Secrets (2 page)

“Sonya?”
Brian’s voice snapped her back to reality. “
Madame
Lalonde
has prepared dinner for us, but she’ll understand if you want to go
out and be alone.” Typical Bryan, she contemplated, never forcing
his wishes upon her.

A smile warmed
Sonya’s face. “That sounds lovely!
Merci
,” she said, turning
to
Madame
Lalonde. In return,
Madame
Lalonde grasped
Sonya’s hand and patted it.

“
Bien!
I
cook now.” Still holding her hand, Madame Lalonde pulled Sonya into
the most charming Provencal kitchen she had ever seen. The table
was set for four, wine glasses sat at the ready, and candles were
waiting to be lit.

“Sit,” they
were ordered. Bryan pulled out a chair for Sonya and chose another
next to her. Obviously, Madame Lalonde had expected them to stay. A
most exquisite, mouth-watering aroma emanated from the casserole
that Madame Lalonde removed from the oven.

A grin
blossomed across Bryan’s face. “This dish was always my favourite,”
he explained. “
Merci, Madame
Lalonde
. Ça, c’est mon
favori!
”

Madame Lalonde
silently nodded in acknowledgement as she continued to prepare
their meal. She was just placing crusty bread on the table when a
door slammed. Glancing up, her brow furrowed in annoyance as a
handsome youngster burst into the room. One look at his flushed
face and angelic smile, erased every trace of annoyance, especially
when he stopped dead in his tracks and stared unabashedly at
Sonya.

“
Sylvain,
” Madame Lalonde said quietly. He looked up at
her.

“
Je suis en
retard, Granmama, je le sait
.
(I am late, Grandmother, I
know
)” Obviously what he said pleased her.

“Sylvain
,
” she continued in the same voice. “
Ça, c’est
Madame
Mylowsky. Sonya, this is my grandchild, Sylvain.”

With a
formality befitting one much older, Sylvain very seriously nodded
and shook Sonya’s hand. “It is a pleasure for me to meet with you,”
he said in fairly good English. “Welcome to you as well,
Monsieur
Mylowsky.”

“Thanks,” Bryan
replied with an amused look, tousling the boys’ shining, dark hair
in a way that told Sonya that this was not for the first time.
“Your English has really improved since I lived here.”

The youngster
beamed with pride. “
Granmama
allows me to rent English
movies on the weekend. Bridgit Jones, it was very funny, yes?”

A laugh escaped
and Brian soberly nodded his head. “Yes, she was.”

Watching this
interaction with fascination, Sonya gauged the boy to be about
eleven or twelve, about the same age as her nephew, Ivan. His
animated brown eyes almost danced with mischief, and his hair was
shining and very dark brown, a stray lock of which seemed
determined to hang across his forehead.

“Pour the wine,
Bryan,” Madame Lalonde requested as she dished out their dinner and
dispatched Sylvain to light the candles.

Their meal was
as delicious as the aroma had promised. Conversation was a
combination of English and French, in deference, Sonya assumed, to
the fact her high school French was much less than adequate.
Sylvain enjoyed practising his English, and argued when his
grandmother sent him to do his school work and then to bed.

After assisting
to clear the dishes, Sonya and Bryan retired to their room which
was, as Sonya expected, every bit as charming as the rest of Madame
Lalonde’s home. It made her curious about how Bryan had met her and
how long he had boarded with her.

“What do you
think?” he asked as they prepared for bed.

Pausing as she
brushed her hair, Sonya’s reply was immediate. “I think this is
absolutely perfect. How did you ever connect with Madame Lalonde?”
she asked casually, unable to keep her curiosity hidden.

“A friend of a
friend,” he answered somewhat noncommittally. “One of the Profs
took pity on me and put in a good word. Apparently,
Madame
Lalonde is pretty particular about who she allows to board with
her.”

“Does her
grandson live with her all the time?”

A flash of
compassion crossed Bryan’s face. “His mom died and his dad works in
the Middle East. They had a family conference as to what would be
best, and it was decided he would live with his grandmother in
France. His dad comes home every six weeks or so for a visit.”

