Camille Bordey was on a plane, travelling to France once again. She had done this so often… and still it was always new - and exciting. This time it felt a lot like when she had left for her training in the police years and years ago… she hadn't had a clue about what was waiting for her. A strange city, strange people, strange customs and traditions… Although her mother was French and had raised her with the traditions of her home country, these had mixed with the Caribbean customs as well as the English traditions common on the island – and of course, over the years, more and more international practices had found their way into life on Saint Marie. It had been interesting to be in her mother's home country and finally see it all for real.
Of course, she wasn't the young and hopeful girl any more that she had been back then. So much had happened since that first flight to France… She had had to find her feet in Paris, and although that had been challenging at first, the city had become her second home after a while. She had learnt so much during her time in Paris… she had met so many wonderful – and a couple of awful – people, made friends, attended training with all its comprehensive aspects, including courses in psychology and forensics, worked in various projects… it had been a rich and interesting period in her life. She had never been naïve, but of course back on Saint Marie, life was different, and living in the capital city of a big European country was a whole different thing. So, she had learnt many, many new things – that had nothing to do with the training or the job later on…
For a while she had loved it – but when the chance had come to move back to the Caribbean, she had been happy to take it. She had been perfect for that undercover job… she blended in with the natives, and she appeared to be easy going and was friendly with everyone, so people trusted her quickly. She had learnt with time that most people liked to talk about themselves, and her compassionate demeanour encouraged people to open up to her beyond the usual chit-chat…
She had slipped back into 'island mode' very quickly, and the fact that she loved her home had helped her to make peace with the fact that her undercover job had not lasted as long as it had been planned. Working with Richard Poole had been another entirely new experience. She had never met anybody like him, and in the beginning, she had thought she could never adjust to working with him. That had changed eventually, and after having been his sidekick for a while, she had developed decidedly deeper feelings for him. Two years had gone by… two years full of mutual teasing and challenging, interrupted by perfect moments of being in tune with each other… and when she had welcomed him back after a week of house-and-lizard-sitting during his brief stay in London, she had known that she didn't want him to leave again.
He had never made an obvious move towards her, but they had spent more time together outside of work, and she had been sure that he'd finally come round and ask her out some time… and then, disaster had struck, and he had been taken away from her. She had never been so shocked in her life before – and she had cried rivers over losing him.
Then, DI Humphrey Goodman had appeared on the scene… he was a completely different character. He was brilliant in his own way, but also screwed up in his own way… Camille had appreciated how he had solved his first case on Saint Marie – he had done his best to be understanding and patient about the team not only losing their boss, but also a friend. And with time, she had learnt to work with him, too. But it had never been as exhilarating as working with Richard had been – both in the good and in the not so good sense of the word.
Much of the time she had felt like she was babysitting him – he was clumsy beyond belief, and she had constantly been trying to save him from getting himself into embarrassing situations. She had known that comparing the two men was unfair – they were different, and that didn't mean one was better than the other – but she couldn't help it… The contrast between the two just was too striking. The aspects they had in common were that they both were excellent detectives – and that they both were somewhat nutty. Camille had been wondering more than once if the latter was a prerequisite for the former in the Met…
The last one and a half years since Humphrey's arrival had made it entirely clear for her, though, that she couldn't possibly stay on Saint Marie. She had known it in her heart already when he had showed up, and more than once she had been tempted to just leave… There was no point for her in staying on the island any more. She had secretly looked around for new jobs on the French force's website, but nothing interesting had been available. So, when eventually the opportunity had come up to go back to the French force, she had grabbed it. And Humphrey had almost messed up again – she had known that his affection for her would become an issue one day. The only reason why she had been so forgiving when he finally had informed her that he had wanted to hold her back but had changed his mind was that she had known that if it didn't work out this time, there'd be people who'd take influence so she could get a transfer eventually, and if worst came to worst, she had seriously considered quitting her job altogether. Of course, it would be much easier with a transfer – having a secure job would give her the means and the status that she needed to survive.
