FLASHBACK
Annie, JC and TJ boarded the plane early in the morning and settled into the 1st class seats Johnny had been kind enough to buy for them. (Lou would have been appalled at all the money being spent. It didn’t matter to Johnny, though; he figured he could always find somewhere else to balance it out.)
Annie called the aisle seat before they even boarded, so she’d have room to stretch her long legs. JC didn’t mind, he liked looking out the window anyway. TJ settled in nearby across the aisle from them.
No sooner had the plane lifted off, the former two fell asleep. They’d been awake almost the entire night before, talking and repeatedly apologizing to each other. Not to mention that the past few days had been extremely draining for Annie, both physically and emotionally. Since they both had a habit of escaping into sleep when the world got a little too big, and this definitely qualified as one of those times, they were out quicker than a string of Christmas lights from the Wal-Mart bargain bin.
Annie eventually wound up cuddled with JC. Her head rested on his shoulder, hair falling into her face. Her right hand was splayed across his chest, where he held it in his own.
Aside from getting one of those cool little blankets that a passing flight attendant had been kind enough to cover them with, the trip was fairly uneventful. Nevertheless, they were grateful when they finally landed at Charles De Gaulle airport. After going through the usual rigamarole of customs and hunting down AWOL luggage, they started towards the hotel.
Annie remained strangely quiet through most of the ride. JC and TJ had been discussing plans when the former turned to her. “Annie, is that all right with you?” She was staring out the window and didn’t seem to hear him, so he shook her gently by the shoulder.
“Annie?”
His touch seemed to startle her; Annie gave out a little yelp. “Sorry.” She laughed weakly. “My mind was wandering. What was it?”
“I said, once we get to the hotel, we’’ll unpack and try to get something to eat. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” She had turned back to the window.
“Annie, is anything wrong?”
“Huh?” Annie pulled herself back from the window a second time. “Oh, no. I’m just having a hard time concentrating.” She smiled. “Maybe it’s jet lag. I have been crossing the Atlantic quite a few times over the last few days, you know.”
The trio finally arrived at the hotel and checked in. In the elevator on the way to their rooms, JC turned to Annie again. “When you get to your room, make sure to unlock your side of the connecting door. Then we can go back and forth without having to go into the hall.”
Annie seemed to be fascinated by the pattern of the carpet in the elevator. She was staring at it intently. JC shook her shoulder, once again drawing a little shout of surprise. “Annie?”
“Yeah, unlock the door. Got it.”
After unpacking JC knocked on the adjourning door between their two room. Receiving no answer, he tried the door. It opened right up, so he went in anyway. “Annie, you should come see this view. It’s amazing!”
He trailed off when he came inside. Annie’s bags were still by the door, unpacked. She was sound asleep on the bed, her coat and shoes still securely on her body.
“Annie,” he whispered, shaking her gently. “We have to call Jacques, and you haven’t even unpacked. You can’t go to sleep yet.”
Annie blinked awake. “What? Where? Oh right, Jacques.” She sat up slightly.
“His number’s in my purse. Why don’t you call him?”
“Are you sure?” JC certainly didn’t sound like he was thrilled at the idea.
“Yeah.” She settled down to sleep, then popped right back up again. “Oh wait, you need the number.” Annie unceremoniously dumped the entire contents of her purse on the bed, then tore through the resulting chaos. Several minutes later, she came up with slip a paper, which she handed to him. “Here.”
With that, she fell back on the bed, instantly falling back to sleep.
JC sensed that it would be useless to try and wake her, even more so to point, out that he didn’t really think that he should be the one making the call, so he simply shrugged his shoulders. Something was definitely wasn’t right with Annie; he would deal with that situation after the phone call.
JC dialed the number carefully to make sure he didn’t get the wrong person. After only one ring, someone picked up. (Garçon’s Art Shoppe” ), answered a very familiar voice in a friendly manner.
“Hello Jacques, It’s JC.”
There was a sudden clatter on the other end, then Jacques speaking quietly in annoyed French. The phone made several thuds before it quieted down. Still, Jacques didn’t talk.
“Jacques?” JC asked, wondering what had happened. “Are you still there?”
“Yes,” the other man stammered. “Just dropped the phone. Sorry” Jacques cleared his throat. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this little call?” He was trying to sound bored and self-assured at the same time, a rare trick only the French are capable of puling off. However, underneath the words he sounded rather nervous.
JC chose to ignore his tone and continued. “Trust me, it’s not that I really want to talk to you, but Annie asked me to call you. Just to let you know, we’re planning to come over tomorrow so you can give us details about the service for Claude.”
