Plus: A Fantasy

Books by J.T. Cooper

VIRAL

RUNNING

PLUS: A FANTASY

J.T. Cooper

Let’s pretend . . .

Plus: A Fantasy

©2020 J.T. Cooper

ISBN 978-0-578-65185-9

April 2020

Published by J.T.Cooper

Distributed by IngramSpark

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photo-copy, recording, or any other—except brief quotation in reviews, without the prior permission of the author or publisher.

This is a work of fiction, a product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, and locales is entirely coincidental.

FICTION / Romantic/ Humorous

For all my wise women

PLUS: A FANTASY

J. T. Cooper

Rachel Bowman snapped yet another photo of a sidewalk café:  gaudy umbrellas, bored waiters, bobbing pigeons. Every picture was proof that she’d actually been to Paris. She’d dreamed about the trip for years, but there’d never been enough money. At one point she’d even considered the dozens of brochures that promoted sponsoring high school foreign language trips as a means of getting there, although she couldn’t imagine exploring Paris as a chaperone with her French students. Instead, she’d squeezed every penny she could from her teacher’s salary and finally made it happen.

All week she’d immersed herself in the city, loving its beauty and energy, absorbing the sights and culture. She’d bought trinkets to take back to her classroom. She’d practiced her French with native speakers. She’d loved every moment, but she couldn’t help thinking how much better the week would’ve been if she hadn’t come alone. She wasn’t the only twenty-six-year-old woman in the world without a boyfriend or husband, but it felt that way. What was Romantic Paris without romance? Still, the week had been too short, and she wasn’t one bit ready to go home to Ohio.

As the sun set, she walked toward the Pont Neuf. She’d visit it once more and then find a small restaurant, one where she didn’t feel self-conscious about eating alone, and then she’d go back to the hotel. Maybe she’d buy a bottle of wine to drink while she packed. It seemed like a very French thing to do.

She strolled onto the bridge, her favorite one, with its stone faces and little niches. It was late enough for most Parisians to have gone home for the day but too early for them to be out for the evening. Maybe she’d have Pont Neuf to herself so she could gaze at the city and river and bid adieu to Paris.

But it was difficult to find any place in Paris that was deserted even in August when so many Parisians were out of town. A couple passed her, the woman chic in dark slacks and white blouse, the man handsome and attentive. Rachel sighed. The entire world traveled in couples, except for fat girls. And she wondered for the hundredth time whether she should’ve married John Shumate, the nice, ordinary boy she’d dated in college, the one she’d rejected because she’d thought there had to be more to life than three kids and an SUV. If you’d married him, you would’ve missed Paris, said a voice inside her head. John Shumate would’ve wanted his vacations at Myrtle Beach.

Rachel clicked another picture. Maybe the trip hadn’t lived up to every expectation, but she’d always have Paris, wouldn’t she? She laughed at herself.

Chapter One

The cabbie said, "Merci, monsieur," and I exited the taxi. All of it came back to me:  the bitter, the sweet, the intoxicating. Paris was still as heady as it’d been twenty years ago. Ahead of me stood the grand, haughty edifice that was home to Sylvestri, the ultimate in Parisian haute couture. It also housed the ultimate couturier, Sébastien Fel. I squared my shoulders, took a long breath, and entered the building.

Oh, I am glad to see you, Edgar. Madame Pauline’s English, usually as impeccable as her inevitable black suits, had slipped through her emotional cracks. She sounded like a Brit mimicking a bad French accent, similar to that inspector in the old Pink Panther films. I’d rather liked those flicks.

I sat in a chair by her desk, but she remained standing. Now, Polly, I said. Don’t take on so. What’s wrong with Sébastien? I could hardly understand you on the phone. Actually, she’d mumbled and ranted so incomprehensibly that I’d given up and said I’d jump on the first Eurostar leaving London. And here I was, in Paris, dressed in clothes I’d reckoned appropriate for an asylum, a funeral, or a visit to a Parisian jail. It was always about clothes with Sébastien.

He won’t come out of his studio, she said. "And there are no sketches, nothing. The workshop has nothing to do; the vendeuses complain. He has appointments; he does not keep them. Dumont keeps asking about him. What can I say?" Madame Pauline looked heavenward, perhaps an indicator of spiritual disturbance, but more likely a nod to Dumont, CEO of the House of Sylvestri, rather than God, even if it was easy to confuse the two.

