The Odd Couple in Paris

by Patricia M Swayze

“Oh good, the soup is here. So delicious—just like I made it. I made him promise that he would keep the original recipe, and he did. I think he should have kept more of my recipes, but he wanted his restaurant to be new. I had a weak spot for him, so I sold my restaurant to him anyway.”

  “It’s really wonderful and the best cacciucco that I’ve ever eaten,” said Lulu.

  “I agree,” said Martin.

  “When do you have to return for Rome tomorrow?”

  “We have to leave in the late afternoon to catch the last bus back,” said Martin.

  “We can bring some small baskets with us to the country and pick olives. I have a little olive grove and some citrus trees there. Take your camera and get some nice pictures of the countryside. It’s about two kilometers.”

  “That sounds like fun. How far is two kilometers?” asked Lulu.

  “About one mile,” answered Martin.

  “The panna cotta is very good here.” The three of them ate panna cotta and then took a taxi back to Anna’s house. They agreed to leave by 9:30 a.m. the next morning for their walk in the countryside.

  Anna retreated to her room to listen to music. Martin wrote in his journal and Lulu wrote a letter to J. P.

  Dear J. P.,

  By the time you get this letter, I will probably be back in the States. I’m having a great time in Italy. I did some touring of Rome and am now spending two days in a city called Siena. The Tuscany area is really beautiful. I think you and I would have a great time together here, just as we did in Rouen. Martin and I are staying at Anna’s house. She’s a seventy-year-old, very eccentric woman. Martin finds her amusing, which she is, but very outspoken. Apparently she knows my uncle from years ago. She knows lots of people in Italy. I’ve found out that it really is a small world.

  I want to invite you to visit me in November this year, if you can. I won’t be starting work anywhere until January. I could show you California. I miss you even though we didn’t spend that much time together, but the time that we had was great. My parents have plenty of room in their house. Say hello to Dillon for me. Dillon would love Anna. This has been my best summer, ever!

  Love, Lulu

  24

  The Olive Grove

  Lulu and Anna were both wearing sundresses with straw hats. Martin wore his Bermuda shorts and polo shirt. They looked like a family going for a walk out into the countryside. Lulu carried the three baskets stacked together. Martin carried a bag with fruit and water. It was warm, but pleasant, as they walked along.

  “Are these little groves and plots of land owned by people in the city?” asked Lulu.

  “Yes, some of them. You will see mine in about five minutes.”

  “This looks familiar to me. I think I came out here for a picnic with someone,” said Martin.

  “I’m sure you did. Don’t you remember, Mario? I know it was a long time ago, but your memory isn’t that bad yet.”

  “Yes, of course. But let’s not talk about that right now.” Lulu had a puzzled look on her face, but she felt that whoever it was, she’d rather not know.

  There was a sign in Italian that read Il Giardino di Anna. A few rose bushes were near the sign. There were rows of olive trees and a small hill that they had to climb. At the top of the hill they could see a row of orange trees farther down. There was a small table with chairs. “Let’s have some water and a snack, and then we can pick olives and a few oranges,” said Anna as she took her hat off. There were beads of perspiration on her brow. She pushed her hair back. Lulu was now aware that Anna wasn’t so young anymore. She seemed slightly out of breath from climbing the hill.

  “Do you come out here often?” asked Lulu.

  “Not often enough. I have to wait until my sister isn’t busy. I don’t like to walk out here by myself. A few times a year my niece and nephew come with me. They know how much I love it, and they’re in my will. Getting old is never good but being old and poor is miserable. So I feel fortunate not to be poor.”

  Anna and Martin took a basket from Lulu. Lulu decided that she wanted to pick some oranges to take back with her to Rome. She really wasn’t interested in the olives. While Anna and Martin picked the olives, Lulu walked farther down to pick the oranges.

  She could hear Anna and Martin talking. Then it was quiet. Anna had walked away from Martin to check on some trees. Lulu heard a loud shriek that sounded like a woman’s voice. Then Martin was yelling, “Lulu!” Lulu ran back up to the top of the hill where the olive trees were. She could hear Martin yelling and then laughter.

