Page 51 of French Escapade

Ken

Daylight. Daylight, and I’m…at Élodie’s. I rewind the events of last night in my head.

She left to make me coffee, and then…it was lights out. I laugh at myself. A regular Casanova for sure. The woman I’ve always dreamt of invites me to come in for a late night coffee, and I fall asleep on her sofa.

My feet stick out from under the blanket she must have tucked me in with. On the table sits a large mug of coffee. It’s cold, but very good. I stretch and decide to explore.

The kitchen is small, but well laid out. I find the coffee machine and make myself a very strong espresso. I fear it’s going to be a long day. While the machine works, I wash the mug Élodie had left in the sink and open the fridge. The inventory is limited: a can of soda, three bottles of bubbly water, a jar of spicy olives, and six eggs. Omelet with olives coming up.

The pan heats. I go searching for the phone I left in the inside pocket of my tuxedo jacket. I hope Jimmy’s suit is in better shape.

On the phone, there’s nothing from Jimmy. Shit, did he spend the night at the police station? I still have a little battery left. Enough to call Ted.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he says as he picks up. If he’s in such a good mood, things can’t be too bad.

“Any news from Jimmy?”

“Yes, thank you, I’m fine, it’s so nice of you to ask,” he answers sarcastically.

“But why should I be worried about you?” I deadpan back. “Only the good die young.”

He laughs happily at my stupid joke. “Jimmy’s fine. I picked him up at the station after I left you last night. I drove him back to the hotel. Would you believe he managed to fall asleep during the ride between the police station and his room?”

It’s my turn to laugh. His ability to recharge his batteries so easily is indeed a superpower.

“And I noticed you hadn’t come home yet. Your key was still on its hook at reception.”

He lets a few seconds pass, loaded with innuendo. I don’t bother explaining that it’s not what he thinks, that I fell asleep on the sofa and am now cooking breakfast. Ted carries on.

“To get Jimmy released, I had to agree to bring you both back to the station at 1600 hours. We’ll have some explaining to do, but I think it'll be fine. Even chief Wagner is willing to look the other way, because he’s on the cover of Nice-Matin today.

“They say he’s a regular hero. The man of the year. I’m not sure what he told them, but according to the article, his audacity is such that the local mob is shaking after he singlehandedly destroyed a human racketeering network.”

“Oh, I see.”

If last night’s disaster makes him look good, he’ll probably give us a break. It wouldn’t be in his best interest to put us in a difficult position. We could be tempted to give our own version of the events to the press, and that wouldn’t make him look good. After all, he’s the reason we lost Madison and Tiffany.

“We may be in the clear, but I’m afraid Élodie’s in trouble. Since he wanted to take her down, I did a little investigating.”

“What did you find out?” I ask, while folding the omelet.

“That Élodie’s an outcast because she’s a troublemaker. She spoke out against some of the old boys to internal affairs, and that made for a lot of unhappy cops.”

“I figured,” I answer.

The sounds of light steps behind me warns me that Élodie has entered the room. I turn in silent greeting, switch the coffee machine back on and flip the omelet again.

“I would say your Élodie is a keeper.”

I would like to protest that she’s notmy Élodie, but I don’t see how I can possibly do that when she’s standing in front of me. Especially since she’s adorable this morning. She’s a natural beauty. I look at the droplets falling down from her wet hair onto her wrinkled t-shirt.

It’s distracting enough that I don’t pay close attention to what Ted is saying.

“… but I have to say that I’d be delighted if they fired her. I need a woman like her on my team. And it would be a good thing for her.

“First, because she wouldn’t have to deal with a lot of red tape. Second, because she would feel really appreciated. I love a woman who can take the lead. And last, the pay would be better. A lot better. Somehow, I think this wouldn’t be on top of her priority list.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I say thinking that if indeed Élodie was to lose her job, I could ask her to come home with me, give her a chance to see if she could adjust to life on the other side of the Atlantic …

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