“To-tomorrow?” Jacques seemed infinitely confused. “But how is that possible? I just talked to her in America the other day. Where are you two?”
“Checked in at the 4 Seasons Hotel in Paris about two hours ago.”
Jacques voice suddenly seemed filled with hope. “Can I speak to Annie?” Is she there?”
A very evil and not nice idea came into JC’s head, which he decided to go with. “Sorry.” he confessed with his best `I’m-the-most-innocent-boy-in-the-whole-wide-world’ voice, “but she’s asleep in bed next to me and I’d really hate to wake her. Plus, it’s probably a whole lot more restful for her than the night before, what with her tossing and turning half the night.”
JC looked at his watch and realized what time it was. “I hate to cut this short, but I think I’m ready to nod off as well.” He smiled at the thought of the look on Jacques face. “Long flight, you know how it goes. Anyway, we’ll see you tomorrow at around 10. Bye.” Without giving Jacques a chance to answer or say anything, JC hung up. He realized that it had been a rather nasty thing to do, but also Jacques didn’t really deserve a lot of courtesy at the moment.
“JC wait!”
Jacques tried desperately to keep JC on the phone, but was rewarded with only a dial tone. He had no idea how long he remained standing there, still holding the receiver to his ear, when he heard someone clearing their throat.
Startled, he dropped the phone a second time and turned to see a little old lady standing in front of the counter, a small painting in her hand.
Quickly, he tried to compose himself. (“May I help you, Madam?”)
She smiled back at him. (“Girl trouble?”)
He was caught off guard by the comment. (“What?”)
(“The person you were talking to on the phone.”) The woman gave him a knowing wink. (“Seems like she’s playing hard to get.”)
Jacques cleared his throat nervously and tried to smile back at her. (“Well, you know how it goes. Can I help you with that?”) he asked, indicating the picture she carried.
(“Thank you.”)
As Jacques went through the usual run of completing the sale; his thoughts turned themselves over and over in his mind. This was a nightmare! Not only did I lose Grandpere, but now JC and Annie are back together. Worst of all, they’re here!
(“Are you going to be paying with cash or credit?”) 'What should I do?'
Jacques waited while the register connected to the bank, checking on the woman’s credit card.
Are they angry? Do they know what I did? No. They couldn’t. JC seemed perfectly civil on the phone. Maybe they really are just here because of their love for Claude.
He handed the receipt to the woman to sign, waiting while she searched for a pen in her purse.
Still Annie lying in a bed next to JC.
(“Young man.”)
Jacques jumped and turned to the woman. (“I’m sorry. What was that?”)
(“I asked you if you had a pen I could use.”)
(“Oh, of course.”) He quickly found one and handed it to her. (“Here you go.”)
The woman signed the receipt and left, leaving Jacques alone in the shop. He heard a beeping and looked down at the floor where it was coming from. There was the phone; he still hadn’t hung it up yet.
As he reached for it, his thoughts once more rang out. 'No, Annie and JC are here to support me in my hour of need. They couldn’t possibly know exactly what I have done.' A small smile came to his lips. 'And Babette can’t tell them anything now.' He hung up the phone, then turned with a smile as his next customer entered.
JC hung up the phone and then turned his attention to Annie. Not wanting to wake her again, he gently took off her coat and shoes. As he reached for her socks, JC’s hand brushed her skin. He was surprised at how warm it seemed.
JC put his hand to Annie’s forehead and almost jerked it back. Her skin felt like it was on fire! Was it a fever? Worried, the young man left to find TJ. No sooner had he left, Annie awoke. “Oh crap,” she thought, putting a hand to her face. “What’s wrong with me?” A rising, bitter taste started building in her throat. “I’m going to be sick!” With shaky legs, she managed to stumble into the bathroom, somehow shutting the door behind her.
JC and TJ entered just in time to see the door slamming closed. The former ran to the door, knocking on it with his palm. “Annie! Are you ll right??!
Answer me!” The only answer he received was the sound of vomiting.
After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of a toilet flushing and then the sound of water in the sink, Annie opened the door looking absolutely
horrendous. Her hair was plastered down with sweat, brushed back from her pale face. Her hazel eyes looked like they had sunken into her skull, giving JC the eerie impression of black holes in a white hospital sheet.
“Josh, please help me,” Annie gasped, pleadingly. “The room is spinning and I think I think I am going to” Before she could finish the sentence, her eyes rolled up into her head and she began to fall.
JC rushed forward and caught her before she hit the floor, then carried her over to the bed. As he set her down on he bed, JC placed one hand on the side of her face. Her skin felt like she’d been locked in a tanning bed for three days with the setting on “Jamaican.”