I shrugged like a Frenchman, a mannerism I picked up during the years I’d lived in Paris. With Sébastien. He’ll sketch eventually, Polly. You know Sébastien. He procrastinates, but inspiration always strikes. She glared at me, her crow-feather brows raised nearly to her hairline. It was the look that sent seasoned seamstresses and pattern makers scattering like startled chickens.

My dear Edgar, she started, her words now so measured and her accent so controlled that she could’ve been an Oxford don. It is September. After Fashion Week he took two weeks and went to Martinique. She waved an elegant hand. Understandable after all the excitement, after all the publicity saying this was his most incredible collection ever. Fussed as she was, Polly couldn’t say those words without a swift chin-lift. And then he comes back. It usually takes him a few days; as you say, Sébastien does procrastinate. She gave a shrug similar to mine. Maybe I’d learned the art of shrugging from Polly. We’d all been thick as thieves back then. "And now it has been weeks. Nothing. Rien."

I didn’t know what I was supposed to do about it. Sébastien and I had met twenty years ago, back when he’d been the Boy Wonder at Valenciana. We’d shared a flat and had a happy time of it for ten years, an unprecedented feat of monogamy for Sébastien Fel. Then it had ended. We’d emailed a few times, called occasionally, and shared a meal or two when I happened to be in Paris. We were amicable, but I was no longer an influence. I doubt I ever was. I looked at Polly. She’d witnessed those halcyon years as the genius of Valenciana’s workshop, rising from a teen-aged seamstress to the top. Sébastien had spirited her away from Valenciana when he left. She was his Première d’atelier, his right hand, and maybe his left. If Madame Pauline couldn’t do anything with Sébastien, I certainly couldn’t. I don’t know what I can do, I said.

She pointed in the direction of Sébastien’s studio. He’s been locked in there for three days, she said. She was actually wringing her hands. I’d read that expression, even used it in a couple of my books, but I’d never actually seen it. He hasn’t gone home, eaten, anything. A massive shrug. I wonder if he’s ill, she said. I knock and knock. Sometimes he tells me to go away. Sometimes, nothing. I noticed a bit of gray in Polly’s black hair. I would’ve thought she’d dye it away, but it was there:  a tribute to years of Sébastien. Sometimes, she whispered, I hear him moan. At the last word, she placed her hand on her heart, more like an overwrought peasant than chief assistant to a top-drawer couturier.

So you want me to roust him from his lair, I said, thinking how much I’d prefer to be back in London, dozing through a warm afternoon. All right, Polly. I’ll try. She nodded and kept twisting her hands.

I walked across the hall to the office outside Sébastien’s studio. A massive door guarded the anteroom of the master of fashion. His current guardian, or clerk, was nowhere in sight. Another door, equally ornate and impressive, protected Genius from mere humans. I knocked. Sébastien, I called out. Let me in.

No response. Perhaps he’d sneaked out in the dead of night and gone home to wallow in creative dyspepsia. How would Polly know? Even if he’d been locked up for as long as Polly said, I wasn’t particularly worried. As I recalled, Sébastien’s studio had a refrigerator, microwave, and full bar. He even had a fully-equipped bathroom and a closet full of black clothes. I was more annoyed than anxious. Sébastien, you’re worrying Polly. Unlock the door.

Not a peep. When we’d lived together, I’d called him a diva at least once a week, and he obviously hadn’t changed. I sighed. What would convince Sébastien to open his bloody door? I looked over my shoulder, expecting Polly to be hovering in the hall, but she wasn’t. And at this point I was too exasperated to care if she heard. Come on, Gumby, I said, using the pet name I’d called him when we were in love. I’ve come all the way to Paris on that damnable train for you. The least you can do is open the door.

I waited. There was a soft noise, and then I heard the lock click. I pushed the door open to gloom, heavy drapes blocking the bright afternoon. All I could make out was Sébastien’s back. He moved away from me, knelt, and, at precisely the center of his fabulously expensive Aubusson, reclined on his stomach, arms outstretched like he was rehearsing crucifixion.

I nudged the bottom of his slipper with my shoe. Are we doing a monk’s penance, a squire’s knighting, or Christ Himself?

He groaned.

I stepped over him. He was still as skinny as a whip and probably flexible as one too, thus the nickname I’d given him years ago. He wore silk pajamas, more than likely vintage Chinese. Frustrated by the dim light, I strode over and threw open the drapes as well as a window or two. The breeze outside was hot and full of Parisian fumes but smelled better than the fusty air in Sébastien’s studio. He neither moved nor spoke.

