I walked into the kitchen uncertainly as Sadie and her three 'new' friends sat around the kitchen table drinking juice and talking in French. Great! Just great! Precisely what I needed right now—four women counting calories and speaking in pig latin. Yep, wonderful!
I noticed one of the girls, Celeste I think, looking at me particularly hard as Tommy edged into the space—reaching over my head to grab something out of the refrigerator as I tried ducking underneath him. He had changed and he smelled wonderful, but I still elbowed him in the ribs as he grabbed the last of the sodas from the fridge. Damn, now I was going to have to drink something I didn't even recognize the name of. Damn him!
Tommy got very still unexpectedly as he suddenly grew extraordinarily interested in the conversation going on behind us while Lettie walked slowly into the room with a bag full of what looked like disorganized notes. She set them down gently on the floor by the sink before also turning in interest towards the group at the table. What was going on?
"J'identifie votre soeur, Sadie, en dehors de des affaires de musique. Où l'ai-je vue avant (I recognize your sister, Sadie, outside of the music business. Where have I seen her before)?" Celeste asked pointedly as Sadie shrugged nonchalantly.
"Je ne sais pas de ce que vous parlez (I don't know what you're talking about)?" Sadie replied calmly although the flush that ran up the side of her cheeks belied the sedate exterior she was trying to present. I was getting really nervous watching the group as Celeste peered up at me again underneath lowered lashes. A thought seemed to form instantly in her head, and she leaned over quickly to pull something out of a large handbag sitting at her feet.
"Naturellement, comment a-t-il osé le démuni de I noté ? Elle est celle de ce magasin scandaleux (Of course, how could I have not noticed? She is the one from that scandalous magazine)." Celeste mumbled as she placed the object in the center of the table. Sadie scoffed as she swiped it onto the floor angrily. I felt the blood rush from my head all the way to the bottom of my toes as I recognized the emblem on the tabloid. No! It couldn't be! Not here. Not now. Please! Tommy leaned over to pick it up, and I closed my eyes as I felt the familiar sweep of embarrassment that swept like wild fire throughout my limbs. I opened my eyes to find him looking at me incredulously as Sadie threw her glass of orange juice straight into Celeste's face. The room exploded with noises and French curses, but it only became a cold, dark prison for me as I stood there—trying to remember to breathe. I couldn't speak French, but I was beginning to figure out what kind of conversation had just transpired between the women, and I stumbled toward the open kitchen door blindly as I fought desperately not to cry. I was not going to cry dammit!
"Jude, wait!" I heard Tommy yell from behind me as Collette handed him a bag from off of the table.
"Just take her into town and go ahead and run that errand for me this afternoon instead of tomorrow. Okay?" Lettie asked gently as Tommy nodded before running after me as fast as he could manage. I was standing outside when he burst out of the door—cursing at his injured leg due to the wound in his backside as he went. He didn't even stop when he saw me—just marched straight into his sister's garage, started up her car, and pulled out of the drive before squealing the wheels until the rubber objects rested only an inch away from my feet.
"Climb in, Jude!" Tommy demanded as I looked into the interior of the car uncertainly. I started to shake my head, but he leaned over, pulled on the handle, and shoved the door open before looking up at me again.
"Get in, girl." He commented more gently as I just nodded mutely before tucking myself into the front seat. I felt his hand close over mine reassuringly before leaning over me to close the door. His hand never even left mine as he drove one handed towards the humdrum of Paris.
"Now, do you want to talk, Jude?" He asked me quietly as I sighed.