"So, Susie," said Gina. "Why don't you tell me more about this engagement? Exciting!"
Susie couldn't help but grin. "Well, I'm excited."
Gina took a dainty sip from her water glass. "So, when's the big day?"
Susie shrugged. She grabbed a piece of ciabatta bread from the plate and began spreading hummus on it. The food at these fancy restaurants was never enough. "Dunno. We just got engaged. Haven't even really talked about it."
"Well, Phillip certainly is…a sweet boy."
Susie eyed her manager warily. Gina was sounding eerily like her parents right about now. "Yes, he is."
"I was thinking—"
"What, Gina?"
"Well, it just seems—I'm not sure it's the best idea."
Susie dropped the knife to the plate, where it hit with a dull clang. "What, to marry Phil?"
The server appeared with their meals. "Thank you," said Susie, as a steaming (but small, she couldn't help but notice) plate of pasta was put in front of her. Gina smiled tersely at the server. When he left, she began to pour dressing over her salad.
"Where were we?" asked Susie.
"It's not that you shouldn't marry him. It's just, well, you're worth quite a bit of money, you know. I was just hoping you'd consider getting a prenuptial agreement, that's all."
Susie shook her head in disbelief. "You want me to sign a prenup?"
"Look, Susie, I'm just trying to help. It's just some friendly advice…Just think about it, ok?"
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"Here we are." said Mr. Dubois. The elderly man parked his car and immediately went to get the luggage from the trunk. Angelica stepped out of the car, onto a dirt path. First bad sign. She looked up at Chuck. He was grinning ear to ear. She followed his line of vision to the house. It was a simple building made of white stones, with a sloping gray roof. It would have been pretty nondescript, except for the beautiful ivy covering most of the structure.
"Not much has changed in 400 years," said Mr. Dubois. "Except of course, the addition of all your necessary modern conveniences. You have everything you need, electricity, hot water, even television and wireless internet, right in the same space were countless people have lived over the past 400 years."
"400 years?" asked Angelica, her mouth in an 'O' of surprise.
"Yes, Madame. It was built in the early 1600's and has been passed through the generations since. My family is of noble blood and have lived on this property throughout the years, until the Revolution. Then it was sold. It was over 200 years before someone in the family—me—found out it even existed. I bought it and I have been caring for the property and renting it to worthy people ever since."
Chuck wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder. "Pretty amazing, huh? A lot more history than any stuffy old hotel, I bet."
"Charming." said Angelica, but she still looked unsure.
Mr. Dubois lugged their bags down the cobblestone walk to the front door. He set them down and pulled out a keychain overflowing with keys. It was obvious he rented out lots of properties. There among the many modern keys—was a big, old fashioned brass key. He removed it from the ring.
"You've got to be kidding me." said Angelica under her breath. Chuck nudged her. "It's a full on skeleton key!" she whispered. "That's ridiculous!"
Mr. Dubois pushed the heavy wooden door open. It creaked and slowly slid across the floor. Late afternoon sunlight poured through the large windows. Angelica squinted and took a look around. The living room was quaint, with a comfy yet elegant looking sofa and loveseat, a worn but clean antique rug in front of a stone fireplace.
"The walls and fireplace are the original stone but the hardwood floors were just refinished a few years ago. This is the living area. "Over here," he indicated, "Is the kitchen." The kitchen was cozy and modern, with few indications of its being 400 years old. Wine glasses hung from the bottom of the cabinet and several bottles of red and white wines were on a rack in the corner. "There's plenty of food in here." said Mr. Dubois. "Agnés has already been by to make sure everything is set up for you. And she will be by tomorrow to do any housekeeping."
"Thank you." said Chuck. He took the key and put it on his own keychain. "We will let you know when we've gotten a place to stay in Paris. But we will definitely be here the next two nights."
"Merci." Mr. Dubois have a little nod and left them.
Chuck turned to Angelica. "So, what do you think?"
"I'm not sure…It's cute, I guess. Starting to grow on me. Let's do some exploring."
