Love You Goodbye

Ava had expected Paris to be hotter. She stood on the sidewalk outside of Cafe De Flore, feeling a cool breeze blow across her face as she looked to the left, waiting for the traffic to pass so she could cross to the other side of Boulevard Saint Germain to make the two minute walk to the Saint Germain-de-Pres metro station. She had one more night at the Hotel de Lille-Louvre before she was once again back on the hunt for a new adventure. Her 3 days in Paris so far had introduced her to a world she knew she would never experience had she stayed in Minneapolis. She missed home but not enough to cut her trip short.

Tomorrow she would wake up early, pack her one duffel bag and her backpack before she left her small hotel room behind her and wandered out into the city, looking for where to go next. She thought about hopping on the Eurostar tomorrow to head into London but felt that just maybe Paris wasn't done with her just yet. London could wait.

"Haven't you tired of public transit yet?" Ava turns to see Emelia, the one friend she'd made in Paris so far. Emelia was tall and very skinny with black hair cut short into a bob with straight bangs across her forehead. She was absolutely gorgeous and spoke perfect english, thankfully, as Eva didn't speak french. They had met in the very cafe Ava had just left on her first night in Paris when she had stumbled across it, needing a warm coffee after exploring the city for a few hours and having gotten lost multiple times. The cafe wasn't in walking distance from her hotel but she found herself coming back everyday anyway. Emelia had tried to show her other cafe's in the city. Ava could never explain it, but she felt a pull to that cafe.

"Well what else am I supposed to do? Walk to the hotel?" Ava questions as her and Emelia make their way up Rue Bonaparte. Ava was getting used to the complicated street names but knew such little french that she constantly kept her translation book in her hand. Certain pages of it were crinkled and dog eared now. She wished she had thought about using her phone as a map and translator back home when she made the last minute decision to leave her smart phone on her nightstand back home in the States before she left. She knew her ex, as well as her parents, would be calling her non-stop and the entire point of this trip was to escape it all. How would she escape if someone from her past was calling her every 10 minutes? She instead replaced it with a cheap pay-as-you-go phone from the store. It didn't have internet but it was useful for calling hotels, cabs, and setting alarms for when to get to a bus station or subway.

"You know Eliott or I could give you a ride." Emelia states, raising an eyebrow at her new friend who just laughs, shaking her head. "We really do not mind."

"Now that wouldn't help me get a feel for the city, now would it?" Emelia rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Emelia knew very little of Ava or why she was alone in Paris. She's tried asking but Ava would always deflect the question on to something else. Emelia knew she must be running from something, or someone, but just couldn't figure out what. Ava never mentioned anyone from where she came from. Emelia knew only that she was from the United States and wanted an adventure, no matter what that meant or where that took her. Ava was brave, unafraid of the big city and whatever mystery it held and that's why Emelia was so drawn to her, probably.

"What are your plans for the evening?" Emelia wondered, looking over at her friend who was looking around at all the stores that lined the street. Ava could never afford anything in any of these stores, Zara, Cartier, all out of her price range. She had a fair amount saved up from the wedding that would no longer happen but was spending as little at a time of it as she could. She had no idea how long she planned to spend in Europe and didn't want to have to cut it short because she spent all of her money on designer purses and jewelry. Instead she spent her money on the cliche knicknacks that cost only a couple of euros but to her they had more meaning and behind each was a story to go along with it.

"Haven't decided yet." Ava answers as she begins to tie her long brown hair up into a pony tail. It wasn't as hot out as she was used to back home but the walk still made her break out into a bit of a sweat as their wasn't much of a breeze blowing now so she wanted her long hair away from her face and neck to cool off. "How about you and Eliott?"

"Eliott has work so I'm thinking about stopping in. You should join me." Emelia offered. Ava had met Emelia's boyfriend Eliott, a very muscular man with short buzzed brown hair and his arms covered in tattoos, the night before. He worked the door at a bar down the way. Emelia convinced Ava that the bar would be fun but it turned out to be a total bust. The drinks were cheap and good, but the music playing was boring and had no beat. No one danced and it cleared out by 11. Ava ended up leaving early and wandered down to the Eiffel Tower, sitting alone on a bench for a few hours, looking up at the sparking lights.

"I think I'm going to go downtown again." Ava responds as they get to where her metro stop was. There was still a few minutes until number 95, quatre-vingt quinze, as it was actually called, arrived.
"Are you sure?" Emelia frowns at Ava who just smiles and nods her head. "I get that the bar isn't exciting but you'd still be with friends and isn't that better than going off alone?" Emelia would never say it to Ava but she worried for her friend. Ava always wandered off alone, not caring of what time it was or what kind of neighborhood she found herself in. Emelia worried that she would either get so lost she couldn't find her way back or someone would attack her. As nice as Paris could be, it also wasn't the safest and Emelia hated her being off on her own.

"I want to find something new. I've been to the bar, now I want to find a different one, or something else exciting. I don't know, I'll figure it out when I get there." That had been Ava's plan this entire trip. A week ago when she sat in her apartment alone and booked a plane ticket to Paris, that was the only thing she did. She didn't plan her hotel for that first night or anything else. When she arrived in Paris mid morning three days ago she got on a bus and rode it until it felt like the right place to get off. Which ended up being in a part of town where there was nothing but liquor stores and lofts. She walked through the neighborhood for hours, stopping for lunch at a small cafe she found before walking again. It was a few hours later that she found herself at Cafe de Flore where Emelia was in the middle of a cup of coffee while reading a book. Ava had sat down at the table beside her after ordering her coffee and smiled at Emelia who decided to take a chance at starting conversation. They exchanged phone numbers and promises to meet up the next day before Ava wandered off into the night again. A bit later, she found herself at Hotel de Lille and decided to call it a night there, booking a room for a few nights. It wasn't a far bus ride from the Louvre, which she still had to visit. It was pretty decent, not a very big room but since she spent little time in it that wasn't a very big deal.

