Take Me to Paris

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

‘’Oh, I’m so glad for you, Amélie. I can promise you’ll love Paris.’’

Madame Blanche clapped in excitement. However, Amélie wasn’t so sure. What if she got lost? Not a lot of Parisians speak English.

‘’Have you told your parents yet?’’

‘’No, I’ll call them later. They’re still working, so I don’t want to bother them. Besides, I’m sure my father will be very happy.’’

It was true, he was quite obsessed with Bordeaux, Lyon and Paris. When Amélie was younger, he used to tell her stories about French cities and unsolved mysteries. His favourite theme, though, was the Opera in Paris. When Phantom of the Opera, a musical, came out, he stayed up late every night trying to connect it with real events. That caused Amélie to sometimes pretend she was sleeping so that he would stop talking, kiss her on forehead and leave. Sure, it was great for her father to find out what he likes and enjoy it, but she just wasn’t interested. That’s why Alexandre reminded her of her father.

‘’Blanche? Où es-tu?’’

Alexandre’s father called out as he entered the house. He left his car keys on a coffee table in the living room, came to the kitchen and hugged his wife. Back when Alexandre and Amélie came back from the basement, Madame Blanche seemed like she knew what took them so long to get a bottle of champagne. Just when they  set the table and told Madame about their plans, Monsieur Lucas arrived.

‘’Salut, mon fils. Amélie.’’

They both nodded, a bit afraid of how he’ll react when he finds out about Paris. Monsieur Lucas sat next to Alexandre while his wife came back with onion soup.

‘’Bon appétit!’’

Madame said and looked at Alexandre, raising her eyebrows. She was still smiling, but wanted to say it was the right time to tell. After clearing his throat, Alexandre nodded to himself and turned to his father.

‘’Papa?’’

Monsieur stopped eating soup and turned to Alexandre with worry in his eyes. The way his son called him meant something was either wrong or is going to surprise him... a lot.

‘’Nous allons à Paris. J'ai eu le boulot.’’ (We’re going to Paris. I got the job.)

His father grinned, quickly hugging his son. Madame Blanche sighed in relief, she hadn’t expected Lucas would be so happy.

‘’Quelles bonnes nouvelles. C'est vraiment fantastique!’’ (What good news. That’s really great!)

Although Amélie couldn’t really understand what he just said, she figured it out by his expression. Madame took her hand, as if telling her it will be alright. Now all she needed to do is to call her own parents and if they let her go, she could avoid Spain and her aunt.

‘’Attendre, nous?’’ (Wait, we?)

‘’Oui, Papa. Amélie et moi.’’ (Yes, dad. Amélie and I.)

Lucas’ eyes fixed on Amélie until she started to get uncomfortable. She couldn’t look at him for long, it would really be awkward. Monsieur Lucas seemed like he was deep in his thoughts, so none dared to say something. After a minute of silence, he nodded, murmuring something in his chin.

Alexander looked at Amélie, silently saying his father understands. Although he spent most of the time working, Lucas knew his son and Amélie were always together. There wasn’t a way to break them apart, but he also wasn’t trying to. Just the opposite, he hoped they’ll see how much they love each other, not only like.