Page 81 of The Sky in Summer
The words hit me the wrong way. Instead of a humble brag, it is a sad reality.
“Oh good!” the shopgirl says. “I need to practice my English. What can I get for you?”
“It sounds very good to me. Better than my French.”
“No! The only reason I asked is because you have a look about you, it is a compliment.”
“Then I will take it as one. I’d like a coffee, and do you have chocolate croissants? Fresh ones?”
Her expression changes from a smile to a fake frown and a pout.
“Monsieur, we only sell freshly baked goods. And yes, there is one just for you.”
I chuckle and she does too, as she retrieves an especially large one from the case. It is wrapped and the coffee poured. I pay and she sends me off with a compliment.
“Au revoir beau Americain!”
“Merci ma belle.”
I cross the street and settle back on the bench. I had to recreate my mother’s routine all those years back. She would order the same two things, but never at the same time. She didn’t have the money.
I think about how Gaston the young artist made eye contact with Aurora the young chemist. He made a signal for her to get up and turn around so he could see her ass. What balls. Laughing out loud, I get a look from the man passing.
Paris has been a magic place for us. Well, for them and the generations prior on my father’s side. Why can’t it be magic now? For me. One thing I remember my mother saying when talking about the attraction and pull they felt for each other. She loved Carl Jung’s scientific take on the unexplainable. He said the meeting of two people can be like the contact of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction, both are transformed.
Carl was a fucking genius.
20
David
In the future, around one of our dining room tables, there will be laughter as we remember the two-part caper we planned to get our parents together. It’s what we have told ourselves will happen, because any other outcome is not good for anybody.
I never thought it would come to this. Thatwewould be doing something this risky. No lie, the four of us have some big balls. If it turns to shit, I am not going to be the only one going down. It is equally Teddy, Sam, and Tyler’s decision. Every rat will go down with the sinking ship. But if things turn out the way we want, we become family legends. Our Aunt Barbra would nominate us for a Nobel Peace Prize. Their Grandpa Gaston would give us a parade.
When it was discovered all interested parties present wanted the same thing, it made sense to join forces. I blame Mom, who pounded in Tyler and my heads the idea of sticking together for life. Mission accomplished. She hates when we turn her words against her, but we enjoy the shit out of it.
It was important to execute the plan in a neutral spot. It wasn’t going to work at any of our houses. Too many unknowns. Here at school, in the stands in the empty gymnasium, we eliminate shit that could go bad. Like parents walking in and stopping us. Followed by whatever punishment is right for kids that butt the fuck into their parents’ and uncle’s business. Nobody would be happy about it. Least of all Mom.
Okay, Tyler and I don’t know the whole story, and neither do Sam and Teddy. But when the pieces we do know came together, it was clear enough. There’s risk. We may have read one of them wrong. Tyler and I are as sure about mom though, as Teddy and Sam are about their uncle Van. Being off base about either will result in Armageddon. If he doesn’t feel the way Sam and Teddy have said? Shit. Well then, we’re completely fucked.
I push the reasons for abandoning the whole thing out of my mind. This is for a greater good. It’s almost an act of charity. Maybe. Probably. Well, our intentions seem right anyway. And that is what mom judges us on. The risk is worth it because we love her and know how much she has sacrificed so we’d be happy. Watching the sadness on her face is too much. We have to help. That is how I feel. And how my three coconspirators do too.
“Are we gonna do this?” Teddy says, looking around the group. “Let’s quit fuckin around.”
“Should we practice?” Tyler says.
“We don’t need to practice. Don’t overthink it. He’s at home. It’s eleven at night. I texted yesterday and told him I had something to talk to him about,” Sam says.
“Hope he remembers.”
“I saidit’s private informationso he’d think I was going to tell him something about me or Teddy. He said to call around three our time.”
“That was smart. None of them would refuse us if they thought we were in some kind of trouble.”
“Yeah. We are going to use it against them,” I say, grinning like The Joker.
We laugh at the ugly truth. Sometimes you have to do what’s necessary.
