Cities Through Her Eyes

Bordeaux

I got off the train at about 2 in the afternoon. It was a lay over at the Bordeaux station for about two hours. Sure enough, my phone started ringing. It had managed to be a good 2 hours since my last conversation with my mother. "Yes mother I know. Thank you yes I am thanks, okay I have to go." 

Once again, she had called to say how proud she was of me. When I told her about plan to go to Barcelona, she said, "Darling, I finally see some part of myself in you now." The next morning, I found more money transferred to my account. I always had this fear that I could never live upto my mom's exceptional life. The stories of the parties, travels and boys from her youth. More than living up to them, I could never live up to her expectations. 

I was never the "popular girl". In fact, I was quite the opposite. I had only a few friends and only one I actually liked. Her name is Kacy, we met in book club. Yeah, I was the book club type of girl. I did have one boyfriend. Doyle, I don't remember if that was his first or last name. Think I only went out with him because it would make my mom proud. I don't know if it did.

Don't get me wrong though, my mother is not some villainous monster who ignores her daughter. She never showed any despair in the way I was. She celebrated my accomplishments, like winning the spelling bee or my straight-A average, with lavish parties and a stretched out smile. I knew her too well to see through it though. 

I had 2 hours to kill. I took my loaded bag and synched it around my back and walked out the exit door which led me to a subway. There, I heard the echoes of a familiar song. "Je suis couché dans les larmes au lit toute la nuit, Seul sans toi à mes côtés." It was in french but I knew the song. I started swaying with music and followed it. A dark girl with ripped jeans was sitting on the stairs with her guitar clenched in her hands which effortlessly stoked the instrument. "Prends mon corps, Prends mon corps"

"All I want is" it was like something came over me again, perhaps my love for this song. I stood in the middle of the crowd and started to sing. "All I need is.." The people in front of me made a passage, clearing my way to the centre. I walked through sining "To find somebody." The girl looked up at me, and we sang together. "I'll find somebody." 

When the crowd started to fill up her hat with coins, I turned and started to walk away. "Excusé- moi? You, girl in red shirt?" I look back. "This is yours aussi. Half- half no?" I just stood there, contemplating how to respond. "Come, come. What's your nom? I am Mia." She puts her hand forward and I shake it but she use my hand to pull herself up from the grey stairs. She stared at me for a second and then raised her eyebrows.

"Oh right, um I am Ness, well Inessa. Call me Ness or you know, whatever."

"Okay then Ness. Clearly you are new to Bordeaux. Wha-"

I interrupted her, "Yes completely, it's just a lay over. I mean I  don't even know anything about this place except course the wine. Who doesn't know about the wine here. Sorry you were saying?" My rant seemed to bring a smirk on her face. 

"Wine huh? My uncle has the best vineyard around here. Come try it. Free of charge, I promise."

I would've never accepted an invitation from a stranger but she seemed genuine and not at all like serial killer on the loose. She had just played a Kodaline song and wore a t-shirt of 1975, I liked her. "Sure sounds like fun."

The red juice swirled around my mouth before disappearing down my throat. The wine almost tasted sweet. Mia's uncle was a typical chubby middle-aged man. His round tummy maddest difficult for him to walk without a little jiggle. All I wanted to do was hug him, he was so cute! 

"You like it?" He asked after I grinned with one sip of it. 

"Best wine I have ever had, not that I have had a lot of wine, but if I had, this would still be the best." 

He poured me another glass. "Hahah I like her." He looked at Mia and said. Then he returned back inside to his cellar. 

The wind blew away a few dandelions in our direction. The scent of the grass reached us as well. And the orange sky made the atmosphere gleam with joy. 

"Where to next?" Mia asked, breaking the silence. 

"Barcelona- wait what time is it?"

"A half past 4, why? Is everything okay?"

"Shit! I missed my train. It left 30 minutes ago." I stood up and rummaged through my back pack, scattering a few clothes on the wooden desk we sat on. 

Mia finished her glass of wine and then said, "Barcelona? I'll drop you. I have my car here."

" That's nice of but you know I can not accept that."

"I live in San Sebastian, the Basque region of Spain. It's really trouble. Its Europe, everything is close by. And honestly I was thinking of going somewhere for a few days, Barcelona seems like the place."

"What about your uncle?"

"Oh I keep stopping by, I will go down and tell him. We can leave in hour?"

"Sounds perfect. Thank you for this, I can't believe how nice you are."

"Oh trust me, I am doing this for me too, haven't been to Barcelona in a while."

And so here I am, in Mia's car. With my feet on the bumper and window all the way down. Road tripping to Barcelona.