They made their way through the dining room—large wooden table decked out with delicate gold and white china, white lace runner, fresh pink and white roses—and an even more imposing wooden china cabinet filled with more dishes than anyone could possibly use. Then up the stairs to the bathroom. It was fully modern, except for a floral patterned porcelain water pitcher and bowl sitting on the tiled counter, most likely for looks.
Chuck opened the bedroom door. The ornate headboard of the bed was oak, upholstered with a delicate cream and pink floral print fabric. The bedspread matched. Above the bed was a white lace canopy and on the wall, a round portrait of an 18th century lady in a blue dress.
"Look like somewhere Marie Antoinette would sleep," noted Angelica.
A silver bucket sat on the bedside table, along with two champagne flutes. Chuck lifted the bottle out of the bucket. "Champagne. Nice."
Angelica made her way to the double paneled doors. The pinks and oranges of the sunset were pouring through the glass. She opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony. Chuck appeared, handing her a glass of champagne. The sun slowly slid down the horizon and a warm breeze made the treetops flurry. "Yeah." said Angelica. "I think I like it here."
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Lil waved enthusiastically. Susie grinned and waved back. She motioned to Tommy. Tommy looked back and lit up when he saw his girlfriend. "Ok everyone," he called out. "Let's break for lunch. Roll again in thirty."
Susie stretched and then jogged toward her friends. Lil grinned, looking around. "So this is what a studio looks like, huh? This is where all the big stars make their magic."
Tommy laughed and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, something like that." Lil made fake googly eyes.
"Oooh, the director kissed me" Tommy swatted her playfully. "Let's get something to eat."
"Ohh, fancy catered lunch?"
"Even better, craft services."
Lil shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers. Free food."
"Technically not…" said Susie. "It's complicated who actually is allowed to eat from the table and who can't…but I'm the star of the music video, right? So, let's dig in."
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Angelica awoke to the gentle chirping of birds and the warm breeze wafting in through the open window. She cautiously opened one eye, then the other. She sat up, stretched and yawned deeply. Chuck was nowhere to be seen.
She grabbed a fluffy white robe off the edge of the wardrobe and pulled it on over her nightie. Moments later, she was outside, shielding her face from the bright morning sunshine. Chuck was in the garden, talking to a pleasant looking older woman. He waved at her. The woman waved too, smiling broadly. Angelica tightened the robe around her self-consciously and made her way over to them.
"Morning. This is Agnés. She's going to be in and out while we're here to do housekeeping and such. Agnés, this is my wife, Angelica."
He beamed as he introduced her as his wife, and Angelica couldn't help feeling pleased herself.
"Pleased to meet you, Madam. I will be here but a moment. Just came to see if you need anything. I will be back in two days to change linens or anything else you need. However, please feel free to call if you need anything earlier"
"Agnés made us a little breakfast." said Chuck.
Angelica clapped her hands in delight as she spotted a little white iron table among the lilies, roses and irises. "Why, it's lovely!" and then she hugged the little old woman. "Thank you, so much."
Agnés nodded happily. "You are very welcome, Mrs. Finster." She nodded at Chuck. "Mr. Finster. I shall be back Wednesday to check in. Enjoy your day."
Angelica hurriedly made her way to the little table. She poured herself some tea and was adding milk when she felt the peculiar sense of being watched. She met Chuck's gaze. "What?"
"What has gotten into you?"
Angelica shrugged and tore a piece from an oversized croissant. "What do you mean?" she asked around bites of croissant. "You just hugged a complete stranger…you don't even like hugging people you know. And you clapped your hands. In delight. Angelica, I want you to think about that."
She laughed. "And you know what else? I woke up to the sounds of birds singing. Birds freaking singing! And I liked it!" She shrugged. "I dunno. France just does something to me, I guess. Are you going to eat? Because I will eat this all, don't think I won't."
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"Wow, half an hour sure does go by fast." said Tommy, looking at his wristwatch.
"Yeah," said Lil wistfully. "I feel like I never get to see you anymore."
Tommy took the girls' plates and dumped them in the trash can along with his. "I know, Baby, but we're almost done with this video. And hey, you've got Copper to keep you company."
Lil pouted playfully. "Not the same."
"Susie? We about ready to go?"
Susie looked up from her phone. "Hey there. Gina, this is Lil. Tommy's girlfriend."