“How sad for
that boy,” Sonya’s sympathy arose. “Thank goodness he has his
grandmother. I’m a lot older than he is, and I still miss my
mother,” she admitted as they crawled into bed. “I’m wiped! It’s
been a very long day with the flight, time change and all.”

Gathering Sonya
into his arms, Bryan stifled a yawn. He was wiped as well, he
admitted as he drifted to sleep beside his wife.

Awake long
before dawn, Sonya sat by the window and watched as night
reluctantly surrendered to day. A cat wandered down the street,
crossed the road and entered into what appeared to be a garden. By
the way it patrolled the perimeter of the yard Sonya surmised that
this was where it called home. Sunrise finally struggled through
the pale light, bathing buildings with its golden glow and casting
deep shadows like tall giants all leaning in one direction.

“Been awake
long?” Bryan’s voice whispered in her ear.

“A few hours.
Time zones are a bit of a bitch. Did you sleep?” Sonya replied.

“Off and on all
night. I’m pretty lucky – for some reason I seem to be able to
sleep almost at will. Maybe it’s because my younger brother, the
one that died, needed twenty-four-seven care. We all took turns
sitting with him. When he died, we didn’t know what to do with all
the extra time. Until then, we looked after Kenny. He left a pretty
big gap in our lives.”

She reached
over and stroked his cheek softly. “I know that you still miss him.
I guess my family was really fortunate not having to deal with a
terminal illness, especially in one so young. All of the cousins
have been healthy.

Leaning his
chin on his wife’s head, Bryan gathered her into his arms, watching
out of the window with her. “Every family has its own hardships.
What your family hasn’t been forced to deal with in health issues,
it has dealt with in tragedy. No one gets through life
unscathed.”

“I guess you’re
right, Sonya agreed with a ragged breath. “Everyone pays their
dues.”

Recognizing the
change in her mood, Brian decided to change the subject. “Do you
want to do some sightseeing today or do you want to shop, eat or
whatever?”

“Whatever
sounds good to me right now,” Sonya smiled as she reached for
him.

His heart
skipping a beat at the look of desire in her eyes, and he doubted
that any of the jocks that had preyed upon him as a youngster could
ever claim such a beautiful woman as a part of their lives.

Their bodies
touched softly, almost in a fragile manner. Passion, which was
never far from the surface exploded, as they created their own
universe, one in which no one and nothing existed other than each
other.

Leading Sonya
to their bed, Bryan began to make love to his love and with every
touch trying to convey the depth and breadth of his love and
commitment for his gift, his love, his wife. In the early light of
dawn, they joined the sun in their explosion of light, love and
passion.

“Do you want to
see some of Paris today?” Bryan asked as he pulled a sweatshirt
over his newly combed hair, sending it back into its seemingly
constant disarray.

“Absolutely,
there’s nothing better than seeing a city from an insider’s point
of view. Where do we begin?”

“After
breakfast, why don’t we ask
Madame
Lalonde to pack us a
lunch, and we can buy a bottle of wine somewhere, and have lunch
along the river in one of the parks. We can just wander around for
you to get the feel of Paris, and perhaps, go to the university
where I studied. Then, tomorrow if you like, we can go to some of
the tourist places – the
Eiffel
Tower,
Versailles
,
Notre Dame
Cathedral or
Montmartre
.
Le Louvre
will take much more time. How does that sound?”

“That sounds so
very honeymoon like! I love the idea. We can just wander around,
suck up the ambience and forget work and the rest of the world.
Great idea!” Sonya replied. “I’m starved!”

They proceeded
to the kitchen, where Madame Lalonde had set out a continental
breakfast and asked if they wished coffee, pouring each of them a
cup. Sonya’s eyes popped wide open with her first sip. It was the
strongest coffee that she had ever encountered.

From the
glitter in Bryan’s eyes, Sonya knew that he had been expecting this
reaction, and decided to put this item in her little black book.
She did, gradually, become accustomed to the coffee, but definitely
did not require a refill. Her caffeine level was over the top with
just one cup.

After
breakfast, Bryan loaded their lunch into his backpack along with a
thermos of water, and then they bid
adieu
to
Madame
Lalonde, promising to be home in time for dinner.

