same time. The other aunties mentioned a failed relationship once, but they respected her too much to gossip. My aunt chose to keep her own company, owning her single status without shame. I coped with the lack of romance in my life by developing an addiction to romance novels. We were related, but we couldn’t be more different.
I glanced down at my printed ticket.
“It’s a long flight,” Aunt Evelyn said. “I had to justify the upgrade to your mother as she was appalled by the extravagance. You can see that I won.”
Every time we traveled, we were in coach, even on long all-day flights to Asia. Ma saw no point in paying more for a seat closer to the front of the plane. “This is going to be a new experience for me,” I confessed.
“You’ll enjoy this trip, but, remember, this is a working vacation first and foremost even though you’re not working for the tea shop.”
“The lessons?” I asked.
My aunt hadn’t divulged any details yesterday. She’d been tight-lipped about it despite my stated desire to learn. Given how my final childhood lessons had ended, her caution might be warranted.
She nodded. “We’ll start once you’ve settled in. I need you to be receptive. It won’t work otherwise.”
“Did you see this coming?” I asked. “I mean, your sense of clairvoyance is much more powerful than mine.”
“Yes. It was why I was waiting for you at your condo yesterday.” We stopped before the security gate. “I will teach you, but if you don’t give in to the process, it won’t work. I want to make this clear before we leave.”
Going to Paris wasn’t meant to be some sort of miracle cure, but a part of me wished it could be. Still, I didn’t expect her to be so explicit in her assessment of the situation. To anyone else, I appeared to be going on a wonderful trip with my aunt to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
“I didn’t expect a quick or easy fix.”
“Good. I want you to have realistic expectations. This is going to be equal parts wonderful and painful, depending on how you take to my guidance. The more you fight, the worse the situation. I need you to promise that you will put as much effort into the lessons as I will.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes, Auntie.”
I wanted to change my life. Nothing I could say to her would prove my intentions more than showing her that I was up to the task.
Eight
Stepping off the plane, I half expected to hear the first chords of Édith Piaf’s “La vie en rose” on a whimsical accordion. Paris in the springtime—a magical time to visit, according to the tourist guide I devoured between romance novels. I skipped the parts about helpful phrases; that path only led to me butchering the language. My seventh-grade Spanish teacher once accused me of making his ears bleed. Ma talked to him, and after he made me demonstrate, she concurred. Besides, I was more fascinated with the pages in the guide detailing the restaurants. Delicious food and astounding masterpieces awaited me in the ancient City of Light.
Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle Airport was crowded. Despite a first-class seat on the long flight over, I hadn’t slept. My aunt was in better shape. She had put on an eye mask as soon as the wheels retracted, and slept until we landed.
“Jet lag?” Aunt Evelyn asked as grogginess and exhaustion tugged at me with every step. We had arrived in the morning, but running on California time, I felt every second of the nine-hour difference, and all 5,571 miles.
“Yes and it’s bad.”
She patted my hand. “When we get back to the apartment, sleep. Paris can wait until you feel human again. The travel from west to east is always the hardest. One of the downsides of traveling to the future.”
“I feel like I could sleep forever.” I craned my neck and squinted at the lights overhead. “How long before my lessons start?”
“A few days. When you feel better, we’ll go out to dinner and then shopping. I’ll be busy preparing the store after that. The upgrades to our flat finished last week. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
My aunt strolled to the baggage carousel and checked the screens for our flight. “The family’s tea company purchased the building in the Saint-Germain des Prés area fifteen months ago. The renovations took about a year. I was quite specific about how I wanted the