Abel In Paris by Jeffrey Allen White (beach read txt) 📕

caffeine. He decided to go to the mailbox out front. Nina had spent a week hand painting a wooden mailbox with a seascape on it. Abel opened it and took out the handful of mail. “Bills and magazines, the usual,” he thought. That was all they got these days. He had always let Sandy go through it everyday and sort out his mail from the advertisements and junk mail. Abel went back into the house and laid the mail on the kitchen table.

Abel kept obsessing about his decision. “Could he sell The Bistro? Could they start over without it?” He knew he could work anywhere. He knew he could always work to be better at it and he knew he could satisfy his clients. Abel was very stable and seriously took his job. He had to be. He had Sandy. He would be stable for her more than ever now. Abel kept everything going for Sandy. It was not just for him. He had just wanted to stop existing when Nina died.

Then maybe all he needed was a break from work, away from Seattle, away from the house and the memories. He never really took off when Nina died. There was so much to do, Sandy needed him and he needed to work to keep things going. Sandy’s life was just beginning. She needed to have fun and be a kid. She should not have to help her old man with work. She could be out with her friends and thinking about clothes, school, being with friends and, yes, even boys. Well, maybe she should not be thinking about boys just yet. She was just eleven years old. Abel wished Nina were here; he left these decisions up to her. She was the one who knew best about what was good for Sandy. He was the provider, not the social director.

Slam, went the front door. Sandy ran in and went into the kitchen, throwing her book bag onto the chair as she passed through the living room. “Dad, I’m home. I talked to my guidance counselor and he said I can get early release from school every day so I could help out…”

Abel cut her off. He knew what she was going to say. “No. You are not going to leave school early everyday to come and help me at work. That is not your job. Your job is to be a kid and go to school and have fun.” Abel took a gulp. “Listen, today I had some people come in to see about buying The Bistro and…”

”Daddy, you cannot do that. You just can’t!” Her tone was of confusion and fear of what was going to happen. She had thought it all out. She even talked her guidance counselor into letting her leave early. She explained how since her mother died, her father needed her to help in the family business. She had good grades and was a good student.

Abel put his now empty coffee cup in the sink and went to Sandy. The coffee had given him stomach pains. On the other hand, was it because of selling the café? “I didn’t sell it….yet. I just showed it today to a young couple. They made me a very generous offer and I have a couple of days to decide about it. I will think about it and make my decision.” Abel felt he conveyed his position and his authority.

Sandy was not so anxious now. “You did not sell it, Daddy? Good, then there is still time for me to talk you out of selling it,” she said calming down to almost normal.

“Well, let’s just forget about all this for a little while. I have a few days.” Changing the subject, Abel went ahead with an idea. “It has been a hard day for the both of us. I say we need a little time away. Just the two of us would be fun. He needed to go somewhere to think things out and see what they are going to do. What do you think? A couple of days in California sound good. Would you rather Disneyland, maybe?”

Insulted, “That’s for babies, Dad. Who can think of going away when…? I mean we have work that we can do here…” Sandy did her best to behave in a proper manner.

“That’s just it, Sandy, you do not have to work. This is your time for growing up. You should not have to concern yourself with business at this age. You… and I both need a little time off. Somewhere we can relax and maybe talk things out. I have a little money saved up for a couple of fun days somewhere. If we are frugal, we might even be able to eat a couple of meals while we are away.” Abel hoped that he was reaching her.

Sandy sat and held her head in her hands as she leaned them on the table. “I don’t want to go anywhere.” This was her defeated lament. “We’ll see. Do you have any homework to do?” Abel ran upstairs. “I brought the mail in, Sweet Pea. It’s on the table.” Abel was already up and out of earshot. I took the entire day off.” Abel felt the tension had lifted a little.

Sandy sat there for a minute or two. “How could he do this? How could he sell it?” They spent more time there than at home. It was her home away from home. Mom loved that place.” She felt close to her when she was there.

