French Twist

by Glynis Astie

  As we rode to the airport in the backseat of my parents’ car, I put my head on Louis’ shoulder and sighed. He stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head.

  “Did you have a good time, mon coeur?”

  I gazed up at him and smiled. “It was perfect.”

  He laughed and squeezed my hand. I was a little startled to discover that my definition of perfect was evolving.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The month of December went by in a blur and the New Year arrived swiftly. I had used my remaining vacation time over the holidays to conduct some serious wedding planning. I reviewed the catering menus for our wedding venue and selected several items for our tasting session, researched several options for our honeymoon, had my first dress fitting and chose a dress for my bridesmaids. I’m not joking when I say choosing this dress was harder than choosing my wedding dress!

  Everyone had a different idea on style and color and Kate was the only one who seemed to care about my opinion. In fact, Maya was still trying to convince me that her choice of a red satin strapless mini dress was much more alluring than the plum, off the shoulder, knee length dress I had chosen. After much debating, I pointed out that I had intended the dresses to be sophisticated, not alluring, and if she had any sense she would remember this was MY wedding and she would be well advised to shut her mouth. Apparently, Bridezilla Sydney would come out if pushed.

  In the midst of all the wedding planning, Louis and I were able to have a nice quiet Christmas. Since it would be Kate’s last chance to travel before the baby was born, she and Nick decided to head back to the east coast to visit our parents. It was a little strange not being with my parents or siblings for the holidays, but it was nice to introduce Louis to my family’s favorite Christmas traditions. We trimmed our beautiful Christmas tree, baked gingerbread cookies, watched Holiday Inn and The Sound of Music and dined on roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on Christmas Day.

  Going back to work was difficult after having so much time off, but I was looking forward to catching up with my boss and coworkers. I was going to have to wait until next week to do this in person though, since my boss was sending me to a five day training on our new employee database software. Before I left, I reminded Louis that I would be in downtown San Jose for the week and would only be reachable on my cell phone. He told me he had meetings all morning and would check in with me in the afternoon.

  The morning passed fairly quickly as my brain attempted to absorb all the features of the new benefit tracking system. I was thankful when our lunch break arrived since my eyes were burning from three straight hours of staring at a computer screen. I quickly ran to the bathroom and then checked my cell phone for messages. Oddly enough, there was one from Louis. I wondered if he had finished his meetings early.

  From the moment I heard his voice, I knew something was wrong. While he simply asked me to call him back, his voice was...strained. It lacked his usual warmth and genial tone. I wracked my brain, trying to remember if he had told me about any difficult projects coming up for him at work, but couldn’t come up with anything. I had a sinking feeling that whatever the issue was, it was bad.

  I dialed Louis’ work number and noticed my hands were shaking. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Mon coeur, I am so glad that you called.”

  I cut to the chase. “Are you OK, Bluey?”

  He hesitated. The anticipation was killing me. What happened? Did someone die? It was so unusual for Louis to be this concerned about anything. I couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Louis! What’s going on? You have me really worried.” Honestly, Syd, like that’s so unusual! I knew I shouldn’t have pressured him, but something was seriously wrong and I needed for him to get to the point as quickly as possible.

  He exhaled slowly. “Syd, I got some bad news this morning.”

  Shit! He sounded absolutely awful. Who died? Oh my God! We were going to have to go back to France for a funeral. And I still hadn’t signed up for French lessons! I wasn’t prepared to meet his family. They were going to think I’m crazy! OK, Sydney, this thought process is wrong on so many levels. Reel yourself back in. I took a deep breath and attempted to calm my frazzled nerves.

  “What happened?!?” My voice was much shriller than I had intended. Sydney, you must relax. Louis needs you to help HIM this time.

  He sighed. “I lost my job. My company had a large scale layoff and my position was eliminated.”

  Wait? What? I wasn’t expecting that. I closed my eyes and took yet another deep breath.

