Chapter 12
1417 Words
Finally, a day off!
It was obviously not the first since I had started working at Western Palace, but it had a special flavour because I was exhausted. The proof is that I had come home so tired the day before that I had even skipped dinner! I’d gone to bed at a time when children still had enough energy to pester their parents, hoping that they would give in and not send them to bed.
I loved my job, but those first few weeks had been intense. It was necessary to adapt to the peculiarities of the establishment, to understand who was in charge of what, and finally, to work twice as hard to make a good impression. Luckily for me, Edith was a great help, but in a few days she wouldn’t be there, and I would have to fend for myself.
Overall, the team made me feel pretty welcome. Relations were a little strained with Mariana but, apart from her lack of warmth towards me, I had no complaints about her work. On the other hand, there was Brigitte and her ever-present good humour, which made me forget this little inconvenience.
The guests, for the moment, hadn’t given me too much trouble. But Edith had warned me to be vigilant. Apparently, the clientele who were going to arrive for the Film Festival or the summer might not be easy. Nothing better than a starlet or a Saudi prince to give you nightmares, so I was told.
But today my preoccupations were quite different; the day promised to be beautiful with a cloudless sky. Was it the perfect time to stroll around the city, and maybe even go shopping?
I put on a light dress and a cardigan, in case the weather cooled during my walk. I took my bag and my sunglasses, and I was ready for my outing.
I decided to go into town by public transport. It would be more practical than trying to park. And above all, I wouldn’t have to choose between paying for parking and buying myself a little dress if I wanted to. While waiting for my bus, I called Cali to hear from her.
“Hi, hot stuff. How are you?” exclaimed my best friend, picking up the phone.
“Good! And you? I’m not bothering you?”
“No. Rose is at school and I’m tearing my hair out because the electrician has to come and do the work in the barn. I feel like we can’t understand each other, him and I,” she sighed. “But hey, I’m glad you called! I need a distraction. How’s it going for you?”
“Very well. I’m off today, so I’m taking advantage of it. I’m waiting for the bus to go for a walk in town. I have hardly had time to go anywhere since I arrived, except to go to the hotel.”
“And the work?”
“Good, good. I’m settling in, you know how it is…”
“Oh yeah! And I don’t miss it! And, if not at work, what does my little Danielle do in her spare time? Have you had the opportunity to meet people?”
“I didn’t even have the internet at home until two days ago! Fortunately, a technician came to install everything for me.”
“Cute at least, I hope?”
I burst out laughing.
“No! To tell you the truth, his buttocks were very hairy, and not at all to my taste. I was treated to this horrifying sight when he bent down to fiddle with the socket. And, believe me, I would have gladly done without it!”
“You know you don’t need the Internet to meet someone. There are still people who go out and allow themselves to be approached by a stranger.”
“And risk running into a psychopath? No thanks!”
“Why? Does being registered on a dating site guarantee he’s not one? Is there a little checkbox for that?”
“At least I can talk with them. You know, you can tell a lot about someone from the way they write.”
“And when you have him in front of you, there’s a marvellous thing called body language and that’s important too.”
“I agree but, at least, when I meet them, I’ve already made the first selection.”
Cali sighed.
“And at work? Has anyone caught your attention?”
“I never date anyone from work. You know that.”
“Ohh!” she groaned. “All because of your ex you were working with? He has nothing to do with it, Danielle! There you are… with what? Three hundred employees? Just find one that you don’t see every day. And then, why assume that you’re going to break up? And even if that was the case, sometimes there are couples who manage to continue working together. Look at Hugo and me.”
“He’s here, Cali,” I admitted softly.
“Who’s that?”
“…Georges.”
“He’s at the bus stop?”
“No. He works with me.”
There’s silence.
“Georges works with you? At Cannes?”
“Yes.”
“But… but… You’re telling me now!” she exclaimed, clearly unhappy with my omission.
“Sorry, I didn’t think of it before. It wasn’t that important…”
“No, of course. Your ex, whom you were madly in love with, and who made you emotionally handicapped, is working with you, but that’s only a detail,” she scoffed.
“Hey! I’m not an emotionally handicapped person!”
“If you say so.”
“No, but it’s true!”
“Ah, yes? When was the last time you were romantically involved with a man?”
To break my silence, she adds:
“That’s what I thought. And the fact that you didn’t tell me about him shows that he affects you more than you would like to believe. Do you know what you would have done if you hadn’t given a damn?”
“No?”
“You would have called your best friend on your first day saying: Hey! You know what? My ex works at the same place as me! What a coincidence! We would have laughed about it, you would even have told me a few nasty things about him and then there you go. But no, you didn’t say anything.”
“It’s because you’ve never met him,” I tried.
“Pfft! No! It’s because I’m sure that ever since you saw him, your little brain can’t stop thinking about him and how upset you are about seeing him again. Am I wrong?”
“No,” I admitted. “I wouldn’t say I’m happy or unhappy to see him again. Although, most of the time, I want to punch him in the face as soon as he opens his mouth. It’s just that…”
“That you didn’t expect to see him there and you have lots of memories that come back to plague you?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“So far, nothing to worry about. But you know what would be ideal to prevent you from getting lost in your thoughts?”
“No?”
“Whether you find yourself a distraction, like six feet tall, dark, blond or redhead, doesn’t matter, with a disarming smile and who knows how to use his tongue for something other than speaking.”
“I told you that I’ve had an Internet connection for two days. I intend to get on it!”
“Perfect! And don’t hesitate to think a little off the beaten track!”
“What do you mean?”
“You always go out with the same kind of guys: big, burly, who have manual jobs and who don’t want to see you more than once. I’m telling you that maybe you should broaden your horizons if you want to meet the man of your dreams one day. He rarely resembles the image that we had of him, you know?”
“I’m not looking for the man of my dreams.”
“Do you know that you exhaust me?”
“Yes, but you love me like that.”
I hear her laugh softly. We chatted for a few more minutes until the arrival of my bus. When I climbed onto it, I was grinning from ear to ear.
- Writer
