May 15, 1974

Today marked exactly two weeks since Victoria had accepted Pascal's offer to work alongside him at the flea market, and, much to her surprise, everything had gone well thus far. Pascal had been right- interacting with customers every day and trying to make a sale provided Victoria with the practice she needed to continue building on her French. In just the last few days alone, she had already managed to improve her accent as well as her communication skills. Pascal gave her all of the credit for this, insisting his initial impression of her being a fast learner had been right, but the truth was he was an excellent teacher. He encouraged Victoria to keep studying her textbooks and never once laughed at her when she made a mistake or pronounced a word wrong. Sometimes he would even offer to help her outside of work, which Victoria deeply appreciated. She had grown fonder of him in two weeks than she ever imagined possible.

During this time, she had also come to learn a bit more about Pascal's background. It turned out he lived with his mother and father just a few miles north from her school, and was an only child. His mother, Claudine, worked as a nurse in a small hospital, and his father, Bernard, owned a newspaper stand on the Champs-Élysées. Neither of them made much money, but they were a close family. The flowers Pascal sold at the flea market were from his grandfather's shop in the city. He'd been working under him for years now, trying to save up enough money for college so that his parents wouldn't have to worry. Victoria admired his compassion. The more time they spent talking to each other, the more Pascal's good heart became apparent to her.

Earlier today, Victoria's roommate had invited her to a gathering at one of the local taverns. Apparently a big group of students was planning to meet there later tonight for drinks and a good time, and she thought it would be the perfect opportunity for Victoria to meet some new friends. Victoria had agreed to go under one condition- she'd be allowed to bring a plus one. As soon as Bernadette gave her the green light, Victoria went to Pascal with the invitation. He accepted, knowing it would comfort Victoria to have at least one familiar face at the party.

The walk to the tavern was much longer than Bernadette had originally let on. By the time they arrived there, Victoria's feet were already aching. Scanning the bar for other people her age, she was able to pick out at least twenty art students. All of them seemed to know each other, and Victoria silently prayed Pascal would come to her rescue soon. Social gatherings were not her strong suit, and, while she had been fairly extroverted as a child, Victoria's recent experiences had caused her to retreat inward. The next fifteen minutes were a complete blur. Bernadette had managed to introduce her to every single person in the room in a hasty, overexcited manner that ensured that Victoria wouldn't remember a single face or name by the end of the night.

Just as she was beginning to suspect Pascal had forgotten her invitation, Victoria felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized before leaning in to kiss her cheek. It was an innocent gesture, so Victoria allowed it.

"I was beginning to think I'd have to navigate this party alone," she said.

"Maman needed help with the groceries," Pascal explained, "I would never stand you up."

He was such a gentleman, Victoria thought. And a momma's boy- he was always running errands for his mother and helping her out at home anytime he got the chance.

"I'm a fish out of water here," Victoria admitted as she gazed at the people around her. Almost everyone was speaking French, drinking, and telling stories she couldn't pick up on.

"You're doing great. It will get easier once you start your classes, I promise."

It was as if everything word that came out of his mouth had been carefully chosen to reassure her. Victoria didn't know how he did it, but Pascal had a way of making her feel at ease in any setting. She hoped his confidence would eventually rub off on her.

"Care to join me for a drink?" he asked. Despite the blaring music, Victoria was somehow able to make out his words.

"Yeah, sure."

She allowed Pascal to lead the way, taking his hand to prevent herself from getting mixed up in the crowd and losing sight of him. Once they made it to the bar, Pascal ordered a beer for himself before turning to Victoria for her order.

"Club soda will be fine, thanks."

Pascal relayed the order to the bartender before taking a seat on one of the bar stools as they waited. Victoria joined him.

"You don't drink?" he asked curiously.

Victoria shook her head. She was very wary of alcoholic beverages, preferring to keep her wits about her should she find herself in a dangerous situation.

When the bartender returned with their drinks, Pascal covered the cost for both of them.

Victoria gave him a knowing look, "You shouldn't have."

"I wanted to."

"You know, I've been reading about these beautiful vineyards in one of my Paris books and I was thinking maybe we could go visit one this weekend. Have you ever been?"

Pascal cocked an eyebrow.

Victoria knew it was a bold invitation, and she immediately regretted having worked up the nerve to suggest it in the first place. Neither of them had hung out together outside the flea market or campus library, and all of their meetings thus far had been rooted in Pascal helping Victoria get adjusted to her new life in Paris.

"I haven't," he answered finally, "but I would love to go with you."

The immediate wave of relief that washed over Victoria was overwhelming. For a moment she was afraid she'd somehow ruined things between them.

"Really?"

"Yes," he laughed.

More and more people were beginning to fill up the tavern and, as the hours went by, it became apparent that the crowd had evolved. Most of the students, including Bernadette and her friends, were still there but there were much more older folk now than there were when Victoria first got there. A large crowd was beginning to form at the bar- there was pushing and shoving and plenty of yelling. It didn't help that the music seemed to playing even louder now than it'd been playing before.

Victoria reached over to take another sip of her drink, but when the liquid touched her tongue she immediately scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"What is it?" Pascal asked, unable to mask his concern.

"Nothing, this just… this isn't my club soda. It tastes awful."

Pascal leaned over to peek at the contents, "It's probably vodka."

Victoria let out a laugh, "I hate it."

"I see you as more of a red wine connoisseur," Pascal quipped.

"Hmm..."

"I think the beers have caught up with me," he continued, getting up from his seat at the bar. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be back soon."

As soon as he left, Victoria started to feel strange. A horrible dizzying feeling came over her and everything in her field of vision turned blurry. She struggled to keep her eyes open but was finding it more and more difficult to maintain her balance on the stool. At one point she was sure she was floating- but a few seconds later she fell, hitting her head on the wooden floor and instantly blacking out.