by Chloe Emile
Luc waved him over. "Mathieu. I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Mia."
Even though his face was flushed red and he was obviously tired from performing, Mathieu lit up when he greeted her. "So you're the one my brother's been so crazy about. I'm losing my voice because of you."
His voice was unusually hoarse. Screaming into the mic for an hour or two could do that to a person.
"Your voice is hoarse because you've been touring for the past three months," Philippe said.
"True," Mathieu said.
"Thanks for doing this," Mia said.
"No problem. I was thinking about doing a free concert for my fans anyway. Luc approached me with the offer to sponsor this concert, and I figured we can kill two birds with one stone. Any luck so far in finding your girl?"
Luc shook his head. "Not yet."
"But that's okay," Mia quickly added. "I was thinking if she doesn't show up today, we can always send your fans a link to my Facebook page. Maybe someone from your network would recognize her."
"That's a good idea," Mathieu said. "I can even write a letter to my fans myself."
"Really?"
"Sure. It's no problem. It'll be all over the Internet."
"Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Luc said. "You're a celebrity. Of course you can command that kind of attention. We didn't even need to put on this concert."
Mathieu laughed. "It's because you dream big. Simplicity doesn't suit you."
"So do you," Audrey said to Mathieu. "You weren't going to stop until you got to play in Madison Square Garden."
"And we did," Mathieu said. "But only as the opener for the Strokes. Next time, we'll headline."
"We all dream big in this family," Philippe said.
"A family of dreamers," Mia mused. "I like that."
"As you can see," Mathieu said, "the family is divided into athletes and artists. Xavier is the athletic one. Philippe too, when he's out of the kitchen and onto the soccer field."
"I have to work out," Philippe said. "Otherwise, with all the food I consume on a daily basis, I'd be pretty stout."
"Luc and I are the musical ones in the family," Mathieu said.
Mia turned to Luc in surprise. "How?"
"He sings too," Mathieu said.
"I have a fair voice," Luc said.
"More than fair. He's very good. When we were little, we sang in the church choir together, and they used to give him solos."
"Yes, but that was before I went through puberty and my voice changed."
"Oh, I don't know, I still think you have it in you." Mathieu turned back to Mia. "I keep asking him to duet with me on a record."
"Why don't you?" Mia asked Luc.
"Mathieu is always recording in obscure places," Luc said. "Where was the last place you recorded?"
"This cabin in Montana. It was great. My band and I got some fresh air—”
The chanting in the crowd got louder and louder.
Les Slinks, Les Slinks, Les Slinks.
"That's for you," Audrey told Mathieu.
"I have to go do an encore," Mathieu said. "Nice to meet you, Mia. See you guys in a bit."
Audrey, Xavier, Philippe, and Luc continued their conversation with Mia. They asked her a lot about her job as a journalist for Seattle Life magazine and the stories she used to work on.
"Mia writes great features," Luc said. "There was one that I read recently, about parents whose daughter died from leukemia."
"That was a hard one," Mia said. "I kept having to go out and take walks when I was listening to the interview recording and trying to write it. I get really emotional when it comes to those types of stories."
"I'll have to read it sometime," Audrey said. "Are you planning to get back into journalism, to your old job at Seattle Life?"
Mia and Luc looked at each other.
"I don't know yet," Mia said. "I was supposed to go back to Seattle in eight months and take my position back."
Luc looked a little tense. He didn't say anything.
"We're just trying to enjoy the moment," Mia added. "See what happens."
"Of course," Philippe said, clapping his brother on the back in support.
"I think it's so wonderful that you have such a big family," Mia said.
"I hope you find your sister," Xavier said.
Audrey smiled. "Even if you don't, remember, you always have us."
The words touched Mia. She felt tears coming to her eyes, but she willed herself not to cry. Instead, she laughed and said Merci.
Chapter 27
Luc had known that his siblings would like Mia. A couple of his brothers liked her a little too much, but who could blame them?