  “I’m so sorry, Bluey.” I frowned. It seemed rather strange for him to lose his job only a few months after he was transferred to the US. It was going to be hard for him to find another job on a visa, but at least he had a little time to figure it out.

  Louis was oddly silent on the other end of the line. I started to wonder if something else had happened. He was never this quiet.

  “Louis, is something else wrong?”

  He cleared his throat. “Well, you could say that. I just found out that my company had me on a J-1 visa, not an L-1 visa, as I had thought. In addition to that, I have discovered that since we earn three year college degrees in France rather than four year degrees, I may not qualify for an H1-B visa.”

  I didn’t like where this was going. Immigration was one of the functions I handled for my company, so I was alarmingly familiar with all the options.

  He sighed. “I have thirty days to figure this out or I will have to leave the country.”

  My head started to spin. I stared at the ceiling and willed myself not to scream. I was in a public place and felt no desire to let everyone here know how insane I was.

  I exhaled very slowly. “OK, there’s no need to panic.” Yes, I know this statement is ironic coming from me. “The safest thing to do is to get married.” Did I just say that?

  “Syd, I...”

  “Louis! Do you know how long I’ve waited for you? Seriously, you took FOREVER to come into my life. I dated a parade of total losers while I was waiting for you to show up and it wasn’t fun. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some stupid visa issue keep you from me for even a day.” Holy crap! I think I finally found my backbone.

  He started to chuckle. There was my Louis. He had returned. “You are an amazing woman, Sydney Bennett.”

  I smiled. “I know. You tell me often enough.”

  “How did I get to be so lucky?”

  I shook my head. The poor man still had no idea of the degree of crazy he had been saddled with. “You must have been a saint in a former life. Now, down to business. We’ll go to city hall tomorrow, apply for a license and be married by the end of the week.”

  “But what about all the wedding plans? You have gone through a lot of effort...and it is everything you have dreamed of for so long.”

  “Don’t be silly! We’ll still have the wedding in Monterey. What does it matter if we’re technically already married? It just means we won’t have any jitters that day.” This wasn’t such a bad plan. I’m a genius!

  Louis laughed. “So instead of having two weddings, we are going to have three.”

  I slapped my palm on my forehead. “Yes, I suppose we will. Three weddings to the same man! I may as well change my name to Elizabeth Taylor.” Then I remembered even Elizabeth Taylor only married the same man twice.

  “You realize I have no idea what you mean, right?”

  I giggled. “Don’t worry, Bluey, I’m just having one of my moments. It’ll pass.”

  I noticed the trainer signaling everyone back inside. How the hell was I going to concentrate on software at a time like this?

  “Louis, our training session is starting up again, so I have to go. I’ll call you during our afternoon break, OK?”

  “OK, mon coeur. I love you.” He still sounded so sad.

  “I love you too. Please don’t worry, Bluey. Everything is going to be alright.”

  After I hung up with Louis, I picked up my purse and starte
d walking to the training room. With each step I took, the realization that I was going to have to get married in the next thirty days or send my fiancé back to France hit me right between the eyes. I began to have trouble breathing. I had to call Kate. She would be able to talk me down from this ledge. I desperately hoped she didn’t decide to pull an “I told you so” out of her arsenal. This just wasn’t the moment.

  I walked back towards the lounge area and dialed Kate’s cell phone. Thankfully, she picked up right away.

  “Hey, Syd! How...”

  “Kate!” I cut her off. I know, I know, where were my manners? There was no time for niceties. We had a true crisis on our hands. “I’m sorry to cut you off. I’m really and truly freaking out here. This is not a drill. I can’t breathe.”

  “Sydney, you need to relax. I’m sure it’s not as big of a deal as you think.” She sighed.

  “Well, Kate, this is one instance in which you’re wrong. I know this must come as a huge shock to you, because you’re never wrong, but here we are.” I exhaled very slowly. “I’m getting married.”

  Kate started to laugh. “Duh! What have we been planning for? Seriously, Syd. You need to take a break.”

