Free Paris Summer by April Lynn Kihlstrom Page A

uncomfortably. “It was your
reference to Rena’s trick. She and I aren’t at all alike
when it comes to men and, well, I resent it when people
assume we are.
    “I suppose you’ll tell me you didn’t have an umbrella
to use,” he retorted sarcastically, “and that you never
play games with men.”

    “I don’t!” she said hotly. “As for the umbrella, I left
mine in New York. Otherwise I’d have used it today.
And Rena doesn’t own an umbrella.”
    “Oh?”
    “Well, she doesn’t. I looked.”
    Mark was silent for a moment and seemed very
thoughtful. Finally he said quietly, “I’m sorry. Rena
did say you were very naive about men, but I didn’t
take her seriously, I’m afraid.”
    Janine wearily decided to ignore the comment. After
all, it didn’t matter what he thought of her. They were
both silent then, both afraid of what they might say
otherwise. At Mabillon Mark got off the train with
Janine. “Do you live around here?” she asked.
    “No,” he answered cheerfully, “but you do.
Seriously, I don’t want you getting drenched, and in
your present mood I doubt you’d agree to let some
stranger share his umbrella with you. Right?”
    Janine laughed and admitted it was true. Mark
offered her his arm and then changed the subject.
“How was the talk?”
    They discussed math until they reached the
apartment. Janine thanked him for escorting her and
asked if he’d like a cup of coffee. Mark shook his head
and left, leaving Janine puzzled as she climbed the
stairs.
    She fixed herself tea and watched the rain, glad that
she did not have to go shopping for dinner this
afternoon. Tomorrow, she told herself as she watched
the puddles below, I’ll buy an umbrella.
    Janine was settling down to enjoy some coffee after
dinner when the doorbell rang. Wondering who it
could be, she cautiously opened the door. “Oui?” she
said.

    There was a burst of laughter as Sandy confidently
pushed into the room followed by Alan and a petite
young woman with red hair and freckles. “Surprise!”
Sandy laughed, brandishing a dripping umbrella.
“Betty and Alan and I have come to take you to the
movies. And, oh yes, deliver an umbrella.”
    As Janine watched, mystified, Alan produced an
umbrella. It was clearly a woman’s umbrella with a
swirl of pink and gold on the fabric. “From Mark,”
Alan said off-handedly. “It’s Rena’s and he thought
you might need it.”
    “But Rena doesn’t own any umbrellas!” she protested.
    “This one she does,” Alan said significantly as he
flopped into the room’s one armchair. “Mark bought it
for her a couple of weeks ago.”
    The red-haired girl giggled. “Such a scene! I was
there,” she explained to Janine. “Mark gave her the
umbrella and told her she wouldn’t have to depend on
passing men anymore. He said it kind of oddly, without
a smile or anything, as if it meant something. Rena said
she didn’t want an umbrella, and Mark said she had
better take it! So then Rena got very sweet and said
`thank you’ and took it.”
    Janine looked at Betty suspiciously. “You’re not
going to tell me that was the end of it. Rena was never
that submissive.”
    “Lord, no!” Alan chuckled. “That night, when we
left, Rena managed to hide the umbrella in his closet.
Since then it’s been a running battle. Mark returns the
umbrella and Rena hides it again in his apartment.
God, what a pair!”
    Janine grinned in spite of herself. She could well
imagine what the last few weeks must have been like.
One quality the two sisters undeniably shared was a strong streak of stubbornness. “Well, at any rate, I
appreciate the umbrella,” Janine said firmly. “You said
we were going to the movies. What movie?”

    They confessed that that had not yet been decided.
They discussed the merits of westerns, science fiction,
drama, comedies… Eventually it was decided that
they would see a comedy. It was an American film and