She tried again and again but the car didn’t respond. It was time to use all her problem-solving skills in order to catch her flight on time. It was going to take about two hours to get to the airport and she was forced to go by car.
– My car is broken. Could you pick me up, please?
The mechanic showed up after a while and took her to the rental agency.
– I’m going to pay by an American credit card. Is that ok?
The receptionist was completely lost in her eyes while saying:
– Yes, no problem.
Litz left her car’s keys to the mechanic and got the new car from the receptionist. Now she needed to rush to the airport.
Her mobile switched off in the middle of the way. Of course she didn’t have a paper map. Who would own a paper map anymore? She should have bought that stupid Chinese portable charger. She stopped at the highway border and asked directions to an old local woman. The woman turned to be reliable because soon she was parking her rental car (too late she realized she had parked at an Executive spot).
The gate was still open when she showed up. She could finally sip her deserved Chardonnay on the plane. The weekend had just started and Paris was waiting for her.
It took her a few changes to catch the right metro line, the network of the city was huge. Then she waited in the line to check in at the wonderful Generator hostel. The guy was Italian, so things went smoothly and she even got free breakfast. The room was empty except for a couple of people sleeping. A handsome Latin guy came in just after her, undressed in a very exhibitionist way and went in bed half naked. She resisted the temptation to dive into his bed and instead arranged her meetings for the day after. A late breakfast at Holibelly 5, in the lively 10th neighborhood and a quick lunch at La Felicità, the newest food hall in Paris for Italian cuisine.
Espresso at Holibelly 5 was awful, but their luxurious pancakes with whip cream and fresh fruit sweeted her morning. Lola, her Chinese friend, had to rush to the airport to fly to Helsinki for a romantic trip, so Litz took her way alone toward François Mitterand National Library.
The stereotype of the Parisian guy was waiting for her in front of the food hall. Casual but elegant, with a malicious yet educated eye contact, her old friend Yves introduced her to the new restaurant. She wouldn’t have expected fresh pasta to be so good out of Italy, but maybe she was distracted by the charme of Italian guys serving food. She didn’t even get the French words the cashier was saying and Yves had to speak for her. It was embarrassing, as she used to speak French fluently.
Yves brought her to his top floor office and showed her around drinking coffee. Then he asked her to join the company. She refused, she had a better ongoing offer. She left the amazing building and took a walk alone along the Seine back to the hostel. A quick change to a trendier look and she was drinking Martini on the rooftop bar.
A younger girl sat next to her. She was cute. Short brown hair, sporty and super skinny. They looked to each other, then the girl took the stage dancing a 90’s hit in front of everybody. Litz liked her, but a guy came to ask the girl out before the two could even speak to each other. Going away, she was only able to whisper on Litz’ ear:
– See you later.
A few minutes later another girl sat next to Litz at the bar. Tall, blonde and curvy. She wore a long dress as Litz did (always a smart decision for women alone at parties during hot season).
– Hey, nice to meet you. My name’s Anna. Are you here alone as well?
She asked sipping her gin tonic.
– I’m Litz. Nice to meet you! Yes, I’m here alone too.
They ended their cocktails and decided to have dinner together. Eating entrecôtes with a glass of French wine, the two discovered to be both job quitters and full-time travelers.
Litz never saw the previous girl again. However, she spent the whole weekend in Paris with Anna and they have been good friends since then.
