Hail and Farewell to Paris

Le Flambeau vivant

At five o’clock a grumpy teenager collapsed into a wooden hotel room door. He grunted through clenched teeth and turned around inelegantly to wait for his younger brother and future stepmother who were lagging annoyingly behind him. He heard Ava’s heels clacking against the marble stairs and her voice float around the corner.
“You know what he gets like Jacob; it’s just your father sweetie…”

Joseph rolled his eyes, if he had a dollar for every time he’d heard someone say that he would be wiping his ass in green paper. He heard a crash from inside the room and the teenager let out a sigh… his dad needed therapy. He’d been banging on about his proposal to Ava to anyone who was unlucky enough to cross his path, and now he’d actually popped the question and she has said yes, he was miserable. Fuckin miserable. Joseph shook his head as Ava leaned forwards to open the hotel room with pursed nervous fingers.
She also knew her fiancée to well to expect a calm, organised tidy hotel room, but unlike her step son, she knew the reason why.

Ava closed her eyes and pushed forwards the door.
Billie was thrown across the couch, staring at the television from which Family Guy was blaring at a ridiculously loud speed. His phone, blackberry and the cream hotel receiver were all positioned around his body, his eyes flickering from each one before they rose to meet his family standing nervously at the doorframe. Billie’s mouth forced a smile under shining sad eyes and at that moment Ava’s heart gave a small tear. He had heard nothing from Mike.
“Hey guys” the 34 year old croaked, as his sons grinned at him upon passing to their rooms.
“Get yourselves sorted?”
“Yep” Jake answered, “And Ava got you sorted too”
Billie’s neck whipped around to see his fiancée standing over him with a large brown bag in her arms.
“What?” He asked eyes flicking to the bag nervously.
Her black hair bounced on her shoulders as she shrugged “it’s just encase you change your mind”
The singer frowned at his fiancée, his words hissing from his lips with a venom that made her body tense, “Oh Jesus Ava, do you really think I could go out and enjoy myself while my best friend is missing?”
“Oh Billie don’t play that card, I just thought it may make you feel better that’s all.”
Billie’s face softened, “I know…I know I’m sorry, it’s just…it’s just what am I supposed to do? I feel so utterly helpless.”
Ava sighed, bending down and bringing her arms around his neck. The singer buried his head in his lovers’ chest and inhaled her French perfume.
“Maybe Billie…maybe you should, you know, go for a little walk? Clear your head? Get out of this room and then…you know see how you feel about the party”
Billie clutched Ava tighter, “Yeah…yeah maybe…I think I will Ava, if you don’t mind, just while you and the boys get ready.”
Ava sighed, “No I don’t mind….it…it would just be nice if you could come with me Billie…”
The man pulled away from her slowly, “I know, I’ll, I’ll see how I feel yeah?”
Ava’s head dropped as Billie grabbed his keys and cell, yelled goodbye to his sons and left the room as if it were on fire.

***

A little while later, Billie found himself walking through the crooked streets of Venice in a misery that had visited him only a few times before. He should be happy, he should be ecstatic that the woman he loved had agreed to marry him, he should be happy that his kids had begun to get along with her again. But no. That was too simple; something had to go wrong, trust Mike to fuck things up. What was he playing at anyway? Nothing could ever be perfect could it?
Collapsing onto the edge of a canal he looked up to the sky that was slowly turning purple. The black silhouette of the hotel stood out against the deep mauve in the distance. Billie could just make out the forms of the first party guests arriving and his stomach tossed in guilt, he couldn’t go to a party in a state like this, but he didn’t want to let Ava down once again like he always seemed to do.
Sad eyes hit the grubby canal water underneath his hanging feet.
As if an angel had sneezed he suddenly had a moment of enlightenment…

You don’t know what it’s like to love somebody the way I love you.

Get off your sad pathetic arse Armstrong, before some Italian prick takes advantage of your fiancée’s wounded state. Get up, get walking and get that costume on…nah to hell with Pritchard, he’s probably living it up somewhere with some random girl…anyway I can worry about him in the morning…I’ve done all I can now huh?

***

I knew he wouldn’t come back.
He wouldn’t come back till tomorrow, I knew that he’d turn inside himself; he’d walk along the canals for hours in the dark, churning out lyrics like a machine. It sounds romantic but he should be here with me, he shouldn’t be a slip away from drowning in a murky canal…again. I had finished getting ready as the boom of music from downstairs echoed into the ear that I had finally fastened my diamond to.
These diamond earrings that Billie had bought me.

