Letter from Paris by Thérèse

Author:Thérèse
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Contemporary Women
Publisher: Story Plant, The
Published: 2014-02-19T16:00:00+00:00

15

Luella made her way to the Charlotte Street Hotel, where she settled at a table by the window. She was about to pull out her iPad when she saw Peter scanning the room for her.

“Over here.” She waved to him.

“Hi,” he said, pulling out the chair across from her. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic.”

“It’s fine. I walked from Henry’s office,” she said. “Sorry, you had to cross town. I forgot it’s the holiday weekend.”

“No problem. I was just happy you wanted to talk to me,” he said. “Peroni please.” He nodded to the barman. “The usual, Lu?”

She nodded.

“And a vodka martini thanks. So how’re the plans for the show coming along?”

“Really well. Henry has worked his magic. Jean-Luc has agreed to be the host. I can hardly believe it, can you? Jean-Luc. We’re all thrilled. It’s such a coup don’t you think? Tod will be so excited to meet him.” She paused, noticing Peter’s hands were trembling. “Okay. I’m talking too much.”

Peter eventually broke the long silence that followed. “Lu, I want you to understand that I never wanted this. I didn’t choose it. I never wanted to be different. I don’t. I’ve fought against it for years, dealt with these feelings, suppressed them. It’s why I’ve always been such a workaholic I suppose. I’ve been trying to fill up the spaces, not give myself time to think.”

Luella said nothing.

“The other day, you wanted to know if being with you was good for me. It was. I mean sleeping with you, Lu. It was okay.”

“Okay?”

“Lu, you’re the only woman I’ve ever slept with. We were kids when we met. I told myself I had these feelings under control. I thought, well, I tried to believe this was something I could handle. It’s not like I had these strong urges to go out looking for sex for the sake of it. I suppose I tuned it out, tried to turn the volume down on the noise in my head.”

“Peter. Peter look at me.”

He looked up.

“I feel bad that you’ve lived like this all these years. The other day you said you wanted us to stay in each other’s lives. You’ve been my best friend for so long that I want to understand. I need to understand for my own sanity.”

Peter went to speak and she put up her hand to stop him.

“Let me finish what I have to say. Please. It’s taken me so many sleepless nights to feel strong enough to talk. When I found the letter it felt like a hammer blow, but in a weird way it’s been easier than if I’d found a letter from another woman.”

Peter looked at her in astonishment.

“I know you find that surprising, but I think if it had been another woman I’d have tried to get you back. With this, well, there’s no competition. It’s so, well, final, I suppose.”

Luella felt a catch in her throat. Her cough attracted the attention of the couple at the neighboring table. She lowered her voice.

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