Читать книгу Colette - Michelina Vinter - Страница 6

When Colette woke up, everyone was still asleep. Even her grandparents, who generally started their day at dawn, were not out of their room. For once, she would surprise them all and make them black coffee so they could have a fresh cup without having to brew it themselves. After she was done with a breakfast that consisted of a big bowl of café au lait and buttered toast, she washed her hair, ironed her dress, and polished her shoes. By then the house was stirring, and her sister joined her in her room. She had just put on her favorite dress with bouffant sleeves and a well-adjusted waist.

Eager to have her sister’s opinion, she asked, “What do you think? Do you like the beautiful flowers on the fabric, or is it too much?”

Before Josette could reply, Pierre, who was passing by Colette’s bedroom in his pajamas, teased, “You look like a big flowerpot. Beware of the bees out there!”

Josette said reassuringly to her older sister, “Of course not! You look beautiful, as always!”

And on that note, Colette said good-bye to her family and left for her temporary job. As she walked outside, she thought she should take the subway and head for rue de Rivoli. She was to meet Adam at his hotel so she could accompany him on his Paris discovery.

The trip was not too long, and soon she was waiting for him in the lobby. His arrival took her breath away. The man was just too tall. And his shoulders were just too wide. He was wearing a very proper brown tweed jacket, navy-blue slacks, a blue cotton shirt, and a matching tie. If the weather was going to be any hotter than it had been the previous day, Colette thought that the poor man would surely melt on the spot. She bade him a good morning and pointed him toward the door.

***

Adam could not wait to see Colette again. He had barely slept, and so when the sun came up, he was ready to meet her in the lobby. She, of course, did not arrive until a few hours later. She looked young and beautiful in her freshly pressed flower-print dress, with her long hair flowing over her shoulders, her big blue eyes, and her well rested face with her angelic smile. He greeted her with a warm handshake and walked toward the door as she had instructed him.

Once they were on the boulevard, Colette entrusted Adam with her plans for the day. They would first go to the Eiffel Tower and walk on the champ de Mars. They would then have lunch in a bistro by the Seine River and would end the afternoon with a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens. It would be a full and tiring day, but much would be accomplished, and Adam would be satisfied he was getting his money’s worth of Paris adventures.

So Colette led him through the maze that eventually got them on the metro and out into the fresh air near the Eiffel Tower. And as they climbed up the iron structure, Adam could see Paris in all its glory. The view was magnificent. From the Sacré Coeur to Notre Dame, he could see all the old buildings that spanned the city. Colette’s enthusiasm for her hometown was catching, and Adam soon believed he was looking at the most beautiful town in the world with the most attractive woman he had ever seen.

By the time they walked back down, they were starving. Since the Eiffel Tower was right on the Seine, they were able to get to their restaurant within a few minutes. The place was a typical French bistro where the food was prepared family style by the owner’s wife. They ate the dish of the day, a petit salé aux lentilles, the only dish served in the establishment, and a dessert of îles flotantes. The meal was served with a nice ruby-red wine that mellowed the senses, the kind of wine that would make anyone drinking it want to go for a nap under a tree in a quiet park. But to Adam’s great surprise, instead of looking for the most luscious grass under the thickest tree, Colette ordered coffee and asked for the day’s newspaper.

They spent the next hour reading and discussing current events. She too had been worried about an upcoming war. She was concerned about Hitler and the fact that European countries were not preparing for a conflict. Granted, they had fought the last war thinking it would indeed be the very last. But hiding their head in the sand regarding Germany’s advances toward a conflict was just plain ridiculous, explained Colette. The young lady was more than a pretty face. She was smart, and she understood much more about the intricacies of world politics than most American young women her age. She was a delight to be around.

Once Adam paid the check, they walked through the Luxembourg Gardens and found a nice tree that would allow them to digest peacefully. They sat down on the grass, and Adam loosened his tie as the day was getting warmer and warmer.

And as he was staring at Colette, wondering what hold this woman had over him, she said, “There is going to be a thunderstorm soon.”

“And how do you know that?” replied the young professor.

She answered, a little surprised by the question, “It’s obvious. The swallows are flying low. That generally means that a thunderstorm is coming. And that’s good because it will clear the air, and tomorrow will be much cooler.”