“AVA! Come on!”
I sighed, picking up the edge of my ridiculously heavy dress. I loved it; it was a pale cream, embodied with golden seams that glided across every inch of the luscious fabric. The woman in the shop could read me like a book; I felt like an Edwardian princess in this dress, I felt like I could take on anything. Well, almost anything that required a dress that weighed two tons.
Opening the door Joe and Jake turned around in those fiendish masks making me jump out of my skin. They paused for effect, Joe slowly removing the vile hooked face as I stood in the doorway, his eyes drifted upwards to my hair that was piled high on my head, then downwards to the hem of my dress. I shifted uneasily, those green eyes looking so familiar, I only wished that they were the eyes of Armstrong senior rather than that of his hormonal elder son.

“Ava you look really pretty”
I smiled shyly at the older boy, patting his head and ushering him from the room.
“Thanks Joey, you two look very handsome…without those terrifying masks”
They grinned evilly as I followed them into the lobby.
The Armstrong sons minus those revolting pieces of plastic, looked like they had stepped out of a Holbein painting, they were adorable. I notice dhow surreal we looked in the reflection of the elevator mirror. It was like a strange Edwardian family portrait but it was missing Billie Joe standing behind me as head of the household. I was missing Billie Joe I have been fully engaged for 24 hours and had spent only one with my new fiancée.

As we descended downstairs the loud chatter mixed with flowing music filled the entire lobby. I absent mindly followed Joe and Jake into a packed hall of colour and ice, everything was garnished, the ceiling, the floor, the windows. In a day the restaurant had been turned into a glorious marquee, I made a mental note to find who had made this wondrous renovation for future wedding plans.

“Hey Ava…”
I tore my eyes away from the swan ice sculpture to the younger boy tugging on my sleeve.
“Kevin and Sam are over there, do you mind if we go and say hi?”
My heart sank, we’d been here two minutes and already I was being abandoned for the twins that were staying in the suite opposite us with their parents.
I looked over at the 12 year old boy and girl standing next to the buffet table with plates piled high. I sighed and waved at them,
“Yes Jake, you and Joe go have some fun”
The twins waved back at me shyly, Sam looking pretty in her little purple dress, Kevin looking slightly glummer in an outfit similar to the Armstrong sons.
I sighed as my step sons trotted off into the crowd to join their friends.

Turning around I spied my saviour, the bar.
Ordering a Pinot Grecio I carefully and as elegantly as possible, sat on the bar stool and concluded that this would be my party, me and the other favourite man in my life, barman Andre who had the keys to a never-ending supply of old friend red.
A second empty glass later and the endless judging of other people’s outfits I jumped as a voice echoed behind me.

“Can I get you another drink?”
I turned around to see a tall man in a white shirt, black cape and gold mask, he seemed familiar.
“No thank you I’m fine”
“Ah shame, now I’m stumped, I thought you would jump at the chance for a free drink.”
I turned around as Andre nodded at me, placing a full goblet of wine under my chin.
“I wasn’t aware that I gave the impression of desperate alcoholism”
The man behind me chuckled and sat on the empty stool next to me.
“You don’t mind do you?”
I waved my hand as I gulped the red liquid from my glass. He ordered a Martini and began to tap the bar with his fingers.
“So what are you doing here?” he asked, a desperation ringing in his voice that was becoming most unattractive.
“I’m staying at this hotel and I’m chaperoning”
The stranger nodded at Andre over his newly received drink.
“On your own? Where’s the American gentleman?”
I turned around, confusion darting across my masked face.
The man laughed, “You don’t recognise me do you?”
“Mask” I sighed, rolling my eyes and pointing to my own facial wear.
He nodded, making an ‘ahhh’ noise and slowly stripping himself of the golden fabric.

My heart momentarily stopped in my chest.