I settled into a chair and looked at his right hand, an elegant, long-fingered masterpiece of sinews and bones. I remembered how beautiful I’d always thought his hands, once he’d quit biting his nails. I peered at his fingertips:  bitten to the quick, nearly every one of them. What’s the problem, Sébastien? A bit blocked, are we? Or is this a love tantrum? His head moved, disturbing his unruly dark hair, still all but black, even though he’d just turned forty-five. I always remembered his birthdate. Gumby, I tried again. Polly is twisted up in knots, and I came all this way to see you. Talk to me.

In a sudden and, as was usual with Sébastien, graceful move, he swiveled his body until he sat, still posed at the center of the carpet with his bony legs bent, tailor-style. He shook his head. I can’t design, he said. I have no ideas.

His hair might still be dark, but the stubble glistening on his bony, ascetic face was silver. Dark circles ringed his eyes, but they were still magnificent. Dark, liquid.

Everyone gets blocked now and then, I said.

Even you? He looked down his aristocratic, and beaky, nose.

Even I. I knew what he thought of my books, my nice little murder mysteries that pleased people enough for me to earn a living and a rather good one at that. Trivial, he’d once called them when we were having an exuberant row that ended with thrown drinks and slammed doors. I usually write through them. It comes. Eventually.

He raised a hand and pointed to his desk. Surrounding it like a fall of giant hail were dozens of wadded paper balls. I tried that. He looked down. I remembered that you did that. It was as close to a compliment as he’d ever given my work.

Sometimes music or paintings. . . I started.

He cut me off with a flourish of his hand. It was Fashion Week. I cannot get past it, he said.

But the reviews were fabulous, I said. If I’d been a snide person, which I generally am not, I wouldn’t have admitted to reading his reviews. But I always have. I search for print that speaks of Sébastien. They loved those odd, high-tech clothes, I said. "I thought they looked like rejects from a Star Wars movie, but you’ve never had such a glowing response, even back in the day." An expression my nephew uses that I’ll never understand. Back in what day?

Luckily he chose to ignore my comment about alien fashion. Lifting himself from the floor like a cat, he went to an elegant armoire on the other side of the room. Drink?

Yes, please.

Still bourbon? He pronounced it the French way even though we’d been speaking in English. He always insisted upon English, complaining that my French sounded like sucking sewers.

Yes.

Holding two glasses, my bourbon and gin and lime for him, he shuffled back and collapsed into the chair opposite me. That’s the problem, Eddie:  the old cliché. What have you done for me lately? He took a long drink. If the Fall/Winter collection had been mediocre or just passable, or even, God forbid, bad, then I would be fine. But it was magnificent. How do I follow that?

I sipped. It was a familiar feeling. Recently the reviewers had been saying things like formulaic and passé about my books. One had even gone so far as to accuse me of being in my dotage. For God’s sake, I was only fifty-six. I too needed something spectacular but doubted I could summon the imagination or the energy to write it. So you’re competing with yourself.

He nodded. Of course. The Galaxy Collection was genius. The next one must be spectacular as well. He looked across the room. Some compared me to Pauli.

If Sébastien had a hero other than himself, it was Kristof Pauli, God of Fashion, who’d held that post for decades. Arbiter of taste, genius of design, Pauli sat atop a mountain of successful collections and was revered by everyone, even if he was Italian. Quite a compliment. I lifted my glass.

I need another twenty years of perfection before I come close to Pauli, he said. But, he shook his head, it will not happen if I lose my inspiration.

There was nothing wrong with Sébastien’s self-image. I thought a moment. You could do something retro like Jackie O. You know, outlandish pillbox hats and a new take on sheaths. Or, and I had to snicker at my wit, you could channel Chanel.

He blinked at me.

I suppose not. I thought for a moment. Country gardens? Africa? Recycled hippie chic?

He continued blinking. I was running out of steam. Retro Princess Di ruffles?

You’re embarrassing yourself, Sébastien said in a voice that could’ve sent snow to the Sahara.

He gulped the rest of his gin, and I took secret pleasure in watching his throat as he swallowed. I truly had loved him. Back in the damned day. I finished my drink as well and stood. I doubt that inspiration is going to hit when you’re hiding in a cave. Get cleaned up, take a walk. Later on, we’ll have a nice dinner. He’d said nothing about me staying with him, nor had I expected it. I need to get a room. I came here straight away.

He mumbled, Nine? At the Royale? You really think it will come?

I nodded. Some food, some wine. Genius will prevail. I paused at the door. In a painful fit of generosity I said, Perhaps you need a new person in your life. An inspiring lover?

He quirked an ironic eyebrow. I think not.

