(After a really long time of absence, here comes the next chapter! Enjoy)

Chapter 3

She woke up late the next morning, noticing that Jack was no longer next to her in the king size bed. His part of the duvet was pushed up against her side and exposed the empty mattress to her right. A tired sigh run through her throat when Lisa remembered Jack's ongoing tossing and moving that had stolen all night's rest. They had spent nights together before but she had never experienced him that unsettled. Whatever she tried to calm him down, it didn't help and so neither of them found any sleep tonight. It was only very early in the morning, right after dawn, when Jack eventually put an end to his suffering and got up and she finally fell asleep.

Despite the late hour the room was filled with darkness. The curtains of the big window opposite the bed were still shut and thus didn't only prevent the daylight from floating in but also hid the mesmerizing view across the city. Waking up to the sea of Paris' unique architecture was one of Lisa's favourite things Jane's apartment had. Although she cherished her own breathtaking view from the residence in Toulon, the change of setting was nice. The city life was nice, The feeling of being part of something big was nice. Lisa loved the excitement in the centre of the city, the diversity of people, the culture and the history that was carved into the stone of nearly every building. Ever so often it gave her the feeling of being so small, being just a tiny puzzle piece of an entire universe.

France has really become her second home after all those years and part of her seriously considered to move to Europe. The thought had accompanied her long before she met Jack and this was a serious problem that often left her with head- and heartache. It felt as if she was having two affairs at the same time. Two lovers, yet one couldn't be maintained with the other in tow. One needed to be sacrificed and it was the hardest thing to make a decision on that matter. She wanted both. She needed both.

The muffled city noises outside floated consistently through the window. Although Lisa kind of never really noticed them anymore after all this time, they were probably one reason why Jack hadn't found any sleep this night.

Lisa swung her legs over the edge of the bed and her bare feet brushed lightly across the soft fabric of the carpet before her toes sank fully into it as she got up. The tall mirror on the wardrobe door threw a tired looking mid-aged woman back at her. She was wearing a wrinkled pyjama-set of a light grey colour. Her loose hair fell awkwardly onto her shoulders and caused Lisa to grab a hair band from the nightstand and fasten them quickly into a ponytail. A yawn accidentally escaped her mouth. When on earth had she been feeling that worn out the last time?
She put on a white cotton cardigan before leaving the bedroom and making her way through the apartment.

"Hey, good morning.", he greeted as soon as she walked into the kitchen. There was a magazine laying on the table in front of him and his reading glasses were sitting on the crook of his nose from where he looked over the rim at her.
"Hey", with an heavy sigh she dropped onto one of the chairs and ran a hand through her slightly messy hair. His hand moved to his glasses to take them off and he was eyeing her now with a guilty expression.

"Oh Lis', I'm sorry. I kept you up all night. Maybe I should take the couch."
This indeed was a good idea. For her peace at least, not for his. Sleeping on the couch would cause another sleepless night and bone-aches the next morning.
"No. No, you don't. I'm alright."
She knew she was not. And he knew, too. The lines on his face didn't change.

"Just promise me you'll try and relax a bit while you're here, 'kay?"
"I'll try. It's just-"
"Strange place, strange noises. I know, I know but you need to get some sleep some time, especially since you are-"
"Old?"
"Jet lagged", she finished with a confused look and a slightly shaking head. There was it again. His lack of self-confidence when being in her part of the world. The reason why it was highly doubtful that he would ever like the idea of her moving to France full time, left alone to join her on this journey. The reason she hadn't told him yet. It would end in a break-up, Lisa was sure. A painful twinge shot through her heart by the thought of never seeing him again.

There were days when she just had no idea how to express her feelings to him. Sometimes he was so set in his opinion that the differences between them wouldn't make a relationship work. Yeah, they shared their ups and downs in those past five years but wouldn't she have already left if she couldn't deal with those divergences? Their relationship didn't need common grounds or similarities, they had much more than that. Yet, sometimes it was difficult to explain to him that he indeed was enough and not only for her but for the entire family and all his friends. The thoughtfulness and down-to-earthness were much more important to her than the things he believed she was looking for.

"Did you get some coffee yet?"- a welcoming change of topic she treated herself with.
"No, your fancy coffee machine wasn't willing to cooperate with an old man like me ..."
"Stop, Jack.", she laughed lightly while pushing herself up and turning towards the kitchen counter.
"What?"
"Talking like that. Where is that coming from all of a sudden?" With one simple push of a button Jack hadn't even noticed when examining the coffee machine earlier, the device went on and started to heat up the water in the tank.
"What? My age? If you haven't noticed yet, I'm an old, tired cowboy that flew half across the world to follow a much younger and even more beautiful woman that is very obviously out his league."
"And I'm really glad he did.", she leaned over the kitchen table the same time she set down two plates and pressed her lips against his for a brief kiss. The grey in his eyes flashed up for split of a second and the boyish grin on his face when she pulled back made her shake her head in amusement. This man was really a mystery sometimes.

His gaze on her back hung like a heavy weight on her. He was watching her closely while she was setting the table for some breakfast.

Maybe this week was a welcome opportunity to prove to him that their lives did fit together. She had to find a way of proving it to him.

"So, we should make a plan on how we want to spend this week.", Lisa put the mugs filled with steaming coffee next to their plates and sat down.
"What plan?"
"Oh you know sightseeing and shopping and oh there is this restaurant in town, it has the best food in whole Europe."
A shot of cream found its way into her mug and drew a white line through the black surface before the spinning spoon mixed up the content. Lisa was smiling to herself while picturing them together
walking through the city of love. Sometimes she was a hopeless romantic when it came to her relationship with Jack.
"Ugh, Lisa.-". Obviously, he wasn't and his crooked expression made clear that he wasn't having any of those imaginations.
"We don't have much time in Paris. David has got a few horses he wants me to look at.", she explained.
"David?"
"Yeah, you know him. David Petit, the horse breeder in Toulon, I told you about?"
"Oh yeah, right."
"So, I was actually planning on leaving tomorrow but since your are here and Paris is the most beautiful city in Europe, I really want to show you around."
Maybe she should have told him that she bought a herd of cows for him and that they were now grazing in her private garden in Toulon, waiting for him. Maybe that would have drawn his attention because shopping and sightseeing in Paris didn't convince him much.
"C'mon. What do you say?", Lisa sighed and urged him out of his comfort-zone. The lines on his face softened up a bit after a moment of consideration.
"Okay. Fine. But you know how I feel about big cities and too many people, Lisa."
"Of course. We will make it short and simple, alright?", her hand reached over the table to grasp his. "I still can't believe you are here." Her wide smile brightened up the apartment even more.
"Me neither.", he said, head shaking and squeezing her fingers.
They both shared a laugh as they started to eat their breakfast.