I promise. This is not a story of angst. But being sickly romantic is not my expertise.

Ch. 2

After Cristina got herself a map from the concierge, she and Burke left the hotel. No time was to be lost. Dating Burke was harder than going through medical school. First she had to be the good girlfriend, now the good tour guide. But seeing the excitement on his face, she did not want to disappoint. Although Burke had been to many places for conferences and consultations, the man had never been outside of America.

"So, where're we going first?"

"Coffee." Cristina blurted out the word, then holding it back. "Actually, no."

"Why?" Burke was surprised that she was giving up her favorite thing. The edginess in her also intimidated him.

"Well, we need to have a better plan if we want to go to more places. The cafés here are great, but only Parisians have the patience to sit and drink coffee for 3 hours. We don't have that much time to spare."

Burke smiled and nodded, although he didn't really understand what was on Cristina's mind.

"The French are very laid-back with their coffee. You could be sitting there, waiting, talking, smoking, watching people, practically doing nothing at a street-side café for a whole day."

"Isn't that what vacations are meant to be? To stay away from the hustle and bustle?" Burke was confused.

Cristina didn't seem to have heard Burke's remarks and she rambled on. "The coffee is great here. I'm sure you'll love their café au lait. It's thick and fresh. But seriously, we need to strategize. Paris has 20 arrondissements and if we don't plan well we will miss something."

"Arrondissement? Cristina, what do you mean?"

"Oops. I mean districts." She could not believe French words were slipping off her lips so naturally once again.

"OK. Whatever you say." Burke was trying to catch up with her. "Cristina, I don't know much about French culture and I don't think pedestrians get traffic tickets for speeding, but perhaps we could slow down."

"Oh. Are we walking too fast?" Turning back, she came to the realization that she was.

Trying to cover her mouth to conceal her amusement of seeing Burke running after her like an old fellow with a weak heart, she halted her legs, but her mind was still prancing. As if he could read her mind, Burke reassured her, "Cristina, I know you want to show me a lot of things. But as long as I'm spending time with you, it doesn't matter to me where we are and what we do. Let's take it easy."

Starring at him intently, Cristina nodded with some hesitation. "Alright." So now she wouldn't get a chance to prove how good she could be as a tour guide, she was feeling a bit discouraged.

"The Notre Dame. Cristina, why don't we go there first? I read Victor Hugo's story as a kid and have always wanted to see the place."

My nerdy boyfriend. Cristina smiled at the thought. Most guys she knew loathed reading. Burke was different. She imagined how little boy Burke was holding the thick novel in his hand, weeping over the love story between the kind and loving hunchback and Esmeralda. "Did you happen to like Beauty and the Beast as well?"

Burke scratched his head, not knowing if Cristina was trying to make fun of him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Located at the heart of the 4th district, the Cathedral of Notre Dame represented a prominent force of the French Gothic architecture. The spectacular stain glass windows were hallmark of this Catholic establishment and something that evoked in Preston Burke a sense of awe.

Cristina, on the other hand, was not particularly thrilled.

"If Paris has a heart, I'm sure this is it." Burke whispered, feeling religious.

"Oh no no no. It's at the Arc de Triomphe where 12 major avenues spread out. That's the heart of the city. Notre Dame can't beat Napoleon's plan."

"I see." Burke was happy to learn more about Paris, but the way how Cristina's seriousness burst his bubbles was disturbing. Why can't she be a little less serious, a bit more romantic sometimes?

"OK, Burke, we gotta go."

"So soon? Why don't we ask someone to take a picture for us?"

Cristina hated the idea. Only tourists would be taking pictures all the time. "Can we not do that? Why can't we just leave?"

"What's the problem with you, Cristina? I know you've been to this city before. You don't even want to be here. You want to rush off, fine. You want to lecture me about the geography of Paris, fine. All I am asking is just a picture of the two of us, why can't you let me?"

"Well, we never take pictures."

"Exactly! That's what I mean. We've been dating for 2 years and the only photo I have of you is the one you attached to your residency application!"

"Burke. You're being unreasonable today. Let's not fight outside a church." Cristina muttered that in a low voice. She felt like an unappreciated tour guide, whose cheeks were burning with embarrassment. Everyone else was quiet and laid-back in Paris, a quarreling American couple was quite a scene for all passer-by.

"Fine. You don't want a picture? You don't want to be a tourist? I do. Why don't you give me your map? I'll explore the city myself." Burke stormed off after snatching the map from her hand.

"Hey, but you don't speak French!" After a few more steps, she threw her hands in the air and exclaimed, "Whatever."

It was so wrong for him to criticize her that way and to say that she did not want to be in Paris. Her teacher was right. She loved Paris. And now, she was going to return to places she missed. Cristina walked in the opposite direction to catch the metro. Unlike Burke, she actually had the map of Paris engraved in her head. Originally, she wanted to tell Burke every story she had at all those special places. Not anymore. She pouted.