TJ put a hand on JC’s shoulder. “Stay here with her. I’ll call the front desk and see if they can hunt down a doctor.”
After a rather rushed phone conversation and several minutes of anxious waiting, there was a quiet knock on the door. TJ opened the door to find a severe young man with very ordinary features carrying a small black bag.
The man nodded once. `Hello, I’m Doctor Smith.” He walked swiftly in as soon as TJ moved aside, looking around the room. “What appears to be the problem?”
JC looked up from the side of the bed, a wet cloth in his hand. He had been mopping Annie’s forehead with it. “Well sir,” he said, rising and moving aside, “She’s been sleeping almost the entire time since we checked in, about two hours ago.”
The doctor knelt at Annie’s side and took her wrist. “What are her symptoms?”
“She threw up a few minutes ago, then she fainted.” JC paused, his voice worried. “I think she’s running a fever.”
Dr. Smith put a hand to Annie’s forehead. “She is.” He glanced at his watch. “And her pulse is racing.” He reached into his bag and retrieved a thermometer, which he placed in her mouth. “You said you arrived a few hours ago. How did you arrive?”
“We flew in.” JC stuttered, caught slightly off guard by the question. “Flight 821 from Orlando.”
Dr. Smith turned to him. “Did the young lady have anything to eat on the plane?”
“Well, let me think., She had the fish, I think, but only a little. She took a few bites, said it tasted funny and didn’t eat anymore.”
The doctor nodded. “That fits the profile. A number of passengers from that flight got sick.” The doctor took the thermometer and looked at it. “Seems the fish was bad.” he turned and gave JC a half reassuring grin. “She just has a bad case of food poisoning.”
JC felt slightly disturbed by the doctor’s nonchalance. “What should we do for her?”
“There’s not really much you can do.” Dr Smith packed up his things. “It basically has to run its course. Keep using cool towels to keep her fever under control, but don’t let her get chilled.” He took the cloth JC had been using earlier and placed it on Annie’s forehead. “Also, see if you can get her to drink some water. The last thing we need is for her to get dehydrated.”
Dr. Smith stood up. “Call me in the morning and let me know how she is. However, I don’t anticipate any problems.” He placed a hand on her head. “She seems like a healthy girl.”
Annie eyes fluttered open at that point, and she looked blearily around the room. “Oh doctor,” she whispered quietly.
He looked at her expectantly. “Yes, miss?”
“Come here,” she motioned to him. “I want to tell you something.”
Dr Smith leaned closer to her. She whispered in his ear, causing the young man to blush. He straightened up and turned to JC. “Uh, is is she known for telling off-color stories?”
“Of course not!”
The doctor nodded. “Then, she might be delirious as well. With this high of a fever, it’s quite possible.” His blush deepened. “She just told me a very raunchy joke in French.”
JC’s mouth practically dropped open in disbelief. “She what?” TJ put a hand over his own mouth to stifle a laugh.
The doctor looked at JC. “I take it such behavior is unusual for her?”
“Yes, very much so, I’d say.”
Dr. Smith shook his head. “Just watch her and call me tomorrow.” He went to the door, turning before he left to say “Good Luck” over his shoulder.
“Thank you.” TJ said to the doctor as he shut the door, then turned to JC.
“TJ,” the latter said, dabbing Annie’s face with the cloth, “I think I’ll stay here with Annie for awhile. Why don’t you get some sleep?”
The large man nodded. “Okay. Just let me know if you need anything.” He left the room closing the door quietly.
JC had just sat down on the bed when he felt an arm fall across his shoulder. “Hi sailor,” Annie’s voice purred in his ear. “New in town?” She leaned in closer. “Want to hear a joke?” She proceeded to tell him something very quietly and seductively in Spanish. At least, he thought it was Spanish. He had no idea how to tell different languages apart. Besides, the only Spanish he knew he had learned from eight grade language class; so his only real use of the language was that he remembered how to say “I like the beach” and that Speedy Gonzales always went “Arriba, arriba, andela!” right before he took of. `Man, that mouse was fast.’
JC roused himself from his thoughts. “Sorry,” he smiled at her. “I don’t understand Spanish.”
Annie grinned at him maniacally. “Then how about one in Italian? They have the very best and some of the sexiest stories.”
“Nope, sorry again.” He kept the smile going somehow. “Afraid I don’t know that one either.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “Well, what do you know?” she pouted.
“Just English.”
“Oh, how very boring.” Annie smiled devilishly. “Want to hear a rhyme about a guy from Nantucket?”
