LOVE IS IN DISGUISE: Verne Estate Series, Book 3

21. LORAINE

A weekend in Paris with friends. This is a first for me, but I must admit that it’s pleasant. If we’re all gathered today in the City of Light, it’s because of Leona. I can’t wait for her to come back to live in the South for good.

On the stage, I also discovered a Leona different from the one I know. She’s fantastic. Rumour has it that the director offered her a role in another production.

When the curtain falls, my friends and I applaud her, hurting our hands. And after the performance, we all meet at a restaurant to celebrate her success. There’s Manon and Leona, of course, but also Elena, Romy, Madelyn, Cora, Leo as well as his Parisian friend Frank, and finally Jack. I also note that Elena made sure to be as far as possible from the oenologist. After congratulating the star of the day, we update her on the latest events in our lives. And of course, it doesn’t take long for my two girlfriends to tell Leona that Mark lives with me. Immediately, I see a flicker of interest light up in her eyes. Leona is never insensitive to gossip. Fortunately for me, we are quickly interrupted by the other members of the group, and in particular by Manon who has planned a little surprise for Leona. But I know that I’ve only gained a short reprieve.

I’m right, because the next morning, at breakfast Leona pounces on me. I had prepared myself for it a bit. When the girls proposed that we meet before joining the others, I suspected that I was going to get grilled.

If I thought I had time for a coffee on my own when I arrived early, I saw that it was a waste of time. Leona is already there, which surprises me, given that she’s not known for her punctuality. I already know that I’ll be submitted to an early morning questionnaire. She gives me a little wave, and I sit in front of her.

“Come on, tell me everything! How come Mark lives with you? This is insane!”

“It’s not that crazy. There’s a new parish priest in the village and…”

“A story that begins with a priest? It looks like a romantic comedy. Am I allowed to take notes? It might be useful if I write a play later.”

I just look at her.

“Forget my remarks, go ahead, tell me everything.”

With her hands under her face, she rests her elbows on the table and stares at me as if I were going to tell her a fascinating story.

I spend the next few minutes explaining how Mark and I came to be housemates. His break up with Jenny, the moment he went to hit Lucas the musician, the moment I intervened, his evening at the station and finally, the fire. At the end of my story, she looks disappointed.

“So you’re telling me that the object of all your fantasies has been living with you for several weeks and that you haven’t tried anything?”

“Well, yes.”

“But why?”

“Well, first of all, because he’s recently single, and besides, she’s the one who left him. He was going to ask her to marry him anyway. And secondly, because he’s not interested in me at all.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know, that’s all.”

“Is that your answer? I know that’s all. You don’t know at all!”

Romy walks into the room and drops into the chair next to me, muttering a hello. She yawns and asks:

“Isn’t the concept of having breakfast together to eat something? Your plates are empty.”

“We’re on a serious subject here,” says Leona. “We’ll snack later.”

“What’s the subject?”

“Mark,” I answered.

“You realise that she has him under her nose all day long and that she’s going to do absolutely nothing!” exclaims Leona.

“He’s been under her nose for years,” retorts Romy. “At this point, she has become adept at the art of blissfully gazing at him. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. I’ll go see what they have for croissants. Hope they’re pure butter.”

Romy gets up in the direction of the buffet; as for me, I moan:

“To hear you talk, you’d think I was hanging out with him all day. Between his work and mine, this is far from the case.”

“Okay, ultimately, we don’t care if he lives with you. The man in your life, the one who has been the source of all your fantasies for years, is finally single. You cannot pass up this opportunity!”

“That’s what we keep telling her,” said Romy, coming back with her mouth full of croissant.

“Speaking of which, where’s Elena?” asks Leona.

Romy and I exchange a look. It’s not usual for the teacher to be late. There could be several reasons for this, of course. Leona isn’t yet aware of her pregnancy, and it’s not us who’re going to tell her. But I know that the question the baker is asking herself right now is the same as mine: did Elena take advantage of Jack’s presence to tell him about the baby?

Does that explain why she’s absent this morning?

“Well, too bad, we’re not going to wait for her,” says Leona.

I think for a moment she means to order. But she starts on a whole different subject:

“We have to prepare a plan for you to seduce Mark.”

I growl and roll my eyes. Lucky for me, this is Elena’s time to walk through the dining-room door. But her arrival doesn’t bring much relief. She looks terrible as if she hasn’t slept all night. Leona notices it and questions us with a glance.

Elena sits down next to her and barely says a hello. The three of us are silent, uncomfortable, and at the same time curious to have an explanation. She runs a hand over her face, we feel that she’s at her worst. When her gaze finally meets ours, I realise that her eyes are wet.

“Are you okay, Elena?” asks Leona, who’s even less aware of what’s happening than we are.

The woman shakes her head. And this time, tears roll down her cheeks. Romy grabs her hand across the table and squeezes it encouragingly.

“Jack came to see me in my room last night.”

She gasps, and I expect the worst. She continues:

“He wanted to know why I no longer answered his calls. I ended up confessing everything to him.”

“And what did he say?” Romy asks.

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing! He sat down for a minute. I understand this must have shocked him. Then he got up, didn’t even look at me, and left. I didn’t follow him, convinced that he needed to be alone to digest the information. But this morning, when I went to his room, he wasn’t there. At the reception, they informed me that he had already paid his bill.”

“Eh? Are you sure of that? They weren’t wrong? It’s not like him to do that.”

“I asked three times that they check!” she cries before bursting into tears.

People around us turn around and I give them an apologetic smile. Romy tries to find a rational explanation. She invents theories, each shakier than the other to justify Jack’s hasty departure, to help Elena calm down, without much success.

Leona calls out to us:

“Hey, girls!”

I let her know with a look that this isn’t the time. Okay, she must be completely lost, as she doesn’t know that Elena is pregnant, but she’ll be given a debrief of the situation later. I don’t think Elena wants to tell her whole story now. But Leona insists:

“Girls, is it Jack, our friend Jack, the one who works at the Verne Estate, who you’re looking for?”

“Of course, which Jack do you want to talk about?” Romy says, annoyed.

“Uh… in fact, he’s here,” announces Leona, pointing to someone behind my back. “The guy behind the giant teddy bear.”

Elena looks up as Romy and I turn around. Yes, it’s indeed Jack and a huge teddy bear who are at the entrance of the restaurant. He looks like he hasn’t slept much either. When he finally sees Elena, his eyes light up. He takes a determined step forward in her direction, paying no attention to us. He positions himself a few inches from her, but says nothing. For the next few seconds, we witness an exchange of capital importance, although no words are spoken. Everything is played out in their eyes. Then Jack drops his bear to the ground, cupped Elena’s face in his hands, waits for another second to get permission she apparently grants him since the next moment he’s kissing her.

It is then that Leona asks:

“Would someone like to tell me what’s going on?”