Amy twirled in front of the mirror appreciating her outfit. She was on vacation with her long-term boyfriend, Mark, in the city of love, Paris. They had been together for three lovely years now, meeting in the last semester of college, they entered their relationship with a sense of accomplishment in life. Good jobs and a year later, they moved in together. Life was quickly moving into all the right boxes and the only thing left was a proposal! She hoped this entire romantic and dream worthy trip would end in her screaming…YES! But lately, she’s been unsure, she felt that their relationship was becoming strained. Mark was acting odd, distant. Maybe he realized she wasn’t that special… She wouldn’t be surprised, French women were incredibly sexy and sure of themselves and she was just… Amy.
Out of the elevator, she searched for Mark, finding him at the reception’s balcony. She quietly approached them, her excitement for their night out dying down as she heard the receptionist’s giggles over something he said, immediately stopping as she noticed Amy there. Mark turned, seeing her, an unmistakable surprised look upon his face. He cleared his throat, glanced quickly at the girl and turned his full attention back to his girlfriend.
“Madame.” He said with a joking smile. She slid her arm in his, quickly glancing back, as they walked out, hopping on a cab and heading to their reservation – a small bistro not too far away.
Seated at their table, she looked at Mark who was concentrating on the menu. She smiled, French was definitely not their forte. She looked back down trying to understand the plates – she definitely didn’t want the escargot situation to happen all over again.
They ordered their food and wine and as they waited Amy picked at the bread mindlessly.
“So…” He started.
She looked up.
“This is our last night here, what did you think of Paris?”
Amy chuckled. “It’s great, obviously!” He smiled.
“I wanted our last night here to be special… because I have something to tell you.”
Amy dropped the piece of bread from her hand. “What?”
“Well, I was talking to John the other day and… ”
Amy swallowed a gulp of wine. “And…?”
“He offered me a placement here.”
Amy stared at him shocked, the silence ticking away. “I don’t understand. You said yes?!”
Mark grinned at her. “Well, yes, but I wanted to talk to you so we could figure things out and-” Amy stopped him, her voice raised and high-pitched. “I can’t believe this! You are trading me for Paris and… and Parisienne women!”
Thrown off by her words, Mark didn’t react quick enough. She threw her cloth napkin at him, quickly getting up and running off. How could he! A turmoil of emotions ran over her as she moved with no direction, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was right, their relationship was over. It was all over. She sobbed, flopping on a bench. She was so stupid ignoring all the obvious signs!
Her phone started vibrating in her bag. She took it out, surprised to see 4 missed calls from Mark. Angry, she picked it up. “WHAT?! You disgusting cheating bastard! You only want to rub it on my face even more, is that it?!”
“Amy..love, you got it all-”
“ASSHOLE!” She yelled before hanging up, surprising a few people nearby. Embarrassed, she looked away, when a dawning realization fell upon her. She would have to see him again! All her stuff was there, passport included, she couldn’t just run off back home. “Shit”, she muttered under her breath.
A few hours passed by, it was almost 12:30 AM. Mark was devastated and frustrated. He called and texted her but after a while it stopped getting delivered. He waited in their room, knowing she would have to come back sometime. She did.
The door was opened very quietly, he thought he was imagining it for a second but it was Amy surreptitiously sneaking in. The flight was tomorrow – in 6 hours actually- and she had to pick up her things and head to the airport.
As she resignedly closed the door behind her, barely making a click, she thought she was in the clear and that the asshole was peacefully asleep. But as she slipped her heels off, Mark cleared his throat, turning the lights on. They stared at each other in awkward silence.
“Amy.” He said, carefully.
“Bastard.” She replied, moving to walk past him.
“Amy. Stop.” He tried again, following her.
“Leave me alone!” She said trying to find her bag, her emotions confusing her. “Shit, where is it?” She muttered angry at herself.
“Listen to me, Amy, I didn’t-” She suddenly turned, staring at him. “I mean, are you even going back tomorrow? Or are you just staying here?!”
Mark sighed getting angry himself. “You are impossible did you know that?!”
Amy scoffed at him, turning her attention back to her suitcase, which she struggled to pick up. SHE was impossible?!
He pulled her by the arm, turning her to look at him the suitcase falling with a loud bang. “I WAS TRYING TO ASK YOU TO STAY. BUT YOU WERE TOO STUBBORN TO HEAR ME OUT. ”
Her shoulders drop. “What? But…”
“I was asking if youd like to stay with me but you jumpped to conclusions!” He said, looking at her in amused desperation.
“Oh..” She muttered, dying of embarrassment. “Oh. Ohh.” A slow smile grew on her lips. “Do you still want to?” She asked afraid her craziness changed his mind.
“Yes, silly”
She hugged him tightly, tears prickling her eyes. He wrappped his arms around her but she suddenly pushed away. “Wait.” She raised her hand. “Why were you always giggling and talking to that girl in the reception?”
He shook his head. “I was planning to celebrate our stay here, if you accepted that is… ”
The End
#AtoZChallenge
