La Petite Fleur

Guérison 2

He let her think of an answer as they crossed a lazy intersection together. When she spoke, he slowed to walk beside her to hear better. "Hm, unusual? I can write with both 'ands. Does zat count?"

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah I guess that is unusual."

"Your turn," she told him.

He was hesitant to continue this game in case she began asking questions he had no way around but until then, he'd try to manage. "Um, have any questions?"

" 'ow old are you today?"

That was a question he was not expecting. Before he could answer, he did rapid subtraction in his head before replying, "Twenty-three. Now I get to ask, right?" When she nodded, he asked, "When's your birthday?"

"Christmas Eve," she replied immediately. She was about to ask another question when they passed a woman pushing a cart of flour sacks. They stepped out of the way and crossed another street to pass into the more relaxed and historic portion of beautiful Nice, France.

As they explored the winding streets, he had no trouble getting Antoinette to talk. In fact, getting her to be quiet would have been a difficulty had he wanted her to stop. She kept up her half of the conversation as well as a good portion of his own half but Steve didn't mind. When dusk began to fall, he could almost imagine the fireworks and parties that would be held all over the United States in a couple hours. He felt so incredibly homesick at that moment that he hadn't realized he'd slowed down until Antoinette had turned back to see where he'd gotten to.

"Steve?" she said, walking beside him.

He shook his head to clear it before answering, "I'm alright. It's just-"

"July Fourth," she said. "I know. I thought you would miss home but I didn't know what to do," she admitted.

"It's okay," he told her. "I knew I wasn't going to be home for tonight anyway. I'll be fine."

"Sure?"

He smiled and nodded, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze and letting go again. She was about to say something when she was roughly shoved into him by a herd of teenagers running down the street and laughing. He caught her shoulders and steadied her before they continued their walk.

"Crazy kids," he muttered good-naturedly.

"If they are the kids, then what are we?" she replied.

He made a face and thought about that. "I'm not sure. Adults maybe?"

"But then we would have to be boring and responsible," she said.

"Not necessarily. Responsibility is good but it doesn't mean we can't have fun."

She laughed a little and guided him down a few streets while they chatted together. The hot summer day acted like it never wanted to end and the sunlight lasted even after 8:30pm. They had dinner at a quaint corner restaurant and stopped again at a café an hour afterward for ice cream.

She led Steve to a bridge spanning a road beneath them and overlooked the breathtaking Mediterranean Sea. The humid air was pleasantly swept away by a salty breeze that tousled his hair and played with the hem of Antoinette's skirt. Her bare shoulders were tanned and freckled from the time they'd spent outside in the recent weeks and her hair was pulled into a bun at the back of her head.

He took a deep breath of the clean night air and exhaled slowly, watching street lights blink on around them as the sky darkened. The sea and horizon maintained a faint glow until velvety darkness set in and enveloped them. Lights from surrounding buildings and streets shed enough of their golden glow for them to see by without being harsh or obtrusive to the night. Stars appeared at first one by one before pricking the sky by hordes of ten and twenty at a time.

It's perfect, he thought, gazing out over the Mediterranean. He felt Antoinette beside him and was about to say something when he felt her fingers intertwine themselves with his. He smiled and glanced down at her but she wasn't watching him. She was staring at the stars above their heads with a far away gaze.

He squeezed her hand gently and felt her squeeze back, reassuring him she was still aware of where she was. He pushed off the stone barrier he'd been leaning on and turned a little to face her more. She snapped back to earth and met his eyes with a quiet smile.

They stood together in comfortable silence watching the sea lap away at the beach until Steve remembered that Antoinette was required back before eleven. He walked her to the apartment where the dancers were staying and paused in front of the steps. She stood on the step above him, still several inches shorter but able to meet him eye to eye without difficulty.

"Happy birthday," she whispered.

"Thanks," he responded just as quietly. The string of lights over the doorway and in the trees framing the steps cast a glow over them as they stood together. No matter how he tried and what reason was telling him, he couldn't make himself leave.

He expected her to be called inside by another dancer or to retreat up the steps; but if there was one thing he knew about Antoinette, it was that she was never what he expected. And again she surprised him.

In a single quick but graceful movement, she rested her hands lightly on his shoulders and kissed his cheek before pulling away and backing up a couple steps so that he had to tilt his head back to meet her eyes. He couldn't be sure in the dim lighting but he had the good idea she was blushing.

"Bonne nuit, Steve," she told him before disappearing inside the building.

He was left standing at the bottom of the steps and smiling at nothing. When he finally released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, he felt lightheaded and a little dizzy. He turned away not knowing where he was going but managed his way back to the hotel without getting lost.