by Chad Josey
“Taxi! Taxi!” Joe yelled, waving his free arm high into the air as he stepped out onto the street. A shiny, black Mercedes stopped in front of them.
“Bonjour, monsieur?” the taxi driver asked. He wore a light-blue, windbreaker jacket and a white, small-brim hat.
Joe leaned into the taxi window and whispered to the driver so Mary could not hear. “Eiffel Tower s'il vous plaît.”
Joe knew nothing of the eloquent language, but he had memorized a few selected statements such as please and thank you. He had practiced this over-and-over in their Long Island apartment before they had left.
Using the extent of his French, he whispered to the driver. “But, do not tell her where we are going.” Both Joe and the taxi driver shared a smile because of the secret destination.
“No problem. Get in s’il vous plaît,” the driver said. He motioned to Joe and Mary with his hands to get into his back-seat.
The taxis in Paris held no comparison to the ones in New York City for Joe and Mary. The rides were their first inside a Mercedes. Luxurious leather welcomed them.
“I can get used to traveling like this—” Joe said to Mary.
“American?” The taxi driver’s question interrupted Joe.
“Yep, we are from Texas originally, but went to college in New York,” Mary said.
“New York, New York,” the driver sang with a thick French accent. “I love Broadway.”
The taxi darted in-and-out of the maddening traffic of central Paris. Street lanes seemed to be only suggestions to Parisian drivers. Random car horns wailed around them.
She giggled under her breath at the driver’s musical abilities. “Yeah, we love the shows too. Our favorite is Phantom of the Opera.”
The driver made eye contact with Joe in his mirror. “So, how long are you in Paris?”
“This is our second day here, but we leave tomorrow.” Joe felt the challenge of conversing with the driver as the taxi entered a four-lane traffic circle.
“Oh, why such a short stay in our beautiful city?” The whirling traffic did not faze the driver as his tone remained calm in his question.
Joe found astonishment at the driver’s ability to simultaneously talk to him through his rearview mirror and surmount the crazy traffic. “I came for a job interview and brought my girlfriend.” Joe squeezed Mary’s hand on his lap.
“First time to Paris?” The driver raised himself higher in his seat to look at Mary in his rearview mirror. His wrinkled forehead proved his decades of experience.
“First time? Huh, first time either of us has been out of the United States—” she replied. The cars traveling in the gigantic round-a-bout were too nerve-wracking for her to watch.
“Attention!” the driver yelled, interrupting her as he drove across the other three lanes of the circle in one move.
“Please, please tell me what’s next.” Mary jerked Joe’s jacket sleeve with each word.
“You’ll see in a few minutes.” Joe made quick eye contact with the driver through his rearview mirror. The driver smiled seeing her excitement.
After their start-and-stop driving along the River Seine, the taxi turned onto the Quai d’Orsay. An orange-pink hue sky gave the perfect backdrop for the top of the Eiffel Tower, which had come into view. The taxi made its final turn onto Quai Branly. The glorious iconic structure of the entire Eiffel Tower appeared before them.
As the taxi stopped at the Tower, Mary yelled, “Oh, my, it’s so beautiful.” She kissed the side of Joe’s face, while pushing his head back to peer out the rear-side window.
The driver opened the door. “Here you are, the Eiffel Tower.”
Mary fell out the taxi with excitement. “Wow, I can’t believe I…”
The sound of her voice drifted away through the hundreds of tourists as she walked from the taxi toward the structure. Joe caught up with her after he paid and tipped the driver. Young Gypsy girls came up to Joe selling flowers, as he pushed by them to find Mary lost in the crowd. He found her looking skyward at the icon.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Joe asked as they stopped taking in the visual grandeur. “How does the size of this compare to what you thought it would be?”
“I don’t know. I can’t believe I’m seeing this in person.” Tears filled her eyes.
“You want to go to the top?” Joe asked knowing the answer.
“Hells yeah!” Mary gave him the tightest hug he could ever remember. “Thank you for bringing me.”
“I’m just glad we could see things this afternoon after my interview before we fly back in the morning.”
Conversations and laughter filled the lower concourse under the Tower. The line for the elevator seemed never-ending. At least a hundred-people stood waiting in front of them. They moved forward a foot at a time every few minutes. With each step, Mary perched her head against the side of Joe’s shoulder. She grinned with anticipation.
Joe interrupted her happy thoughts by blurting out, “This line is taking forever.”
“It’s okay, Joe.” She laughed at his impatience. “It ain’t going anywhere.”
“I mean, it’s just taking forever.” Frustration filled his voice.
“That’s okay, I mean we’ve got all night and nothing planned. Unless we’re going somewhere else?”
“Uh…" Joe paused for a few moments. “It’s just that I want us to get to the top so we can see the sunset, that’s all.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Oh, Mr. Romantic, aren’t we?”
The line continued to move… inch-by-inch. Joe has never been one with much patience.
“Hey, look at the bright side, if you get this job and we move to Paris, then we can come here anytime.” She gazed upward at the supporting steel structure of under the Tower. Her hand held the top of her red beret with I♥Paris in white letters written across the front.
“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Sweetie.”
