13 Little Blue Envelopes(40)

“Why didn’t you?” Ginny asked.

“Why?” he repeated. He gazed up and around at the gaily decorated walls. “I do not know why. I suppose she just seemed so sure. She had a way. She had a female charm. . . . You do not take offense at this, you understand. She had a vision, and when she spoke, you believed it. And she was right. Very strange, but right.”

179

Very strange, but right. This was possibly the best descrip-tion of her aunt that Ginny had ever heard.

After being stuffed with lunch and some apple tart with

cream, Ginny was politely booted out so that Paul could get ready for the evening.

“Say hello to your aunt for me!” he said cheerfully. “And come back! Come back often!”

“I will,” Ginny said, her smile falling a bit. There was no point in correcting him about Aunt Peg. In his mind, she was still very much alive, and she saw no reason why it shouldn’t stay that way for somebody.

She walked back to the hostel in a funk, feeling very

annoyed by the late-afternoon crowds and the weight of her bag. For some reason, Paris was not enchanting her right now.

It was big and loud and crowded and it had too much stuff in it. The streets were too small. The people talking on their phones too inattentive.

Something about Paul’s reaction sank her completely. She

wanted to go back to her lonely, creaky bunk, in the room where the other girls ignored her. She wanted to go back there and cry.

Just lie there all night and do nothing. There was nothing she could do anyway. She didn’t live here. She didn’t know anyone.

She pushed open the wrought-iron door roughly and barely

noticed when the woman at the desk gave her a slight smile. In fact, she almost didn’t recognize the voice that called out to her from the direction of the computers.

“Oi!” it said. “Mad one!”

180





A Night on the Town

“Where have you been?” Keith greeted her. “I was sitting outside for two hours. Do you know how many dogs tried to . . .

never mind.”

Ginny was too amazed to speak. It was definitely him. Tall, thin, the reddish brown hair that managed to be both scruffy and perfect, the biking gloves. He smelled just a bit mustier than usual.

“Hello, Keith,” he prompted. “How are you? Oh, can’t

complain.”

“Why are you here? I mean . . .”

“One of the tickets you bought for the show,” he said. “I took them up to the international office, remember? A French drama student took one. Their school runs a festival and one of their shows fell through, so they asked us to come at the last minute. Packed up the set. Drove over. Fate clearly wants us to be together.”

181

“Oh.”

She shifted from foot to foot. Blinked. He was still there.

“I can see you’re impressed,” he said. “What has your mad aunt got you doing here, anyway?”

“I had to go to a café,” she said.

“Café? Now we’re talking. I’m starving. We’re not performing tonight. We could grab a bite. Unless, of course, you’re busy buying out all the seats in the Paris opera house.”

Even though she’d just spent the better part of the afternoon eating, Ginny didn’t say no. She and Keith spent the next several hours walking. Keith stopped at almost every crepe stand he saw along the way (and there were plenty) and ordered a big, messy pocket filled with everything. He ate as he walked, telling her all about the show. His main news, however, was about David and Fiona, who had gotten back together, much to his disappointment.

It turned dark, and they were still walking. They walked

along the river, passing the many bridges. They crossed and walked through a little neighborhood and watched the people at the cafés, who watched them right back. Then they passed by a high fence and what looked like a park.

“Cemetery!” Keith said. “Cemetery!”

Ginny turned to see Keith jumping up, grabbing hold of

the top, and shinnying his way over the fence with ease, even with Ginny’s pack on his back. He grinned at her from behind the bars.

“Here we go,” he said, indicating the dark expanse of monu-ments and trees on his side.

“Here we go what?”

“It’s a Parisian cemetery! They’re the best. Five stars.”

182

“What about it?”

“Just come have a look at least.”

“We’re not supposed to be in there!”

“We’re tourists! We don’t know better. Come on. Over

you go.”

“We can’t!”

“I’ve got your bag,” he said, turning around to show her.

There seemed to be no choice.

“If I come over, promise me we’ll just look around and then we’ll leave.”

“I promise.”

It wasn’t as easy for Ginny to get over the fence. There was nothing to put her foot against. She had to keep jumping up and trying to grab at the top. At last she got on top of it but had no idea how to get down. Keith finally persuaded her to swing her leg over or she was definitely going to get caught. He almost managed to catch her as she hurled herself down and was very good about helping her off the ground.