🎕

Rachel had walked dozens of miles the last week; enough, she hoped, to counteract the dozens of pastries and croissants she’d eaten. She grinned to herself. All those glorious, creamy desserts. All those yummy pommes frites. Eating was part of the Parisian experience too, wasn’t it? Her hand went to the button on her jeans. Yep, they were tight. She supposed that five pounds could count as a souvenir of Paris.

She lingered on the bridge, sitting in a niche, watching people pass by. Finally she stood and leaned over the bridge’s lip to peer down at the river, green and lazy. Down the way, she saw one of the cruise boats, similar to the one she’d ridden as an introduction to Paris. She sniffed, smelling river and heat and Paris. When would she ever accumulate enough money to come again? Her mother, who’d given up on Rachel ever marrying, said that she ought to be saving for a little house or a condo. Settling down, her mother said. Settling, was what Rachel heard. She switched her gaze to the bridge itself and immediately started trotting. Near the other end, a man, a very tall man, had climbed upon the ledge and was perched there, holding onto a lamppost with one arm. His gaze was concentrated upon the Seine below. Dear Lord, was he going to jump?

Her mind skittered through her verbs. Sir, she exclaimed in French as she ran. Don’t swim! That wasn’t right, but she couldn’t remember the French for jump.

She raced to him, ready to grab his leg or something, although she doubted she could save him. He paid no attention to her repeated babbling about life being good, suicide a foolish solution, and all sorts of platitudes in an incoherent mix of French and English.

He didn’t jump, but he didn’t climb down to the sidewalk either. Rachel turned to see if any passersby might help, but, wouldn’t you know it, there wasn’t another soul on the bridge. Please, sir. Come down. She was pretty sure her French was correct on those phrases. She held her hands up to him.

Slowly, slowly he turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. He was an older man, maybe forty or fifty, with dark, wavy hair falling nearly to his shoulders. For God’s sake, speak English, he said in a level voice. You’re murdering my language.

In a flash, Rachel switched from concern to anger. How dare he? Last year she’d won the award for foreign language teacher of the year in Hollister County, Ohio. Of course there were only three foreign language teachers in the entire county. She frowned at him. His English wasn’t exactly pure either, and it sounded more British than American. She started to move away. Anybody that insulting could off himself and be welcome to it.

He moved to a crouch and jumped off the ledge onto the sidewalk, catching up to Rachel and touching her arm. A moment, he said, staring at her when she turned her head.

She gave him her teacher’s look, a long, steady stare that intimidated all but her most incorrigible freshmen. The man’s eyes raked her face, traveled down her body, and came back to her eyes. She was perturbed. What? The guy was probably some wacked out sex maniac who’d escaped from an asylum. He was dressed nicely, though, in skinny black jeans and a black shirt. Silk, she guessed. What? she repeated.

The skin, he murmured. And the hair. His brows drew together. Titian. Raphael. He made a little humming noise. Renaissance, yes. Of course.

Rachel backed away.

Shirred silk. Draping. Jewels and tapestries. He lifted his chin and peered down his long nose at her. Rubens. Ah, yes. Leda. Don’t go.

I believe I will. She took another backward step. My friends are waiting for me, she lied.

No, no. He shook his head. I’m Sébastien Fel.

So? It meant nothing to her, and she wasn’t about to tell him her name.

The designer, he said. Sylvestri.

She had heard of Sylvestri. Maybe she’d sniffed a sample of their perfume from a department store catalog. Okay.

He took a step toward her. Your coloring. Stunning. A puff of hot wind stirred his hair. I must know your name. He held up his hands like he was showing her that he could be trusted. Please.

She felt her cheeks turn pink. Rachel, she mumbled.

Rachel? Raquel. Lovely. He smiled, and it was one damned charming smile, but Rachel didn’t return it.I have startled you. I’m sorry. He gestured toward the river. I was not going to jump, although I was very sad. He put a hand on his chest. I was in despair. Have you ever despaired?

Nutcase. Complete and total, but he seemed harmless, and it was a good story for the teacher’s lounge. She shook her head.

Good. It puts wrinkles on the face, and your skin is so fine.

Rachel’s insides started twisting up. She’d never been good with compliments.

You see, I had no inspiration. He hung his head. But now, he brightened, I have Raquel. I have my muse.

He grabbed her hand, raised it to his lips. That felt pretty damned strange. You must dine with me and my old friend Edgar. I must look at you. He tried to smile again, a little twitch of his lips that wasn’t very reassuring. I frighten you.

You’ve got that right, Rachel thought. No, I don’t think so.