“Oh…hello”
He grinned, white teeth protruding from a well formed pair of lips.
“Gregory remember?”
“I remember”
He nodded once again, “I’m sorry if I caused you and your friend some distress the other night, I didn’t mean any harm”
I shrugged, “Oh no, he’s err…he’s my fiancée actually” I smiled, waving my ringed hand across his face.
He suddenly grabbed my finger, staring at the ring. His touch sending a funny pulsating energy up my arm,
“It’s beautiful, very beautiful, it suits you”
“Thank You” I smiled wearily.
“If you don’t mind me asking…where is he? Are you supposed to be chaperoning him?”
“No, no” I sighed, “He’s…coming later…I’m watching my future step sons who were devouring superb Italian cake the last time I saw them”
He smiled again, eyes lingering over me, making me feel quite uneasy.
I disturbed this strange tension between us, moving backwards on my stool and taking another sip of wine from the crystal goblet in my palm that was slowly becoming steamed.
“Why are you here? At this party I mean”
Gregory took a sip from his Martini pursing his lips before answering, “I’m taking a few photographs for the owner, he’s a friend of mine.”
“And you’re not staying in this hotel?”
“No, I’m staying at my friend’s apartment.”
I nodded, but suddenly Andre started chuckling,
“I say friend but really he’s a friend of my ex, and the reason why my ex is now my ex…you ever wanted someone who was so out of your league?”
My eyes widened at his words and I nodded shyly.
“It’s strange, I fell in love with him as soon as I met him and that pretty much spelled the end of the relationship with my ex.”
Love HIM? HIM?
I froze, Gregory was gay? I felt so foolish and it must have shown even on my masked face. I wasn’t quite sure if I was relieved or disappointed, I wasn’t entirely certain of what I thought, he was drinking a martini, surely that was a clear indication? However I felt like I had downed a whole bottle of the British Navy Pusser’s Rum and was currently drowning under information that would have been very useful when we first met, that and his tale of falling in love with a friend. It sounded like a Baudelaire poem.

The man next to me smiled, assuming my quietness came from a prejudice,
“I thought you knew I was… if you have a problem…”
“Oh no, no, I’m sorry, no I don’t have a problem at all it’s just…I…”
As if I could say that this small detail would have been useful before me and Billie had fought over him, but in all honesty what is the likelihood of someone introducing themselves with the sentence,
“Hi I’m Gregory, photographer AND a homosexual”

He chuckled and interrupted, “You thought I was after you’re knickers? No Ava dear I am just after your face for an award-winning photograph, believe me if I wasn’t gay I would…”
“Ava”
I turned to find he was graciously interrupted by Jake, mask askew, face covered in crumbs,
“Yes dearest? You okay?” I smiled down at him from my perch.
“Oh yeah, I’m having fun, but, err…there’s someone here to see you and you won’t believe who…” He glanced at Gregory who smiled back at him.
I grinned, “Okay, give me a minute Jake”
“They are by the doors over there…he…they made me swear I wouldn’t say who they were.”
I chuckled, watching him scuttle off back to his brother, wondering what on earth Billie was playing at. Why couldn’t he just come over himself and apologise instead of treating his sons like carrier pigeons.
“Step sons?” Gregory asked
“One of them”
“He looks like his dad” he chuckled, eyes following the boy.
“I know…except Jake has his head screwed on and his father, Billie seems to turn into his children from time to time”
“Where is he?”
“Waiting for me outside apparently, he’s probably having a cigarette.”
“Ah sounds good, I wish I hadn’t of quit smoking”
I sighed, “It once was so wonderfully glamorous, not so much thought of now however…anyway, it nice talking to you again Gregory, I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse me.”
“Likewise Ava, don’t worry about it dear, I’ll talk to you later hopefully”
I nodded, leaving the bar stool and gathering my skirts. I knew why Billie had sent Jake over; because I was with talking with a man…he was so pathetic sometimes it made me want to scream.
I made my way over to the balcony doors, my stomach wavering as I realised there was no one here that was clearly waiting for me. I huffed, turning around from chatting couples to gaze at the small floating garden behind the glass doors. It was lit beautifully with tiny yet powerful white fairy lights that shone from each plant. The purple moon burnished down on the well kept grass and my eyes travelled upwards to it’s resting place in the sky. I had seen many a beautiful horizon like this one from Charles’ balcony in London, my stomach wobbled as I thought of him and what he would say if he could see me in this over-elaborate dress.

“Hello Ava”
I jumped, disturbed by the American behind me, ready to shout at his puppy dog green eyes for keeping me waiting. I turned around and my jaw dropped at the man and shining BLUE eyes in front of me.
I did not in a million years expect this.

There stood in front of me was Mike Dirnt.