Drunk in Paris
Le Guignon
Point du vu du Billie Joe.
“I thought you said that you were going to Paris for the convention and that’s it?”
I turned to Mike as he drove us both away from Sacramento airport.
“What are you talking about?”
Mike sighed, “You forget I can read you like a book and you also forget how loud Brittany talks on the phone. You told Sarah you met an old friend, now does that old friend happen to have black hair, red lipstick, cute little poofy dresses and killer high heels?”
I squirmed under Mike’s knowledge. Damn him, Brittany and Sarah.
Mike came to a stop at a red light and turned to me.
“You said you were over Ava, you’re the one who said you never wanted to see her again after she lied to you.”
I felt like burying myself in the leather seat of Mike’s new car. Why did he have to question me now? Couldn’t he at least wait till I wasn’t jet lagged up to fuck?
“Look…okay, so I went to see her, I didn’t purposely go to see her again…”
Now whose’ the liar huh?
“…But, well, as soon as I saw her, I mean…she’s sorted herself out now, she’s living in Paris and working in this shop and…”
I watched Mike glance out of his rear view mirror as we drove off down the road again.
“Bill, I don’t care what Ava was or is…I’m just worried that she’ll hurt you again and I’m also concerned about Sarah coz I have Britt on my back and…plus how did you know where Ava was..?”
My stomach turned again as Mike’s voice rose in his interrogative mode.
“I just…she was working in the store I went in…it was coincidence Mike, I swear…”
“And Sarah?”
“And…well…Mike you know Sarah isn’t my type…”
Mike coughed, trying to hide his amusement, “Oh and the fifties film star is?”
I frowned, “Mike…”
“I know, I know I was taking the piss…well you have to finish it with Sarah and then you have to talk to Britt because I’m not being on the end of that bitch slap.”
I groaned.
“Eurgh, take me back to the airport...”
Mike laughed and turned the radio up slightly, signalling that he had obviously finished what he had to say. To be honest I was quite surprised that he wasn’t too bothered about Ava. It was true I was concerned about what people would say, but if my best friend wasn’t bothered that I was in love with an ex-hooker then at least it made me feel a bit better. I rarely saw Ava in that way anyway, it was so hard to imagine her being that. But as soon as I saw her behind the counter of that shop I did panic, all those feelings came flooding back…thus a tirade of fallen clothes, but she looked so perfect, she suited those surroundings so well, it was like she was I dunno, all pure again? I’m babbling, my tired brain is obviously begging for sleep.
“How’s Joe and Jake?”
Mike smiled at me, “they’re fine, missed you…oh! Ha, ha except Joe got another detention from school”
I rolled my eyes, “Great.”
Mike chuckled, “You weren’t an honour roll student either so you can’t be angry at him…”
“I can and I will…”
Mike turned to me, frown over his eyes and comeback at the ready…but suddenly his mouth clamped shut and he stared at my arm. I looked down to where his eyes met the dented leather of my new jacket.
I grinned, “Like it? Guess whose it was?”
Mike frowned slightly, “I dunno, whose?”
“I got it in Ava’s store…now are you ready for this? This jacket belonged to Mick Jones.”
The car swerved across the road to a hailing of screeching tyres, beeps, yells and cackles from myself.
Of course Mike was jealous about the jacket.
***
Point du vu di Ava
“Oh and yes, thank you for my earrings”
“You found them again did you?”
I chuckled down the phone as I lay on my bed, watching the shadows of the city behind me dance across the cream covers.
“Yes…thank you, I’m wearing them now.”
Billie chuckled, “I couldn’t take them back off you, what would I do with them for one?”
I giggled, “I’m not sure you could have worn them.”
“I’m not 50 cent.”
I giggled, “I have no idea who that is.”
Billie chuckled and I warmed at the sound, it was strange now he had left, it was like he had never been here, except that I would sometimes catch a gust of his scent from the bed sheets and his image just began to glow inside my head.
“So when do you want to come and see me?”
I twirled the black telephone cord around my index finger, “I’m not sure, I’ll have to ask my boss for time off…”
“Okay, just let me know Ava. Mike, Tre and Jason say hi by the way”
I frowned, “They do?”
Billie chuckled, “Yeah they do, don’t sound too surprised.”
