Authors: Caddy Rowland
He talked to Maurice that night. Maurice was very sorry to hear that Gastien was leaving. “You have been my best server, Gastien. I have grown to care very much about you.
Mon Dieu
, I will miss you!” Maurice then got out a bottle of
vin
. “Sit down with me, dear Gastien. I always knew this day would come. You have a nice year ahead of you, doing what you love! Let’s have a toast.”
They sat talking about the past year, the ordeals and now the excitement for Gastien. Maurice generously told Gastien he could leave his paintings up in the restaurant to perhaps get future business or make a few sales. “Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee you a job when you return. I will have to hire someone else, and it would be unfair to dismiss him if you wanted to come back. I would love to have you back if there was an opening, but you must understand there probably won’t be one,” Maurice warned.
“
Oui
. I understand. I appreciate you saying you will take me back if there is an opening. I know it is hard to get really good waiters. By the way, if you hire someone soon enough, I would be glad to work extra to train him.”
“That is good of you. I may take you up on that. Let’s see who we get, first. Since I want experience, it may not be necessary. We might just put him on at slower times until he is used to things.”
They had one more glass of
vin
. “Maurice,” said Gastien, “I better go. I need to make out a list for Jean Luc. Then I need to get to bed, because I want to paint all day tomorrow.
Merci
beaucoup
for the drinks and for being so understanding.”
“No problem. You know, when you walked out to wait on my wife and I there was no way I thought I would be hiring you. I thought you had no chance of success as a server. You sure surprised me. Things have been hard for you lately. You deserve a bit of luck.” They hugged.
“See you tomorrow night, Maurice.”
“
Oui
, see you tomorrow.”
The rest of July went quickly, as summer has a habit of doing. Even August was half over. Jean Luc had been in a couple of times finalizing things. The other restaurant staff teased Gastien about the opportunity to sleep with Jean Luc’s beautiful wife, but Gastien knew better than to do anything like that. He was not going to jeopardize employment with Jean Luc.
Gastien’s last day at
Le Procope
was on the 27
th
. When the day arrived, it was bittersweet. Much hugging and many slaps on the back were given at the end of his shift. He had lunch the next day with Maurice to say goodbye. Maurice handed Gastien an envelope.
“This came for you just today. If you like, you can continue to have correspondence forwarded here, since you will be coming into the area frequently.” Gastien had planned on that and knew that Mic, Father Fournier and Nath had the address. Gastien reached out for the letter. There was no return on it. He had a feeling it was from Nath, though. The envelope was very elegant and it was about time for the baby to have been born.
“
Merci
, Maurice. I appreciate it.” He tucked the letter into a pocket. He would wait until he was alone to read it.
After relaxing for awhile after lunch, Gastien stood to leave. “I appreciate all you did for me, Maurice. You will never know how much it meant to me to have this job,” Gastien said soberly.
“Actually, I think I do, Gastien. You were pretty hard up. I am glad it worked out.” They embraced once more before Gastien left.
When he got back to his room, he looked around. The room did not bother him nearly so much now that he was leaving in a few days! Sitting on the bed, he carefully opened the envelope. He would keep this letter in his bank box, which had no money right now, but held the ring and the pocket watch of the gentleman who had died in the alley. The ring fit Gastien perfectly. He planned on always wearing it once he got to Montmartre, in remembrance of that man. The watch he simply kept out of respect.
As he tilted the envelope, a photo fell out onto his lap. Staring up at him was a picture of his newborn baby daughter. Of course, he did not know if it was a girl or a boy until he read the letter. He stopped to hold up the photo. It was so small! He knew babies were small, of course, he had seen plenty of them at home. Regardless, it was hard to believe that he had made this one. How strange that a sex act could produce something separate from you, yet part of you. The baby looked like a typical newborn. Gastien smiled. He would have loved to have held it just once. Sighing, he then proceeded to unfold the letter.