The mail on the table was neatly stacked in a pile in front of her. Sandy began to sift through it, making smaller piles. She started sorting out loud, “Bill, bill, ad, a letter from Aunt Chelsea, Dad’s sister, a magazine, bill, Vacation Dream Escape, another ad… Hey what was that?” Sandy picked up the envelope she had already passed up. It was from Vacation Dream Escape, the same one she has entered her dad in almost six months ago. She had forgotten all about it. She was trying to keep busy after her mother died. She entered him into every contest she could find that did not cost any money. She never won anything before.

Sandy turned the envelope over. There was a picture of a young couple waving from a window of an airplane. “Wow, how’d they do that up in the air?” she muttered to herself. She turned it over. It was for Mr. Abel McCormick. Sandy always put her dad’s name on all the contests, as she was not old enough according to most of the contest’s rules. She knew that from a TV movie about a kid who won a contest and could not collect it because they were under age. The moral to that story was to put your parents’ name on all contest entrees. “So simple.” she congratulated herself.

The envelope opened easily. Inside were a letter and a small packet. She unfolded the letter and began to read aloud, “Dear Mr. Abel McCormick, Congratulations! You have won the grand prize in our Vacation Dream Escape contest. Wow! We won!” Sandy stood up smiling. She continued to read. “Your prize, Mr. Abel McCormick includes two first class tickets to…. Paris! Daddy, Daddy!” She yelled for her father to come downstairs.

He came down with tennis shoes over his clean white mismatched socks. “What? What is the matter? What happened?” He fell into the kitchen chair, the one that needed gluing.

“We won! We won!” she managed to yell out as she jumped up and down in the kitchen. Abel had not seen Sandy this happy in a long while.

Abel sat at the kitchen table, finished putting on his tennis shoes, and tied them before he tripped himself over a lace. “What did we win? A month of aerobics at the gym would be nice. Alternatively, maybe a free Del Taco salad and small drink of our choice would be better.” Abel was glad she was smiling again.

“No, Daddy, it’s a trip, a trip to…” she screamed and tried to speak slowly and calmly between gulps of air.

“Let me see.” Abel took the letter from Sandy‘s hands and read, “You have won two round trip tickets and hotel accommodations for two to Paris!’” “You’re right!” Abel looked up in disbelief and then back to the letter, “and $500 in spending money?’” Abel could not believe it. “This cannot be true. There must be a catch in there somewhere.” Abel searched through the letter and envelope, which Sandy handed him. He examined it closely; it was notarized and looked on the up and up. Sandy handed him the two round trip airplane tickets and a certified check for $500 made out to Mr. Abel McCormick.

“We won Daddy. We won. Can you believe it? Paris, we are going to Paris, France!” Sandy was in awe and she was up and twirling around.

Abel stared at the ticket and certified check in disbelief. “This is really something.” He knew of Sandy and her entries into contests but they never won anything before. Maybe a key chain or a calendar but nothing ever like this ever happened before. He was happy that she kept herself busy with the contests. It seemed to make her happy after Nina died. He thought it would be fun for her to win. Abel never won anything before. “I guess this is for real, Sweet Pea.” Sandy sat on his lap and hugged him. Abel looked at the tickets, check and letter again. He hugged Sandy again. They were both smiling. He studied the letter again.

“I guess we’re going to Paris, France, Dad. My teacher says they are rude there but…”

Abel cut her off in mid-sentence. “Sandy, the letter says we won all right.” Sandy was smiling and about to jump up again. Abel held her down and explained in a calm voice even though he wanted to scream out himself. He looked into Sandy’s eyes, mirrors of his own. Her smile, the biggest he has ever seen. “But it’s not Paris, France, Sweat Pea, it’s…. Paris all right…. Paris, Texas!”

Chapter Five

Lilly was a very beautiful girl still in her mid 20’s. She was born in France, just outside the beautiful City of Lights, Paris. Her father and mother both were society people. Their ancestry, family businesses and dedication to the arts gave them an upper class life, having the right friends, politics, prestige and education that needed to set them up in the elite society of Paris. Lilly would have the opportunity for the finer things in life. Fine schools, good friends, an education in the finest schools