Forgive me, Raquel. I apologize. Edgar will explain. I want only to see you, nothing. . . . He searched for a word.

So used to helping her students, Rachel said without thinking, Sinister?

His lips twitched again, and he squeezed her left hand. Yes, but of course, sinister. I’ll get a taxi and we’ll go to your hotel. He added quickly, I’ll stay in the lobby while you change, and then we’ll meet Edgar. He looked at his watch. "If we are early then we’ll have an apéritif, and I will sketch. I must sketch. Please say yes."

Somehow or the other Rachel found herself in a cab with him. Sébastien, for that’s what he said she must call him, commented that he’d never heard of her hotel, which was no surprise. It’s cheap, she admitted. The room’s tiny, and the elevator wheezes. But I’m a teacher. No money.

He nodded, but she wasn’t sure he’d paid attention to a word she’d said. He kept searching her face like she had spinach between her teeth.

At street level, her hotel was no bigger than a bathroom at McDonald’s. Most people wouldn’t realize it existed. Sébastien frowned and told the cabbie to wait. As they entered the tiny lobby, Sébastien nodded at the female desk clerk and said to Rachel, Nothing too grand. We eat simply tonight.

As if she’d brought anything grand, Rachel thought. She’d planned to eat dinner in her jeans. But the desk clerk’s eyes widened at the sight of Sébastien, and the fact that she recognized him made Rachel realize that maybe he really was someone famous, at least in Paris. It also made her feel more secure. Maybe he truly was a Great Designer rather than one of those sex traffickers they wrote about in the tabloids. She wouldn’t know; she paid no attention to fashion. But what would he want with her? She was overweight and bought most of her clothes off the clearance racks at Penney’s. He was crazy, but it was a fun sort of crazy. And she liked hearing that she was an inspiration.

After a slow trip on the asthmatic hotel elevator, she whipped off her jeans and changed into her utility black skirt, which was buried under stacks of maps, brochures, and postcards littering the twin bed she didn’t use. She’d have to pack all this clutter tonight, she thought, but in the meantime, she tried to shake the creases out of the skirt. She hadn’t worn it all week but had packed it, just in case. Yeah, well, this was the case. The only clean top she had left was an aqua blouse, fake silk and as wrinkled as the skirt. She’d planned to wear the blouse on the plane tomorrow because it was loose and comfortable. At least it hid the muffin top around her waist. The Great Designer was going to be thinking makeover rather than inspiration when he saw her in this. She jammed her feet into black sandals and spent two minutes fluffing her impossible hair and dabbing on a little makeup. He had remarked that her skin was fine. Grimacing at herself in the mirror, she saw plain old Rachel Bowman:  plump, dowdy, and friendly.

Downstairs, Sébastien was pacing the lobby like a jail cell and ignoring the flushed desk clerk who was also dowdy but not plump. No one in Paris was plump. The clerk pointed a dubious look at Rachel as if to say, what are you doing with this icon of French creativity? Rachel gave her an insincere smile. Where are we going now? she asked Sébastien.

The Royale, he replied. A nostalgic place for Edgar and me. They got into the cab. We ate there often when we were together.

Okay, Rachel told herself, he’s gay. It didn’t bother her; as a matter of fact, this made her feel better. She’d been friends with several gay guys back in college. One or two, not quite ready for full disclosure, had even used her as a decoy when their parents wanted to meet a girlfriend. Good old Rachel.

Edgar, the ex-lover, was nothing like she expected. For one thing, he was older, much older than Sébastien, and he was British with a ruddy complexion that screamed that he’d spent too many hours out on the misty moors or inside a pub. But he had old-fashioned manners and a friendly smile. She liked him immediately. After the encounter on the bridge when he was trying to ingratiate himself, Sébastien hadn’t smiled once.

Champagne, he barked at the waiter.

Oh, Lord, Rachel thought. She’d already had two drinks while they waited for Edgar, Sébastien sketching like a madman the entire time. She’d get sloshed if she wasn’t careful. Turning to Edgar, she asked what he did for a living or if he just tooled around in his castle. Her face went pink when she realized what she’d said. Maybe she was already sloshed.

He smiled. No castle, I fear. Just a flat in London and a little holiday shack in Cornwall where I’m from.

Sébastien snorted. The shack has six bedrooms, Raquel. And stables and a glorious garden.

Edgar lifted a hand. But not a castle.

Rich, then. It was too, too Tacky American to ask whether he’d made his money making PBS specials or managing Harrod’s or whether he was an obscure relation to the royal family. She didn’t think he was an aging rock star.

Edgar rescued her. "I