Even though their relationship was still new, he was hoping that Mia would change her mind and stay in Paris. He couldn't stand the thought of her leaving, but there was her job. Journalism was her first love. Mia wasn't going to stay in advertising forever. She had a real talent for writing, not to mention speaking to people, getting them to open up, and helping them tell their stories.
Mia was too good for advertising. He couldn't see her working at LUX forever. For the time being, it was a great experience for her. Advertising was a different way of telling stories and a fun creative outlet, but he wouldn't limit a woman with that many talents to offer the world to his own company.
Even with a lingerie campaign, Mia had found a way to shake things up, offer the public a different perspective on what a woman was supposed to be. The Montaigne campaign had received great feedback from the media and the public. He was especially happy to hear that young women were inspired by the ads. Mia, too, had been ecstatic to hear that. For Mia, touching people in a positive way was the reason behind everything she did.
He just hoped he could give her what she truly desired. Mia insisted that even if she didn't find the woman who could potentially be her sister, it would be all right. She had him and she had her friends, and of course her loving adoptive parents, but he discerned a sadness behind her eyes whenever she spoke about it. He didn't want her to lose hope. He'd just witnessed how much she enjoyed talking to his family and knew that she would be ecstatic if this woman turned out to be her sister.
As crazy as the Deneuve household had been growing up, he was lucky to be in a big, loving family. Not everybody had that. He was close with each one of his siblings. He had friends who didn't get along with their siblings at all.
Yes, he was extremely lucky to be surrounded by love. Now with Mia, the love had multiplied. The point of being surrounded by people you cared about and people who cared about you was to share love and grow together. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Mia and for his family.
Luc had been checking his phone throughout the afternoon, hoping one of his staff had spotted Mia's lookalike. No word yet. The concert was going to be over soon, and he had to fight himself to keep from being disappointed in order to stay positive for Mia.
There's still time, he told himself. She could still be here.
Mia was checking her own phone, and she seemed to be deeply absorbed in reading something on it.
"Are you checking your Facebook page?" Luc asked.
She nodded. "I've been getting a lot of messages lately. Five today, actually. Most of them are just supportive messages, wishing me luck. Sometimes they send links to people's profiles who turn out not to be the person I'm looking for. They mean well, but the info usually leads me to dead ends. But I just got this message in French. I still can't read too well. Can you translate it for me?"
"Of course," Luc took the phone. "It says, 'Mademoiselle Golden, I hope you're doing well. I was touched to hear your story, and I hope I can be of help. I'm one of the fiscal managers at the Paris branch of Prince Winterhouse, an international finance company. We work with a team of lawyers from the JJ Zower firm, and I believe the picture of the woman you posted is a lawyer from the team. Her name is Christine Moulin. She does have a Facebook profile under that name. I have not contacted her about this ma
tter yet, thinking perhaps you might like the opportunity to contact her first. Thank you and I hope this helps. God bless. Sincerely, Marguerite Dumas."
"Oh my gosh." Mia put her hands over her mouth.
"Christine Moulin." Luc searched for her name on Facebook, and sure enough, a smiling picture of a young woman who bore a striking resemblance to Mia popped up.
"It's her. It's really her." Mia was amazed. She took the phone and zoomed in on her features. Then she clicked on her profile and read it.
"She does live here," Luc said, grinning.
"She's a lawyer, and I'm guessing from the years she attended school that she's around my age. She speaks fluent French, English, and German. Wow. She's quite accomplished."
"I expected nothing less, if she's your sister."
"Look, her top Liked page is Les Slinks. I wonder if she's here. Her profile's set to private, so I can't see her other information."
"Either way, you found her."
"This is amazing." Mia shook her head incredulously. "I can't believe it."
Luc was about to hug her when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Arthur was calling.
"Luc? You might want to come down here as soon as possible."
His heart was beating like crazy. "Why? You found her?"
