An online novel by Gillette Edmunds

“My, you take a long shower,” Barbara said when Michael came out of the bathroom.

“Oh, I was just playing around in there,” he said. He had no idea how long he had been in the shower. He felt red faced and steamy. His hands were not shaking but somewhere inside he still felt vibrating fear.

“Playing around with what,” she asked.

“None of your business,” he said.

“For that, you can go to hell, you know.”

“Yeah, and where do they send Sonya and Charlie for what they’ve been doing”

“They send them to the guillotine?”

“No, this is France. There is no penalty for adultery in this country.”

“Ok, eat your breakfast,” she said. “I need to go shopping with your money.”

They bought a map and for the first time left the Rue du Bac-St.Germain area without a guide or tour bus. There were clothes shops all over Paris, but Barbara and Cynthia Norton had found one somewhere across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower to which Barbara wanted to return. Barbara did not know the name of the shop or of the street it was on but she was sure she could find it again.

As they walked, Michael noticed men standing at shiny chrome bars inside the cafes. Most were drinking small cups of coffee though some had glasses of wine or glasses of a creamy brown liquid in front of them. There were no women standing with them. With the tour, Michael had only seen the outdoor sections of these cafes and now he was very curious to stand at a bar like a local.

Barbara led him to her shop, though it was nearly an hour’s walk as they constantly stopped to check the map and followed an indirect route going first to the Eiffel Tower and then crossing the Seine via the Pont d’lena as she and Cynthia had done.