Joe was always one for cautioning about things to not get their hopes too high. “I had a great conversation over Sunday dinner, and this morning I did great in the interview, but we’ll see.”
“What company invites someone over for dinner on a Sunday, anyway?”
“I didn’t quite ask that… maybe it’s a French custom or something?”
“So, you’ll find out in a couple of weeks if you got it or not?” They finally stood a few feet from the steps of the elevator.
“Yeah, a couple of weeks. But, we’ll see.”
They took their first step up to the elevator platform. “I mean, if four years ago when we started college, you would’ve told me I’d be in Paris with you after graduation, I would’ve said you were crazy,” Joe said. “Who knew that a genetic biology degree could pay off like this?”
“I am crazy. Heck, we’re both crazy,” Mary said, exaggerating a slow fake laugh. “No, but seriously, that company will be lucky to have you. Plus, I look fabulous in a beret, don’t you think?”
Her smile reassured Joe they were making the right decision about possibly moving to Paris. “Darlin’, you look fabulous in anything.” Joe kissed her lips as they stood before the elevator. “Well, if this job falls through, then it’s just a sign for me to pursue my Ph.D.”
“Okay Doctor, it looks like we’re next?” Increased excitement filled Mary’s voice, as they were next in line.
After a few seconds, the elevator opened in front of them. “Are you ready?” Joe asked.
With little effort, they felt the push of the people queued behind them pushing Joe and Mary inside the elevator. They stood in the back against the glass window with at least forty people cramming inside behind them. The doors closed. Anticipation filled the tight compartment. The elevator ascended one of the angled legs of the Tower.
“Check out that sign, Beware of Pickpockets.” Joe pointed above the closed elevator doors.
“Sure, and as you’re reading that sign, that’s when they pick your pockets.” People beside them laughed hearing Mar
y’s comment.
The elevator inched its way up the incline of the Tower support. Through the spider web of gray steel crossbeams with rivets the size of baseballs, Paris teased them through the iron structure as the street below came into view.
“Oh, look. That’s where we came in under the Tower.” The last time Joe had heard her this excited was this past Christmas morning. “Oh, it’s just to die for.”
The elevator continued further up, slowing down as it reached the top of the inclined support. They stopped at the mid-section platform. The doors opened. A rush of cool air filled the car.
Joe placed his mouth next to Mary’s ear. “Let’s keep going to the top. We can get out here on our way back down.”
His words did not register with Mary, as she stood frozen peering out the elevator window. At the first stop, about half of the people got off as new people crammed inside to continue to the top. Once full, the doors closed. The elevator began the slow vertical ascent up the Tower.
Their view changed from peering through crossbeams at the street below to an unobstructed view of the city of Paris. Words came out one at a time from Mary as she said, “Oh… my… God.”
Wow was the only word Joe could say as the view exceeded his expectations as they continued upward. Once they reached the top, the doors opened.
“Okay, let’s go.” Joe stepped ahead of Mary while holding her hand behind his back. They pushed through the standing crowd of tourists outside the elevator on the platform.
A cold wind hit their faces as they stepped out into a mass of people wandering around on the catwalk nearly one-thousand-feet above the ground. Joe led Mary into the observation deck encircling the top. Glass windows wrapped around the Tower, covered in fingerprints from the earlier visiting tourists.
“Look!” Joe pointed to city names above the glass window overlooking Paris below them. “New York 5849 kilometers.”
“So, that means New York City is this way.” Mary placed her right index finger on the glass under the sign. This action explained the dozens of faded fingerprints on the glass. “Then, if I move my finger just a little bit more to the left, then that’s the way to Texas.”
“Pretty cool,” Joe said affirming back to her, “yep, somewhere out there is home.” He placed his arms around her waist from behind grasping his hands together in front of her.
Joe and Mary strolled around the entire observation deck, coming to the door they had entered from the elevator. They felt like salmon swimming upstream against the sea of people as they left the observation area.
Stairs led to the uppermost observation platform. A small group of Japanese tourists, wearing matching shirts with I♥Paris printed in red letters against a black backdrop, ran by them. Once the group passed, Joe and Mary stood alone beside one of the mounted telescopes along the railing.
Joe bent down and turned the gray-colored telescope straight away from them to scan out over the city. The telescope made a creaking-metal sound. It had seen better days. Joe peered into the eyepiece and said, “Cool, you can see the Arc de Triomphe clear from here… you have to see this.”
Mary grabbed the eyepiece from him and brushed her hair away from her eyes. She looked into the telescope. “Where is… oh… there it is…" She paused taking in the full view the Arc de Triomphe.
“I love Paris. It’s such a beautiful place.” Joe placed his hand in the middle of her back between her shoulder blades as she looked through the telescope. He rubbed small circles on her back, bending to whisper in her ear. “Sweetie, I love you so much.” He kissed the side of her face.
Feeling him, she released the telescope. Gravity lowered it back into its original position as the creaking sound returned. Mary turned her head toward Joe and whispered back. “I love you, too.”
They stood behind the old, metal telescope pressed together in a tight embrace. A slow, soft kiss emerged alone in the moment even though dozens of people were around them in the open air.