I leaned backwards into the cushion, “Well…truthfully I am because, well I thought they, they, well…”
“They hated you? No, they aren’t like that. They don’t give a shit about what you were; you shouldn’t care either.”
My stomach quivered something that tended to happen a lot whenever Billie would talk about ‘my secret’.
I heard inaudible yells and Billie began laughing, “Tre says that he has had a few French lessons and would like to try some out on you…wait…try what out Tre?…FUCK OFF.”
I chuckled down the phone as I pictured him yelling obscenities at his drummer.
“Sorry, Ava, I gotta go, ring you tomorrow okay?”
“Okay, bye Billie”
“Bye, love you.”
My heartbeat butter -flied as I heard his voice utter those sweet words that seemed to take a completely different effect on myself then they once did.
I sat staring at the telephone, the black plastic being some kind of doorway closer to him. God I missed him, I think I missed him even more than before he had come to Paris. It was like having a small amount of a drug then it so ruthlessly being removed.
Billie was obviously my cigarette, his phone calls being my not-so-the-same-but-still-addictively-great nicotine patch. Speaking of which, the patch suddenly started ringing again and I smiled, had he forgotten to tell me something?
“Hello”
“Err, hello, is this, Ava Crawford?”
I froze. This voice was male, but it definitely wasn’t Billie’s, it was rough and English.
“Yes”
“Oh, hello, My name is David Golding and I’m Lord Winchester’s lawyer…”
My brain thudded, Charles? Oh God Charles, my mind had been tracked to nothing but Billie since he had stood next to me at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Charles, how could I forget that Charles was STILL watching me all along?
“How can I help you exactly?” I snapped quite impatiently.
The man coughed out of nervousness, “Ah, yes, well, Lord Winchester has been taken ill, seriously ill, he, he doesn’t have long left I’m afraid…”
The world suddenly went hazy.
“He, he has asked me to make contact with you Miss Crawford, he asks for you to come and visit him and then there are a few legal matters that need to be sorted…”
I shot across him, “He’s… he’s dying?”
There was a deep pause, “Yes Miss Crawford I’m afraid he’s… Lord Winchester… Charles is dying.”
“I thought you said that you were going to Paris for the convention and that’s it?”
I turned to Mike as he drove us both away from Sacramento airport.
“What are you talking about?”
Mike sighed, “You forget I can read you like a book and you also forget how loud Brittany talks on the phone. You told Sarah you met an old friend, now does that old friend happen to have black hair, red lipstick, cute little poofy dresses and killer high heels?”
I squirmed under Mike’s knowledge. Damn him, Brittany and Sarah.
Mike came to a stop at a red light and turned to me.
“You said you were over Ava, you’re the one who said you never wanted to see her again after she lied to you.”
I felt like burying myself in the leather seat of Mike’s new car. Why did he have to question me now? Couldn’t he at least wait till I wasn’t jet lagged up to fuck?
“Look…okay, so I went to see her, I didn’t purposely go to see her again…”
Now whose’ the liar huh?
“…But, well, as soon as I saw her, I mean…she’s sorted herself out now, she’s living in Paris and working in this shop and…”
I watched Mike glance out of his rear view mirror as we drove off down the road again.
“Bill, I don’t care what Ava was or is…I’m just worried that she’ll hurt you again and I’m also concerned about Sarah coz I have Britt on my back and…plus how did you know where Ava was..?”
My stomach turned again as Mike’s voice rose in his interrogative mode.
“I just…she was working in the store I went in…it was coincidence Mike, I swear…”
“And Sarah?”
“And…well…Mike you know Sarah isn’t my type…”
Mike coughed, trying to hide his amusement, “Oh and the fifties film star is?”
I frowned, “Mike…”
“I know, I know I was taking the piss…well you have to finish it with Sarah and then you have to talk to Britt because I’m not being on the end of that bitch slap.”
I groaned.
“Eurgh, take me back to the airport...”