  “Oh, there you are. Anna slid down the hill on the other side. She’s OK, but her dress is stained and muddy. She’s not going to walk up here, so we have to walk back down with the baskets.”

  “I heard yelling. I’m glad that she’s OK.”

  Martin and Lulu walked down with the basket of olives and oranges. “What happened Anna?” asked Lulu.

  “I slipped on the olives on the ground and slid down that little hill on my butt. Look at my dress, it’s ruined. She started to pull twigs out from her hair. I thought that I was going to seriously injure myself when I fell, but it’s just embarrassing.”

  “You shouldn’t wander off,” said Martin as he pulled Anna up as she tried to straighten up her dress.

  “Can you walk back?” asked Lulu.

  “I think so. Let’s just walk slowly.” She put her arm through Martin’s arm.

  “Maybe a car will come by, and we can get a ride back,” said Lulu hopefully.

  They heard a donkey braying that was coming from a side road. A farmer was walking leading the donkey. Anna waved to him and called out in Italian.

  Anna asked the farmer if she could ride the donkey back to her house. She told him that she would pay him for his trouble. Martin was grinning while Anna got on the donkey with the help of the farmer.

  “Take my picture, Mario. It’s the only time that you will see me riding a jackass.”

  Martin and Lulu both got out their cameras. Anna was covered with grass stains and mud. The donkey was lucky that Anna was a petite woman. The farmer seemed amused by it all. As they got closer to Anna’s house, Anna got off the donkey and told Lulu to sit on the donkey so her uncle could take her picture. It made a cute picture of Lulu with her straw hat and sundress sitting on the small donkey.

  “Grazie,” said Anna as she handed the money to the farmer. He refused to take it, but Anna stuffed it into his shirt pocket. The farmer nodded to the three of them and turned around to head back toward the olive groves.

  “That was fun, even if I fell—but it’s not so bad.” Anna went to her room to get out of her muddy clothes.

  “I’m going to run over to the flower market down the street,” said Martin. Lulu went to her room to pack up her things.

  Anna came out in her robe. “Where is Mario?”

  “He went on an errand. He’ll be back soon. We have to catch the bus in thirty minutes, but I’m all packed and ready to go. I had a wonderful time with you, Anna. I’m so glad that I got to meet you.”

  “Me too, Lulu. You can visit me anytime. And bring the French guy with you.” Lulu smiled and gave Anna a hug.

  Martin came in with a bouquet of daisies and some wild country flowers. “For you, Anna, and yes, I remember.”

  “Thank you, Mario.” Martin handed her the flowers as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. He went to his room and quickly got his things together.

  They walked down the street and Anna called out from her window, “Ciao, Bella.” Lulu turned around and blew her a kiss.

  “She called me Lulu earlier.”

  “That means that she has accepted you. You know Italians can be suspicious at first, especially ones from Sicily. But once they accept you, they’re friends for life. I see our bus. We left just in time.”

  “Do you want the window seat?” asked Lulu.

>   “No, you can have it. I’m going to read.”

  “What did you mean when you told her that you remember?”

  “It was a long time ago. She was the most beautiful woman that I had ever met in my youth. Some things are better left untold. You shouldn’t share everything.” Martin looked at his book and was silent.

  Lulu looked out the window at the Tuscany countryside. Yes, some things are better left untold, she thought.

  The End

  Note from the Author

  If you enjoyed this story, please tell your friends. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertisement. My other novels are: The Swan and the Moon, published 2017, and Coffee for Strawberries, published 2018.

  About the Author

  Patricia Swayze resides in Tarzana California, a suburb of Los Angeles. She is married and has two adult children. She enjoys the warm, southern California climate and spends a great deal of time outdoors. She actually stops to smell the roses on her walks.

  Prior to living in California, she lived in various regions of the United States and spent a few years in Europe; all of this moving gave her an appreciation of the different cultures.

  She graduated with a BA and is bilingual. In addition, she has a background in fine arts, her other love. When she isn’t writing, she is spending time on her various artistic endeavors.