Joe brushed Mary’s hair from her eyes holding the sides of her face. “You’ve dreamt about coming to Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower.”
Mary nodded her head slowly in agreement, while he held her.
“And… I could not think of a better place to ask you to marry me.” He released the sides of her face, her head feeling light from the altitude and the reality of his statement.
To her shock, Joe knelt to one knee. At the same time, he held a small, black velvet jewelry box he had hidden inside his coat pocket.
Tears were immediate accompanied by the warmth of a beaming smile forming on her face. She squealed with excitement.
Joe opened the box in his hands displaying an engagement ring glittering against the sunset sky. “Mary Warner, will you make my dreams come true and be my wife?” A single tear fell from his left cheek as he looked up to her. Tears continued pouring from her eyes; her bottom lip quivered.
“Are you… are you kidding, me?” Mary somehow asked in a high-pitched voice, cracking with pleasure.
“Is that a, yes?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Mary shouted out the words as she used her free hand to wipe the tears from her face. Joe placed the ring on her left hand.
He stood grabbing Mary around her waist. A kiss exploded with the passion of the announcement. A thunderous applause and cheers rained down on them from everyone who witnessed Joe’s proposal. Camera flashes bounced off their faces.
Joe and Mary pulled a few inches apart and said, “I love you,” at the same time making them laugh. They kissed to the applause of their new-found fame.
“Did you plan to propose like this on top the Eiffel Tower?” Mary asked poking his side while kissing him.
“Well, you have always talked about how much you would love to come here someday. Once I got this job interview, I knew I just had to propose to you here.” Joe kissed Mary again.
Time stood still for the next several minutes. They wandered around the Tower. People, who had witnessed the proposal, congratulated the new rock stars. Some even asked to have their pictures taken with Joe and Mary
As nighttime fell over Paris, a mass of people stood between them and the elevator. Joe and Mary entered the elevator to go back down to the street. During their descent, they stood in the corner kissing, oblivious to the passing scenery of Paris in the evening.
Arm-in-arm, they stared at each other in disbelief. From the first moment they had met sitting on the floor in front of the television at his mama’s wake, their bond had long developed. Joe and Mary strolled away from the Tower oblivious to the street vendors, who came to them attempting to sell replica Eiffel Tower key chains.
Joe and Mary crossed the bridge over the River Seine. Ornate statues lit in a golden hue lined their path as they walked into the night. At the fountains in front of the Trocadéro, they stopped. Joe looked at his watch. It was 7:59 p.m.
Joe stared into Mary’s eyes. “I have one more surprise for you.” Joe spun her around to see the Eiffel Tower again in its full view. It looked like a golden beacon shining against the black, night sky.
Within a few seconds, tens of thousands of bright, white lights twinkled and danced across the Tower. Lights reflected off the water in the fountains next to them. The twinkling white lights looked as if thousands of tiny ferries were dancing across the iconic structure.
“Joseph, it… it’s so beautiful,” Mary said crying from everything, which had occurred today.
“You’re so beautiful, Sweetie.” He placed his arms around her from behind. After several minutes, the light show ended with a roar of applause from the thousands of onlookers filling the night air.
“I love you,” was said. Neither Joe nor Mary knew who said it over the crowd as they kissed and walked off together into the Paris night.
6-9/11
September 11, 2001, 7:21 a.m.
Paris, France
JOE AND MARY SCURRIED through the madhouse of the departures area in Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle International Airport. T
heir whirlwind tour of Paris had come to an end on this, the eleventh day of September, 2001.
“Okay, we need to find the check-in counter.” Joe reviewed his travel itinerary and surveyed the crowd. “Oh, there it is.”
The passengers were a mix of business and vacation travelers. Announcements in French preceded English translations echoing through the massive building. A smiling ticket agent greeted Joe and Mary at the counter.
“Bonjour, where are we going this morning?”
Joe smiled back to the agent. “We’re headed to JFK. Last names are Bishop and Warner.”
“Soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Bishop.” Mary held up her engagement ring in front of Joe’s face.
The agent typed on her computer behind the counter. “Well, congratulations… okay, here we go… Mr. Joseph Bishop and Miss Mary Warner. Can I see your passports, please?” Joe and Mary were lost in each other’s eyes. A few seconds had passed until they realized the agent had asked them for their passports.
“Are you checking any bags with us, today?”
“No, we have these two carry-on bags.” Joe pointed at the small bags on the floor between Mary and him.
The popping of each keystroke reverberated over the counter. A printer screeched beside the agent overtaking the clicking of the keyboard.
The agent ripped two paper tickets from the printer and handed them to Joe along with their passports. “Here are your tickets. Take a left after Security, and Gate D69 is down the terminal hallway.”
“Merci,” they said together to the agent as they left for the security line.
“Here, let me get this for you, Sweetie.” Joe placed her bag onto the conveyor belt of the x-ray machine. A security officer sat behind the machine, while an additional officer stood on the other side of the metal detector.
“Oh, put this back for me, please.”
Joe slipped her half-full water bottle inside her bag as Mary stepped first through the metal detector to wait for their bags. As Joe walked through, a buzzer sounded accompanied by a flashing red light.