La Vie Est Belle

I met him the Friday after my first week in Paris, at the Tuileries Garden. It was one of my favorite places that I’d seen in Paris so far. The smell of the flowers, the sound of the fountain water, the feeling of the sun beating down softly onto my shoulders; everything about it was just so beautiful.

He’d been lounging in a chair next to the fountain, reading a book. I saw that it was Gatsby le Magnifique. I loved that book so much that I’d read it three times since my sophomore year in high school. I settled down in the seat next to him, and said, “The Great Gatsby, huh?”

He looked up, revealing blue eyes under his light brown hair, slightly tousled in the breeze. He smiled. “Oui- you’re from America, huh?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I'm studying abroad here for the year.”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, sitting up in his chair. “You’re going to love it here. It’s the most beautiful city.”

“Oh, yes, I can tell,” I said. “I can’t wait to see more of it.”

I laid back in my chair. It was silent for a moment, then the boy said, “You will miss your family, no?”

I thought wistfully about my family and friends back home. I already missed them terribly, especially my best friend, Lucas. “Well, you know, I’ll get used to it,” I said.

The truth is, I didn’t know how I could. Back home, Lucas was my everything. We would sit with each other at lunch, study together after school, and hang out on the weekends. Whenever I was sad, he’d know just how to cheer me up. We’d been there for each other ever since we were little kids. Now, in my senior year of high school abroad in Paris, I wouldn't have him by my side. How could I get used to that?

The boy interrupted my thoughts, saying, “At what school are you studying?”

“Oh, you probably haven’t heard of it,” I said. “It’s very small; Marguerite High School?”

His eyes widened and he laughed. “I attend Marguerite!”

“Do you really?” I said, surprised. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Andre," he said. “And you…?”

“Lianna,” I replied with a smile. “I’m a senior.”

“So am I!” he exclaimed. “It’s crazy I haven’t seen you before.”

“Well, I’ve only been here a week,” I said. “There’s a lot of people I haven’t met.”

“Yes, of course,” he nodded. He sat up and put his book away. “I’d love to show you some things in the city, if you’re interested.”

I internally had a sigh of relief. I’d been so worried that I wouldn’t make friends here, but this had been so easy.

He walked me to his car and drove me to see Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. I’d already seen these places, but he was so excited that I decided not to say anything. 

We sat down outside a nearby bakery as the sun began to set. I’d always loved watching the sun set back home in California. Now I was watching it from a completely different setting. Despite the homesick feelings that I’d felt earlier, I now couldn’t help but be in awe of how incredible it was that I’d ended up here in this beautiful city.

I smiled at Andre. “Thanks for showing me all this,” I said, gesturing vaguely out to the city. “I can really imagine feeling at home here.”

“I’m sure you will,” he said with a soft smile. He turned away and looked out at the sky, which was a beautiful pink color in the sunset.

We sat there a little while, enjoying the treats that we’d bought. Then he drove me back to school, and we parted ways.

How simple we were.

From then on, we spent lots of time together. We would read side by side at the park, study together, and go for walks together. His personality intrigued me; he was shy, but he began to confide in me as we got to know each other. He would tell me personal things, the sort of thing that you can only tell a real friend. That’s how I knew that our friendship really meant something. I found myself telling him about my stresses and worries, too, and he would listen intently. He was so sweet and easy to talk to. I’d never had a friend like that before. Even Lucas wasn’t like that; he was more of a talker than a listener, though it never bothered me.

Lucas and I had decided before I left for Paris that we would have monthly FaceTime calls to keep in touch. About a month after my arrival in Paris, at 7:30 pm on a Saturday, which would be 10:30 am in California, Lucas and I had our first call.

I rang him, and he picked up, looking groggy with his hair all messed up. He was shirtless, and it was obvious that he’d just woken up.

Seriously, put on some clothes, I thought, slightly annoyed. I had the hugest crush on Lucas last year, and I’d gotten over it a few months previously, but I couldn’t help it if my heart still jumped a little when I saw him shirtless; which weirdly was pretty often. I guess we were just really comfortable with each other.

“Hey, Lianna,” he said, yawning.

“Hey, lazy,” I said. “It’s 10:30 your time, why are you still in bed?”

“Stop acting like my mom,” he said, sitting up. “So, how’s Paris?”

I told him about how school was here, and about the places I’d visited, and the people I’d met. I considered telling him about Andre, but decided against it. For some reason, I felt like the two boys should stay in separate parts of my life.

When I was done talking, Lucas laid back on his bed and stared up at me from the phone, his expression solemn. My smile melted away and I looked back at him longingly. It felt like he was right here, yet the distance was practically tangible.

