A Summer in Paris (22 page)

* * * *

After that night, Nina’s parents were even more tight-lipped. She could tell they were feeling as if they were being backed into a corner, as if too much was happening too fast—for them as well as for their daughter. But Nina continued to stand her ground. While at one time she had been afraid that her parents might be able to talk her out of her plan to stay on in Paris, seeing that their caution was based more on fear of the unknown than anything real made her more determined than ever. While the three of them weren’t discussing their conflict every minute they were together—in fact, they were barely talking about it at all—it was no secret to any of them that whether Nina would stay on was first and foremost on everyone’s mind.

Finally, on their fifth day in Paris, after Nina had already taken them to every museum, cathedral, and monument she could find in the guidebooks, she could stand the tension no more.

“Look, Mom and Dad,” she said as they sat together on a bench in the Bois de Boulogne, resting.

It was, in fact, the same bench that she and Pierre always used as their meeting place—”their bench,” as they thought of it. She had brought her parents here to the Bois only as a last resort, preferring to keep this place special in her own mind but having run out of other choices of how to keep them busy for an entire afternoon.

“It’s really been fun, showing you two around,” she went on. “But I know that the whole time, you’ve been agonizing over my decision to stay on in Paris after the summer is over.”

“Are you still thinking about that?” her father returned. “Since you hadn’t said anything, I figured you’d forgotten all about that ridiculous idea.”

“No, Dad, I haven’t.” Nina’s voice was low and controlled. “And I don’t think it’s a ridiculous idea at all.”

“Nina, you simply cannot do this,” her father returned, his anger escalating. “It’s ... it’s crazy. I want you to stop talking about this right now. You’ve always been a sensible girl, and I’m not going to let you start getting silly now, not when college and your future and everything else are all set.”

Nina, feeling her eyes well up with tears, turned to her mother. “Oh, Mom!” she cried. “Can’t you help me? Can’t you help me make Daddy understand?”

“No, Nina, I can’t,” her mother returned coldly. “Because I happen to agree with him one hundred percent.”

“Look, I’ve had about enough of this,” Mr. Shaw said, standing up. “I ... I need a walk. I’m going back to the hotel.”

With that, he stormed off, heading toward the exit of the park.

Nina and her mother remained silent for a long time, sitting together on the bench. And then, suddenly, Nina knew what she had to do.

“Mom,” she said, “I know you don’t agree with me on this, and I know you don’t understand. But will you please do me one favor?”

“What’s that?” Mrs. Shaw asked uneasily.

“Come back to the Rousseaus’ house with me.” She took a deep breath. “There’s ... there’s something there that I want to show you.

Nina’s heart was pounding like a jackhammer by then. Part of her felt reckless, as if she were about to betray a confidence that she had been trusted with. But at the same time, another part of her knew that, given the circumstances, her grandmother would never have disapproved of what she was about to do.

* * * *

Mrs. Shaw sat perched on the edge of her daughter’s bed at the Rousseaus’ house. Her body was tense as she read the letters that, once upon a time, a young man named Marcel du Lac had written to a beautiful young American woman named Anna Went worth.

Nina, meanwhile, leaned against the window-sill, her eyes glued to her mother’s face. And she saw there what she had been hoping to see: that her mother’s expression changed from one of skepticism and confusion to one of understanding and sympathy.

The two of them were silent for a long time, sitting together in the same room, the mother reading, the daughter waiting. When Mrs. Shaw finally looked up after having read the last letter in the pile, her eyes were wet. Slowly she folded the letter up and placed it back in its envelope. She was treating the piece of paper with a kind of reverence, as if it were something fragile, something worthy of respect.

Her expression was sheepish as she glanced at her daughter. “I never knew about any of this,” she said in a voice that was hoarse with emotion. “It explains so much. That sadness that always seemed to be with her, no matter what else she was doing. The way her eyes would light up on those few occasions when she talked about the time she had spent in Paris. The way she would sit in the garden, surrounded by all those yellow roses, with that dreamy, faraway look in her eyes....”

Her voice trailed off. Never before had Nina heard that tone in her mother’s voice, and she had never seen such a soft, romantic look on her face. It was as if she had uncovered a whole different side of her, one that Nina had never before been allowed to see. She wondered if perhaps her mother herself had even forgotten that that side of her existed.

