Friday, February 8, 2013

Le modèle français

Image source: Ammar Abd Rabbo
It is day 8 of the 30 minus 2 days of writing hosted by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese.  Today's prompt is "French".  Visit Nicky's page to see what the other long-suffering participants have written.

The plane landed in Paris, and after a long flight,  Sylvie was tired and longed for a hot bath.  Awed by the ornate fixtures, she checked into her five-star hotel.

"Bonjour Madame, comment allez-vous?"

"Je vais bien, merci.  Et vous?"

"Sera Mademoiselle besoin d'une clé ou deux?"

"Une, S'il vous plaît.  Sylvie followed the bellman to her room.  "Merci monsieur."  She tipped him and closed the door.   The years of French lessons she had taken in preparation for this had paid off.


After drawing a hot bath, she poured a glass of the chilled champagne that had been waiting for her.   She slipped into the tub, luxuriating in the steaming lavender scented water.  As she soaked she thought about what brought her to Paris.

She was participating in Fashion Week, and her boyfriend would be arriving tomorrow, hence the champagne she was enjoying.  This was the opportunity of a lifetime.  At the last minute Monique was struck with appendicitis, and required emergency surgery.   Although models are usually very competitive, Sylvie was genuinely sorry for her friend.

After two years of serving as backup, she finally got her chance.  She would impress them with her grace and poise.  She would pause at the end of the runway, turn and throw a dazzling smile at her boyfriend, her very rich boyfriend, Francois.

Afterward they would stroll along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées...one of the most romantic places in Paris.  They would stop beneath the lamp post, the soft glow adding to the ambiance.  He turned, his dark eyes searching her face.  "Sylvie, voulez-vous..."

Her cell phone was ringing, drawing her away from her thoughts.

"Bonjour?"

"Sylvia, where are you?  Wait, did you just say 'bonjour'?  Did you forget our bridge game?  Howard is already here."

Sylvia yawned and shook her head.  "I'm sorry Jan, I must have fallen asleep on the couch.  I just had the oddest dream.   It was so real.
"



17 comments:

  1. Well better to have un reve than un cauchemar I always say.

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  2. She had to know it was just un reve.... she didn't need that second key. ;-)

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  3. I hope that she got to finish her dream later!!!

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  4. If one is going to dream...dreaming of being in Paris is a good one.

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  5. From Paris to playing bridge. Sounds like she got hosed, eh?

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  6. That would be a dream for me - going to Fashion Week. *sighs*

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  7. Fashion Week? That's quite the dream. :) If it were my dream, I'd be drinking absinthe and taking black and white photos of Paris...

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  8. Hey Linda! Wow, my French was better than I thought. This made perfect sense =) Indigo

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  9. I'm impressed that you included the accents where needed. I often give up trying to find them on my keyboard.

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  10. This was great, Linda! Dreaming of Fashion Week in Paris and a handsome Frenchman... please don't ever wake me up!

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  11. Strange, I also had a dream about Sylvie in the bath. It had a much happier ending, though.

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  12. OH WOW you got me! That is a FANTASTIC ending to a wonderful, engaging story!

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  13. What a lovely story with a nice twist for an end. For some reason, seeing the name "Howard" at the end of the story makes Sylvia's waking life seem especially mundane and jarring. I think it has something to do with the lyrical quality of all the French words that were spoken before it.

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  14. I'm very impressed with your French!

    Nice dream - isn't it sad that you can never continue them the next night?

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  15. nonamedufus- I agree!

    Hilary- Maybe, but he was't arriving until the next day.

    laughingmom- Unfortunately that doesn't usually happen.

    Cheryl- Paris would be a very good dream.

    P.J.- Yep, that's why it's a dream.

    Tami- Just going to Paris would be a dream for me.

    Ziva- I'd be drinking Champagne and indulging in a sumptious brunch buffet.

    Indigo- I'm glad. I used my memory, a good French language site, and Google translate. It's all in using the tools.

    Mike- I am guilty of some cut and paste - my keyboard doesn't have them either.

    Nicky- Glad you liked it. I'll turn the alarm off for you.

    MikeWJ- Why am I not surprised!

    Katherine- Thank you so much!

    KZ- I used the name to enhance the ordinary life she lived. That's why in the dream she was Sylvie and in real life she was Sylvia.

    Anji- I had some help. My 3 years of French was a little rusty.

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  16. C'est la Vie! Back to the real world.

    I liked the story:~)

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  17. Sara- Thanks. I love to write twists into my stories.

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