  “No, you don’t understand.” My voice must have gone up five octaves. “I’m getting married, like, tomorrow.” OK, so it was a bit of an exaggeration, but I tend to do that under pressure.

  The other end of the phone was silent.

  “Did you hear me?!?” I was barely keeping hold of my sanity.

  “Syd, what happened? You’re clearly leaving out some vital information here.” She sounded totally confused.

  “I’m sorry! I guess in my total freak-out, I forgot to make sense! Because I usually make so much sense, right?!?” I was dangerously close to a meltdown of epic proportions. I put my head between my knees and took a few deep breaths. In the process, I dropped the phone.

  “Syd? Are you alright? I’m truly worried now. What’s going on?” She was practically yelling.

  I picked up the phone. “I’m sorry for scaring you.” Seriously, Sydney, you freaked out your poor pregnant sister. Pull yourself together! “Louis was laid off, which means he no longer has a visa, which means that either we get married immediately or he’ll be deported.”

  Kate gasped. “Holy crap! What are you going to do? Are you sure this is your only option?”

  I took a shaky breath. “From what I can tell, it is our only option. I thought his company had him on an L-1, but they somehow put him on a J-1, which doesn’t make sense and he most likely won’t qualify for an H1-B due to the difference in the French education system...”

  Now it was Kate’s turn to interrupt. “Why are you speaking in acronyms? English please!”

  I shook my head in another vain attempt to clear it. I don’t know why I bothered. It never worked.

  “I’m sorry, Kate. I was talking about his visa. I won’t bog you down in the details, but the bottom line is due to the way his company filed his visa, there’s no viable option for him to stay in the country through employer sponsorship at this point.” I leaned my head against the wall. “If we don’t get married soon, then he’ll have to leave the country.”

  “OK, Syd, this isn’t what you planned, but you’ll make it work, right? You two will get married this week at city hall and you’ll have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of in September.” She paused. “And then you’ll get married again in October...”

  “Oy vey. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?” I chuckled softly.

  “It’s, um, unusual, but Louis is definitely worth it.”

  I closed my eyes and smiled. “Yes, he is. I would do anything for him.”

  “As he would for you, Syd. You two are very lucky to have found each other.” She sniffled. Oh crap! Here come the hormones!

  “Thank you for pulling me back from the edge, Kate. I know it’s a lot to ask of you in your heightened emotional state.”

  She laughed. “But you’re definitely worth it. I love you, Syd.”

  “I love you too, Kate.” I paused. “I now have the unpleasant task of calling our parents and asking them to fly out here to witness my wedding in city hall.”

  “Oooh, I had forgotten about that. May the Force be with you, Syd.”

  I grimaced. “Thanks. I’ll fill you in later.”

  I hung up with Kate and immediately dialed my mother’s store before I lost my nerve.

  My father, of course, picked up on the second ring.

  “Duck! To what do I owe the honor of your call in the middle of a work day?” He sounded very happy to hear from me. That probably won’t last for much longer. I swear, I’m quite tired of calling him with questionably good news.

  I sighed, completely resigned to my fate. “Hi, Dad! Um, would you mind putting Mom on the phone? I’m afraid I have something to tell you both...again.”

  “Oy vey, Syd! Give me a second.” He yelled for my mother to pick up the other phone.

  “Hi, Sydney.” My mom sounded very cautious. I don’t blame her. I would be too given my past history of phone calls.

  “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to tell you.” I took a deep breath. “Louis was laid off from his job and if we don’t get married within the next thirty days, he’ll be deported.”

  “Shit!” My dad summed it up perfectly in my opinion.

  “Oh honey, I’m so sorry. All your planning...” My mom sounded distraught.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. We’re still going to have the wedding in September. I’m not giving up my dream wedding because of Louis’ former company’s oversight.” I sighed. “We’re going down to city hall this week to get married.”

  “Well, at least Louis won’t be deported.” The disappointment in my mother’s voice was overwhelming.