“Thank you for letting me see these,” Mrs. Shaw went on. “I can see that they mean a lot to you.”

Nina sat down on the opposite edge of the bed. “I am hoping that they will help you understand what staying on in Paris means to me.”

Gently she took the letters from her mother and placed them on the bed, between the two of them. “My grandmother—your mother—wasn’t able to stay in Paris, to see if her love with Marcel was real, to explore what her life could have been like if she had felt free to follow her dreams. She was too tied to convention, too afraid to break free of her family’s expectations of her. But things are different now—”

“Some things haven’t changed,” her mother interrupted.

Nina looked at her, confused.

“What hasn’t changed is that mothers still want the best for their daughters. They want to protect them, to keep them safe....” She reached over and took Nina’s hand. “And maybe to hold on to them just a little bit longer than they should.”

Mrs. Shaw’s face softened into a smile. “You’re right, Nina. You do have to do what you feel in your heart. What your father and I want for you can’t always be the same as what you want for yourself. You’re a young woman now, not a child. And it is time for you to start making decisions for yourself.”

“Then you agree that it’s okay if I stay?” Nina gasped, not quite able to believe she was hearing her mother correctly.

Mrs. Shaw nodded. “Yes, Nina. I can see now that I was wrong. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

“I know one thing you can do,” Nina said with a frown. “You can talk to Daddy. Try to make him understand.”

“Yes, I’ll even do that.” Mrs. Shaw laughed. “I don’t think your father is the romantic type, but I do know one thing. Every time you and I stand firm in our beliefs, we manage to win him over.” She chuckled again, then added, “Well, sooner or later, anyway.”

“Oh, Mom, thank you.” Nina leaned over and gave her mother a big hug. “I wanted you to understand. I wanted you to know how important this was to me.”

“I do now,” her mother replied.

When the two of them pulled apart, Mrs. Shaw was smiling. “Now, Nina, does this mean I finally get to meet this young man of yours? The one you’ve been hiding from us?”

Nina laughed. “Yes, Mom. I’d love it if you and Dad met Pierre.”

“I’m sure he must be very special” Mrs. Shaw said. Thoughtfully, she added, “Just like his grandfather.”

“There you are, you two! Thank goodness! I was afraid I’d missed the plane!”

Jennifer came running across Charles de Gaulle Airport, dragging along her two heavy suitcases. She was headed toward Gate 12, the departure point for Air France Flight 77, Paris to New York City, scheduled to leave in less than an hour.

Nina and Kristy, lingering in front of the duty-free gift shop, looked at each other and laughed.

“I guess some things never change, do they?” Kristy said, still chuckling.

Suddenly she grew serious. “But there is one thing that has changed. Jennifer and I may be going back home in an hour, but you won’t be coming with us.”

Nina’s smile faded. It was as if, all of a sudden, the magnitude of what she was doing hit her. Two fat tears drifted down her cheeks.

“Oh, Kristy, I’m so scared!” she cried, her voice barely a whisper.

“I know you are.” Kristy leaned over and threw her arms around her friend. “Anybody in your shoes would be scared to death.”

“Really?” As she hugged her back, burying her face in her shoulder, Nina sounded as if she didn’t quite believe her.

“Sure. You’re about to begin the biggest adventure of your life. A new city, a new job, a new apartment, a new boyfriend ...”

“There’s one old thing I’m going to miss very, very much.”

“What’s that?”

As Nina drew away, her expression was one of surprise. “Why, my old friends, of course!”

Neither of them spoke for the next few seconds. But the looks on both their faces said much more than mere words ever could.

“Are you guys still here?”

Jennifer was back, still clutching her suitcases— and looking very impatient.

“We were supposed to meet Ms. Darcy and the others at the gate about fifteen minutes ago,” she said. “She’s going to go ballistic if we don’t show up there soon.”

“Give me a break, Jen,” Kristy replied. “I’m not going to see Nina again for a long time.”

“Oh, Nina will be back, at least to visit, in no time. Right?” Jennifer added anxiously.

Nina couldn’t help laughing. “I guess I’ll have to come back, if I’m going to get to see you. I know I’d better not hold my breath until you hop on a plane and come over to Europe again!’’