"And," offered Lil with a smile, "Susie's future sister in law."
"Phil's twin," explained Susie.
Gina shook her hand. "Very pleased to meet you."
Tommy walked Lil out to her car and Gina met Susie's eyes. "She is a very nice girl, it seems. Like her brother…Have you given any more thought to what we talked about?"
Susie sighed. "We didn't talk about anything. You said you think I should sign a prenup and, well, I disagree."
"You know I'm only concerned about you."
"I do know that…And I get it…I guess I never thought I'd be rich and famous. It's still hard to comprehend. Everything happened so fast. I understand that what you're suggesting is very practical…but I just couldn't do it. It would be like saying I don't think we're going to last, and, worse, that I don't trust Phil."
"I just—"
"I don't want to talk about this anymore!" snapped Susie uncharacteristically.
Gina's eyes widened and she held up her hands. "Alright, then."
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With every passing moment, Angelica grew to love the house more and more. The peeling white paint on the walls, the wide green shutters, the delightfully wild garden and the ivy, oh the ivy! Even the funny slope of the roof and the neighbors' animals-chickens and goats mostly—that often made their way across the property.
Agnés came back Wednesday as promised and made sure everything was in order. She was happy to find out they decided to stay the whole week. She knew they'd fall in love with the house. As a week went by in the French countryside, Angelica grew to love their time there even more. She liked stretching to reach into the tall whitewashed cabinets, she liked cooking on the gas stove and feeding the ducks at the pond at the back of the house. She liked falling asleep on the fluffy rug in front of the fireplace and thumbing (carefully!) through the downright ancient books upon the shelves. Most of all, she liked being with Chuck. They didn't have to talk all the time. They could be quiet and read together or cuddle or whatever. They made love every night and awoke together every morning.
The sunshine lasted almost all week, but their last day there was rainy and gray. They found a dilapidated box in the study full of board games. They started a game of Scrabble but just ended up undressing each other instead. The rain splattered across the window and Angelica sighed and she never wanted to leave. She never thought she'd enjoy a week of full on isolation, cut off from the world, but it was the best week of her life. She knew she had to get back to the real world, but she also knew that Chuck was coming with her. And they would always have the sun dappled memories of their French cottage.
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"I'm glad you had a good day," said Phil, pouring more red wine into her glass. Susie smiled weakly and leaned against him. He set the bottle down and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned forward and buried his face in her curls.
"So?" he said.
"So."
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" He began to knead her shoulders.
"Whaddaya mean?" she asked.
"Oh come on, Susie. Out with it." She sighed. "Just so stressed with everything. Worried. About the new album and then the tour next year…and…" she burst out laughing.
"What?"
"I feel like a crazy person! Not long ago, we were barely getting by and now…I guess I'm worth a lot of money. It's…disconcerting."
"Come again?"
"That's what I mean! Who is weirded out by success and money! I guess I'm just not used to it…sometimes I miss our crappy little apartment."
"Oh, yeah. Me too. I loved how it always smelled like bad Chinese food. And I couldn't get enough of Mr. and Mrs. Lowe's fights."
"I guess I'm just feeling nostalgic. And, I dunno…overwhelmed by the responsibility…You know, my manager has been trying to convince me to have you sign a prenup."
"Really? I guess I never even thought of it." His hands moved from her shoulders to her neck. He shrugged. "If that's what you want."
"It's not what I want! It's—wait, you'd do that?"
"Yeah, I mean, I didn't ask you to marry me for your money. God, you don't think that, do you?"
Susie spun around in her seat, mortified. "No, of course not! I feel so stupid for letting Gina put the idea into my head."
"She's just concerned…I get it. I'm not really bringing in a lot of money right now, and you're footing most of the bills. I feel like a moocher myself…I'll sign it."
Susie took his hands. "But I trust you! And I know we'll be together forever."
Phil wiped a tear from her cheek and kissed her face. He hated seeing her cry.
"You know how I know?" she asked.
"How?"
"I'll show you. Come with me."
Less than an hour later, they were at Susie's old haunt, The Cat's Meow.
