Guillaume, Her French Husband

“Actually,” Ashley started as she revved the engine. “I thought I would give someone a short internship…some college kid. And it took forever before she finally got the orders right and on time but she had to leave a little sooner than I expected so this last week has been mayhem.”

Lara smiled.

“I don’t understand how you are even up right now,” she said.

“Well, I just fell in love with Red Bull all over again. Just had my first of the day and I’ve got to say, I am feeling amazing!”

“Yeah, don’t make it a habit, missy.” Ashley shrugged.

“It’s no wonder the millennials at The Broken Elbow like it so much when they come into the bar for their subs and burgers during exam season.” She looked at Lara briefly when she noticed her reaching for the extra can of Red Bull in the car’s cup holder. “Hey…what do you think you are doing? You need your sleep. You have been flying for twelve hours.”

“Well, thanks to Guillaume, we had the privilege of knowing what true business class is like. So I had my four or five hours on the plane.”

“What about jetlag?” Ashley asked. “I mean, up is down and down is up for you right now.”

“I adjusted to the French time pretty fast so now we kind of train ourselves back to the local time.” She opened the can and took a long sip.

“Looks like Myka is still having a hard time adjusting to everything,” Ashley said as she looked at a sleeping Myka in the rearview mirror.

“She was a little overwhelmed by the inflight entertainment so while I was having a nap she spent all twelve hours binging on movies and everything,” Lara said as she took a long sip of her energy drink. “And besides, there is no way I can go to sleep while someone is expecting me to give her all the juicy details about everything.”

“Are you kidding me? This is all too juicy. I mean, you have the perfect real life romantic story to tell,” Ashley said excitedly. “Of course I want to hear all about it.”

“Won’t you be a little too tired to open the bar tomorrow morning?” Lara asked and Ashley shrugged.

“I’m not handling the bar opening. I have that covered.”

“Alright. If you say so.”

Lara took another sip of her drink and sighed.

“Thanks for packing up my apartment by the way,” she said and Ashley smiled.

“It was a pleasure really,” she said. “And you and Myka can stay in the guest house for as long as you need.”

“Ash, we don’t want to cramp your space or anything.”

“Who said you will be cramping my space?” Ashley asked as she made the turn off the main highway to her block. “I actually wanted you guys in the house but you insisted that you’d take the guest house.”

“Because the main house is for you and your boys. Besides, I called a realtor before I left and asked her to keep a lookout for something for us.

“Actually, you will still have to stay in the main house for a few days before I can get everything organized because I mainly just stashed your stuff on any open space I could find. So the only open space is a path on the floor leading to the bathroom…I needed that every few minutes I could spare as we carried the boxes into the house.”

“So, I can’t even have the couch?” Lara asked and Ashley forced out a laugh.

“Honestly, I don’t even think you can find the couch.”

She pulled up in front of her house and opened the garage door.

“I was thinking you guys could just come in and rest…or rather Myka can rest and you and the big girls can talk,” Ashley said as she got out of the car.

Lara smiled and unbuckled her seat belt before she turned around to wake her sister up.

“Are we here yet?” Myka asked in a sleepy voice.

“Yeah, sweetie. Come on out…you can get some rest inside,” Lara said as she got out of the car. She held the door open for Myka and waited for her to get out.

“You can take one of the rooms upstairs. The first one on the right has a night shirt and a bathroom that you can freshen up in,” Ashley said to a sleepy Myka who just nodded.

“Go on. I’ll check up on you later, okay?” Lara said as she gently rubbed her sister’s back.

Myka didn’t reply. She just nodded and made her way into the house.

“Poor thing looks exhausted,” Ashley said as they made their way into the kitchen. “She must have had fun, huh?”

“Fun is an interesting way of putting it. I mean, how many sixteen year olds get to spend a summer in Paris?” Lara asked as she sat down. Ashley smiled and opened the refrigerator.

“Tell me about it,” she said. She got two bottles of water and sat down across from her. She looked into Lara’s eyes and smiled widely. Lara thought she looked more like a giddy teenager if anything. “Now, let’s see that ring.”

Lara stretched out her left hand showing off the aquamarine and diamond ring on her left ring finger. Ashley let out a long low whistle and shook her head.

“I still can’t believe you are engaged.”

Lara forced out a laugh.

“I am still trying to figure out everything…wrap my head around this whole situation myself,’” she said. “I mean, it all happened so fast.”

“It did I agree but this is also the first time you have been serious with anyone. I mean for Pete’s sake you have been totally out of the dating game…no men. No one night stands. No nothing,” Ashley said as she looked at her. “And I am not just talking this year. It has been like that for as long as I remember.”

Lara shrugged.

“Well, I never really found someone who got me, you know,” she said.

“And you think Guillaume gets you?” Ashley asked and Lara took another sip of her Red Bull.

“Well, I guess what they say is right. When you know, you know, right?” she said and Ashley shrugged.

“Hey, you’re preaching to the choir here. I mean, Michael and I met in August and married in December. He proposed to me six weeks after meeting me using the very same line. ‘When you know, you know’.”

“So, what do you think about this whole new life I’ve got?” Lara asked. “Do you think everything will ever be normal again?”

“Oh honey, I don’t know. You might have to move to the suburbs just to keep a low profile,” Ashley started. “I mean, just hours after the story broke that you were doing a project with Guillaume, the press knew about your apartment, your work. I mean The Broken Elbow has been more popular than ever since then…I might even be looking to get started in another location soon.”