Paris Summer (20 page)

As Janine was climbing into bed, the phone rang.
“Alloy” she said eagerly.

“Allo, je voudrais parler avec Pierre,” a woman’s
voice replied.

“Ce n’est pas le numero,” Janine replied.

Slowly she replaced the receiver and went back to
bed. The apartment seemed very lonely.

Over breakfast the next morning, Janine decided to
leave Paris. Summer vacation was already half over. If
she left next week she would still have time to visit some
of Europe and Scandinavia. The first thing to do was to
get a good map and plan her route. Most of the tickets could be bought as she went along. Then she wouldn’t
be tied down and could change her mind if she wanted
to. Rena had mentioned something about youth fare in
Europe. Was she still eligible? If so, maybe she could fly
to Greece, spend a week there, then ten days in Italy.
After that a train through Switzerland and Germany to
Denmark, visiting places along the way. Say two weeks
for that. Then there must be a boat from Denmark to
Finland. Another two weeks in Scandinavia. Hmm,
that left barely enough time to get back to Paris before
she flew home. And no time for England. Try again.
How about a train to England, then a plane to
Athens…

Janine sighed. Why on earth hadn’t she started
sooner? Was Sandy that much incentive to remain? In
retrospect it made no sense. She was still struggling
with a schedule when the phone rang. “Blast!” she said
as her pen slid across the page. “Allo?”

“My, you sound cheerful,” Mark said. “Problems?”

“Oh, hi, Mark! No, not really. It’s just that I’ve
decided to see the rest of Europe and I’m trying to
figure out what to visit when. Maybe you could help
me.

“Actually, Jacques would be a better person to ask.
He probably knows more about traveling in Europe
than I do,” Mark replied pleasantly.

“Thanks. I was hoping to buy my tickets today,” she
grumbled.

“All of them?”

Janine counted to ten silently. “Look, did you call
just to make fun of me or was there some other
reason?”

“I thought I’d see how you were,” he answered.
“After all, Rena asked me to-”

“I know, I know-look after me,” Janine cut him
off. “Well, you won’t have to worry about me much
longer. I should be gone by next week. That must be a
relief for you,” she said sarcastically.

“Yes.”

“Are you trying to be unpleasant?”

“No, it comes naturally with sisters. Since you’re fine
I’ll hang up,” Mark said. “By the way, you might try
tourist bureaus for the countries you want to visit.
‘Bye.”

Janine slammed down the phone. “Blast it! I forgot
to ask him what he told Jacques not to tell me.”

She dug out the phone books and made a list of
tourist bureaus to visit. If she walked down the Avenue
de l’Opera, she would be able to stop at most of them
that afternoon. So the next day would be the soonest
she could make any reservations. Armed with her list,
an umbrella, and a good map, Janine set out.

The Greek tourist office was heir last stop. Janine
was glancing through a glossy brochure when she
heard a voice that sounded familiar. Turning, she saw a
dark-haired young woman asking questions at the
desk. Her clothes were clearly expensive and flattered
her near-perfect figure. “Barbara?” Janine said
tentatively as the woman turned toward her.

“Janine!” the woman exclaimed. “How fantastic to
see you!”

Janine had known Barbara from college and now
they both worked in or near New York City. She had
been writing Barbara all summer, and not once had
Barbara mentioned a trip to Europe. But then, she
often did things without warning. “When did you
arrive in Paris?” Janine asked.

“Tuesday. I tried calling Rena’s apartment but
couldn’t get an answer. I was sure you and Rena were
both out of town,” Barbara explained.

“Actually, I’m getting ready to leave sometime next
week. Rena is still in Switzerland, and I don’t know
when she’ll be back.”

Barbara frowned. “Is she still writing that article?”

“No. Mark says she’s relaxing after writing it,”
Janine said.

“Mark says?” Barbara raised her eyebrows.
“Doesn’t Rena write you? Never mind, I want to hear
all about marvelous Mark! Let’s go find a cafe and
talk.”

“I’ve got a better idea.” Janine grinned. “Why don’t
you come over to my place-Rena’s apartment-and
have dinner with me?”

“Can’t.” Barbara giggled. “I’ve got a dinner date.
But I’ve got a couple of hours to spare so let’s go find
that cafe. Wait until I tell you whom I’m having dinner
with!”