"Possibly."
"Where is she?"
"She's in line for the contest with two girlfriends. You're lucky, because we were going to close the contest in ten minutes and announce the winners."
"We'll be there in two minutes." Luc hung up and grabbed Mia's hand. "She's here. She must've lined up for the contest right after the concert."
He led Mia out of the V.I.P. lounge, past the stage and the dispersing crowd, in the direction of the contest tents.
The line for the contest was longer than before, since Les Slinks had just finished their encore. The sun was at its peak, illuminating everyone. The crowd looked cheerful, having just enjoyed a free concert with one of the biggest bands in the country.
Luc spotted Arthur, and they ran to his side.
"She's there," Arthur said, "in the second line."
Luc and Mia craned their necks. They couldn't find her at first given the number of people.
Mia gasped.
She'd spotted her doppelgänger. Her light-brown Afro was tied back into what would've been a ponytail if it wasn't so fluffy that it became an automatic bun. She wore faded jeans, red-and-white–striped wedges, and a white crocheted top that was perfect for an outdoor concert. She was talking to a brunette and a pretty Asian woman, both in their twenties.
"I wonder if she's Christine Moulin," Mia said. "She has to be."
"Unless you have two potential sisters," Luc remarked.
Chapter 28
"What am I supposed to say?" Mia panicked. "I'm shaking."
Luc put one of his strong arms around her shoulders. "Just tell the truth. Very simply."
She inhaled and exhaled, trying to calm herself down. The woman in line looked as if she was having fun, laughing with her friends. With the sun shining down on her, she looked like an angel, and it was hard for Mia to take in the fact that she was real.
"Look at her. She's so happy. She probably has a full life already. What if I become this huge...interruption in her life?"
"That's not possible," Luc reassured her. "You won't know anything until you talk to her. She's right in front of you. You came all the way to Paris in order to find her. Don't talk yourself out of this moment. If she is your sister, she would want to know that you exist."
"I hope so."
Luc spotted the employees' cooler, and he took out a bottle of water for Mia.
"Drink this. It's hot. The heat's not helping."
"I'm gate-crashing her life." Mia let out a nervous laugh. She took the bottle and drank up.
"She won't mind." Luc's blue eyes shone. His voice was strong and masculine yet incredibly soothing. It put her more at ease. "You know why? Because a certain young lady crashed into my life not too long ago. I had plans, and you turned them upside down. In fact, my life has never been the same since then, and I don't ever want my life to go back to the way it was. What I'm trying to say is, you changed my life for the better. You owe it to that woman to do the same."
Mia knew that Luc was right. She looked back at Christine Moulin, or whoever this woman was. She was almost at the front of the contest line.
"I've always wanted a sister. I used to line up my stuffed animals and pretend that they were my long-lost brothers and sisters, and I used to make up my own stories about why my parents left me to reassure myself. The answers were out there, and I've been searching for them. Now that I'm a step closer, I'm afraid of finally knowing."
Luc pulled her in to him. "I know, chérie."
His masculine scent was reassuring, and so was his warm embrace.
"I guess I'm scared that I'll be disillusioned by the truth. The perfect stories I've made up in my head will be shattered by reality."
"Mia, one thing I’ve learned since meeting you is that reality is better than illusions."
She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes. He gently wiped them away with a thumb.
Mia had always thought she was an optimist, but in times of stress, the doubts descended. What if this woman didn't like her? What if they didn't get along? What if they had nothing in common? Christine was a multilingual lawyer who loved Les Slinks. Mia didn't listen to rock music, knew little about law, and was struggling to learn a second language.
What if Christine was one of those French people who despised Americans? Would she look down on her? She was a sophisticated Parisienne who had grown up with the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre as a backdrop. Mia had the Space Needle. At least the cities had all that rain in common. But Christine probably didn't wear polka-dotted rain boots around Paris.