“Dearest Gastien,
As you can see, our daughter has made her appearance. Her name is Giselle. That is the closest I could come to Gastien without being obvious. She was born on the fifth of August and weighed 6 lbs, 2 oz. They tell me the delivery was easy. It only took six hours. To me, those six hours could not go fast enough! Babies can take many, many more hours than that, though, so I am thankful.
Gastien, she is beautiful! I was not sure if I was ready to be a mother. Then, I looked at her! My heart had never known such a pure, protective love until that instant. She is my world.
Merci
Beaucoup
for her! She has blue eyes like every baby, but they are very dark. Something tells me she will have huge, brown eyes. She has dark hair, of course, and your mouth! She is also as demanding as you, wanting her milk even more often than you wanted sex!
On a serious note, Elliot also thinks the world of her. I was worried that perhaps he would never quite bond with the baby when it came, since it was not his. To my relief, he is over the moon about her. She will be so spoiled that I pity any man who will think himself of strong enough character to be her husband.
Elliot and I are actually getting along quite nicely. We were always very fond of one another. We have found that we have a lot of common interests. It is not as dreary as I feared, planning entertainment for his business dinners and our social gatherings. I have always loved a good party! I bet it will not surprise you that I seem to have a knack for planning parties that people talk about for weeks.
Gastien, I do miss you terribly. I want you to know that I think of you often. Not a day goes by that I don’t. I wish I could have both you and Elliott. Right now things are going well. We are reasonably happy, in fact much more that I could have imagined.
I can’t see messing myself up emotionally by seeing you. As I said, who knows what the future will bring. It would have to be with Elliott’s blessing. I will not sneak around on him. I know many people do carry on affairs. I am not saying I am above that, nor is he. It is just different with you. You are more than an affair according to my heart. Right now I can’t handle any additional pain in that regard.
Please do write to me and let me know what you are up to. Don’t censor your letters! I want all of the sordid details, and all of the gossip! You will find my address enclosed on my calling card. I have decided that I can write to you regularly, so do expect a reply at some point every time that you write. I know that you probably won’t write often, in fact you may have already gotten over me, but I would love to hear from you.
I love you, Gastien. I always will.
Nath”
Gastien sat for a long time, holding the letter. His mind was full of memories of how Nath looked when they danced, when she laughed, when they shared secrets, when they had sex. Was that love? He guessed not in the sense she meant, but he sure did miss her. She was a wonderful, wonderful woman. He would write to her within a week, once he got settled in his new place.
The next morning he copied down the address and put it in with his art supplies, so that he would have it when he moved. Next, he went to the bank. He looked again at the photo of his child for quite some time. Then, he read the letter twice more. He placed both in the bank box and locked it. He quickly turned and left. If anyone noticed his eyes were wet, he could say it was due to the brisk wind outside that day.
When he painted that afternoon there was extra passion and sadness in his work. His canvas was covered with dark colors and texture, creating a very stormy look. After a few hours, the sadness finally passed. After all, he was starting a new life in just a couple of days. Best of all, it was on a direct path to the life he eventually wanted for himself. If he did a good job for Jean Luc, the referrals would be fabulous.
A lot of Gastien’s friends were throwing him a party that night. He did not know why, since he would still be around on his days off, but then again, they were always looking for a reason to party.
Party was definitely the word for it that night! Young men have always been hard partiers, creative types even more so. Gastien drank lots of whiskey, becoming quite drunk. Someone produced some hashish later, making sure Gastien smoked his share of that. Still, he could not get those green eyes out of his mind. He was having a great time, but he was haunted. I know what I need, he thought. I need to go to the afterhours club Nath and I hung out at. A few tangos with some sexy looking rich women will erase those green eyes for while.
“Hey, guys! Listen up. I know a great afterhours club. Let’s go tango!” Gastien yelled. Most of them did not know how to tango, but they were always game for anything.
“Hey, Gastien, how will we get in? Don’t you have to be someone to get in to those private afterhours clubs?”