“Knowing you, nothing would surprise me,” Janine
retorted amiably.

“Well,” began Barbara, once they were seated,
“yesterday, when I still couldn’t get hold of you, I
decided to spend the evening wandering around St.
Michel. As you must know, everyone goes there. Well,
as usual, within ten minutes I ran into three people I
know from Ohio State. But they were all rather dull so I
refused to join them. Then I saw this man. My dear, he
was so handsome! Tall, blond, welldressed. Of course,
so was I, for that matter, and we looked out of place.
You know how people dress around St. Michel.
Anyway, he noticed me about the same time and came over. You know I’m careful about strangers, but he was
so polite that I agreed when he suggested we have
brandy in a cafe and get to know each other. Well!
When he told me his name was Sandy I nearly died. I
looked at him closely and sure enough he matched the
description you sent me of your Sandy. After that I
couldn’t resist asking if he knew you. He said he did
and that you’d been going together but it was all over
now. Well, I told him, I’m not surprised. Just from
your letters I guessed you had a thing about Mark
somebody. Sandy sniffed and said you had bad taste.
Do you? He said that Mark was practically a pauper
and definitely an intellectual. I said I thought it was
romantic. That I could picture you being perfectly
happy in a hovel full of books!”

“Barbara,” Janine said quietly, “Mark is engaged to
Rena.”

“I know. Sandy told me. He also told me it was
unofficial.”

“But it’s still an engagement,” Janine replied.

“Garbage!” Barbara snorted. “A man is fair game
unless and until he has a wedding ring on his finger.
You’ve got to look out for yourself”

Janine sighed. Try again. “Barbara, Mark thinks of
me as a sister and I think of him as a brother. That’s
all.”

Barbara was suspicious. “If he’s just a brother to
you, why did he rate two pages in your letters while
your so-called boy friend, Sandy, rated barely two
lines? All right. All right. I’ll drop the subject. What are
all those brochures and maps? Are you planning to
start a travel agency?”

“Hardly. I can’t even straighten out my own plans,
much less anyone else’s,” Janine replied ruefully.

“Where do you want to go?” Barbara demanded.
“Maybe I can help.”

“At the very least I want to visit: England, Greece,
Italy, and Scandinavia. If possible, I’d also like to get to
Switzerland and Germany.”

“In six weeks? You have got problems. Where do
you plan to start?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I’d suggest flying as much as you can. To
Greece certainly. I know the Greek airline has a special
price for anyone under twenty-six this summer. It’s
definitely good between Paris and Athens and might be
good for other cities as well. You should make
reservations well in advance though, my dear.
Actually, I’m flying to Greece Monday. With Sandy.
Of course, he’ll have to pay full fare but that doesn’t
matter. Sandy doesn’t have to worry about money.
Listen, we must get together this weekend, the three of
us. I’m sure Sandy would want to. He said there were
no hard feelings.”

Janine shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Well,
I’m not sure it’s possible. Tomorrow I’ll be making
arrangements for my trip and Saturday Jacques is
taking me to Versailles and-”

“Jacques?” Barbara pounced on the name. “Who is
your mysterious Frenchman?”

“Did you ever meet Helene Durand? Well, she’s
back in Paris now and she has an older brother named
Jacques. I really don’t know him very well, but he’s
nice.”

Barbara made a face. “Sounds dull. But do go on.
You were about to tell me about Sunday. My, you have
been busy since you arrived in Paris.”

“Well, Sunday I always spend with Mark. We go to
museums and have dinner together.”

“I see. And it’s such an exciting date that you just
can’t bear to break it. Are you sure he’s just a brother to
you?” Barbara asked.

Janine groaned. “Barbara, he’s just being brotherly
when he shows me around Paris. Rena asked him to
look after me.”

Barbara nodded her head knowingly. “I wish I had a
brother like that. Mine are just nasty to me. Okay. Not
another word about Mark, I promise. I have to go
anyway if I want to be ready when Sandy comes to take
me to dinner. Do let me know what happens to you in
the next six weeks!”

As Barbara disappeared into the crowd, Janine
sighed with relief. She felt slightly dazed. She liked
Barbara, but what an imagination! On the other hand,
what had she written in her letters to Barbara? Never
mind that now. Time to get going. She still had to stop
at the market if she wanted any dinner.