Knock it off, Mia told herself. This was not the time to compare French and American cultures.
Why did Luc always have to be right? The cowardly side of her was trying hard to talk herself out of approaching this woman. All her friends in Paris had conspired to help Mia, and she was not going to back out due to her own fears and insecurities.
"All right," she said with more assurance in her voice. "I'm going in."
She took another deep breath and started walking.
Mia's doppelgänger was still chatting animatedly with her friends. Her profile was to Mia. The trio of girls were speaking in rapid-fire French, but Mia knew that Christine spoke fluent English as well.
"Christine?" Mia said in a voice she hoped wasn't too shaky.
"Oui?"
The young woman turned around. The resemblance was so striking that Mia took a step back. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Her knees wobbled, and she wished she could hold onto something for support.
Christine's eyes also widened in shock. Her friends looked between Mia and Christine incredulously.
Mia felt shy. "Hi. My name is Mia Golden. I've been, well, searching for you. Do you mind if we speak in private for a moment?"
Christine looked back to her friends, as if for moral support. One of them nodded. The other looked stricken.
"Okay," Christine said, sounding just as shy.
The two of them walked to a patch of grass away from the crowd to talk.
"This is somewhat of a surprise to you, right?" Mia started.
"You look so much like me," Christine said. "How—?”
"I'll explain. I'm from Seattle, Washington. I was adopted at birth, and I never knew who my birth parents were, where I came from, or whether I had any blood relatives out there. Last year, I was watching YouTube, and a Fizz commercial came on. I noticed you, or someone who looks like you, in the video. That was you, right?"
"Yes. We heard Les Slinks were playing a free show. All we had to do was be extras in a commercial and get all the Fizz drinks we wanted. It seemed like a good trade-off."
"Well, I saw it, and I found out the commercial was filmed in Paris. I
t was incredibly difficult to track down who you were from a distance, so I moved here with the intention of finding you. Were you adopted as well?"
Christine nodded slowly. She still looked as if she couldn't believe the news. "Yes. By a French family. So you think we're..."
"Sisters. I know it's a lot to take in. I've had months to digest this information, but I understand if it's a shock to you."
Christine looked closely at Mia again. Her café au lait complexion had paled just a shade.
"I don't know who my birth parents were either, but I never thought I would have a living sibling out there somewhere. You're my long-lost sister?"
Mia smiled nervously. "I hope so. We'd have to take a DNA test. Is it okay if I give you a hug?"
"Of course!" Christine gave her a big bear hug. "We're sisters. I have a sister, a sister. I can't believe it."
Mia couldn't help but tear up. "I know. I have to pinch myself."
Christine cried as well. "We have the same hair, the same eyes...I didn't know someone existed out there who was like me."
They cried and hugged some more until they felt silly. Mia told her all about her adventures in trying to find her, including taking a job at the ad agency that produced the Fizz ad, Sarah creating the Facebook page, and the Slinks concert Luc had thrown just to help her find Christine.
"Your boyfriend must love you a lot," Christine said.
Mia turned around to see Luc smiling at her from afar. She smiled back. "He does. Oh, and Christine, you're the winner of the contest, by the way, along with your friends. You can meet Les Slinks."
"So the contest is rigged?"
"No, I suppose they will actually select five other winners randomly."
Christine laughed with tears still in her eyes. "I love Les Slinks, but meeting you is much better. I want to know everything about you."
"I want to know all about you too," Mia said. "Tell me everything. Even things you think are boring."
"Well, I grew up in the suburbs of Paris. My adoptive parents were going to adopt another girl from Vietnam so I could have a sibling, but the adoption fell through and I was an only child. I knew I was adopted from a young age, since I look nothing like my parents. We're a pretty typical middle-class family. Papa is in finance, and Maman used to be a ballet dancer, and now she operates a small dance studio. I do have extended family—cousins, grandparents, aunts—and I love them all. I'm the only adopted one in the family, however."