Gastien laughed. “I AM someone, Julien. So are you. Actually I used to go a lot with Nath. They should remember me.” He sure hoped so. It would be embarrassing to get turned away.
Once they got there, the doorman did indeed remember Gastien. “Come in,
ami
, come in; and bring your buddies! It has been awhile,” he exclaimed.
“So it has. Have you been making sure all the women are good looking tonight?” Gastien teased.
“There is a good share of good looking ones, but most are with husbands or boyfriends.”
“Has that stopped me previously?”
The doorman laughed. “You are right. Enjoy yourself. Say, by the way, where is Nath? I have not seen her for months, either!”
Gastien stopped in his tracks. His friends
were silent. “She is married and lives in the countryside.”
The doorman could see that this subject was now closed. “I see.
Merci
for the update. Have fun.”
Once inside, Gastien proceeded to scan the floor for the best tango dancers. He walked up to one couple to ask if he could have a dance. Soon he was not without partners. The whiskey flowed, the hashish was lit, and the night went on. He could still see those green eyes. Looking at the woman he was dancing with, he decided she would do. Since she had been pressing against him in a most provocative way, he knew she was his for the taking.
“
Chèr
i, let’s go to a back room. You are making me very bothered. I need you to help me out a bit,” Gastien whispered.
She looked up at him, smiling a catlike smile. “Lead the way.”
Once they got back there, Gastien unbuttoned his pants. “Please use your mouth on me,
chèri.
I am particularly fond of that. I would be most grateful.”
She looked at him and then at his huge member. Ah, well, it looked too big to go inside her anyway. She did rather like him. What could it hurt to make him happy? Every woman wanted a piece of Gastien. If she did not do it, someone else would. She got down on her knees and began.
Meanwhile, Gastien’s friends were wondering what happened to him. “Do you think he got sick?” asked Julien.
“Well, that could be, he has drank quite a bit.”
Julien sighed. “I will go in search of him.” He went into the back room by mistake, thinking he was on his way to the bathroom. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. There was Gastien, eyes closed, mouth partly open and teeth clenched, with his hands buried in the hair of the woman who knelt before him. What in the world? Then he realized what she was doing.
Mon Dieu
he even gets them to do that? Just then Gastien opened his eyes. Seeing Julien, he winked, and then closed his eyes again. Julien just shook his head and went back out to the club area.
“I am happy to tell you that Gastien is just fine,” he stated.
“Well, where the hell is he?” asked Jaques.
“He is with a woman in the back, getting a work out on his
bite
from her mouth.”
“
Merde
! That man! It is going to fall off of him one day.”
“Maybe so, but I would love to be in his place. How about you?” chided Julien.
“
Oui
. That I would,” conceded Jacques.
A few minutes later Gastien walked into the room. He went up to the bar and ordered a drink. The others were learning to tango or drinking themselves silly. Gastien could not figure out why he still kept seeing those damn green eyes. They were laughing at him. He had thought the sex would help, but it didn’t. Bound and determined to wipe those eyes from his mind, he concentrated on dancing for another hour.
When he was missing again an hour later, Julien knew better than to go looking for him unless too much time passed by. If he had, he would have found Gastien, this time behind a woman he had bent over a table, giving her all he had. And still the green eyes persisted. When he came, he groaned, “Ahh, Naaaath!” He did not even realize it. The woman pretended not to notice.
A few of the guys saw him coming out of the room and waited. A few minutes later they saw the woman. They teased Gastien about it, telling him he smelled like
conne
.
“Do I really?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“
Oui
, but then you usually do,” joked Julien.
Gastien threw back his head and laughed. “Well, lucky me! Perhaps you need to find some yourself,
non
?”
They all laughed then and ordered another round. His friends saw to it that Gastien got home and up the stairs. He staggered to the bed where he either passed out or went to sleep immediately, they did not know which. One thing would be certain. They would all be very sick tomorrow.