Reya sat in Madame Billeaux's garden drinking tea, but it wasn't a relaxing visit.

"This is awkward," Reya said. "This is horrible. I should leave."

"You have already repeated these words three times," Madame Billeaux said sighing. "You are being silly and you need to relax."

"Relax," Reya said, rolling her eyes. "Sure." She took a swig of tea like it was beer.

"Believe me that woman is not for Francois," Madame Billeaux said sternly. "She is rigid and possessive, and one who gets distracted by other men. Not to be trusted."

Reya gasped. "She cheated on him?"

"It didn't get that far, but Francois is intelligent like me. When he could sense it he didn't wait around."

"Then why did you let her inside?" she said frowning.

"As much as she is not my choice she was rather persistent. She hadn't been able to get a hold of him, and claimed she had something important to say. I at least wanted to give her that chance."

"Whatever," Reya said, practically sneering.

Madame Billeaux smiled. "You know I am right."

"Yes I know!" Reya admitted, like an annoyed teenager who hated to be wrong.

"And besides," Madame Billeaux added, "things have a way of working out."

She winked just as the door to the terrace opened and Francois stepped outside. With the woman right behind him.

"Dominique," he said, gesturing to the table. "This is Reya."

Reya managed a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"She has been keeping my grandmother company these last few weeks," he said. "And we were out today trying to plan a nice lunch for her this week; it was supposed to be a secret, but I suppose now it's best to admit it."

Reya's smile disappeared. "Right." She turned her gaze to Madame Billeaux. "It was a surprise," she said lying.

"Reya," he went on, looking rather uncomfortable," this is Dominique. She's--"

"His girlfriend," Dominique said coldly. "Which was always was the case, minus a brief misunderstanding." She squeezed his hand. "N'est ce pas?"

He nodded in agreement, and Reya couldn't tell if he was hypnotized or being held hostage.

Dominique whispered in his ear and he nodded again. "We should get going." He rushed over for the customary double-kiss for his grandmother, and another one for Reya that was as formal as the one from the first day they'd met. Her eyes caught his gaze for a brief moment and he seemed apologetic.

Then he was gone.

Reya reached for her cup of tea, and took a trance-like sip before realizing it was empty. "Oh." She looked up at Madame Billeaux. "You were right," she said. "Things do have a way of working out. For other people."

For once Madame Billeaux didn't say anything, and as Reya sat there, she tried her best to remember her first day in the garden, and further back she remembered that afternoon at Galeries Lafayette, when fate had brought her to Madame Billeaux in the first place. She'd made a friend in Paris, a true friend she would cherish for life, and it seemed quite silly to let that be clouded by a momentary crush.

"I know you don't usually make it out past six p.m.," Reya said, "but how do you feel about going out to dinner tomorrow?"

Madame Billeaux smiled wide. "I feel that it's been far too long since my last evening out."

***

On the corner of the most posh street in Paris, Avenue Montaigne, was the celebrity-adored restaurant with the famous corner façade. It was simply called "L'Avenue," and inside, amidst the rich purple décor and soft music, Reya and Madame Billeaux were having a wonderful evening.

Madame Billeaux was wearing a bright red long-sleeved dress with a set of pearls, and Reya wasn't looking too shabby herself. She was wearing a strapless black cocktail dress, with her curled hair resting over one shoulder. They were the hottest ladies in the place, sharing a dessert of chocolate soufflé and laughing over glasses of champagne.

"I'm actually glad my luggage went missing!" Reya exclaimed. "Otherwise I never would've bought this dress."

"Didn't you purchase that after your luggage returned?" Madame Billeaux asked teasingly.

Reya shrugged and tried not to laugh. "Whatever."

"Well I am glad your luggage was lost in the first place," Madame Billeaux said warmly. "Otherwise I never would have met you."

Reya smiled with affection. "I'm really glad too."

"Truly my dear," Madame Billeaux said, with tears in her eyes. "You reminded me tonight that there is no limit to feeling young."

Reya was deeply touched, but as she glanced outside at the twilight sky, she knew that the time had come to take her dear friend home.

As they finished up dessert she pulled her phone out of her bag, and found herself staring at a flurry of angry texts from Francois, demanding to know where his grandmother was...

***

Reya escorted Madame Billeaux inside, and she wasn't surprised to find Francois in the foyer, angrily pacing back and forth.

He rushed over to Madame Billeaux to give her a hug, after which they immediately started arguing in French, with Reya standing awkwardly in the corner.

Once he was done Madame Billeaux came over to wish Reya a good night. "Don't worry," she whispered in her ear while giving her a hug. "I had a wonderful time."

She disappeared around the corner, which left Reya in the foyer standing face-to-face with Francois.

She turned slightly, hoping she could slip away unscathed.

"How could you do that?" he said.

Apparently not. "Do what?" she answered back.

"Take her out like that? She's not equipped for nights out! What about her medication? Don't you think about these things?" he said exasperated. "Can't you just...can't you just find friends your own age?"

That comment was the final straw. She moved forward with aggression. "Believe me, I thought about all the things. And I also thought about how I happy it made her to get out of the house. And..." she moved closer until she was inches from his face, "I do think about her medication." She reached into her bag, pulled out a pill box and shoved it in his face. "Because I'd never let anything happen to her. But I hope it was worth it to be such a massive jerk."