“Oh, it’s not so bad here, once you get used to it,” Jennifer said loftily. “It’s even possible for a person to learn a thing or two—if she’s open to it, that is.”

“Well, Jen,” Kristy interjected, an impish look on her face, “there’s plenty of room in Nina’s apartment. With a little bit of reshuffling, I bet that one more person could fit in there without any problem. So it’s not too late for you to change your mind about getting on that plane and going back home—”

“Are you kidding?” Jennifer squealed. “I can’t wait!” Dreamily, she added, “Danny’s promised to be waiting for me at the airport with a dozen red roses.”

“Like I said before,” Kristy commented, grinning, “I guess some things never change.”

“There are some things I hope never change.”

All three girls turned at the unexpected sound of the male voice that had suddenly broken into their conversation. They saw that they had been joined by two of their favorite Parisians.

“Pierre!” Nina cried with delight. “You made it!”

“Of course! I wanted to be with you while you said good-bye to your two American friends.” Pierre slipped his hand in hers. “I thought you could probably use a Parisian friend right about now.”

Nina gave his hand a grateful squeeze. She was pleased that he understood.

“I just hope Nina doesn’t regret her decision,” said Alain, who had come over to Kristy and put his arm around her. “I can practically guarantee that working for my mother isn’t going to be any barbecue.”

“Barbecue?” The three girls looked at each other, puzzled. And then Kristy burst out laughing.

“I think you mean it won’t be any picnic!”

Alain just looked bewildered. “Ah, your language is so difficult.”

“Don’t worry, Alain,” Nina said reassuringly. “You’ll have plenty of time to learn it. In just a couple of weeks, you’ll be living in Boston.”

“I know. Not far from my favorite English teacher.” He was gazing fondly at Kristy. In a teasing voice, he added, “You know, the one who doesn’t own a single Rolls Royce but has still managed to drive away with my heart.”

“Well, I hate to be a wet blanket,” Jennifer cut in, “or as Alain would say, a damp comforter....”

“Or a moist afghan,” Kristy teased.

“Or a mildewed sleeping bag,” Nina added.

“Anyway, you guys, we’d better get a move on. I’m dying to get on that plane.”

“I guess it is almost time.” Kristy turned to face Alain. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Alain nodded. “We don’t even have to say goodbye.”

“We don’t, either,” Pierre whispered in Nina’s ear. Once again, she gave his hand a squeeze.

“So it looks like this is it.” Jennifer gave Nina a long look, then threw her arms around her. “Have a great time, kid!”

Next she faced Pierre. “And you make sure she’s okay, all right?”

“You’ve got my promise.”

“Okay, enough. Let’s get going before I burst into tears,” Kristy said. She blinked hard, took a few deep breaths, and then tossed her head. “Come on, Jen. Like you’ve been saying, we don’t want that plane to take off without us.”

She picked up her own suitcase, turned away, and then peeked over her shoulder at Nina.

“Catch you later,” she said lightly. And then she was off.

“Are you okay?” Jennifer asked in a soft voice, glancing over at Kristy as the two of them hurried toward the gate.

“I’m great,” Kristy replied. “Really. I’m happy for Nina. She got what she wanted.”

“You should be happy for yourself, too,” Jennifer pointed out. “Don’t forget, you also got what you wanted.”

Slowly a smile crept across Kristy’s face. “Yes, I guess you’re right,” she said. “I did get what I wanted.”

Nina, meanwhile, stayed behind with Pierre and Alain, watching her two best friends as they walked away. Instead of feeling sad or being on the verge of tears, the way she would have expected, she found she was actually smiling. She was experiencing a sense of warmth and security from just knowing she had such good friends—no matter how far away they might be.

“Do you want to stay?” Pierre asked gently. “We could watch the plane take off.”

“No, that’s all right.” Nina gave her friends one last look, then turned to him. “I’m ready to go.”

They began walking out of the airport, with Pierre at Nina’s side and Alain a few paces behind.

“Do you feel as if something in your life has just come to an end?” Pierre asked in a soft voice.

“In a way,” Nina replied.

She thought for a few moments before adding, “But do you know what? What I feel even more strongly is that something else is about to begin.”