Guillaume, Her French Husband

“But Myka doesn’t rave,” she said in a soft voice as he opened the door for her. “It’s not her style.”

“I guess there is a first time for everything, huh?” he said and she sighed loudly before she climbed in. She was breathing hard and heavy as she waited for him to climb into the driver’s seat. She looked at him when he got inside the car and started the engine. “We are going to find her, baby. Or I will die trying,” he added as he pulled out of the parking lot and began driving out of the property.

At that moment, she had so much to say. Her mind was abuzz with all the words that were working their way inside her head but the one thing that took priority was how worried she was about her sister. And as far as she was concerned, she only wanted to handle one minefield at a time.

*****

Guillaume

Having known Myka for just a few weeks, Guillaume knew that she was not one of those kids who just took off without saying anything. And even though Lara was worried sick, something at the back of his mind told him that the cell phone ping was going to help them a whole lot. It narrowed the search down to just a couple of blocks. And that much he could handle. He had one part of the production team checking out the raves and the other checking out one of the blocks.

Apart from the music playing in his truck, everything was dead silent in the vehicle. And Lara was looking outside her window. Obviously looking for the car. A smile played on his lips when he spotted the car. He knew when he first had work done on the car that it would always stand out and at that moment, the pink paint job was certainly his saving grace.

“Cherie,” he said in a soft voice and she turned to look at him. “Look,” he said as he slowed down.

“How many vintage Volkswagen beetles are in this town?” she asked as he came to a complete stop.

“A number but only one of them is a convertible with matching pink rims,” he said as he looked outside his window.

“She is here,” she said as she looked around. “But where?”

“Come on,” he said in a soft voice as he got out of the car.

He looked around and smiled.

“You mentioned that your sister plays the cello, right?” he asked and she nodded.

“I don’t understand what that has to do with anything?” she asked and she pointed at one of the building.

“There is no coincidence about having the local private school hosting an orchestra tonight,” he said and she turned around to see a big West Side Story banner hanging from the side of the building.

“She loves West Side Story,” she said in a soft voice. “And they are not even doing a musical. They are doing a fu*king orchestra,” she added in a soft voice.

“Yeah and maybe she lost track of time,” he said as they walked towards the building. “She is here. I can feel it.”

“I hope you are right,” Lara said.

And he was right. When the orchestra ended just ten minutes later, an excited Myka walked out of the concert hall. But the minute she saw the look on her sister’s face, she knew just how much trouble she was in. but Lara didn’t really care. All that mattered at that moment was that her sister was safe. And her sentiments were well noted when she threw her arms around her sister holding her tightly as if she was afraid if she let go she risked never seeing Myka again.

*****

By the time they got back to the villa, it was a little after eight and as soon as they walked through the door, Guillaume could tell that Lara and Myka needed some time alone.

“I’ll get started on dinner,” he said as he looked into Lara’s eyes.

“Okay. We’ll be down as soon as we’re done talking,” Lara said.

“I’m really sorry I worried you…but I thought I left my phone here and …” Myka started and Guillaume held the side of her face.

“We know that you did not put your sister through that on purpose,” he said.

“But she told me that you had everyone looking for me…that you shut down production for me,” she said and Guillaume smiled.

“We found you. And you are safe,” he said. That’s all that matters, okay?”

Myka nodded and Lara led her towards the stairs leaving him to walk towards the kitchen. He had made coq au vin a couple of days earlier when he got off work earlier than usual. He usually found coq au vin tasted better when it was a few days old. He got the containers out of the fridge and stuck them into the microwave before he got a bottle of pinot noir and put it on the table. He had just set the table when Lara walked into the kitchen. He looked up at her and leaned against the counter.

“You are just in time,” he said as he opened the bottle of wine.

“Myka is upstairs…she is beating herself up and maybe she should,” Lara said as she sat down. He handed her one of the glasses before put two plates on the table. “I’m sorry…about everything. I mean, I shouldn’t be bringing such drama to the set.”

He shook his head and laughed.

“Drama?” he asked. “You haven’t seen drama till someone orders a basket of white puppies to her trailer every morning.”

She raised an eyebrow over the other.

“People do that?” she asked and he nodded. “I thought it was just a Mariah Carey thing.”

He forced out a laugh and took a sip of his wine before he sat down next to her.

“I don’t think there is anything I haven’t seen as yet. Heck, I have had to deal with people trying stupid sh*t…some even trying to change the script.” He shook his head and took another sip.

“This looks amazing,” she said as she looked at her plate. “What is this?”

“Coq au vin,” he said and she raised an eyebrow. “It is basically a chicken casserole. I made it a couple of days ago and packed it.”

“You made this?” she asked and he nodded.

“Yes. I usually find it better after a few days as compared to having it fresh,” he said.

She took a bite and closed her eyes.