"I could join you. I don't mind." Emelia offers, eyeing Ava with a concerned furrow in her brow but Ava was focusing on the road in front of her, keeping her eye out for her soon approaching metro. "I heard about a party down by the galleries, on Quai Voltaire, right there on the Siene."

"A party at a gallery?" Ava questions, turning her blue eyes back to Emelia who nods, waiting for a yes or no answer. "I feel like that's a bit posh for me." Ava wasn't sure a gallery party was really what she had in mind for exploring and getting to know Paris but then, that did sort of sound very Paris like so maybe she could give it a try. If not, she was sure she could convince Emelia to leave and find somewhere else to go.

"No, it's completely laid back. Eliott and I have been to a couple. We have an artist friend who invites us to them sometimes. There's music, dancing, and an open bar." Emelia knew the words open bar would catch the attention of Ava and sure enough, she watched a grin grow on her friends face.
"I guess we can check it out." Ava gives in, seeing Emelia's face light up in a wide smile. She really was glad to have met Emelia. It was nice to have someone to spend time with. Ava surely would have gone a bit crazy by now if she had to spend so much time alone. She loved having company and someone who cared for her and wanted to go out and do things with her.

"Great, how about we meet at the bar at 8? It's not a far walk." Emelia suggests. Just then the metro pulled up, ending the conversation. Ava took a step towards it, smiling at Emelia and giving a nod.
"I'll see you then." Emelia brought her hand up in a wave as Ava turned, taking the steps quickly. She handed over her payment and took a seat near the middle. On the next stop it was packed in the small space and she had a younger man sitting beside her. He looked to be mid-twenties, just like her, with slightly curly brown hair that hung past his ears and to his shoulders. He had gorgeous green eyes and a few tattoos on his arms, half hidden by the sleeve of his t-shirt. Ava tried to make some of them out but didn't want to seem as if she was staring so she looked away, staring ahead of her. He glanced over at Ava, giving her a kind and polite smile, which she returned. Two stops later, the cramped bus started to clear out but he stayed in his seat. Ava didn't really mind. She was to get off at the next stop, anyway.

"So, how far do you have until your stop?" Ava looked over at the man beside her. She had been almost certain that he would be french but he spoke clear english with what seemed to be a slight accent. She couldn't quite tell what it was but it definitely wasn't french.

"My stop is next." She answers politely, giving him a smile. "How about you?"

"Two more stops for me." Ava nods, giving him another smile. "You sound American, are you here on holiday?" Ava could now pick up on the accent, recognizing it as Irish.

"Yeah, just needed a getaway. And you? You don't exactly sound french." He laughs and nods, reaching up to push his long curls from his face with a large hand. Ava then noticed that he had a couple rings on his fingers but she noted that the spot on his left ring finger was bare. She glanced down at her own hand then, running her finger over the slight tan line that still graced her skinny finger. It would take some getting used to not feeling her engagement ring there but it was getting easier to deal with the emptiness she felt every time she looked at it.

"I come from Mullinger Ireland, myself." The man answered, a smile on his face as he mentioned his home. "Needed a getaway too. Just finished up with University and wanted to escape for a little while before I settled down into the real world." Ava laughs, knowing all too well that feeling. She wanted to escape the real world for as long as possible. She didn't go to college herself instead working straight out of high school and supporting her boyfriend who would then become her fiance as he struggled through college instead.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Just then, the metro pulled up to her stop. She felt a slight tinge of disappointment actually. She really enjoyed talking to this guy and wanted to know him more. "This is me." She stands then, as does he. He steps aside, letting her move out into the isle.

"I hope we meet again." He gives her a soft smile, which she returns.

"Me too. It was great to meet you." She then sticks her hand out to him. "The names Ava, by the way." He smiles, resting his large hand in her small one, giving it a polite shake. She felt a few callouses on his fingers. She immediately thought about her ex's hands, they had the same feel to them from playing the guitar for so long. Maybe this man was also a guitar player, she sure did have a type it would seem.

"Sebastian." He introduces. "You had better hurry before we leave again." She laughs and nods. She turns then and rushes down the isle, just making it out the door before they close and it moves on, headed to it's next stop. She heads down Avenue de l'Opera towards her hotel. She loved this 5 minute walk to her hotel, especially when it was so nice out. It had rained on her yesterday when she headed back to her hotel but thankfully today the sun was shining high and bright in the sky above her so she took her time. She took in everyone around her. She had realized that everyone in Paris was always rushing to their destinations, not one seemed to just stop and take it all in like she enjoyed doing.

When she got back to room she dropped her backpack on the floor by the door and literally tossed herself down onto the bed. She sighed, feeling her body relax after a long few days of walking. She loved exploring but had never been one much for physical activity so all of the walking had really been taking it out of her. She felt a small pang in her chest, missing home just a bit in that moment. She missed her own bed and she missed her cat, Wayland, snuggling up into her side, purring loudly, as she scratched at his little grey ears. She was ready for her next adventure in Paris though, excited to see what the city still held for her.