Janine unlocked the door with relief. Despite
sensible shoes, her feet hurt. As soon as the groceries
had been put away, she collapsed on the daybed. After
a moment, she shivered although it was still quite warm
in the apartment. It was just that the place felt so
empty. Well, at least she had all those brochures to
keep her busy.

Twentyfour hours later, Janine was feeling even
more worn out. She had spent the day making and revising schedules according to advice she had received
from various airlines. And boat companies. But it was
settled. She would take the train to London on
Tuesday and fly to Helsinki a week later. Those tickets
she already had in hand. What a relief to have it all
settled! There should even be time to spend a few days
with Rena just before she left for New York. The
ringing of the phone aggravated her headache. “Allo?”
she said.

“Bon soir, ma petite, “Jacques’s voice answered.

“Ah, comment ca va, Jacques?”

“Ca va. Ma petite, I am very sorry, but tomorrow I
cannot go with you to Versailles. Someone has written
an important report and all this weekend I must study
it,” he explained unhappily.

“I understand,” Janine said sympathetically.

“Good. You are very kind. Perhaps next Saturday it
will be possible. Such a thing can not happen twice in
two weeks.”

“I’m sorry,” Janine said, “but I am leaving Paris on
Tuesday.”

“‘Why?”

Janine laughed. “I want to see the rest of Europe
though I am sure it will not be as perfect as Paris.”

He laughed also. “When will you return?”

“Oh, I’ll travel for about five weeks, then return.”

“Well, when you get back we will go to Versailles,
yes? Bon. It is decided. I hope you will have a nice trip.”
Jacques paused. “Janine, does Mark know you are
leaving?”

Janine stared at the receiver. “Yes. Of course he
knows. He thinks it is marvelous. I will no longer be his
responsibility.”

After a moment Jacques said, “Janine. He is a good
man, I think. Remember that. Au revoir et bon
voyage

There was a click and the line was dead. “Well,
really! What did that mean, I wonder?” Janine said to
the silent receiver.

She looked around. The prospect of spending the
evening in the apartment seemed dismal. Why had she
never realized the place was so depressing before? Well,
she wouldn’t stay here. She would go out. Anywhere.
Then she had it. Shakespeare and Company. She
hadn’t been there in a while. Perhaps she would find
some books for her trip. Something suitable for long
train rides.

As usual, the small bookshop was crowded. Janine
eased her way past several browsers until she came to a
small nook under the staircase reserved for paperbacks. She had to crouch a little to enter it. Happily
Janine seated herself on the dusty floor and began to
pull out books at random. She set aside to purchase
two or three, and began to read another. Sometime
later, Janine was snapped back from the islands off
Greece by a familiar voice. Hastily grabbing the books,
Janine left the nook, bumping her head in the process.
“Mark!” she said.

He stopped, his path blocked by Janine. “Oh, hello,
Janine.” Turning to his companion he said, “Bob, this
is my girl friend’s sister. She’s a mathematician too.
Janine, you’ve got dust on your face.”

“Dust or not, she’s still very attractive. Where have
you been hiding her?” Bob asked.

Mark shrugged. Janine wiped her hand on her jeans and offered it to Bob. “I’m glad to meet you. I gather
you’ve been in Paris a while,” she said.

“A month. I’m here for a year. How about you?”
Bob asked.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Mark said frostily, “I’ll be
upstairs.”

Without waiting for an answer, he stalked off, and
Bob repeated his question. Janine turned away from
the stairs. “What? Oh, no. That is, my sister lives in
Paris. She’s a freelance journalist. I’m just visiting her.
Only she’s not in town right now. I’ve been here about
a month and a half. And I’m leaving town Tuesday to
see the rest of Europe,” Janine concluded somewhat
breathlessly.

Bob looked slightly bewildered. “Do you always talk
like that? Everything all jumbled together?”

Janine flushed and took a deep breath. “No, usually
I sound quite rational. What area of math are you
interested in?”

“Oh, game theory and graph theory,” Bob replied
off-handedly.

“Not another visualist” Janine groaned.

“Another what?”

“Visualist. Someone who views math as a series of
mental pictures. Mark does. And every time we try to
discuss math, we end up fighting. You see, I perceive
mathematics via symbols and cannot easily perceive it
visually. Mark has trouble with algebraic descriptions.
As a result, we end up deadlocked. We can’t comprehend each other’s ideas,” she explained.