An American in Paris

Who knows what may come of a tourist encounter? The Gila Writers Group is typically small, between 4-8 people, but it serves me well in story starters. This is another inspired by a recent meeting.

“Quelle heure est-il,” he asked the vendor selling crepes.
“3:20,” the man replied, tugging a watch from his apron pocket. The vendor had no difficulty pegging him as an American, most likely a tourist, by his clothes and lack of finesse at a simple French phrase.
Alex had lost his own watch to a bump and grab pick-pocket. Thankfully the thief missed the wallet, secure in an atypically placed pocket behind two layers of clothing. Alex had ten minutes to get from  the Eiffel Tower to the Bassins du Champs de Mars to meet a friend and her daughter. I had best hurry, he thought. Not quite a tourist, he had important business in Paris with his French amie. A hoverboard would have made that a quicker trip, but the airlines prohibited them now. Then again, forget the risk of a burning board, he might have wound up with a sprain or worse on a bumpy sidewalk. A trip to the ER could be dangerous. The important thing is being discreet. No one must know why I am meeting with Genevieve.

5 thoughts on “An American in Paris

  1. Reminded me of a Mexican man i once painted houses with in Massachusetts, who fell off a tall ladder and had to go to the ER and was subsequently deported. This hoverboard trend is so bizarre to me, I don’t know what to think of it. The last line is a great cliffhanger, piquing the curiosity.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.