That was music to Adam’s ears. He was dying in his tweed jacket and long-sleeved shirt. Thank God he had loosened his tie, but that was only helping a little.

After a nice long rest, they opted not to tempt fate and decided to walk back to Adam’s hotel. But about halfway through their journey, the storm Colette had mentioned started throwing buckets of water at them. They decided to run for it, but by the time they reached the front door, they were both soaking wet.

Colette’s hair was dripping little beads of water onto her already soaked dress, now clinging to her body. Adam could just make out a hint of skin under the wet fabric. She looked lovely. He really wanted to be a gentleman; he did not want to scare her off. After all, he was ten years older than her. But he wanted her. He wanted her so badly that his whole body ached. So he leaned forward and placed his mouth on hers. To his great surprise, she pulled back instantly and slapped him as hard as she could.

“I don’t know what you are doing, but you have got the wrong impression. I am not that kind of girl,” she told him in the coldest tone she could muster.

Embarrassed, and cheek burning, Adam apologized profusely: “I don’t know what came over me…You looked so lovely. I just wanted to kiss you, to feel your lips on mine. They just seemed so soft. I really did not mean to offend you. Please don’t let this incident stop you from being my guide tomorrow. I promise this will never happen again.”

***

The next day, and the day after that, and for the whole week, Colette met Adam to help him discover the city she loved so much. They enjoyed having lunch on the Place du Tertre and looking at the artists painting and sketching the various scenes that played out in front of them. Some of the tourists even had their portrait painted on the spot, and one could see that the talent that brewed there was by no means ordinary. And while they walked among the many artists, Adam noticed a man with a beret who was drawing furiously on a napkin. The sketch included a Minotaur, which was rather odd in this environment. However, Adam was riveted to the work of art, and he asked the creator if he could purchase the napkin from him.

The man simply replied, “You like it? Take it. It’s just a study for a painting I am working on.”

Adam thanked him profusely and left with Colette at his side.

From the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre, they walked together and talked incessantly. They laughed. They even held hands. And this time Colette did not recoil. She even seemed to really enjoy the physical contact. Adam told Colette about his family. He talked about his five brothers and his baby sister, and he told her about their family home in New York, where his parents still lived with the younger members of the bunch. He talked about his job as a university professor in California, about his life in general, and the fact that his mother was pushing him to give her grandchildren. After all, he was the oldest. He should really marry first. But nowhere in their numerous conversations did Adam mention his other activities.

Colette talked about her family and about how close she was to her grandparents, her cousins, uncles, and aunts, her brother and sister, and her parents. She talked about how they all had dinner together on Sunday nights, when her grandmother cooked their favorite dishes. She talked about the laughter and the easygoing atmosphere that surrounded them all and how much they really loved each other in spite of their occasional arguments.

Adam was touched by her rendition of her family life. He had always thought his family was tight, but it was nothing like that. He could never talk about them with the warmth Colette had shared as she was describing them all.

***

The following weekend, Colette and her friends had planned on going on a picnic by the Marne River, where they would also be able to swim. They were going to stay well into the evening and build a bonfire. Adam had agreed to join them. Pierre and Josette would be there too. It was going to be a day to remember.

The whole gang had decided to meet in front of Colette’s house at nine o clock on Saturday so they could all drive together to a secluded area of the river where they were to spend the day. A young man who looked very familiar walked toward one of the cars and got behind the wheel. Adam could not really make out his face, but the overall shape of his body reminded him of something. The car quickly filled up with the young people who were joining the picnic. He and Colette got in another car, which followed the first. And the whole group drove to the riverbank. They set up their blankets and food as fast as they could, so they could start eating soon. The air was already sizzling and promised to only get hotter. Some of the guys went swimming while the gals sat around and talked. Adam looked positively scrumptious in the swimming trunks he had gotten for the occasion.

Colette did not look so bad herself, in her navy-blue suit. The small skirt that comprised the bottom part of her swimming attire showed off her long legs quite nicely. She went by the riverbank to get the boys’ attention so they could come eat, when she noticed that her cousin and Adam were talking.