“I miss you, Li-li,” he said softly.

I looked away from the phone, then, because it was too much to bear, thinking about how much I missed him. “Li-li” was what he used to call me back when we were children. Nobody else called me that, only him. He never used that nickname anymore, not unless he’s either making a joke or being very serious.

I sighed softly and looked back at him. “I miss you, too.”

Later that night, at about 9 pm, I was in my dorm room, reading, when there was a knock on my door. I put down my book, confused. Why was someone here at this time of night? I opened the door to see Andre with a notebook in his hand.

“It’s so late,” I said. “What are you doing?”

“I wrote something,” he said, his eyes full of excitement.

“Great,” I said, still confused. “And you’re here to…?”

“To share it with you!” he exclaimed in exasperation. He walked in with his jacket still on and sat down on the couch, opening his notebook. “Lianna, listen, I was just sitting by the Eiffel Tower about an hour ago, and it started its hourly sparkling, you know? Wait- have you ever seen the Tower sparkling, actually?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Andre looked so shocked that it made me laugh. He spread his arms in disbelief. “Quel désastre!” He grabbed my arm. “Lianna, you must see it! It’s the most beautiful thing. And-” he handed me his notebook, “- I wrote a poem about it.”

I read his poem slowly. It was filled with beautiful metaphors and similes. It was rich with imagery that left me able to see the Eiffel Tower, to smell the fresh air, to feel the wind blowing softly through my hair. In the poem he’d infused a sense of belonging, a sense of home, something that he would have, living here his whole life. By just reading it, I could feel those feelings seeping into me.

When I finished reading, I looked up at Andre in awe. He smiled shyly. “What do you think?” he asked.

I never thought that I could actually be speechless, but I was. I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at him, Andre, with his beautiful face and beautiful mind. I suddenly felt butterflies, and I knew that everything had changed.

“I think…” I said, trying to think of what I can say to compliment him without making it obvious that I thought he was the most incredible person I’d ever met. “I think that your poem is amazing, and that we should go see the Tower right now.”

“Right now?” he said, his expression not totally surprised.

Another thing about Andre; it was easy to be spontaneous with him. He never really had solid plans. “Yes,” I said, getting up and donning my black coat that hung on a hook by the door.

“Okay,” he said, walking over. “But if you’re going to see it sparkle for the first time, we’re going to do it right.”

Next thing I knew, the two of us were down by the river docks, running towards a tour boat as the last people were boarding. We’d bought last minute tickets for this ride, which was supposed to ride past the Eiffel Tower at exactly 10:00.

There were two levels to the boat, with seats on the lower level. We took two seats close to the window. Andre let me sit closest to the window, saying that he’d seen the city many times already. The tour guide spoke in French, and Andre translated for me.

After about half an hour, the Eiffel Tower came into sight in the distance.

“Let’s go,” I said, jumping up. Feeling warm from excitement, I left my jacket on my seat.

We went upstairs, and I leaned against the railing as I looked out towards the Tower in anticipation. It shone brightly like a star far down the banks of the river. I smiled. If only Lucas could see this, I thought.

I felt Andre’s eyes on me and I turned to see him beaming at me. “What?” I asked, blushing.

“I just love seeing the look on your face,” he expressed. “It’s like I’m seeing it all for the first time through your eyes.”

We locked eyes. For a moment, the only thing in the world was the sound of the water and the wind through his soft brown hair, and us. Then, over the loudspeaker, we heard, “Devant nous se trouve la Tour Eiffel.”

I turned, and there it was, in all its nighttime glory. A magnificent sight, it was shimmering like a golden candle over the city. It looked like it was straight from a fairytale. Andre put an arm around me, and I leaned against him as I gazed up at the Tower.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“It is,” he whispered back.

It began to feel a little chilly, and I shivered. Andre let go of me and began to take off his jacket.

“Oh no, Andre- ” I began to protest.

“I’m not cold, really,” he said, holding out his jacket to me. “I insist.”

I opened my mouth to protest some more, but then I decided that maybe I wanted to wear Andre’s jacket, so I took it and put it on. It smelled like his cologne. I had to turn my head so that he wouldn’t see the goofy smile on my face, but when I looked back towards him, I saw that he was grinning, too.

We started dating later that month, which was September. He wrote more poems about the city, and on the weekends, we would go everywhere. He’d show me all his favorite places, including some less touristy places that only Parisians would really know of. It was great, and after a couple of months, I really started to feel at home there.

A Sunday morning in November, I was in bed when I got a YouTube notification. Lucas had uploaded a new video. It was called “Truth or Pay Me $100”.