Sonya loved
Paris. She loved the feel of it, the architecture, the sound of it
and the pulsing life that it seemed to have. Bryan was a great tour
leader. He seemed to know the smallest neighbourhood corners, the
most unique little spots and the shortest routes to where he felt
that they needed to be. It was such a bonus to have a guide that
knew not only the city, but what she would enjoy.

Eventually,
they ended up at the American University of Paris, and as an
alumni, Brian proudly led her around the campus that he knew so
well. It was a learning experience for Sonya, given that her degree
was earned in two slightly smaller universities. Bryan led her to
the department in which he had studied. Some of the staff members
greeted him. Others watched him with blank looks, wondering how
this stranger could know their department so well.

Finally, they
stood in front of an open door. Bryan didn’t knock, he simply said,
“Hey!”

The slight man
with the goatee looked up from his desk and his smile lit the room.
“Hey, Man!” was his response, as he leapt from his chair and
enveloped Bryan in a king sized hug. “What the hell, you’re in
Paris?”

Then, he saw
Sonya and his jaw dropped. “Holy shit, is this the lady you
couldn’t stop talking about? Jaysus, you weren’t braggin’, she is
drop dead fuckin’ gorgeous!”

Sonya didn’t
know what to do or to say, she was that embarrassed.

“Watch your
mouth, Grégoire! The lady happens to be my wife!”

“If I were a
Frenchman, Sonya, I would have some silky words to apologize, but
I’m Louisiana Cajun and ya know, all I can say is, man, you are off
the scale beautiful!” And, Bryan, I apologize for thinkin’ that you
were braggin’. Shit, you weren’t evin’ half right!”

Bryan laughed
out loud. “I told you so, Grégoire, she’s totally beyond belief!
And, I will repeat, my wife. Your southern charm will not work with
her like it does with the ladies here in Paris! You really are
laying it on a bit thick,” he added seriously.

Grégoire
chuckled and let go of Bryan. He held his hand out to Sonya, and
like a southern gentleman, kissed her knuckles. “Grégoire Benoit,
at your service. It is my supreme pleasure to meet the beautiful
wife of my good friend and student,” he stated very formally.
“Welcome to Paris!”

Sonya didn’t
know how to take this over the top man, but she relied on the
internal radar that she could always depend upon. She couldn’t help
her blush, but she realized full well a come-on when one was
presented. And for a change, she used her blonde beauty to pretend
that she was not nearly as intelligent as she really was, as much
as she despised that ploy. And she hoped that Bryan would keep his
mouth shut.

For some reason
that she couldn’t understand, despite his
bon vivre
good
humour, she instantly disliked Grégoire. It was a visceral
reaction, one she always listened to, not that it happened often.
Sometimes, she decided, it was better to have someone underestimate
your intelligence, and his kind did automatically. This was a man
to keep at arm’s distance she decided, despite his seeming
friendship with Bryan.

“Ah, Grégoire,
how very nice to meet you! Bryan has spoken of you and the
university so often. I love Paris, thank you. It’s such a beautiful
city for a honeymoon! I’m so looking forward to seeing the rest of
its beauty. With such a wonderful tour guide, how can I go wrong!”
she kissed Bryan softly on the cheek and took his arm possessively,
batting her china blue eyes at Grégoire.

Grégoire’s
smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, as he appeared to analyze her.
They remained flat brown, but his face still smiled. “
Madame
Mylowsky, you are so right, Paris is such a lovely lady! I hope
that you have a wonderful time here. I know that Bryan will show
you everything that Paris has to offer. I have a class in twenty
minutes, so I must rush! It was wonderful to see you again, man,
and to meet you, Sonya. Perhaps, we can meet at the
Le
Cavern
later?”

“Great idea!”
Bryan replied before Sonya could object. “Same time as usual?”

“
Oui!
We
will have an opportunity to socialize then.
Au revoir!
” With
that, he lifted his computer bag onto his shoulder and rushed out
of the office and down the hall.

Bryan put his
fingers against his lips to shush Sonya from saying anything, and
then led her out of the building. Then he turned to her and said,
“That wasn’t exactly the way that I wanted you to meet Grégoire.
He’s not quite what he appears to be. Neither were you, for the
record, why the Barbie doll act?”