by Sara Marks
Even though Lizbeth was not responsible for anything at the event, she was still at the center of things. She noticed Wil and Charlie arrive with other fraternity brothers, but she wasn’t sitting anywhere near them. Caroline was at the same table as her brother and, as Jane had suggested, seemed to be keeping the men away from Lizbeth and Jane. It didn’t work with Charlie. Later Lizbeth wondered how easily distracted Charlie really was. His behavior at the dinner reminded Lizbeth of what he was like at the museum. He got up and wandered from table to table, seeming to get distracted by someone he knew at each one. The next thing Lizbeth knew, dinner was over and Charlie was sitting next to Jane.
“Hi!” he said as if he had only seen her yesterday.
“Hello,” Jane said, blushing a bit.
Jane didn’t give Charlie an opening and Lizbeth watched, out of the corner of her eye, as Charlie debated what to say next.
“Can we talk?” Charlie said after a few moments in uncomfortable silence.
“Okay,” Jane said with a sigh, but followed Charlie as he got up from the table and went outside to the back porch.
Lizbeth looked back at Caroline. Wil was standing behind her resting a hand on her shoulder, restraining her. Wil nodded at Lizbeth and she realized that, whatever objection he had once had to Jane, he had dropped it.
Jane sent Lizbeth a text message about an hour later. “Won’t be back tonight,” was all it said.
***
Lizbeth and Jane shared a hotel room in Paris. Traveling with the French majors was more fun than they had expected. They were surprised when Caroline decided, nearly at the last minute, to join them on the trip. According to rumor in the group, she had paid early, but backed out and never gotten her money back. When Caroline changed her mind again, she was allowed to come only if she took care of her plane ticket, passport, and remaining fees. Caroline, as odd man out, was left to stay in her own room and often left without a buddy. Sometimes she tried to talk with Lizbeth and Jane, who did their best to ignore her. Lizbeth wanted to remain focused on their trip. Jane was so happy and in love that Lizbeth found it hard not to think about Wil and be a bit jealous of her best friend.
“Charlie said he wants to take me to London someday,” Jane said one afternoon as they sat outside the Louvre having a snack of waffles.
“You’ll love London. Statues everywhere.”
“There are statues everywhere here too.”
Lizbeth rolled her eyes.
“And you keep stopping to look at each one,” Lizbeth said.
“They’re fascinating. I’m taking pictures of the plaques so I can look them up on Wikipedia when we get back to the hotel.”
They were two days into their five-day trip. Lizbeth was returning to Boston for a quick trip home before returning to school after spring break. She wanted to see Charlotte, who was reluctant to share details about what was going on with the Collins family. Lizbeth hoped Charlotte would be more forthcoming face-to-face. Lizbeth just wanted to understand what Mrs. C had been thinking. What she wasn’t admitting was that she hoped to tempt fate. Maybe Wil would be visiting his aunt.
“Charlie also thinks I’d love skiing in Colorado,” Jane said.
“Is that where he is this week?”
“Yes, but I told him I’ve never skied. He said he thinks I’d be a natural. I told him I don’t even ice skate.”
“Well, you never had a chance in New Orleans. I think, especially if he teaches you, you’ll love it all.”
Lizbeth watched Jane blush and smile. Any bitterness Jane had harbored after Halloween had slid off her like water. The only anger that remained was directed at Caroline.
“Wil told him everything that had happened,” Jane had told Lizbeth their first night in Paris.
This was their first moment of privacy since the sorority/fraternity dinner. Jane had spent nearly all her time with Charlie, even overnights.
“About Caroline’s role too?” Lizbeth asked.
“Well, that Caroline had played her own role. Wil said he assumed Caroline had spoken to me about needing to back off. It turns out she told a lot of lies and ruined a cellphone.”
“What?” Lizbeth said.
“She dropped Charlie’s phone in the toilet and broke his sim card. He had to get a new phone, but was so busy with classes that Caroline offered to take care of it. She was supposed to get my number, but she told him I didn’t want to have it added back into his phone.”
“Charlie thought you didn’t want to talk to him?”
“They convinced him that I wasn’t as interested as he was. He didn’t want to be the pushy guy who couldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Wow, how appropriate of him. I feel bad for not telling him how you were when I saw him.”
“He said it confused him, but that when he saw you at the museum you seemed different. He was afraid he and Caroline had invaded something intimate. Obviously, Caroline has a thing for Wil, but Charlie said that Wil never encouraged or discouraged anything. He simply allowed Caroline to drag him along because it wasn’t worth the fight.”
“That puts our first meeting into a new context,” Lizbeth said.
“I have to wonder, to be fair to Wil, if she poisoned the well for you a bit. She clearly knew she had lost her chance to you well before you knew what was going on.”
“She clearly doesn’t know Wil as well as she thinks she does. She mentioned Jorge in front of Ginny over the break. Even Becca knew that Caroline had done something wrong, but Caroline didn’t seem to realize it.”
“Be careful of her, Lizbeth. This isn’t over. I think she came on this trip to try to get back at you somehow,” Jane said.