"I remember this place." said Phil. "Hasn't changed a bit." he noted, eyeing the dilapidated wooden tables and mismatched curtains surrounding the stage. Susie took his hand and led him straight to a little overlooked nook. She pointed. "There." On the wall, still there after all this time, was 'Phil loves Susie forever' sprawled in black ink. "That's how I know," she said. "That we'll be together forever." He gave her his trademark goofy grin and kissed her.
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Angelica sighed and stared out the cab window dreamily. "I don't think I've ever been so relaxed in my entire life."
"Me neither," said Chuck. "And we'll probably never be that relaxed again."
"I don't want to go back to work."
"Who are you and what have you done with Angelica?"
"I'm spoiled now, you know."
"This is it," Chuck said to the driver. He gave him the fare and helped Angelica with the bags. The cab left and they made their way inside. "You were saying?"
"I'm spoiled rotten. I expect breakfast in bed and picnics and fantastic sex every day now, you know that right?"
"Sounds like a dream life to me." He turned the key and opened the door. They dropped the luggage and closed the door behind them. They were home. The honeymoon was officially over. Angelica walked into the kitchenette. Lil had dutifully brought in the mail and watered the plants. "I still can't believe it's over," she said, thumbing through the mail. Bills, junk mail, blah blah blah. At the bottom of the envelopes was the good stuff—magazines. "It still seems like a dream and I—OH MY GOD!"
Chuck bounded into the room. "What?!"
"OH MY GOD!"
Angelica stood, the pile of mail falling forgotten at her feet. She held one magazine tightly in both hands, a look of disbelief on her face.
"What?" he asked, snatching the magazine from her hands. "…Oh my God!"
On the cover of People magazine were a smiling Phil and Susie. She was wearing a white sundress and holding a bouquet of tropical flowers. He had on a colorful Hawaiian shirt. White sands and blue sky stretched behind them.
"Susie Carmichael Elopes in Hawaii." read Chuck.
"Where is my phone? Shit! What in the-oh my God!"
"The singer and her boyfriend of five years, Phil DeVille, had a private beachfront ceremony just outside of Maui."
Angelica tore through her bags. "I really don't know where my phone is!"
"People was invited exclusively to take photos after the ceremony." He continued.
Angelica found her phone and powered it on. "Come on!" she yelled impatiently. "34 missed calls!"
"How long did you have it turned off?"
"I don't know, the whole week."
"Wow, you were relaxed."
"Dammit!"
"Well, it was nice while it lasted."
"Charles, how are you so calm? Susie!"
"Hi," said Susie on the other end.
"Hi? Don't you have something to tell me?"
"I tried to call."
"You're married?"
"It was, um, kind of an impromptu decision."
"I'm supposed to be your maid of honor!"
Susie rolled her eyes. Angelica always found a way to make it about her. "We'll have a recommitment ceremony sometime, and I promise, you'll be my maid of honor."
"People magazine knew before me! I'm your best friend."
"It was kind of hush hush. And the thing with People…well, the media was going to find out, so we just decided to give them the exclusive. They paid a pretty penny for those photos. Phil and I decided to give it all to charity."
Angelica slumped down on the kitchen floor, overwhelmed by this new information.
"Wow…ok…so...congratulations! I'm happy for you! Shocked, but happy….Did we miss anything else? Are you pregnant, too?"
Susie laughed. "No, nothing all that exciting happened while you were gone. Tommy and Lil got a puppy. His name is Copper."
"Oh," said Angelica, losing interest. "Anything else?"
Chuck leaned over Angelica to grab a juice glass from the cabinet. "Hey, Suze."
"Chuck says hi."
"Tell him I said hi back…no that's it. Oh. Well, I guess Kimi is apparently going to move to Japan."
"WHAT?"
"To do this art fellowship. And you know, discover her heritage. And to "re-live history and become one with the East" or something like that. And Dil might drop out of school and go with her."
"Are you SERIOUS? All this happened while I was gone?"
"Hey, a lot can happen in a week."
"Apparently. Where are you guys now? Still in Hawaii?"
"Until Saturday, yeah."
"Lunch date soon?"
"Sure."
"Ok, I think I'm going to lie down a while and process this all. Talk to you later."
"Later."