One Summer in Paris(32)

She felt a sudden pang. What would they all be doing now?

Her throat thickened and she tried to focus on the bookstore.

“It’s interesting. I like history.” As long as she wasn’t expected to write an essay on it. The past always seemed so much more interesting than the present, which in her life was pretty challenging.

“Let me show you your new home!” Elodie led her to the back of the shop and scooped up a key. “Your parents are happy for you to be in Paris this summer?”

“They’re very supportive.” Audrey looked at the till, wondering how often Elodie counted the money. Not that she intended to steal it exactly. Just borrow enough to tide her over until she found a job. Then she’d put it back. She had no idea how much money she’d need to survive here, but as the area was packed with tourists she assumed the answer was “a lot.”

“The room is in the eaves. It’s small, but I think you will find it comfortable. When my children were little, they used to fight to sleep up there.”

Audrey hauled her backpack up the narrow staircase and paused by a doorway. “Is this it?”

“You’re on the next floor up. I rent the other apartment for extra income, but for now it is empty. I have two people coming to see it tomorrow. Your apartment is smaller, but you have a view over the rooftops of Paris.”

The rooftops of Paris sounded better than the backstreets of London, which had been her view for the past eighteen years.

By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Audrey was out of breath.

Elodie unlocked the door and handed over the key. “Welcome to your new home.”

“Thanks. I mean, merci.” Audrey followed her inside. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting. The single small photo she’d seen had suggested something small and dark, but whoever had taken the photo hadn’t done the place justice. Yes, it was small, but what the photo hadn’t shown was the row of windows and the generous flood of light.

Her spirits lifted and her relief must have shown on her face because Elodie beamed.

“Perfect, no?”

“Totally perfect.”

There was a bed against one wall. Not a narrow bed like the one she had at home but a generous double with an ornate frame that looked like something out of an old French movie. Against one wall was a large sofa, covered in a throw and heaped in cushions.

There was a tiny fridge in the corner of the room, a hot plate and a microwave. Since Audrey didn’t intend to cook anything much, she knew she wouldn’t need more than that.

Toast was her favorite food, and there was a toaster on top of the counter.

“The bathroom is here.” Elodie waved her arm and Audrey poked her head around the door.

There was a shower, a toilet and a hand basin, crammed together in a space so small that Audrey would have to keep her elbows tucked in if she didn’t want bruises. But it was all hers. Audrey had never had a bathroom that was all hers. She wouldn’t have to wonder if she’d find her mother crying on the floor, or alcohol stashed behind the toilet. She closed her hand over the key. She’d never been able to lock her door before. Her mother barged in at any time that suited her. For the first time in her life, she’d have privacy. Right now that felt as valuable as cash.

She slid the key into her pocket, feeling grown-up. Maybe that was all it took. A key. A place of your own. The ability to decide what you did with your day. To make choices that weren’t driven by compensating for other people’s mistakes.

She closed the door on the bathroom and walked across to the windows. The floorboards creaked under her feet and she had to duck her head in the section of the room where the roof sloped, but from here she had a view across what seemed to be the whole of Paris.

She opened the window and leaned out. She heard the blare of car horns, shouts from the people below in the streets, the smell of cigarettes and sunbaked streets. Beyond the rooftops she could see the gentle curve of the river Seine, the golden stone of the Louvre and in the distance the bold jut of steel that was the Eiffel Tower.

Across the narrow street was another building, also full of apartments. Through one window Audrey could see bookshelves, tumbling plants and sofas. Through another, she could see into a bedroom.

It made her realize that she needed to close the shutters, particularly if she invited company back.

“It’s great.” She pulled her head back from the window. “Thanks.”

“You can have the rest of the day to settle in and start tomorrow.” Elodie walked to the door. “We open at 9:00 in the morning and stay open until 9:00 at night. Will you be able to handle an early start?”

Audrey had been getting herself out of bed in time for school for what felt like her whole life. She could handle 9:00 a.m., although she had to admit she’d been hoping for more of a lie-in now that she’d left school. Still, as long as she wasn’t expected to actually read the books…

“Great. Can’t wait.”

She waited until the door had closed behind Elodie, and then finally, finally, she was alone.

Alone!

She stretched out her arms and spun on the spot, feeling the space and the silence.

Feeling restless and strange, she unloaded the contents of her backpack onto the bed. Everything was crumpled.

Suddenly exhausted, she sat down next to her clothes.