***
Lizbeth and Jane led the group through their modern art walking tour of Marais. Caroline, even though she had designed the tour with them, refused to participate. They took a snack detour in the Jewish quarter, where most of them gravitated toward Lizbeth’s suggestion of challah and pastries. Lizbeth, having Jewish grandparents, explained some Hebrew translations. Centre Pompidou was the final stop on this tour.
“Ladies, you did a great job,” one of the organizers said when they got to the museum. “Caroline, Lizbeth, and Jane, your picks were perfect. The blend of modern art with the historical context was very interesting.”
The group applauded the team before they all went up the escalator and into the museum. Jane and Lizbeth joined a few people to look at a collection of photographs by Constantin Brancusi. When Lizbeth saw his photograph of a Roster in the Workshop, she wished Wil was with her to enjoy it.
Caroline spent the time sitting, looking bored, and waiting for the rest of the group. She had done this often through the trip. She showed no interest in the art, the historic places, or the great food around them. The only time she seemed engaged and interested was then it was time to shop. Lizbeth oscillated between pity and annoyance. Lizbeth couldn’t imagine that Wil would ever enjoy traveling with Caroline.
***
“I’m so excited that we are on our own for dinner tonight,” Jane said as they left the museum and went back to the hotel.
“My dad gave me the name of the restaurant his mentor, Frank, owns. He said they are expecting us tonight.”
“Just you and me?”
“Well, if others want to join us, I’m sure they can accommodate us, but I think you and I are eating on the house. Bring money just in case.”
Nobody else wanted to join them even though the restaurant had three Michelin stars. Lizbeth suspected it was an issue of cost. She didn’t want to promise a free meal that she couldn’t deliver. Lizbeth remembered Frank from when he had come to help after Jack’s New York City burnout. Frank had helped Jack push through his depression and then, later, build the restaurant in Boston. He greeted Jane and Lizbeth with hugs and ushered them back to the chef’s table.
“Last time you ate at a chef’s table was your grandfather’s restaurant on Christmas Eve and Wil was with you, right?” Jane said after they had been settled with a glass of wine.
“Yes.”
“Did your grandfather scare Wil?”
Lizbeth thought of her grandfather, Abe. He was one of the most respected chefs in the world, the child of French, Jewish immigrants, a Holocaust survivor, a man who was famous for his temper above everything else, and who had high expectations for the people around him. Had he scared Wil?
“No, everyone was amused when Wil and I ordered the same exact meal. I refused to change my choice when he ordered the same dessert I had.”
“Are we getting the same meals?” Jane asked.
“Well, here we get chef’s choice. He will make us whatever he damn well pleases, we’ll eat it, enjoy it, and ask for more.”
“Good thing neither of us has any allergies.”
“Good thing neither of us is vegetarian. They would kick us out.”
The chef, his sous chef, and the maître d’ kept bringing them sample plates to try. Jack had clearly explained why Lizbeth and Jane were in Paris so, as each plate came, they chatted with everyone about what they had seen and enjoyed. They were on the fourth plate when the maître d’ came over without food.
“There is another young woman who says she is here with you. Should I bring her back?”
Lizbeth and Jane looked at each other and then towards the door. Caroline was standing there looking around the restaurant. Lizbeth was surprised to see awe on Caroline’s face. When Caroline saw them, she waved and rushed over. Lizbeth didn’t have a chance to say no before Caroline sat down.
“Wow, how did you manage to get the chef’s table in the back? Did you sleep with someone, Lizbeth?” Caroline said once she was sitting.
“Nope. My father arranged this for us.”
“Your father, the cook.”
“My father, the chef.”
Caroline looked confused, but said nothing.
“Did Wil not tell you who my father is?” Lizbeth asked Caroline.
“No,” Caroline said.
Lizbeth was tempted to explain everything to Caroline, but decided not to unless she asked. Instead, Caroline looked around the table at the food still sitting there and held up her glass waiting for wine to be poured. She remained silent while she picked at the food on the table and drank her wine. When she did speak, she did so in poor French. The conversation with the staff had been friendly, but now it was uncomfortable. Lizbeth and Jane translated some of the things said, except when the staff mocked Caroline in a way only the French can.
“Why did you decide to join us?” Lizbeth asked to Caroline as they ate.
“Well, everyone went out on their own and I was alone. I remembered you told the group we could come. I didn’t realize we would have such an intimate meal in the kitchen. I thought you had just picked a place your father had suggested. I thought this was your first trip here, Lizbeth.”
“I don’t recall ever saying that. I have extended family in the area and my father trained here for a few years when he first became a chef. We really don’t do touristy things when we visit. This is my first trip on my own, as an adult. It’s been an exciting change.”
“Ah, I thought you were working in the library to earn the money for the trip?”
“Yes, because I wanted to pay for it myself.”
Caroline looked at Lizbeth as though she had suddenly grown another eye in the middle of her forehead. Caroline fell silent, wheels clearly turning in her head. Lizbeth left dinner with a new understanding of Caroline. She was all show with very little interest in the world around her.
