Hotel Vendome

“It does hurt,” Heloise admitted to her, and, more important, to herself.

“I used to cry for weeks after I saw mine,” Natalie confessed. “It’s horrible to say, but it was easier for me after she died. She couldn’t disappoint me anymore. It’s worse when they’re alive and don’t want to see you, or do and act like they don’t remember who you are. I hated that.”

“I hate seeing mine too,” Heloise said. It was a relief to talk about it and admit the truth. She didn’t like talking about it with her father. Just hearing Miriam’s name upset him, and she felt disloyal to her mother when she told him how bad it was, so she rarely did. “It always hurts. And I always feel like the forgotten person when I’m there. Like I’m a houseguest or a stranger or someone she never knew. I don’t know how she could just walk away like that, but she did. She’s not so great with her other two kids either, they’re both brats,” she said with a smile.

“It’s all about who she is as a person,” Natalie explained to her, “not about something you did wrong or don’t have. It took me years to understand it, but people like that don’t have anything to give. To anyone. It’s only about them.”

“Yeah,” Heloise said as though a lightbulb had gone on while they were talking. Natalie understood it perfectly.

“I’ve always been afraid to have kids because I was afraid I’d be like her. And I don’t want to do to anyone what she did to me,” Natalie said honestly.

“I feel that way too,” Heloise said softly. “My dad was great, but it’s weird having only one parent when the other one is out there somewhere and doesn’t want you. I hated explaining that to my friends, although for a while they were impressed because of Greg. But he’s a jerk.”

“At least you had your dad,” Natalie reminded her, and Heloise nodded. And now she had to share him with her. But it didn’t seem quite so bad now. She could see why her father loved her. She was honest, sincere, and caring, and she tried hard. And Heloise also realized that Natalie had never lost her temper once in the past six months, no matter how badly Heloise behaved. It said something about her. “I hardly ever saw my father, and he was even colder than my mother,” Natalie added. “I think they both hated kids.”

“My dad is great,” Heloise confirmed. The two women looked at each other for a long moment and exchanged a smile.

“Thank you for helping me with the wedding. I’m really scared,” Natalie confessed. It made her seem so young and vulnerable that Heloise felt sorry for her. She didn’t seem like an ominous opponent anymore, just a lonely woman of very human scale who had mean parents and was grateful to have found Hugues. It was something Heloise could cope with, and not the Mata Hari she had feared.

“The wedding will be fine,” Heloise reassured her. “I promise. And if anything happens, I’ll take care of it.” And she was fully capable of doing so, with or without Sally’s help. She felt a bond with Natalie now after what they had shared. “You just relax and have fun. It’s your special day.”

“I had no idea weddings were so complicated and stressful to organize when I planned this. I’ve been in way over my head,” she admitted with a grin. “I never planned to have one, so I don’t know anything about all the details.”

“Weddings are not that hard,” Heloise said easily. “Decorating is much harder, and you’re great at that. This is just a lot of silly details. I love my apartment, by the way. You did a great job. All my friends are jealous of me.” She smiled, and Natalie looked pleased. They were getting a lot of housekeeping done that afternoon, throwing out the garbage, opening the shades, and letting the sunlight in.

“It was fun to do.” She got off the couch then and looked better than she had before. She would have liked to hug Heloise but didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. They had come far in the last two hours, and they both knew it. And she didn’t want to spoil it now by rushing Heloise or crowding her.

“I’ve got to go back to work. See you at the dinner tonight,” Heloise said as she put her uniform jacket back on and her shoes. “And remember, all you have to do is look pretty and have fun. Leave the rest to us. You don’t need to be scared, or worry about a thing.”

“Thank you.” Natalie smiled and looked touched, and a minute later Heloise left to go back to the front desk. Five minutes after that Hugues walked into the apartment and had missed Heloise completely.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, surprised to see Natalie there at that hour, looking a little dazed.

“Trying to catch my breath,” she said honestly. “I just had a really nice talk with Heloise,” she reported, and looked happy about it.

“What about?” He looked surprised and pleased as he sat down on the couch with his future wife. He loved the idea that she was going to be his wife and could hardly wait.