Page 15 of A Noble Affair
“You seem to know a thing or two. You know the stables are right across the street from your school?” Thomas nodded eagerly. “Why don’t you come by and say hello sometime.”
“That would be great,” Thomas cried out with boyish enthusiasm. “I can—can’t I, Mom?”
Chastity was trembling, but she managed a smile. “That’s kind of you, monsieur.” She addressed the trainer before turning to her son. “It’s time to say goodbye now. We need to go, okay, sweetie?”
Thomas patted the horse one last time. “Goodbye, Mickey,” he said. “See you soon.”
“Au revoir, monsieur.”
They started walking down the street, and Chastity spotted a trash can on the side of the road. She chucked her half-eaten sandwich in it.No way,she thought.We will not be visiting your stable.
Ever.
7
Louis sat in the kitchen, eating the steak and French fries the cook had set out for him. Paltier came in and asked how his lunch was, and he grunted in reply.He’s only nice to me because he’s an employee. Even as the uncharitable thought crossed his mind, he knew it wasn’t fair. Paltier had always been kind to him.
Louisknew he wasn’t overly friendly. He used to talk too much—could say “Papa” forty times in the space of an hour. Now he never had anything worth saying. He wondered if he ever would. The phone buzzed next to him.
Hi L. Talked to ur dad in London.
Ya. Was there w/ Manon.
Have u met her yet?
RU kidding? Then he’d have to spend time w/me.
Come on. U know he only pretends 2b tuff.
Whatevs. How’s ur bf?
Good. Ull meet him soon.
Really? Ur bringing him to France?
Ull see. TTYL – have class. Stay off the drugs.
After a minute, Louis received another text:
I mean it.
Louis deleted the conversation and speared a French fry with his fork. He was nervous. Jumpy. He wished he hadn’t told Isabelleabout the pot. He liked her and trusted her—probably more than anyone. However, he liked to keep his own counsel, and only told her one night in a moment of weakness when he thought he was smoking too much. Now that it was daytime, and sunny and cheerful outside, he realized he had been exaggerating the problem.
He took his last bite and drank an entire glass of water. Then he jumped up, wiped his mouth on the cloth napkin, and slung his sack over his shoulder. It was a quick walk to the school, but he was early and didn’t go straight there. He lit a cigarette, and started smoking as he headed towards the old fountain. Walking past the smaller family houses, ones that most people would find majestic, he imagined the people’s lives there, filled with the warmthhis own household lacked. Maybe it was simply because there were fewer echoing rooms to fill. He hitched his bag higher on his shoulder and scowled.
Louis hadn’t gone out of town with his father in years. He always stayed behind with Paltier or one of the other staff members. He had looked forward to their trip to Deauville but had found his father distant and testy, asking too many questions about how Louis spent his time.He knows about the drugs,he thought.Probably the only reason he invited me.
When he arrived at his destination, Jean was already there. He was an older man—Louis guessed in his mid-twenties or thirties—and he always dressed well, but young. Today he was wearing designer jeans, an Oxford, and a padded designer vest. Louis liked the guy because he didn’t treat him like a stupid kid. Jeanwas seated on a bench facing the fountain, and Louis reached down and shook his hand before sitting next to him.
They both faced forward, and Louis took out his textbook so it looked like they were discussing his studies together. This had been Jean’s idea. Louis spoke first. “So there are five people whowant to buy.”
“That’s good,” Jean said. “Up from last week, which means there’ll be more for you.”
“Yeah.” Louis’s mouth turned downwards. “The two extra people are from word of mouth because I’m not friends with a lot of people.”
Jean responded with a shrug. “You will be. You’ll be the most sought-after guy in school. Don’t you worry about it. People love the guy who can provide the entertainment.”
Louis nodded and pulled out the euros stuck in the pages of his textbook. He slid them discreetly to Jean underneath the book. Jean took the money and slid a couple small bags of marijuana back.