She turned on her heel and stormed off.

"Reya, wait---"

She didn't wait, and she'd be happy to never see his face ever again.

***

Reya spent her last two weeks in Paris seeing as much of the city as she could. She continued to see Madame Billeaux on a regular basis, but she spent much of her time alone as well. Maybe Francois's words had subconsciously stayed with her, even if they'd been spoken with a casual dose of cruelty.

Along the way, she met a few nice people at a wine tasting (one French and two expats), met a few of their friends, and one Saturday night she'd even been invited to a real Parisian's soirée. She was worried it would be too formal and she wouldn't fit in, but as her new friends had assured her, Parisians enjoyed chatting and drinking and laughing and eating like anyone else, and that was exactly what she'd found. Somehow the soirée had migrated into the kitchen, with random conversations lasting until three a.m. It was the perfect kind of night that had truly made her feel like home, and the sad part was how quickly her day of departure was approaching.

The day before her flight back home, Reya visited Madame Billeaux for tea in the garden one last time.

The birds chirped and the sound of the fountain was as soothing as ever. It really made her want to stay longer.

Reya searched her bag and pulled out a small wrapped package. "I got you something," Reya said, as Madame Billeaux's eyes lit up. "It's nothing spectacular but I thought you might like it."
Madame Billeaux unwrapped the gift to find a framed picture of herself and Reya, posing happily at L'Avenue restaurant.

"Oh my!" Madame Billeaux exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "It's perfect."

Reya leaned over for a hug but to her surprise, Madame Billeaux pulled out a small rectangular box she'd been hiding. It looked like there was jewelry inside. Reya was stunned.

"Open it," Madame Billeaux insisted.

Reya opened it to find a beautiful one-of-a-kind necklace, with a colourful combination of jewels. "It's amazing."

"It was one of my first designs. And I always adored it too much to ever sell it."

Reya shook her head. "You have to keep it then!"

Madame Billeaux smiled. "Darling, my family tree is full of sons and grandsons; who else would I wish to give it to? It was meant for you. Of that I am certain."

Reya got up and gave Madame Billeaux the biggest hug she could without crushing her frail little body. "Thank you," Reya whispered. "Thank you for everything."

***

With the sentimentalities out of the way, Madame Billeaux escorted Reya to the front door a final time, or at least until she might one day visit again. As Reya inched closer to the door, she tried not to think of Francois but he was in her thoughts. She hadn't seen him since their argument that night, after Reya had stormed off and refused to listen to anything he'd had to say. For a few days after she'd wondered if he would reappear, but since he hadn't, she could only conclude there wasn't anything important he needed to say after all.

So she hugged Madame Billeaux and left.

***

The following day, the time to leave came too soon, as Reya found herself in the airport terminal, waiting in line at the self-serve check-in kiosk.

She thought about going home to tell Jane all about her surprising Parisian adventures. She'd given Jane some hints here or there over text, but had wanted to save the best parts for their de-brief in person, with details to be shared over the bottles of French wine she'd packed in her suitcase. The first thing she'd do when she saw Jane was give her the biggest hug, because if Jane hadn't aggressively told her to plan a trip to Paris, she would've spent her month off in Toronto watching Netflix.

When it was finally Reya's turn to check in, she heard someone calling a name in the distance. Maybe a child had gotten lost, she thought.

As the voice drew closer the name sounded like her own, and when she turned to find the source, there was Francois, running towards her.

He stopped in front of the kiosk, slightly out of breath.

"Reya," he said, "I couldn't let you leave without seeing you one last time."

She noticed that the people in line behind her were already looking annoyed, their travel plans far more important than this random emotional confession. She stepped out of the queue to a quiet corner and he followed.

"I'm going to be late," Reya said. "And I already lost my place in line so please just say what you need to say."

"I'm sorry," Francois said. "I was unfair to you that night, without even letting you explain."

"It's okay," she said. "You were concerned for your grandmother. And after thinking about it for a while...I understand it." And she truly meant that.

"But that other thing I said," he lowered his head in shame. "It was extremely rude."

Reya managed a smile. "It's okay, and you were kind of right about that too. Even though you sounded like a jerk the way you said it." She glanced at the time on her phone. "I should really go."

"And the last thing is," he went on, "I was too scared of what it would mean to not let Dominique back into my life, but it was the worst possible decision I could've ever made."

She found herself suddenly intrigued, but managed to keep her composure. "You should do what makes you happy."

"I know," he said. "And this is what would make me happy right now." He leaned in. "I hope you won't mind it."

She shook her head, knowing what was coming. "I don't mind."

Francois kissed her deeply, and it gave her a feeling that lifted her away from the ugly airport terminal.

After it was over she remembered that her time was fading fast. Only now she was feeling sad. "I really do have to go. I mean I start a new job on Monday, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't--"

He smiled. "That's okay. That's what airplanes are for. And sabbaticals. For frequent visits."

She grinned and gave him a big hug, and even though she wouldn't bring him home in her suitcase, she was on her way back with the greatest feeling, and the greatest story for Jane...

THE END

[Thanks so much for reading the short story ESCAPE TO PARIS, hope you enjoyed it! - Romi]