  I put my head in my hands. “Yes, and that’s what’s most important right now. But even if it isn’t the real wedding, I would love it if you were both there. Is there any way you would consider flying out here? I know it’s short notice, but...”

  My mom didn’t have to be asked twice. “You bet we’ll be there! Right, Ted?”

  My dad chuckled. “You sure do keep things interesting, Duck. Of course we’ll be there.”

  “You know, Sydney, as much fun as it would be for us to fly to California, would you consider flying here and getting married in New York?” My mom was starting to sound excited. “This way, your brother and Zoe would be there and all your friends from your childhood and...your father and I could have some friends come too.”

  Ah...this will allow them to have their friends attend our “wedding.” I felt like I owed this to them given the fact that our second wedding (this sounds so wrong) will be in California. Oh and the third one will be in France. Does anyone else think this sounds totally ridiculous?

  “Well, Mom, I would need to talk to Louis, but what about Kate? I don’t think she would ever forgive me if I got married - for the first time that is - without her. And it wouldn’t feel right if she weren’t there.”

  My mom started clicking her tongue - a sure sign she was thinking hard. “OK, I’ll check in with Kate. If her doctor won’t allow her to fly, then we’ll come to California. I’m sure Charlie and Zoe would love to come as well.”

  “It wouldn’t be the same without them.” I stopped to think for a moment. “I can’t believe I’m going to be ‘Madame Durand’ in a week!”

  “Well, I wouldn’t brag about it, Duck. Are you sure you want to change your name? Bennett has such character.”

  I laughed. “You crack me up, Dad. I love you! And I love you, Mom!” I glanced at my watch. “I have to run, but I’ll call you later.”

  “Bye, Syd! We love you.” My mom was chomping at the bit. If there was any way to make a wedding in New York happen, she would find it.

  I hung up the phone and took a moment to catch my breath. I couldn’t believe how quickly this had happened. It was like everything involving me and Louis was in overdrive. And even though every
step had scared the crap out of me, I felt no need to slow down. Somehow the pace was perfect.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  To my mother’s great delight, not only had Louis agreed to her plan, but also Kate had been cleared to fly to New York no later than the following week. Unfortunately, Louis’ father had not been cleared to fly. He was scheduled to have liver surgery at the end of the month and his doctor didn’t feel he was well enough to make the trip. Naturally, Louis’ mother wanted to stay to take care of her husband, so Louis and I wouldn’t be married in the presence of his parents. To make matters worse, none of Louis’ extended family members would be able to come to the wedding on such short notice. My poor fiancé would be the only French person in attendance, surrounded by a sea of uncouth Americans.

  Thankfully, my boss was kind enough to grant me a week off on extremely short notice. Louis and I planned to take the red-eye to New York the following Monday evening, apply for our marriage license on Tuesday and get married on Friday. This time frame would allow for ten days to plan a small reception. Well, it was supposed to be small, but it seemed to be growing by the minute. My parents kept adding people to the guest list who they absolutely HAD to invite for one reason or another.

  Every time the phone rang with a change in the headcount, I cringed a little inside. Because of the rapid swell of the guest list, the reception went from being in my parents’ home to the hotel where my high school prom was held. This bothered me on a number of levels, but that’s a story for another time. And though this was going to be our legal wedding, it wasn’t the one I wanted the majority of the world to see. But for the sake of my parents, I would simply have to grin and bear it.

  As a result of our decision to get married in New York, I had the privilege of having phone calls from my mother several times a day with regards to the reception. I thought it only fair she be able to plan this one, since I was planning the reception in California and Louis’ mom was planning the reception in France. It took every ounce of patience I had not to hang up on her after the fifth call of the day. The number of details my mother wanted my opinion on would have been enough to drive anyone crazy. However, for a bride who wasn’t planning on getting married for another eight months, the threshold was a little...OK, a lot, lower. Add in the fact that I’m a complete lunatic to begin with and you’re just asking for trouble.