They were staying at the Excelsior, which had been a favorite of his since his boyhood, when he had gone there with his parents, and he loved sharing his memories there with his daughter. They loved traveling together and always had fun. And this time he was determined to tell her about Natalie. He had promised, and he had every intention of following through. They were going to be spending a whole week together, and there would be plenty of time for her to absorb the news that he was in love with a good woman who wanted to get to know Heloise too.
They were sitting in a cafe that afternoon, enjoying the spring sunshine, when he asked her how things were going with Francois. She was always a little vague about him, and he was never sure if that meant he wasn’t a big deal or was a Very Big Deal. She was surprisingly evasive about him, which wasn’t like her.
“He’s fine,” she said, staring into space, as her father watched her for telltale signs that might alarm him. He was always on the lookout for warning signs of her not coming home. So far, much to his relief, there had been none.
“What kind of fine? Fine as in you’re so nuts about him you can’t see straight, or fine, he’s an okay boyfriend but no big deal?” She laughed at her father’s description. She was wearing jeans and running shoes and a sweater and had put her hair in pigtails for the first time in years. She looked even younger than she was.
“Somewhere between the two. Fine, as in I love him, but I’m still coming home, if that’s what you’re asking me. We got our internships in Paris for our hospitality year,” she announced, and Hugues’s eye-brows shot up. This was the first time she had confirmed it, and that made him a little nervous too, although it would be good experience for her.
“Where?” His heart was racing as he asked her.
“The George V. It’s one of the best hotels in Paris now and would give us a leg up with the Four Seasons, who own it, if we ever want to work at one of their other hotels.”
“What does that mean? You don’t need a leg up with the Four Seasons if you’re coming back to work with me. Has any of that plan changed?”
“No. I told you, I’m still coming home, at Christmastime this year. I start at the George V on June first. Francois and I are going to try and find a studio together, he’s staying for the whole year. I’ll only be there for six months.” He knew the plan, but it was all too real now, and living with Francois in Paris was new.
“You’re going to live with him?” She nodded. “Isn’t that a big commitment?”
“Not for six months,” she said practically, “and I don’t want to live alone. I’m twenty years old, Papa, or I will be by then, or almost. people do that these days. It makes a lot of sense.”
“To whom?” he asked, looking annoyed. “I would pay for an apartment for you. You don’t have to live with him.”
“I want to,” she said, smiling at him.
“What if I did something like that?” he asked her bluntly, trying to open the door he’d been attempting to open for six months.
“Don’t be silly. You wouldn’t live with someone. And if you did, I wouldn’t like it. That’s not respectable at your age. I’m just a student. It’s not the same thing.”
“Why not? What if I fell in love?” he said, trying to introduce the hypothetical before the real to test the waters and see what she’d say.
“I’d probably have a fit and have to kill her,” she said with a smile as his heart sank. “You belong to me,” she said without hesitating for a beat, with the confidence that came from a father who had never loved anyone but her and she liked it that way and wasn’t afraid to say so.
“I could belong to you
“No, you couldn’t,” she said, drinking lemon soda through a straw. “I wouldn’t let you. Besides, she’d probably be after your money, or mess everything up at the hotel. You don’t need a woman, Papa, you have me.” She beamed at him and sat back in her chair, and he didn’t have the heart to ruin the rest of the week, telling her he was in love with Natalie. A week, or even two, never seemed like enough time to deliver that kind of news, especially given her resistance, which was openly declared. He knew from the way she was looking at him that he was going to be no braver at Easter than he had been at Christmas. How could he ruin the week with her, when he only saw her once every three or four months? He couldn’t risk it. She meant too much to him. And if he lost her, Natalie would never be enough. He wanted them both in his life, not either or.