After Richard's sudden and unexpected disappearance, it had taken her a while to open up to people again, and she had half-heartedly seen a few men and gone on a couple of pseudo-dates – basically to pass time. None of them had been a success – naturally not - , but none of them had been a disaster, either. The truth was… she wasn't really interested, but she had welcomed the distraction. After a while, though, it got old. That had also been why she had spent so much time with Humphrey and the team outside of work. She had felt 'safe' because Humphrey was married – until she had to realise that his marriage had fallen apart…
Shortly afterwards, Fidel had left the team… and things had become more difficult. Humphrey had relied more on her than ever before – the Commissioner had helped out for a little while until they had found a substitute for Fidel, and of course. Humphrey couldn't possibly work together with his boss the way he had worked with Fidel... Then Florence had come, and the team dynamics had changed again. It had been nice to have a female colleague. Florence had become a friend, and Camille had noticed that she had tried to find out what her – Camille's – feelings were for their boss – discreetly, of course, but obvious for Camille. That had been the moment when Camille (much to her relief) had known she could finally leave without having to feel guilty. She had known that Florence would take care of him, and she could move on and go her own way without looking back.
Until her departure, she had deliberately ignored that Humphrey had fallen in love with her – or rather, that he had thought he had fallen in love with her. She had been well aware of the fact that she had been pretty much the only woman on the island that he had seen on a regular basis, and the contrast between her and Sally had made him realise that he didn't want to go back to his ex-wife because he had changed and wanted something different now. In one word, it would have been a rebound romance, and Camille hadn't been up to that. No, not at all. She liked him as a friend, and she hoped they'd always be friends, but that was it.
She had been touched by his goodbye gift… that compass ring had been a thoughtful token, and she appreciated the thought behind it. And she had kissed him goodbye… but it hadn't meant more to her than just that – saying goodbye. She could be generous – she was leaving to start a new life… without him. She knew that he'd get over her. He had Florence now, and he wasn't the type whose love could withstand the distance. He needed to be physically close to the person he loved. He needed constant attention, physical presence, support and companionship. That was good and well, and she knew there was nothing bad about it. It just wasn't the kind of love that would survive months of separation. And actually, that was good – it set her free. She didn't have to feel bad for not returning his feelings. Hers were engaged otherwise, and she knew he wouldn't understand because he didn't 'roll that way', as the saying went.
Camille took out the file that she had been given by the Commissioner just before he had officially seen her off and given her her papers and documents in the Government House the night before she had left. When she had called him after Humphrey's confession that he had almost held her back, he had asked her to meet there because he had a dossier that he wanted to give her. He had also come to the ferry, in plainclothes for a change, and waved her goodbye, but that had been his private decision. He had wished her good luck and happiness… and there had been a twinkle in his eyes. Whatever that had meant… She wondered briefly how much he knew about her reasons to leave. But it didn't really matter – she was gone now, and that was all that counted.
The file contained important documents about who'd be her contact person in Paris, when and where she would have to show up, the interim address where she'd stay during the first few weeks, and a brief description of the department she'd join. It seemed to be a more complex affair than she had imagined in the first place, but well, she had never shied away from a challenge.
The Commissioner had informed her that Paris had booked her on the next flight – she'd have to pick up her ticket and boarding pass at the airport - and she'd start her job on the following Monday… that gave her almost an entire week to adjust to European climate and weather conditions. She had packed lightly as she knew she'd need an entire new wardrobe, anyway, but she had brought a few warmer clothes… she'd go clothes shopping when she had more information about her new position – then she'd know what style she would have to focus on. It all depended on the impression she would be supposed to make…
Interesting enough, when she showed up at the counter at the airport, she was also given a connection ticket to another destination, along with the note that someone would meet her at the airport there… and a ticket from there to Paris for Sunday afternoon… She'd have to pick up her luggage in Paris because it wasn't checked through to her final destination, but she only had one suitcase, anyway, and she saw she'd have enough time… there were more than 6 hours between the flights. She didn't quite know what to make of all that, but well, she'd find out…