5am Start

Louvre

We go through the main door to find the chauffeur waiting in a black Citroën XZ. He opens the door for us to step in and drives out of the car park.

The air whips through the open window of the Citroën as it slims past the Opera house. I feel the city tear past me as I try to clear my thoughts in the passenger seat with Yourri beside me using her phone. My cold shower had done nothing to ease my uneasiness. My mind keeps wondering who's next to die? Please not Rashid,  I'll die if he also dies.

As the Citroën accelerates across the city the profile of the Eiffel tower immerges. We reach the intersection of Rue de Rivoli, the traffic light turns red so we have to stop . We wait for about two minutes before it switches to green then our car turns right, the driver cutting across an avenue out onto a wide quadrant. I can now see the end of the Tuileries Gardens. Even though I've not been here in a very long while, I can still make the city out easily.

The driver finally pulls the car over into the car park and parks on an empy spot of the building that houses the Musée du Louvre, which holds over a million pieces of artwork ranging from sculptures to paintings including the famous Mona Lisa and Winged Victory.

I open my door and step out onto the neat pavement before the chauffeur even gets down and Yourri follows suit. She smiles at him and I ignore them both, walking directly to the grand stairs made of marble with Yourri trying to catch up with me.

I make it to the reception where a young lady who may probably be in her early twenties in a neatly starched white long-sleeved blouse is seated. Nice ironing skills.

"Marseille Reneau, Je suis ici pour prendre une commande" I tell her that I am here to pick up an order and glance at Yourri who seems awestruck by the designs of the building.

She nods and says onto the telephone that I have arrived, "Monsieur Reneau est arrivée" then listens for some few seconds before hanging up.

"S'il vous plaît avoir un siège, vous serez assisté à un peu" she smiles telling me to take a seat and that she would be with me in a bit.

"D'accord " I respond okay in french and sit on a white leather couch and after ten minutes she comes over to where I am seated. I observe she's in a blue knee-length fitting skirt with matching stilettos. Why am I even looking at her?

"S'il-te-plait viens avec moi" she says for me to come with her and I comply.

She takes me to the counter at the reception and hands me a brown envelope addressed to gandfather and I turn to leave immediately. Maybe grandfather already told them that I'll be picking up the painting because she doesn't question me.

"Ne vérifierais-tu pas si c'est vraiment ta peinture?" Wouldn't you check to confirm if it's really your painting? She inquires of me before i am able to move a step away and I turn back to look at her. I notice she has a beauty spot under her lower lip.

"Je m'en fiche et d'ailleurs je ne sais pas ce que c'est supposé être " I reply that I don't care and besides I don't know what it's supposed to be.

"Vraiment? parce que vous avez vraiment l'air heureux dans la peinture" Really? because you really look happy in painting, she confesses to my amazement. Wtf?

"Qu'est-ce que tu racontes?" What are you talking about? I ask but then decide to find out myself instead of waiting for her answer by opening the envelope, revealing a very magnificent golden frame with a painting of my dad who's kissing the side a smiley Martina's head.

I try to calm myself from smashing the frame. I look up at the receptionist who was smiling broadly concealing the anger in my eyes.

"Erhmm I should go" I say in English before translating to French, "Je devrais partir"