Home is who you are

Part Eleven

11

The funny thing about Easter in Belgium is that they have Easter Monday. Tony had a day off, so they decided to go on a long weekend trip.

The fast train only takes one hour and a half from Brussels to Paris. It was less than what Gabi used to take to get to work sometimes. On Saturday they had a rushed breakfast at home and lunch at a French restaurant.

Their hotel was near the train station. Tony led the way, following the directions he had printed the night before. Everything was carefully planned, they had really looked forward to going to Paris together. The city of light, the city of love. Gabi dreamed about Paris since she was a little girl and started fantasizing about marriage. It was the number one dream honeymoon destination among her girlfriends up until reality hit: wrong boyfriends, underpaid jobs, unexpected pregnancies and financial struggle. All of them gave up on Paris, but there she was. There she was and it was pouring rain, her new shoes were soaked, she was shivering and not sure if Tony really knew the way.

"How much longer?" She asked.

"Not much. We'll turn left on the next corner and walk for three blocks."

"You said it wasn't far." She whined.

"It isn't. We're almost there." Just then they were hit by a gust of cold wind that blew the directions away and Gabi's spirit with it.

"What now?" She fumed.

"I think I remember the way, let's keep going."

"We should have taken a cab."

They got to the corner where they were supposed to turn left.

"Weird, this is not the name of the street we had to turn on." Tony said, checking the street sign.

"Try the navigation on your phone."

"It's not working. Let's try the next corner."

Gabi followed him in silence, pulling her suitcase with one hand and holding a flimsy umbrella with the other. After a few wrong turns and attempts to get directions from passers-by, they arrived at the hotel.

Check-in, find room, shower, dry clothes.

"Great. My shoes are ruined." Gabi said. She patted her new flats with a white towel.

"They'll dry. Did you bring another pair?" Tony said, applying mousse and styling his hair.

"Yes." Gabi let out a sigh and pouted.

"Good. Ready when you are."

"Do you really want to go out now? In this rain?" She sank on the bed. She was still wearing a bathrobe and hadn't combed her hair.

Tony looked out the window. "It's only a drizzle. Why are you so grumpy?"

Can't you see?! "I don't know. PMS?"

"Why don't we have a drink at the lobby and then hit the city?"

They ordered Amaretto sours. Gabi sat in silence and tried to chill out. Tony figured out the Parisian subway system, making circles around the stations they needed to get on and off.

The more they rode the subways and walked around, the more Gabi's heart sank. She felt guilty for not loving Paris and her stinky metro stations. The gangs of teenagers trying to pickpocket tourists, the men who practically shoved mini Eiffel Tower keychains at their faces, the unbelievable long line of people waiting to go up the real one. And the rain. She hated the rain for ruining their pictures. Her hair was a frizzly mess but what shocked her the most was how old and sad her face looked. What happened to me? That was not the way Paris was supposed to be.

It was late when they got back to the hotel. Tony undressed, turned the TV on and lay in bed. Gabi showered slowly, thinking about the fantastic places they had seen that afternoon and how underwhelmed she felt. I should be thrilled, I'm in Paris!

She put her grey nightshirt on and lay next to Tony. He turned the TV off, rolled on his side and kissed her. When he lifted her shirt and reached for a boob, she stopped him. "Just got my period."

"We can still fool around..." He kissed her again and grabbed her butt.

"Honey, I'm really tired. Sorry." She kissed him one last time, said goodnight and turned on her side.

The next day was still cloudy but it had stopped raining. They had planned on going up the Sacre Coeur steps, but the truth is neither of them was really up for it.

"I'm gonna die!" Gabi puffed halfway up.

"Almost there, baby, come on!"

"I hope they sell water up there. We forgot to bring a bottle."

"I hope the view is worth the climb like everyone says."

They arrived at the top, collapsed on the ground and just sat there for a while admiring the city at their feet.

"Look, the sun is coming through." Tony pointed. It was like a shower of yellow sunshine, falling through grey clouds.

"Finally! Let's go down and enjoy it."

They went back to the Eiffel Tower, bought food on the way and sat down on the grass. It was Easter and there were a lot of children hanging out with their wicker baskets or plastic bags full of colorful chocolate eggs, collected during the morning hunt. Some of the older kids were forced to share with their smaller siblings who hadn't found as many. The sun was really shining then.

"You're so quiet. Is everything okay?" Tony asked.

"Yes, just enjoying the sun."

A little girl in a yellow dress passed by holding her mother's hand. She looked at Gabi, smiled, freed her hand and came over to give Gabi a chocolate egg.

"Merci!" Gabi said.

The little girl turned on her heels without a word and ran back to her mother. Gabi watched them walk away, smiled and shared the egg with her husband. Sometimes it felt like everything would be alright.

***