Someday in Paris
Page 36
I’ve loved her for every moment of every day since I was a boy. When I didn’t know what she looked like, when I didn’t know if I would ever see her again. I loved her when I couldn’t remember her or anything else. I loved her when I thought I’d lost her. And each day since. We’ve been married for forty-five years. We’ve traveled the world, raised our children, saved art. We’ve lived a full, happy, wonderful, magical life, Dominique and me.
*
Valerie has tears in her eyes.
‘The song,’ she murmurs. ‘The first time he and I talked, I heard a song on Spotify. And when I woke up after the dream, I heard it again.’
‘What song, dear?’ asks Dominique.
‘This one,’ she says, her face pale, and turns the volume up on the radio. ‘Is this like my book with lilies on the cover?’
Dominique smiles and Valerie doesn’t wait for an answer. She jumps to her feet, grabs her phone, throws her laptop in a backpack together with a few random T-shirts. She hugs her grandmother, then me, so tight I can’t breathe, and runs out the door.
‘Where is she going?’ I ask.
‘Probably to Sydney.’
‘Why Sydney?’
‘To follow her dreams.’
‘Good girl,’ I say and can’t help but smile.
*
Today is our anniversary. Sixty-five years since the day we met. And, like every year, we have somewhere to be and we can’t be late.
I help Dominique put her coat on, take her hand, and look into her eyes.
‘I love you,’ she whispers, and my heart is full.
‘Always, only you,’ I say.
People sometimes ask me – perhaps because I’m old and they think I must be wise as well – what makes people fall in love. Truly in love. I don’t know the answer to that question, but I know someone who does. And if you listen to her carefully, you will too. All you have to do is follow your heart. It’s that simple.
DOMINIQUE
9 DECEMBER 2019
COLMAR
I’ve passed on to Valerie everything I know. Everything I felt. All my victories and defeats. She can avoid making the same mistakes if she chooses to. She will make her own. And then, maybe, one day, she will tell her story to her daughter or granddaughter. The story of her dreams and her destiny.
My dream and my destiny are here, in front of me. Smiling lovingly at me, in the dark, like he did sixty-five years ago when I didn’t even see him. But I recognized his smile. My soul recognized it. And I would recognize it again if sixty-five more years passed.
As soon as Valerie leaves, we put on our coats and walk hand in hand to the museum. Our museum. When we arrive, we sneak into the rare books section, sit on the floor in the dark, and talk. From time to time, he gently pulls me closer and kisses me.
On our way back, we pass the bistro on the corner and wave at the owner who’s busy putting on Christmas lights. We stop and listen to the song playing on his turntable.
Hymne a l’Amour. How fitting. How us.
‘Dance with me?’ he asks, and I have butterflies. I still do, after all this time.
We dance slowly, as we have done so many times before, fitting perfectly in each other’s arms. The lights, the music, the universe are all pushing us in the same direction. As they always have. Towards each other.
I don’t know how much time we have left here. It might be a day, a month, a year, and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is now. Today. Tonight. What we’ve had and what we’ll always have. Love.
The kind of love that survives time, distance. Even death.
The kind of love I wish for you.
Acknowledgements
I started writing Someday in Paris on my birthday in 2015. My intention was to give it to my husband as a gift for our wedding anniversary: a magical love story inspired by our own. That happened as expected. What was totally unexpected was his reaction to it and how that powerful and emotional reaction gave my long-forgotten dreams new wings and led to this amazing journey and to… today.
Writing has always been the dream. Writing stories the ultimate dream. Fresh out of college, I went about it the only way I knew how, and I got a job with a newspaper, then a television network. I was writing and I should’ve been happy, but it turns out news articles and love stories have little in common. Nothing, really.
It took me a while to fully and truly listen to my heart — moving from Romania, living and working in France, getting married, having a baby, then moving to the United States. I had a new life to build in a new country, a demanding, high-responsibility full-time job, a small child and a hundred other things happening. Why add more when there was so little time to go around? Because you can only ignore your heart for so long.
