By Kelly Gombert
This is her first chapter of a recurring story.
This is her second recurring story with us
He checked the queue for the elevator to the 3rd floor but she wasn’t there. He headed to the viewing platform and planned on walking along all 4 sides but he didn’t have to. Jess was leaning against the railing, taking in the cityscape.
He stepped up to the railing right next to her, leaned over and said “Hi.”
Jess did a double take, her eyes wide and she stepped back. “Ian! What are you doing here?” she exclaimed.
“Well, to be honest, I came looking for you.”
“What? How in the world did you know how to find me?” Jess shook her head.
“You said you just arrived in Paris and most people, well, a lot of people, some people, OK, me, I came to the Eiffel Tower first thing. I was hoping you would too. And I knew the line was long so I took a chance that you would just be making it to the top now.”
Jess checked out the tall young man in the green polo and khaki pants. “I can’t believe you came here to see me. You’re not a stalker, are you?”
“No, I’m not, really, I’m not.” He breathed audibly. “This is my last night in Paris. I fly out to Cleveland in the morning.”
“Cleveland, as in the home of rock and roll?”
“Have you been?”
“No, I never have but I’d like to one day.”
“If you ever come, I’ll be your personal tour guide; show you all the sites.” Jess reached down for her shirt, untied it from her waist and put it on.
“I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“I hope you will.”
Jess smiled and moved away from the rail. “I have a ticket to the top. Do you?” At his affirmation, she said, “OK, let’s go get in line. I’m sorry about your notebook. What kind of art are you into?”
“Architecture. I just got my degree.”
“That’s impressive. Oh God, this has got to be the best place to study. How long were you here for?” The line moved forward as an elevator arrived, discharged its load and swallowed a fresh batch of tourists.
“A semester. We spent a couple of weekends in London and Rome as part of the course as well. It was awesome.”
“I’ll bet.”
“And you, what brings you to Paris?” Ian asked.
“Oh, uh, just travelling.”
“Ah, come on, I told you my small talk story. It’s your turn to play the game.”
“There’s not a whole lot to tell. I graduated in December with an English degree from UC Berkley. That’s not exactly a trade. It’s not like I can go out and ‘English’ someplace. So, I decided to take my gap year as the Europeans call it. I bought a backpack and headed out. Visited the National Parks out west, hit Chicago, skipped Cleveland,” she gave him a lop-sided grin. “Went to Philadelphia and New York. I may go back to New York; a friend of a friend of a friend offered me a couch to rent.” She enumerated with her fingers. “Reykjavik, Dublin, London and now I’m here.” She put both hands behind her and grabbed the rope divider for the queue.
“And next?”
“Tomorrow I’m on a train to the Riviera. I’ve got a friend who has a villa just outside of Marseille for a week. After that, I don’t know. Maybe stay south in sunny, Italy. I’d like to see Florence and Venice. Greece. Or maybe I’ll backtrack and go to Germany, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Prague. I can’t decide. I can’t do everything; the money’s going to run out sooner than later, no matter how carefully I watch my euros.” The elevator arrived again this time swallowing Jess and Ian in its maw. They watched the city recede as they rose.
“Wait, you’re leaving tomorrow?”
Look for the next chapter of this story coming soon