In the video, Lucas was at a park, having a picnic with a few friends. Lucas walked up to one of his guy friends, held out his phone like a microphone, and asked, “Out of everyone here, who is the worst at Fortnite?”

All the boys started screaming over each other. I smacked my forehead.

He then walked up to his little sister, Adriana. “Who is your favorite sibling?”

“I can’t answer that,” she said.

He held out his hand. “Alright, then pay up.”

“How ‘bout… no.” She sprinted away, and Lucas chased after her.

It cut to Lucas with his twin, Reyna. “So let’s talk about your ex-boyfriend-” he started.

Reyna snatched the phone out of his hands. “Nope, I’m interrogating you this time. Tell me, when do you plan to start dating?”

He thought for a moment, then said, “Well, maybe this year. There are some really pretty girls at school.”

For some reason, it really irked me to hear that. It’s always felt like Lucas was my guy, the way that we’d been best friends since childhood. It made me kind of jealous to think of him with another girl.

One day, when we were in the fourth grade, Lucas and I sat on the playground at the park, dangling our legs over the side of the bridge.

“My cousin’s getting married this weekend,” I told him.

“Your cousin? How old is your cousin?”

“29.”

Lucas was quiet for a moment, then said, “I don’t ever want to get married.”

“Why not?”

“Because girls suck. All they care about is looking pretty and boba tea. Except you, I mean.” He paused. “Maybe you and I can get married one day.”

“But we don’t have crushes on each other,” I said. 

“But if we get married, we can live together,” he appealed.

“Oh, yeah, that would be fun!” I grinned. “Okay, it’s a deal.”

It was not a deal. It was a silly promise between children that would end up forgotten in a few years time. But I didn’t forget it. Why didn’t I forget it? 

Well, it didn’t matter. I had a really great boyfriend, and I had a feeling that my future would be with him.

The first day of December, Andre told me that he’d decided that he wasn’t going to go to college.

“Why not?” I asked.

“I think I want to become a poet,” he said. “For a living, I mean. You know how I tried to publish my poem about the Eiffel Tower?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I succeeded.” I covered my mouth in disbelief. “Yeah,” he said, laughing. “It’s crazy!”

“Oh, Andre, that’s so great!” I said, hugging him. “We should celebrate!”

So we did. That weekend, we went to a fancy dinner at the Eiffel Tower. The food was delicious, and we were having a great time. As we waited for the dessert, I went to the bathroom to freshen up my makeup.

I was just reapplying my blush when I got a notification from Instagram. I clicked it. Lucas had posted a picture of us at our junior prom, with the caption, “Missing my best friend. I love you, Lianna!”

I love you. I suddenly felt a sting in my eyes. Lucas meant those words completely platonically, and it was killing me. I hated that it was killing me. I had a boyfriend!

I found myself sobbing. When Andre texted, asking if I was okay, I quickly cleaned up my face and makeup, and went back out.

After dessert, we walked over to the edge of the Tower and gazed over the railing at the city. 

“Lianna,” Andre said, looking at me seriously. “I know we’ve only known each other for a few months, but I feel like we’re soulmates. You’re the kindest, smartest, and funniest girl I’ve ever met,” he continued. Then he got on one knee.

It was so unexpected that I almost started laughing until I realized that he was totally serious. “Andre, we’re seventeen!” I exclaimed.

“I know, but I want to start my life!” he urged. “You can live with me here in Paris while I pursue my writing, and you can still go to school and everything, but if we get married, no matter what happens, we’ll have each other. I’ve never met a girl like you, Lianna. I don’t ever want to lose you. If we get married, we’ll be together forever.”

Why was it actually kind of tempting? I loved life here in Paris, and could imagine living here forever. Deep down, though, I knew I couldn’t. Not because of Andre, but because I was in love with Lucas. I think it always had been Lucas.

“I’m sorry, Andre,” I said, not looking directly at him. His face fell, and that was it.

We broke up that night. We tried to stay friends after that, but it didn’t work out. I told him 

about my feelings for Lucas, and it became too much for him to bear. It was a lot for me as well, knowing that Lucas would never want me. By the time I returned home in the summer, I’d accepted the fact that Lucas was never meant to be mine. He could date other girls, and that was fine.

But it turns out that Lucas didn’t want to date other girls.

Three weeks and two days ago, Lucas and I started dating. Maybe it had always been us, since the day we met in kindergarten. I like to think that we were destined to be together.

Where we’re going from here, I don’t know. Lucas and I still have a lot to figure out. But if there’s one thing that Andre taught me, it was to be spontaneous.