“I’m just surprised, Emily, that’s all.”

I curled the phone cord around my finger. “I’m surprised, too, Mom.”

“Well, he sounds like a wonderful boy. It’s a shame he lives so far away…”

“I know,” I sighed. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately, sighing.

~

Tuesday came and went in a flash. During the day while I waited for Sebastian to get out of work, I visited the Tuileries again, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face as I sat there reading and even writing some of my own poetry.

That night, we went to see a movie. French, of course. I could barely understand a word, since my high school French could only go so far, and the actors spoke a mile a minute. But it had a flimsy plot, something to do about a house party that goes bad when one of the guests drops dead.

In the cab on the way home, we kissed again, the kisses longer and more intense this time. When I came up for air, I noticed we were at my hotel.

“We’re here,” I said softly.

“Oui,” he said. Then: “May I come up?”