Mike laughed and turned the radio up slightly, signalling that he had obviously finished what he had to say. To be honest I was quite surprised that he wasn’t too bothered about Ava. It was true I was concerned about what people would say, but if my best friend wasn’t bothered that I was in love with an ex-hooker then at least it made me feel a bit better. I rarely saw Ava in that way anyway, it was so hard to imagine her being that. But as soon as I saw her behind the counter of that shop I did panic, all those feelings came flooding back…thus a tirade of fallen clothes, but she looked so perfect, she suited those surroundings so well, it was like she was I dunno, all pure again? I’m babbling, my tired brain is obviously begging for sleep.
“How’s Joe and Jake?”
Mike smiled at me, “they’re fine, missed you…oh! Ha, ha except Joe got another detention from school”
I rolled my eyes, “Great.”
Mike chuckled, “You weren’t an honour roll student either so you can’t be angry at him…”
“I can and I will…”
Mike turned to me, frown over his eyes and comeback at the ready…but suddenly his mouth clamped shut and he stared at my arm. I looked down to where his eyes met the dented leather of my new jacket.
I grinned, “Like it? Guess whose it was?”
Mike frowned slightly, “I dunno, whose?”
“I got it in Ava’s store…now are you ready for this? This jacket belonged to Mick Jones.”
The car swerved across the road to a hailing of screeching tyres, beeps, yells and cackles from myself.
Of course Mike was jealous about the jacket.
***
Point du vu di Ava
“Oh and yes, thank you for my earrings”
“You found them again did you?”
I chuckled down the phone as I lay on my bed, watching the shadows of the city behind me dance across the cream covers.
“Yes…thank you, I’m wearing them now.”
Billie chuckled, “I couldn’t take them back off you, what would I do with them for one?”
I giggled, “I’m not sure you could have worn them.”
“I’m not 50 cent.”
I giggled, “I have no idea who that is.”
Billie chuckled and I warmed at the sound, it was strange now he had left, it was like he had never been here, except that I would sometimes catch a gust of his scent from the bed sheets and his image just began to glow inside my head.
“So when do you want to come and see me?”
I twirled the black telephone cord around my index finger, “I’m not sure, I’ll have to ask my boss for time off…”
“Okay, just let me know Ava. Mike, Tre and Jason say hi by the way”
I frowned, “They do?”
Billie chuckled, “Yeah they do, don’t sound too surprised.”
I leaned backwards into the cushion, “Well…truthfully I am because, well I thought they, they, well…”
“They hated you? No, they aren’t like that. They don’t give a shit about what you were; you shouldn’t care either.”
My stomach quivered something that tended to happen a lot whenever Billie would talk about ‘my secret’.
I heard inaudible yells and Billie began laughing, “Tre says that he has had a few French lessons and would like to try some out on you…wait…try what out Tre?…FUCK OFF.”
I chuckled down the phone as I pictured him yelling obscenities at his drummer.
“Sorry, Ava, I gotta go, ring you tomorrow okay?”
“Okay, bye Billie”
“Bye, love you.”
My heartbeat butter -flied as I heard his voice utter those sweet words that seemed to take a completely different effect on myself then they once did.
I sat staring at the telephone, the black plastic being some kind of doorway closer to him. God I missed him, I think I missed him even more than before he had come to Paris. It was like having a small amount of a drug then it so ruthlessly being removed.
Billie was obviously my cigarette, his phone calls being my not-so-the-same-but-still-addictively-great nicotine patch. Speaking of which, the patch suddenly started ringing again and I smiled, had he forgotten to tell me something?
“Hello”
“Err, hello, is this, Ava Crawford?”
I froze. This voice was male, but it definitely wasn’t Billie’s, it was rough and English.
“Yes”
“Oh, hello, My name is David Golding and I’m Lord Winchester’s lawyer…”
My brain thudded, Charles? Oh God Charles, my mind had been tracked to nothing but Billie since he had stood next to me at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Charles, how could I forget that Charles was STILL watching me all along?
“How can I help you exactly?” I snapped quite impatiently.
The man coughed out of nervousness, “Ah, yes, well, Lord Winchester has been taken ill, seriously ill, he, he doesn’t have long left I’m afraid…”
The world suddenly went hazy.
“He, he has asked me to make contact with you Miss Crawford, he asks for you to come and visit him and then there are a few legal matters that need to be sorted…”
I shot across him, “He’s… he’s dying?”
There was a deep pause, “Yes Miss Crawford I’m afraid he’s… Lord Winchester… Charles is dying.”