Luckily, JC was already familiar with that one, so he knew better than to accept. “No thank you,” he replied, the smile plastered to his face like a mask.
Annie cuffed him lightly on the back of the head. “You sure are an old stick in the mud.” She sighed. “Well, what do you want to do?”
“I’m thinking that maybe we should try and get some sleep.”
“Do you mean 'sleep' or,” she licked his ear, “sleep?”
“Annie, please,” the smile had dropped from JC’s voice as well as his face.
“Please what?”
JC was actually starting to get slightly annoyed with the riddles Annie had decided to speak in. Suddenly her hands were lifting up his shirt, slowly.
He jerked away from her. “What are you doing?!”
“I just want to look,” she whispered, a dreamy look in her eyes. “I promise not to touch.”
“Annie, you don’t know what you’re doing. Please stop.”
She stuck out her lower lip. “But I need you.” She leaned closer. “I want you.” She put her hand on his thigh. “I want you to do bad things to me.”
“Annie, you’re not thinking clearly.” JC plucked her hand off his leg. “You’re feverish right now, and I think it’s clouding your judgment.”
“Oh, I’m feverish all right.” Annie tried to put his hand down her shirt. “Can’t you feel how hot I am?”
JC pulled his hand away, cradling it to hs chest. “Annie, as tempting as your offer is, I will not, I repeat, will not take advantage of you in this
condition.” He looked desperately into her eyes. “Besides, our promise-”
“Promise, shomise,” she interrupted, her hands going to the top button of her shirt. “Let’s do it!”
JC grabbed her hand firmly. “Annie! Stop right now!”
Annie stopped, staring blankly into his face for a brief moment before fainting dead way. Relieved beyond words, JC got her back under the covers, then laid down beside her. It turned out to be a very long night, but at least there was no more incidents like this one.
The next morning, JC woke to find that Annie was cool to the touch. It meant her fever had finally broken, filling him with a deep sense of relief.
“JC?”
Annie was awake! JC turned to her. “Hey.”
“Could I have a glass of water please?”
“Sure.”
JC got her a glass of water and helped her drink half of it. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. But I don’t remember a lot of what happened after we got into the room. It’s a big blank until just now when I woke up.” She looked at him over the top of the water glass. “What happened to me?”
“You had a pretty bad case of food poisoning and were running a very high fever.” He set the glass down. “That reminds me, I need to call the doctor and let him know you’re feeling better.”
As he reached for the phone, JC felt Annie’s hand on his shoulder. “Oh no, not this again.”
“Did anything else happen?” she asked quietly.
“No, not really.” He turned to her. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m not sure. I just have vague images, nothing concrete.” Annie looked into her eyes. “Did I try to seduce you??”
“Well, if you want to know the truth.”
“I do.”
“Then yes, you did.” JC held up one hand reassuringly. “But I resisted. You didn’t succeed.” He smiled a bit at the memory of it, now that Annie seemed to be getting better. “Actually, I turned you down and then you passed out.”
“Oh, that must have been attractive.” Annie rolled her eyes, then caught a look at herself in a mirror. “Holy hell, look at me!” she whispered in awe. “In this state of `attractiveness’, I don’t think even an inmate in solitary would have the guts to lay me down.” She shooed him away. “Now get out of here while I try to fix this little train-wreck.”
About 45 minutes later, Annie reappeared. She was showered, shampooed and had changed into fresh clothes. Her face was still pale but didn’t have the same “I’m dead, bury me now” look it had carried the
night before. “Did anyone think to call Jacques? We should have done that last night as soon as we checked in.”
“I called him last night.”
Annie gave him a look of surprise. “You did? Well, how did it go?” A smile curved her lips. “Was there a scene?”
JC shook his head. “No, I thought I was rather polite and civil.” He returned her smile. “Although, to be honest, I felt like reaching through the phone and throttling him.”
“Well, that mature.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Shall we go see him now?”
“No,” He placed both hands on her shoulders. “You’re going to stay here.”
“But why? I need to go, act as referee. Besides,” the grin returned to her face. “I might want to throttle him too.”
“Which is exactly why you’re not going.” JC touched her hair reassuringly. TJ and I can handle this. And I promise not to hurt him.”
“I’ll see to that.”
Both of them jumped at the sound of a third voice and turned to see TJ standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. They had been so absorbed in their conversation, they hadn’t even heard him open the door.
Annie looked at the bodyguard seriously. “You sure?”
JC nodded, touching her face. “Of course. You stay here and rest.” He kissed her softly on the tip of her nose. “We’ll be back in a little while, okay?”
After making sure Annie would be fine and had everything she needed, JC and TJ went out the door to Jacques’.
