He grunts.
Pascale isclearlynot the apologising sort. I resist the petty urge to grunt right back. I will not stoop to his level.
I change tack to get myself back on the straight and narrow. ‘I understand the market restructure has put quite a few, ahem… noses out of joint.’Literally mine.‘But we have to make the best of it. Geneviève and I shared an easy comradery with our former neighbours before they were sadly moved to another section. We hope we can have the same kind of relationship with you, but that means you’ll have to stop ordering me about as if I’m an underling.’ I try and fail to keep the bitterness from my voice.
Pascale blithely ignores every sullen word and turns his bad-boy head away from me. ‘Geneviève, lovely to see you again.’
She lets out a girlish giggle. ‘You too, Pascale.’ Honestly, if there’s a good-looking male at ten paces, Geneviève cannot control herself. It’s usually charming but this is Pascale, gruffmacho man, and it won’t do. ‘Looking as handsome as ever today, I see.’ Seriously!
‘Looks can be deceiving, Geneviève,’ I throw into the mix.
Pascale throws his spotlight back on me with a slow smirk. ‘Is that so?’
I fold my arms defensively, and then unfold them so he doesn’t see I’m rather rattled by him. His smirk morphs into a wide smile.C’est un miraclehis face didn’t crack!
‘Lilou, is it?’
Mon Dieu. This is, like, the tenth time he’s double-checked my name. Passive aggressive or what? ‘It is, as you well know.’
He takes a deep breath as if gearing up for another lecture. ‘Li, you’re right about one thing, at least. The restructure has been a nightmare. Now I’m stuck up these stairs in this dingy little hovel whereas before I was right in the centre of the action. It’s ridiculous I had no say in it. I’ve got a screaming headache every day from your candles, your music and your laugh.’
Ouah.That’s a lot of complaining to unpack. ‘Firstly, it’s Lilou.NotLi. And secondly, I wouldn’t call this space a dingy little hovel. It’s one of the most popular sections of the market and there were a lot of other vendors vying for it, so you should be more grateful. And as for this screaming headache of yours, how did you cope before when you were in the so-called centre of the action? Surely it would have been noisier there? And what on earth is wrong with my laugh?’
He sighs and scrubs his face. ‘You talk fast. You throw questions at me like bullets. And your laugh, it sounds like chimes.’
What! This man makes my blood boil. ‘And that’s a bad thing?’
He frowns as if he’s disappointed in me. ‘Don’t be like that. We can make it work.’
I screw up my nose. Is he gaslighting me? Itfeelslike he’s gaslighting me. I exchange a look with Geneviève but am met with some glassy-eyed rapture on her part. No help there then.
The bad-boy effect is real, but I won’t be succumbing to his alpha-male energy. This act of his is a ploy, a gambit. None of this charade is real. I just can’t get a handle on this. He swings the conversation around so fast I get whiplash.My laughter sounds like chimes?And that’s offensive? ‘You stay on your side, and I’ll stay on mine.Au revoir, Pascale.’
The scowl returns and he stomps back to where he came from. He can’t even stay in character long enough to fool me! I turn and am confronted with a suddenly stony-faced Geneviève, as if Pascale snatched the smile from her very face. Good! Now she can see what we’re up against.
‘That was a mistake, Lilou. A great whopper of a mistake.’
‘Quoi?’ My eyebrows shoot up. Is she not hearing what I’m hearing? Seeing what I’m seeing? He’s got her under some kind of spell! ‘You’re supposed to be on my side.’
‘I’m onlove’sside! Now that I’ve seen you two lovebirds interact in real time, it’s blatantly obvious to me. This is your classic case of enemies to lovers. Open your heartandyour eyes, Lilou, and let nature takes its course.’
Romance novels have ruined her! ‘Oh, Geneviève, he’s got you tricked! Did you not hear him insult me?’
Geneviève ignores me and stares off wistfully into the distance where Pascale is unpacking vintage typewriters and arranging his shop. ‘Lilou, look at him! Trust me, there’s more to him than meets the eye. What you’ve got is chemistry, that intensity in your eyes, the way you bounce back and forth off each other. It’s wild to see it in action.’
‘Yeah, it’s a science experiment right before it explodes.’ The woman is incorrigible! Chemistry! As if.
That afternoon, I keep catching Benoit’s eye. It’s almost like he’s daydreaming, not actively staring over at me, but I realise I haven’t really had much interaction with him compared to flirty Felix or prickly Pascale.
All I really know about him is that he peddles stamps and other philatelic keepsakes. When I catch his eye again, I give him a little wave and head over to his stall. The market is always quieter in the afternoons as locals and tourists alike take long lunches and enjoy the summery Parisian afternoons in bistros around the city, so it’s as good a time as any to chat.
‘Bonjour, Benoit.’
‘Bonjour, Lilou. I’m sorry I haven’t visited your stall yet. It’s been so much work getting things in order here after the move.’ He dips his head slightly as if he’s shy. He really is adorable.
‘By the looks of it, you’re mostly sorted now?’ Pascale’s move was much quicker, having to only unload his antique typewriters and some antiquity books, same with Felix, whose main job had been setting up his vintage printing press. Benoit’s move has taken a lot more time due to the fragile nature of his stock and having to install many cabinets to display his stamps and philatelic materials.
He pushes his specs up the bridge of his nose. ‘Oui, almost done. Although, I’m selling stock at a much faster rate here than I was downstairs, so I’m trying to source from new suppliers. As you can imagine, stamp collecting isn’t exactly as popular as it once was so it makes it difficult to find new stock and still make a decent profit. That’s why I’ve added calligraphy to my repertoire.’