I missed writing terribly. I had to do it. Stolen hours at night, early mornings before work, on weekends. Three years later, I finally decided to write the story of my heart, the one that had been dancing in my mind for a long time. And even though the plan had been just for the two of us to see it, fate disagreed. I’m sure glad it did!
Writing Someday in Paris has been the most amazing, thrilling, emotional, enlightening and liberating experience of my life. From that very first draft to the last edits, from not knowing how to even find a literary agent to wondering if anyone would ever love with my book as much as I did, I lived it all with maximum intensity. And still do. Every single day.
There were ups and downs these past five years, I’m not going to say it was all smooth sailing. But what kept me going – outside of my stubbornness and my blind faith in this magical love story – were the people I surrounded myself with on this adventure.
I will start with my brilliant agent, Hannah Sheppard. Just like the characters in my book, we had our own missed connections that lasted almost two years. But as it is with everything that’s meant to be, we finally came together and I’m happy we did. Hannah, you are wonderful and such a joy to work with. Thank you for all the love, faith and support (and patience). I couldn’t have asked for a better partner on this journey.
Rhea Kurien, editor extraordinaire. Thousands of miles and an eight-hour time difference and I can’t even feel it. We are so in tune — spooky, I know — and have such an awesome relationship, I am amazed every single day and so very glad we found each other. Your love, enthusiasm and vision for this story from day one fueled me with positive energy and has been truly inspiring. Someday in Paris is better because of you and I will always be thankful for that!
The entire team at Aria and Head of Zeus. You are all rock stars and I am beyond lucky to work with you.
My beta readers, the first people outside my family who told me they cried when reading the story and how much they loved it. They also gave me valuable feedback and constructive criticism which I took to heart. You all said you believed one day this will happen and you were right! Thank you for all your help.
And a big thank you to the writing community for being so supportive and welcoming me with open arms.
On a personal note, love and a huge thank you, as always, to my family, my parents. I wouldn’t be here without you (not just literally). I am who I am — a bookworm among many other things — because of you.
And of course, love and thanks, to my friends. No matter where we are in the world, you are all in my heart.
And for the next three: This one’s for you. With all my heart!
My mother, who taught me to believe in myself and who, from near or far, has always been so much more than just a great parent, friend and supporter. Mom, you are everywhere in the book, not just in one character.
Chris, who is not only the love of my life, my biggest cheerleader, the voice of reason, the shoulder, the arms, and the heart, but also a wonderful human being, an incredible father and the best husband this girl could’ve asked for. Only you, always!
Dominique, my beautiful, strong, smart daughter. I know you’re too young now to read the story, but one thing you’re not too young for is believin
g in yourself. Remember that anything you want to do, you can. Anything! And I — we — will always be by your side, loving you and cheering you on, unconditionally. As for love, yes… magical, once-in-a-lifetime, heart stopping, stronger than anything… this is the kind of love I wish for you!
About the Author
OLIVIA LARA was born and raised in Bucharest in a family of booklovers and storytellers. Since university she has worked as a journalist and marketer in Romania, France and the United States. She is currently a marketing executive in San Francisco and lives in the Bay Area with her husband, young daughter and four cats. This is her first novel.
For more from Olivia, visit her website at Olivia-Lara.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @olilara_writes, Facebook at facebook.com/olivialaraauthor, or on Instagram @olivialara.writes.
Become an Aria Addict
Aria is the digital-first fiction imprint from Head of Zeus.
We are Aria, a dynamic digital-first fiction imprint from award-winning independent publishers Head of Zeus. At heart, we’re avid readers committed to publishing exactly the kind of books we love to read — from romance and sagas to crime, thrillers and historical adventures. Visit us online and discover a community of like-minded fiction fans!
We’re also on the look out for tomorrow’s superstar authors. So, if you’re a budding writer looking for a publisher, we’d love to hear from you. You can submit your book online at ariafiction.com/we-want-read-your-book
Get in touch: aria@headofzeus.com
Subscribe to our newsletter
@Aria_Fiction
@ariafiction
@ariafiction
Addictive Fiction