When the Heart Falls(72)

“He’s working on a design for a contest.” I don’t even try to hide the pride in my voice.

"Wow. Good for him. That architecture stuff is hard.” She squishes her face up. “Too much math and straight lines for me."

I laugh. “Me too. But he’s a genius with it. His designs are amazing, and I’ve learned so much from him.”

Jenifer sips her café latte. “You’re so in love it’s disgusting.” But she smiles, and I know she’s happy for me.

“Can’t argue there. How’d your French exam go?” I know this language doesn’t come as easily to my friends as it does to me, though they each shine in their own way.

She shrugs and flips a long strand of blond hair off her exposed shoulders. “I’ll pass. Only 'cause of you, though. Your tutoring saved my ass.”

"You’ve been holding your own for a while now. It’s all you."

"Only 'cause you taught me so well."

"True."

Vincent brings us our food himself and smiles brightly at Jenifer. “Enjoy your meal, ladies.”

“Merci,” we both say as we dig into our chicken dishes.

Jenifer bites into a breadstick, frowning as she chews, a contemplative look on her face. "Remember back in elementary school, when that Trevor kid used to pick on me?"

"And you actually focused on school instead of boys? Yeah, I remember." I take a bite of the chicken and the flavors explode in my mouth. Le sigh. I’m going to miss this food when I leave Paris.

She wipes her mouth. "I got him really angry that one time. I told him we weren't going to be friends any longer."

"When were you ever friends?" I ask in between bites.

"He thought we were. Even as he kicked me under the tables and put gum in my hair, he thought we were friends. Maybe that was friendship to him. Maybe that's all he knew."

"We were all stupid back then," I remind her.

"Not you," Jenifer says, pointing her fork at me. "You got the best grades."

"You got second best."

"Until puberty.” She smiles, but it’s a smile of regret.

“Puberty’s a bitch.” Puberty affected us each differently, though Rodney curtailed any normal development I might have had in that department.

Jenifer looks down at her lap, fiddling with her napkin. "He would have killed me, you know. That time you found us in the park, he would have killed me."

I shake my head. "Trevor wasn't that stupid.”

"No. I told him we weren't friends. And he picked up a rock. He was going to bash my head in. I could see it in his eyes." Her hand shakes as she spears a carrot with her fork.

"He didn't do anything."

Her eyes widen, shiny with liquid. "Only ‘cause you caught him."

I want to cheer her up, but I’m not sure how, because I don’t know what brought on this sad stroll down memory lane. "You would have kicked his ass.”

"I wonder about that.” She moves the carrot around on her plate. "If you weren't there, what would have happened? I keep wondering about that."

"Why? It happened a long time ago."

"Doesn't feel that way.” She has a faraway look in her eyes. "Never feels that way."



I do my best to move the conversation to small talk, and she tells me about her shopping trips, the great deals she found, and how much she loves Paris. I don’t share her shopping bug, but I love it here, too. We’re nearly done with lunch when I ask her about Duke.

"Busy.” She steals the last breadstick, and I let her. "He's dealing with… " she spits out the words like rotten food "…customers all day."

My temper flares at that. "Really?"

"Really."

"Do you love him?" I have to walk a fine line here. I don’t want to talk shit about a guy she loves, but I also can’t stand to see her hurting.

"I think so. I mean, we haven't broken up yet. That's a record for me."

Oh, Jenifer. You deserve so much better than an * drug dealer. But instead of burdening her with my thoughts, I redirect. "Ready for dessert?"

"Sure.” She sinks into her chair, all joy gone from her. I should never have asked about that jerk. Hopefully, this will improve her mood. I hold up a hand to get the attention of Vincent, and he comes to the table followed by all the servers at the restaurant.

Jenifer sits up straighter. "What's going on?"

The servers begin singing the French version of Happy Birthday. I join with them in singing as Vincent pours her a glass of champagne and places a piece of chocolate cake in front of her with a lit candle in it. "Someone told me there's a birthday girl here today."

Jenifer is silent.

I interrupt my own singing and reach out to hold her hand. "You didn't think I forgot, did you?"

"I… " Jenifer is speechless, which is a first.

"Of course I remembered. Now, drink up. I'm taking you somewhere special next."

"Ah, yes," Vincent says, his eyes lit up. "I told Winter of this place. My parents used to take me there every Saturday. You'll love it."