From A Sparkling Diamond
Chapter Five
Days turned quickly into weeks and Satine had caught herself in the web of the Underworld, of Monmarte. She was now officially the star of the Moulin Rouge. Men would come from miles around to see the "straw-bry". It was kinda a relief not having the weight of the windmill on my shoulders. It allowed me to adventure out of Monmarte and into Paris. I would travel into bookstores and cafes, museums and gardens, stores and monuments. That fateful day I was to pick up more fabric for new costumes. That one trip into Paris would change all our lives forever.
I arrived in Paris late morning and it didn't take to long for the fabric to be picked up. I wandered into a small café to grab a cup of coffee. A young man was sitting in a corner scribbling on a piece of newspaper. Very attractive I might add. Being the bold woman I am, I asked if I might be able to join him.
"Please do," he said, I introduced myself and sat down. He introduced himself as just a writer from Britain hoping to be swept up in the Bohemian Revolution. I smiled. He was so naïve about it. About life. He didn't realize that once he was brought into the folds of Monmarte, it was impossible to escape. Between the drugs, the sex and the ecstasy of it was so tantalizing to the senses, that nothing else compared.
We say and talked for about an hour. He told me that he was now a penniless writer and was looking for someplace to live. I joked and said "There's always the Elephant." Poor boy, didn't understand. I told him to disregard the comment, but that I was a dancer at the Moulin Rouge and that I might be able to help him. His eyes just lit up. "If I help you though, you have to promise me something." "Anything," he replied. "You can't fall in love with anyone in Monmarte." "But life with out love, that's impossible. Love is like oxygen. Love lifts us up. All you need is love." I had to stop him. Love, a principle of the Bohemian Revolution, was forbidden to all those whose lives were rooted within Monmarte. Love would destroy us all. I gentle placed my finger on his lips. "Please. No more. Deal or no deal?" Being that he was now penniless and currently friendless, he didn't have much of a choice.
I took him to see Marie. She set him up in the L'Amour. The one empty room, was no longer empty now. And with that single kind act I had almost brought the entire destruction of the Moulin Rouge.