Ульяна Солнечная – Its Never Too Late - As Long As Youre Alive (страница 17)

I didn’t die of fear. I didn’t get lost. I didn’t embarrass myself.

I’m simply living.

And that may be the greatest discovery of all — apparently, I still know how to live.

Tomorrow will be a new day.

And for today — thank you.

She closed the notebook, lifted her eyes to the sky, and smiled.

At sixty-seven.

In Paris.

Alone.

Happier than she had ever been.

The First Full Day

Kate woke up to light.

It poured through the window — not like the light back home in Oklahoma.

Softer.

More silver.

She lay there for a few minutes, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to remember where she was.

And then she remembered.

Paris.

She was in Paris.

A smile spread across her face all on its own — wide, almost childlike.

Kate pulled the blanket up to her chin and allowed herself five more minutes just to lie there and feel it:

that impossible, astonishing happiness.

Then she got up, washed, and got dressed.

She chose the nicest thing she had brought — a light blue dress with tiny flowers on it, bought especially for this trip.

“In Paris, you should look beautiful, Mom,” Cheryl had said.

Kate wasn’t sure a woman of sixty-seven could still be beautiful.

But she had bought the dress anyway.

In the mirror she saw a gray-haired woman with wrinkles around her eyes and bright, lively eyes full of light.

The dress fit well.

“Well then,” Kate said to her reflection, “good morning, Paris.”

Breakfast at the hotel was served in a small, cozy room overlooking an inner courtyard.

Croissants, baguette, butter, jam, coffee in large cups.

Kate ate slowly, savoring every bite, and felt like the heroine of a French film.

At the next table sat an older couple — American, judging by the man’s accent, and his wife. They spoke quietly, occasionally glancing at Kate.

“Excuse me,” the man finally said. “You’re American too, aren’t you? We heard you speaking to the clerk.”

Kate smiled.

“Yes. From Oklahoma.”

“Oh, Oklahoma!” the woman brightened. “We drove through your state about twenty years ago. Such open plains! We’re from Vermont. First time in Paris?”

“First time,” Kate nodded. “I’ve dreamed of this all my life.”

“So have we,” the woman laughed. “Can you imagine? We lived our whole lives, raised children, babysat grandchildren — and only now have we made it here. George says we’re crazy old people.”

“And I say we’re smart,” the man replied. “What would’ve been the point before? Work, kids, mortgage. Now is the perfect time.”

They began to talk.

The couple’s names were Ellen and George. They were nearly seventy and planned to spend two weeks in Paris. Ellen showed Kate a map covered in notes — all the places they wanted to see.

“We’re going to the Eiffel Tower today,” Ellen said. “Would you like to come with us? It’s more fun together.”

Kate hesitated.

Part of her wanted to go alone, to feel the city on her own.

But another part — the part that was still afraid of getting lost or not managing — was grateful for the invitation.

“If I won’t be in the way,” she said.

“Oh, nonsense,” George waved a hand. “The more old folks, the merrier. That makes three of us already. We’re practically a gang.”

They stepped outside, and Paris embraced her.

The morning city smelled of coffee, fresh pastries, and something else Kate immediately named in her head as Paris air.

She breathed it in deeply and could not get enough.

George turned out to be an excellent guide. He carried the map and confidently led them through narrow streets, telling stories he had read in guidebooks. Ellen kept stopping to photograph a doorway, or a window, or a beautiful balcony full of flowers.

“I’m making an album,” she explained to Kate. “For the grandkids. So they’ll know Grandma and Grandpa don’t just sit on the couch.”

Kate thought of Emma and Tommy.

She should bring them something too.

Not just souvenirs — memories. Stories.

They reached the embankment, and suddenly there it was.

The Eiffel Tower.

Not in a photograph. Not in a movie.

Real.

Huge.

Lace-like.

It rose above the city, both familiar and completely new.

“Oh,” Ellen whispered. “My goodness.”