented incredulously.

"No, no, god, no." William replied, "Then it's a man?" El teased in good humor, causing William to cackle. "I do not know, but I am certain I like women." He replied.

"Then who are you meeting?" She pushed. "Just an important person. I can't tell, sorry." William revealed, sadly.

El mentally sighed, he was following all the rules. "Alright then, c'mon Mr. Knightly." El invited, standing from her seat. William looked up at her in confusion, "Pardon?" He asked. "Well, are you planning on waiting till the Cafe closes? Clearly, whoever you are waiting for has no regard for nor respect for anyone's time. And people like those are not worth the wait. You have wasted enough of your time. Let's go, I'll treat you to dinner." El said.

William thought about it for a moment, will he let the chance pass him by, again? No.

So, he grabbed his backpack and followed behind her after paying. She waited outside, gazing up the clear sky, and she urged him to follow him, and he did so.