Free All That the Heart Desires by June Moonbridge

Monsieur Pinot had a big smile on his face.
    “Closing down for today?” he asked when we passed him.
    “No. We’ll be back soon,” Michelle answered. She doesn’t know.
    I’d had enough. It was obvious that even Marcel knew what was going on. It looked like I was the only ignorant one. I stopped to protest, but both girls took my hands and led me down the stairs and into the road without letting me say another word.
    “Where are we going?” I asked a few minutes later.
    “You’ll see for yourself. It’s not far off now.”
    Although I tried to get them to talk, they stayed silent, until we reached the coast road. There they stopped walking.
    “So, what’s going on? What did you want to show me?” They both looked in the same direction. I followed their gaze and took a deep breath.
    There it was. A billboard I never ordered. My legs started to shake and I could hardly stand on them.
    “What the hell?” I gasped.
    A big photo of Lorcan’s face on one side of the poster, and a bottle of my perfume on the other. Both were placed on a black background, so that his grey eyes were even more silver and dashing and the crystal bottle even more sparkling. In between was written:
    ‘You can hope to get it, but it always slips away. Demain.’
    Beneath the bottle written in smaller letters: ‘ Demain . Eau de parfume pour dames. . House of Dame’s Jasmine Perfumery.’
    I recognised the picture immediately although it was altered with Lorcan Shore’s picture. It was the last sample of the advertisement for the Demain release we did together with Harry. That was before I had decided not to put it on sale until finding my son.
    In its original, there was only a bottle and the inscription, whereas on the one I was looking at, his beautiful face completed the picture. I never imagined that any man could advertise women’s perfume, but it was so unusual that it actually worked.
    “Who on the earth did this?!” I was furious, although I had my answers. When no one answered I turned around and realised I was alone in the middle of the street.
    I returned to the perfumery only briefly. I took my things and left the key of the front door on the counter. I just couldn’t stay there today. Michelle and Lucille looked at me like I was crazy. Well, they were not far from the truth. I was furious.
    Dame didn’t answer my calls and I was left without any answers. Although the perfumery was full of customers, I left with only a few parting words.
    “Lock the door when you leave today.”
    I’d never done that before.
    “What can we say to the customers?” Lucille had run after me out into the lobby. I turned around and looked at her.
    “ Demain is not for sale.”
    “But…” she started.
    I interrupted her.
    “But, what?”
    “What will Mr Dame say?”
    “It’s not his. It’s mine.” I left the hotel.
    I thought I was headed to the railway car park, but I was so distracted by constantly dialling Dame’s number, that I found myself back where I had started: in front of the poster.
    Dame didn’t answer any of my calls. That didn’t improve my mood. My anger grew to dangerous dimensions. I knew somehow Dame would find out I’d left the perfumery and would call me. Or he would gather enough courage to return my call.
    Finding a bench, I sat down, eyes on the billboard. When I managed to put my personal feelings about it aside, I had to admit that the billboard was fantastic. I couldn’t have thought of a better advertisement and, if I’d wanted to sell the perfume, this was a perfect opportunity. But I didn’t want to sell it. Not yet!
    Suddenly I heard voices behind me.
    “I want it.”
    “What? The man or the perfume?”
    “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to him. But I want that perfume.”
    “Why?”
    “Because he’s in the advert. Isn’t it obvious?”
    “You dream of him and how he’d buy it for you?” I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. They’d moved away.
    From the way they spoke, I