Paris She remembers

Prolougue

    My pace slow down till I come to a halt right in front of the spot where we sat. How long ago was that? A sudden feeling of sadness descend over me as I look at the empty table. I turn and start to walk away. After walking about 10 feet, I stop again. Without thinking twice I turn around and retrace my steps and before long, I am pulling out the chair to the empty table, the same table we sat when we first came here together. Within seconds, a waiter approaches and hands me the menu. I obviously don't require it but I thank him anyway. I know exactly what I'm going to order.

"Iced-Tea and fries please." 

"Sure." He smiles and walks away, leaving me to my own thoughts.

Sitting alone feels strange. Not that I have never sat in a café alone. In fact I do a lot of things alone. I go to malls alone, I shop alone, I even go to the movies alone but that was before him, before he frivolously  waltzed into my life. And now it feels strange and new, to be sitting here alone without him. I guess I'm still not really used to not having him around. Get over it  already Thea!  The voice inside my head yells.
 I pick up the menu card in front of me and start to mindlessly toy with the pages as I wait for my order to arrive.

"Sorry it took long." A gruff voice apologizes and I look up to see a faintly familiar face. It wasn't the same person who just took my order but the person who served us the first time we were here! I hold back from sarcastically laughing out loud at the harsh co-incidence.
As he placed the single glass of Iced-Tea, my mind spirals back in time to this very same place about a year ago....

  He takes a sip of his Iced-Tea and adjusts the guitar he was holding. He then pulls his chair closer towards me with his other hand and leans in. We are seated in this small cosy Café that we stumbled upon in Place Du Tertre, just a few blocks away from the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

"C'mon. Tell me which song Thé!"

He nudges and flashes a playful smile. But it's the way he calls me Thé (Thay) in that annoying flirty French accent of his that always gets to me. Annoying because I was starting to grow fond of it and flirty because.. well, I don't know! I just feel that's how most French guys sound when they talk.
I roll back my head a little, pretending to be vexed with his question.

"What?" I ask as he stare a little more intently with those green eyes.

"I'm still waiting." He replies, as he casually leans back into his chair.

"Ohh I don't know really.. I can't think  of any." I lie.

 Of course I did know and the song is playing on my mind but I couldn't get myself to tell him.
 4 months into our secret little affair and I know this is real..very real! I also know the emotional wall I built was going to come crashing down anytime  and I couldn't lie to him or myself anymore.

I try to think of something clever to say just to change the subject.

"The fries are getting cold." I blurted out.

Wow Thea! That was really clever indeed!  I sarcastically remark to myself.

My last statement extinguished that slight mischievous twinkle in his eyes and killed whatever little fun we were having. Having given up, he lets out a sigh and reaches for some fries instead. 

"It really is breathtaking, isn't it!" I exclaim, as I draw my attention back to the moderately crowded street, momentarily distracted by the night scene playing out before us. People stroll past us at a leisure pace, enjoying the beauty of the night.

Paris during the day was beautiful but Paris during the night had a different story to tell. It feels as though someone casts a beautiful dizzy spell every night over this magical city, enchanting its people, places and everything else that is. And when the wind blows, you could hear it whisper in your ears "anything can happen". This city will make you fall in love.. will make you believe in love. There was something about it.