Colette walked over to them and said, “I see you guys have met. Richard is my cousin and one of the smartest guys I know.”

And looking at her cousin, she continued, “Adam is my employer. I have been showing him around the city for the last couple of weeks. He is a professor from the University of California at Berkeley and will be returning home soon.”

“He better,” mumbled Richard, who did not seem happy with this turn of events.

The young man had always been very protective of his cousin, and the fact that his American contact was courting Colette was making him suspicious. He would have to keep an eye on her and see how things evolved.

After lunch, Colette decided to wait the customary two hours before she joined the boys in the river She described her recent days to Anne, who wanted to hear all the little details of her friend’s adventures. Adam, who had no such respect for the two-hour rule, was already in the water and playing ball with the boys. Colette would have loved to join him sooner, but rules were rules. And at that very moment, she hated the rules. When the two hours were up, the young lady dove into the water without hesitation. She was a really good swimmer and enjoyed the feel of the cool water on her skin. The gang always went to the same place on the river, where Mother Nature had created a pool by the side of the riverbed, so they could play all day without worrying about the river’s current disturbing their games.

Soon it was time to build the bonfire. They piled some wood they had brought and what they could find in the forest nearby. The evening went as planned. Everyone was enjoying the first days of summer. Some were toasting the occasion a little more than others. Colette had not had any alcohol to drink because she had planned on going swimming again after dinner. However, a young man named Robert had not had the same foresight. And when Colette decided to make good on her plan, the dear boy decided to follow her. She tried to stop him, telling him that he had had too much to drink and should probably not enter the water. But he refused to listen to her and walked right in.

The young woman was swimming peacefully in the middle of the creek when one of her friends yelled, “Colette, I just saw a rat and a couple of snakes in the river.”

And since she hated both, Colette decided to head back quickly before she met one of the creatures. But as she started back, she noticed that Robert was not following her. He appeared to be pretending to drown.

“Stop clowning around, Robert,” she shouted.

But the young man took a final plunge and did not come back up. At that very instant, Colette knew that her friend was in big trouble. She swam back toward him and dove where she thought she might have a chance to find him. The water was pitch dark, and she could hardly see. She extended her arms out in front of her, and as if driven by a supernatural force, she collided with him. The next step was to bring him back to shore.

She came back up to the surface and cried for help as she tried to swim back. She was holding Robert in the rescue position she had been taught at school during physical education classes, but he was too heavy. And all she heard from the shore was, “We can’t see you. Swim closer.”

Colette quickly decided she would not die for this idiot who had not followed her advice, but she would at least do her very best to save his sorry hide. So she started swimming under water as fast as she could while keeping her friend’s head out of the water. Whenever she needed a breath, she would come back up for air and let him go under for a second or two. She kept this up until she was near enough for Adam to jump in and help her through the last couple of yards. They pushed him onto the riverbank and placed him on his side. Soon he started coughing, and water came out of his mouth. His breathing became regular, and his color improved within seconds. Colette breathed a sigh of relief. Robert would be fine. Her whole body ached, and she knew it would be a lot worse tomorrow, but she had managed to save that idiot’s life. All in a good day’s work, she thought as she smiled to herself.

Adam was observing her. He was extremely impressed with her coolness under pressure. She had not panicked. She had done exactly what needed to be done to save the young man without putting her life in danger. He was so proud of her. And at that very moment, he knew he wanted her to be his and his alone.

***

Adam had hired the talents of the hotel’s concierge to find the perfect ring. Today was the day. They had gone to the Cluny Museum, and he was waiting for the right time to propose. Finally, in the medieval gardens, in the jardin d’amour, by those beautiful roses, Adam went on one knee and asked Colette to marry him. She did not reply right away. She looked stunned. Adam was holding his breath. He had never considered the option that she would turn him down. He had had to rush through the courtship because he was going home soon. He wanted her with him. He wanted her. And after what seemed like an eternity, Colette said a simple, barely audible yes.

Adam rose and kissed her hard. She was finally his. Colette did not pull back, but she was surprised that she was not seeing stars. She had always assumed that she would see them when she kissed her husband. But those were childish notions, she had told herself. She was now a grown woman about to get married to an intelligent, handsome, witty, and charming American professor.