We break into laughter. This conversation is so refreshing and paints Pascale in a whole new light.
‘I’m hoping to get this book published. But first I need to finish it.’
‘So stop making excuses and get it done.’
‘Yes, boss!’ He salutes.
I grin. ‘I know you can do it if you set your mind to the end goal.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I just do. You fit the stereotype of frustrated writer.’
Benoit appears in the hall outside, waves and strides over to my stall. ‘I better go,’ Pascale says as Benoit approaches. ‘I’ve got customers to ignore. Hope your day gets better.’
‘Merci, you too.’
Benoit takes Pascale’s spot and leans against the door jamb.
‘Bonjour, Benoit. How are you?’ I feel lighter after talking to Pascale, a feat I’d never have imagined before. Electric, even. Is it that he’s not the grumpy brutish guy I’d pegged him for? My bad mood has evaporated and I feel fully charged.
Benoit is fidgety, distracted, as if he’s got something on his mind. ‘Good, good. How is Minou?’
‘The same – happy one moment, crazy the next. I used the cat backpack! Let me get my phone and show you the photo of his face. Minou is definitely going to be in contention for the next grumpy cat meme.’
I leave Benoit and search for my handbag and locate my phone. I flick through until I find the photo. Even now it provokes laughter. ‘Minou despised the indignity of having his photo taken at home in the carrier before we enjoyed a stroll around the neighbourhood. He was more settled that evening.’
Benoit’s face breaks into a wide smile. ‘I see what you mean about the meme potential. Hilarious. How did the inflatable collar go?’
‘So far so good. He hasn’t managed to pull it off and his abrasions are healing nicely because he can’t get near them.’
Felix arrives holding a café crème and joins us at the door. ‘Mademoiselle.Caffeine to start your day?’
Benoit drops his gaze as if suddenly shy. ‘Enjoy your coffee. And keep the cat memes coming.’
I laugh. ‘Sure.Au revoir.’ I take the proffered cup from Felix. ‘How’s your week been?’ I ask.
‘Busy! Yours? You’re a cat parent now?’
‘Oui, a part time co-parent. And better yet, I’ve lived to tell the tale. Secretly I love the tiny terror, but I’m also looking forward to a decent night’s sleep once Guillaume takes his charge. Minou loves zooming around the house at nighttime, specifically using my face as his launch pad. This can go on for hours, and if I shut my bedroom door he meows from the other side until I give in and open it and the whole exercise starts again. I suppose he spent his days at the cemetery snoozing in the sunshine and nighttime is where he got up to mischief.’
Felix grins. ‘How will Guillaume go handling such a wily beast?’
I sense how things are going to go for Guillaume because the clever cat knows exactly what he can get away with. ‘I bet Minou will be on this best behaviour around him. Guillaume will tell me the nocturnal behaviour is all in my mind, that his darling cat would never do such a thing. I’ve hired a cat sitter for Minou when I’m working at the market, to keep an eye on him during his recovery.’
‘Ah! I’d planned to invite you on a ghost tour tonight. Perhaps we’ll have to leave it until your fur baby is with his other parent?’
‘A ghost tour?’ It’s such a Felix thing to do, something wacky and fun.
‘It’s a walking tour visiting a range of spooky places around Paris. While it’s a little macabre, it’s also got a historical element to it.’
‘Another time, for sure, once Minou is better. Ooh, I almost forgot. A customer came looking for you yesterday but you’d already locked up, so she left a package for you. One moment and I’ll find it in my desk.’
I go and find the envelope in my desk. ‘Here you go. She said it’s full of design ideas for her wedding invitations.’
He groans. ‘Merci. She only wants one hundred of them, and by next week. No rest for the wicked, eh?’
‘Get to it. My turn tomorrow.’ I waggle my keep cup. When he leaves, I take a feather duster and make my rounds. When I get to the bookshelf near the front door, I find a diary that isn’t one of mine. Did Benoit or Pascale plant it? They each had time to when I had been distracted. I lean against the door jamb and survey them. Neither of them is paying any attention to me; they’re all busy working. Perhaps the diary will give me more clues.
