He nods. “I know so. One of my childhood friends did something like that a while back and he lives over on Corsica now.”
“Awesome, I’ll do some research.”
“That’s not the right approach,” Dad says, frowning. “France is the most bureaucratic country on earth, so you’ll end up going in circles trying to find information.”
“Okay, what should I do instead?”
“Take all your documents to the consulate, tell them what you want, and don’t leave until they give you information. That’s what Grandma had to do. I think France canceled her citizenship, and mine too, since I was still young, but she was still born there. You should be eligible.”
“Can I take Grandma’s documents with me when I go home tonight?”
Dad shrugs. “Sure, I’ll throw in my birth certificate and my old passports, too. Again: dump everything onto the counter when you get to the front of the line, and they’ll tell you what to do.”
“Awesome, thanks.”
Dad and I shake hands, and Mom walks in.
“Am I interrupting the transfer of our retirement fund to Luke or something?” she asks, letting out a laugh. “This looks like a weird kind of business deal.”
I chuckle. “Nah. Dad is just giving me documents so that I can move to France.”
Mom blinks. “Okay, you need to back up. France?”
The next morning, I wake up bright and early to tell Ajay that I’m taking the afternoon off for a consulate appointment, even though I don’ttechnicallyhave an appointment. He sends me a thumbs up emoji and a message telling me to take tomorrow off, too.
A text comes through from Erik, and I grab my phone.
Erik Norberg
Good morning :)
Just finished breakfast and I have some time before camp starts
Morning! How’s the camp?
Decent
Free to call?
I hit that call button like it’s a lifeline. There hasn’t been a chance to tell Erik about the latest developments, so I’ll do it now.
“Hey, Lukey,” he says, and I break into a grin as soon as his video pops up. He’s shaved, and even though I loved the facial hair, I still want to run my mouth along his jaw.
Holy hell, Erik is breathtaking, and I have to snap myself back to reality.
“Hey, hot stuff, how’s Minnesota treating you?”
“Pretty good. We’re right by the airport so there’s a plane landing every other minute. I have earplugs, though.”
“Nice!” I pause, considering how to share the news with Erik, before I decide to say it straight up. “By the way, I have some new moving updates.”
“Oh yeah?”
“So basically, I found out that I can get a permanent visa for France, and I might go there to be closer to you while still keeping my job.”
The way Erik’s face falls all but erases the last traces of my excitement.
24