***
It was late when they left the restaurant and got back to the hotel. The chef had been gracious enough to cover the cost of the food and drinks. Jane insisted on leaving a tip even though everyone assured her it wasn’t necessary. She prattled on about how everyone had gone above and beyond to make them happy and deserved it. Caroline tried to get them to have drinks with her, but both Jane and Lizbeth were exhausted and had drunk quite a bit at dinner.
“I don’t think Caroline has ever had to work for anything,” Jane said through drunken giggles in her bed that night.
“She certainly is very good at presenting herself as something she isn’t.”
Jane, the drunker of the two, was texting Charlie from her bed. Lizbeth walked around the room getting ready for bed. The television was set to MTV and playing popular French music videos. Their room had a balcony looking out over the Avenue du Général Leclerc and they could hear the noise from the street.
“Charlie wants to know if he should ask Wil to tell Caroline who your dad is.”
Lizbeth thought about it as she brushed her teeth.
“Tell him not to bother,” Lizbeth said.
The rest of the trip was just as amazing as the first part. On their last day they made a few small stops on their way to the airport. Lizbeth was exhausted and ready for a few days with her family before going back to school. She had to get back to finishing her thesis, picking which grad school she would attend, dealing with Phi Alpha Pi elections, and maybe not thinking about Wil so much. Their last stop was Saint Sulpice church. Lizbeth, tired of churches, wandered over to Pierre Hermé’s bakery for macarons. The bakery had put out chairs and tables on the sidewalk. She ordered a drink and some macarons to take outside. Before going outside to eat her snack, she ordered boxes of cookies to take home to her mother and Becca. She sat outside enjoying the solitude and fantasizing about having Wil right there with her, sharing the moment. Her reverie was ruined when Caroline sat down in the other chair.
“Are you dating Wil?”
Lizbeth took a moment to adjust to the shock of Caroline’s question.
“Excuse me? Hello to you as well, Caroline. Would you like a macaron?”
“No, I don’t want a fucking cookie. Are you dating Wil?”
Lizbeth looked at Caroline and took a deep breath.
“Why are you under the impression that I am?”
“I know what I saw between the two of you over Christmas break. He’s been absent from the townhouse a lot this semester. He’s clearly keeping a secret, and I am sure you’re at the heart of it.”
“Why is it any of your business who Wil dates?”
“Why? It’s my job to keep women like you from getting your hands on men like Wil. You’re nothing and you only want to secure a rich husband. Wil needs a certain type of woman. He needs a woman who can move in certain circles. Having spent all year with you, I know of no reason why Wil would want to be with you. I can’t imagine what you said or did that would make him think so highly of you. Correct the information I’ve been given and tell me you’re not dating him.”
“Let me just make sure I’m clear. You think I am only interested in Wil’s money? You don’t think that I might enjoy spending time with him, have interesting conversations with him, share common interests with him, or make him happy? You don’t think he would consider a woman outside his own socioeconomic group, no matter how well they get along?”
“Obviously, you come from a totally different world than he does, so you can’t really have anything in common at all. I, on the other hand, know him and know his world. He doesn’t tolerate money-hungry women.”
“Again, just trying to understand, you’re the ideal woman for him even though you clearly have no interest in art, culture, politics, or food? You don’t just want him for his money and status? You believe he finds you interesting and engaging? You think that your own wealth makes your own motives pure?”
“I’ve known him for years, Lizbeth. I know him better than you do. He and I have an understanding.”
“Well, if this is true then you have nothing to worry about. If Wil is truly the man you think he is, then he wouldn’t
want a woman like me; thus, we can’t be dating.”
“Just tell me if you are or not.”
“But, by your own logic it can’t be true. Wil is too smart to fall for a woman like me if your understanding is correct.”
“Lizbeth, stop being a pain in my ass. Are you dating Wil?”
“No.”
“Promise me you won’t.”
“Why the fuck would I make that promise?”
“Promise me.”
“I will not in any way ever promise not to date Wil.”
Caroline looked confused.
“Is that a promise?” she asked.
“Figure it out for yourself and please leave me alone. These are my last few hours in my favorite city and I want to enjoy them to the fullest.”
Caroline sat there and stared at Lizbeth for a few moments before getting up in a huff and leaving the table. Lizbeth sat there alone until Jane made her way over.
“What was that about?” Jane asked.
“What?”
“Caroline!”
“She thinks I’m dating Wil.”
“Really? Who told her that?”
“I have no idea, but I had some fun with it.”
“Fun?”
“I know why she changed her mind about coming to Paris.”
***
Lizbeth and Jane parted ways at the airport. Jane was heading to New Orleans and Lizbeth to Boston. They hugged goodbye after they checked their bags and got boarding passes.
“Can I ask you something?” Lizbeth said before they parted.
“Sure.”
“It’s just something that Caroline said to me earlier.”
“Oh, yes, I think you’re in love with Wil, that he’s perfect for you, and I’m sad that you two haven’t been able to figure that out.”
“No, I know all that and I love you for not rubbing my face in it. You were with Charlie at the townhouse before we left for Paris. Was Wil there?”
“Why, what did Caroline say?”
“She said he’s never around. She thinks we’re sneaking around, secretly dating.”