Turned Upside Down

Bistro

“Bonjour, je m’appelle Fiore et je suis vingt ans.” At this point my tone was like a robot with how many times I have repeated this sentence. Aiden chuckled and shook his head.

“Good enough for now. What is that?” he asked pointing to a window as we passed by. I chewed on my bottom lip as I racked my brain for the answer.

“It is… une fenêtre… right?” He grinned widely like a proud teacher and intertwined his fingers with mine as we approached the bistro.

Standing behind the podium was a petite woman with her dark brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She smiled up at as us we walked up and said something in French which I assumed was meant to be ‘reservations’ or something. Without batting an eye, Aiden fluently answered her question. As I looked between the two I noticed the woman’s eyes lingering on Aiden for slightly longer than I was comfortable with. She said something else and motioned for us to follow.

I looked down at the ground as I followed the woman with Aiden behind me to a table out on the back patio. We sat down opposite of each other and I watched the woman walk away – no more like sashay away. I clenched my jaw and furrowed my eyebrows in thought. I would be stupid to think that women wouldn’t give him special attention.

“Fiore, are you listening to me?”

I quickly looked up to him confused. “What?” He chuckled, raising his eye brow.

“I was asking you what you wanted to eat… Is everything alright?” Frowning, he slowly reached across the table to take my hand in his. “You seem distant.”

“Yeah,” I cleared my throat and shook my head, shaking any thoughts of the woman away. I sighed and smiled, “I’m fine.” I quickly scanned over the menu and pointed to a picture of a pasta that looked delicious. “That looks good. I’ll have that and a glass of wine.”

He looked down at the menu and nodded as the waiter came up to our table. I stared out at the Riviera as Aiden ordered our food. I looked up at Aiden as he played with my engagement ring while the waiter walked back inside. Sighing, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

“Are you sure you are going to be alright here on your own? I feel horrible for leaving you so soon after moving in.”

I nodded slowly, “I’ll be fine Aiden. I’ll call you if I need anything okay? And besides, I am supposed to be meeting up with your boss’s wife for lunch tomorrow. I am sure she will help me if I need her too.” I gently moved my hand so I was holding his a squeezed lightly. “Everything will be alright. Just go to Rome and do your job okay?” Smiling I winked at him. He opened his mouth to say something else but our food came, interrupting his train of thought. I took a bite of my pasta and immediately smiled. Being so close to the Italian border came with its perks, as the food was delicious. I looked up at Aiden and saw him smiling at me.

“Is it good?” I grinned and nodded holding out a forkful for him to try. After that we ate in silence, though it was comfortable. Soon we finished eating and Aiden paid before we left. I sighed as we got closer to our flat, cherishing the last few minutes I had with him before he left. His phone rang, breaking through the silence that had once again fallen between us. He pulled out his phone and frowned some before he answered it.

“Hello?” There was a pause as he listened to the response from the other end of the line. “No, I am about to leave now.” He put on his jacket while balancing his phone between his hear and his shoulder. He turned his body away from me and lowered his voice, causing me to frown. “Look I can’t talk right now okay? I’ll call you when I get settled in Rome.” He hung up the phone while turning back to me and pulling me into a hug. I swallowed hard, suddenly confused by his secrecy.

“Who was that on the phone?” I asked as I laid my head against his shoulder.

“My assistant for the Rome shoot. She was trying to figure out which cameras I needed and I just told her I would call her once I had time.” He ducked his head and kissed my cheek. “I’ll see you in a few days alright?”

I nodded not fully believing what he said but not pushing it further. Standing on my tip toes I kissed him gently before pulling away from him and handing him his suitcase.

“Call me when you get there alright?” He nodded and kissed my forehead before walking to the door. I heard him say, “I love you” before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

 I stood in silence for a few minutes before I trudged our room and changed into one of Aiden’s big t-shirts. Looking around I looked for something to do. This was going to be the longest few days of my life.