Philadelphia Noir - Carlin Romano [41]
“Hello, my long lost,” Alex said, as if he were the one who’d been trying to reach her.
They picked up where they’d left off, meeting in the square and heading to Parc, a French brasserie, where they enjoyed a bottle of champagne and some food.
“Surprise,” Beth announced when the check arrived.
Alex’s eyes went wide with admiration. “Tsk, tsk.” He took the credit card and examined it. “You’re a naughty girl, Valerie.”
He leaned against the high-backed banquette and studied her. “Is this something you enjoy?”
She spent the rest of the month snagging credit cards—often the numbers alone. Alex used some for online transactions, while Beth got her nails manicured, enjoyed massages at Body Restoration, hired a personal trainer, had a makeover at MAC, and bought more dresses and shoes than her closets could hold, even after she discarded old, cheap stuff. She went to Knit Wit, Cole Haan, Anthropologie, and Barneys, and she still had plenty of income to pay down her own credit card debts.
Her new look attracted attention.
“Are you getting in over your head again with debt?” Leah asked. She was sitting across from Alex and Beth at a table at Twenty Manning, where they’d invited her for dinner.
Alex answered, “With me, she has nothing to worry about.”
Beth smiled and cut another piece of steak. Leah stared at them as if studying exotic zoo animals, then took a sip of wine and turned away.
Some time before Thanksgiving, Alex started talking about Christmas plans. He was expected at his uncle’s place outside Paris and might stay as long as three weeks.
“It’s part business,” he said when Beth looked sad. “I have to show him what I’m doing for my clients so he’ll want me to help him some day.”
The thought of three weeks without Alex was unbearable. As it was, she had to attend her sister’s wedding alone right after Thanksgiving because Alex had a meeting in New York. But Beth made it through. Her relatives typically asked her questions with caution, always afraid things might be going badly, but her new appearance emboldened them. She exuded energy. She looked beautiful. She felt electric. And she told everyone she’d be going with her boyfriend to Paris.
Though her mother seemed stunned, her grandmother was thrilled. “It’s wonderful how things have turned around for you.”
Alex was less enthusiastic.
“I want nothing more than to have a romantic vacation with you, but this is a family thing—”
Beth put her finger on his lips. She hadn’t felt this certain about anything in her life. If they loved each other, they could work it out. Especially if they didn’t have to pay for it.
She told Leah about her plans one Saturday at Miel, a quaint patisserie with bumblebee-shaped door handles. Beth bought two hot chocolates and Napoleons in honor of her announcement: “Alex and I are going to Paris!”
Leah reacted as if Beth were talking about the moon.
“How can you object to Paris?” Beth asked. “And how can you be so unsupportive when I finally find a great guy?”
“Is he great?” Leah asked. She studied her plate. “I don’t know how to say this, and I don’t want to provoke a bad reaction. I mean, you’re handling life really well now. But the thing is, I saw Alex with another woman.”
“I don’t think so.” Beth tapped her manicured nails on the wrought-iron table.
“I’m sure of it. He was with a blond woman coming out of the Bellevue.”
“It’s probably his sister.”
Leah shook her head. “They were kissing. On the lips.”
Beth tightened