Posted:
9 years ago
Anxiety & Anguish
She noticed signs that said "Parc Zoologique de Paris" she walked briskly pretending to know where she was going... turned right at the intersection where she saw buildings and lights, hoping to find a store or a cafe. She got to an intersection named Maisons Alfort * St Maurice Charenton.. she walked over two miles arriving at Charles Digeon Square it said.
Charles Digeon Square & Saint Mande-Ile de France the intersection read, she saw a RED awning with Cafe on it she wiped her tears and barreled towards it, she saw cars people walking it was no longer the woods by the Zoo...she went from store to store to store on that street... atleast to the ones that were open, asking if she could make a phone call. they were either too busy or told her she couldn't make a call... or they were closed
Walked into the 10th store on the street maybe... it was a cafe, people drank and chatted in the sidewalk seating. laughing joking enjoying the nice evening weather.
She sat asked to be seated... "Bon Jour" the male waiter said
She smiled weakly
She just wanted to sit down for a bit and assess her situation. use the restroom... figure out where she could go, if she had to take a Metro again... where the Metro ended she didnt know
She ordered water and he brought a TALL bottle of sparkling water, he had already opened it, she had a troubled look on her face, she asked for water with no ice (Author's Note: Desi!!!) He gave her a "look" and went back to fetch water
He brought a menu before that... though it was in English she had no idea what it said... the music was too loud and people talking over those sounds... glasses clinking cutlery chiming, as people ate and talked
She still didn't know what time it was... when he returned with water with no ice
She asked him for the time, she tapped her wrist... he checked a pager like device he had on the hip hooked to his green apron he said "huit quarante quatre" she didn't get it, she wanted to lean over and check his pager, she didn't she just squirmed hoping to ask a person with a cellphone...both tables near her was occupied with groups of 8, too busy amongst themselves to care...
The waiter stared wondering what she was upto
it had items in sections, she asked him what it meant, he spoke in rapid fire French showed two fingers and tapped on her water glass which was like a wine glass, and said some Euros, she could make out it was 65 EU, she realized he was telling her you pair two items with a wine its 65, and then 85 and then 115
She didn't want to eat, she wanted to make a phone call... she didn't know how to convince him or what to say, she felt herself driven to tears all over again
She did a five with her hand... begging for more time and quietly wept into her water glass
Got up wandered... found the women's restroom thankfully leaned on the sink and sobbed
She hadn't felt this scared when she sat on a plane to go to Atlanta at 25. She had gotten off at the airport, got her luggage out asked a TSA agent for cabs or buses to Georgia Tech, taken a cab at 7 PM and gotten off at the campus/residence/hall... dragged her suitcase two blocks smiling and nodding at Desi and Middle Eastern students fearlessly
, and gotten to her place of stay and was in her room at 9:30... she had even gotten a Subway sandwich and ate at a coffee shop drinking mocha, reading USA Today newspaper until midnite and walked back to her room alongside 10s of night owls
I am older and more stupid
I am older and don't know French
I would have been OK its all because of Rakshasan
I cant think straight anymore because of Rakshasan
He never made arrangements for me or gave me a phone
He doesn't care for me
I just wanted to go shopping
How far away am I? am I just some where near home? over 20 stations passed by, am I past the airport
A woman stepped out of a stall, II used it... and realized later she should have asked her what time it was... but she was gone when she stepped out
The waiter assigned to her table was ringing some one up, as soon as he saw her walk by he dropped his task, assigned it to a gal nearby and chased her down.
II had left her Old Navy jacket on her chair lest he assume she ran away without paying for the sparkling water
He said something to her, it sounded like a stern opinion of some sort
"Order? or leave?" she wondered
"Can I make a phone call?" she asked
He stared at her face for the longest time and tapped his wrist (NO WATCH!) and said something about the menu
She picked the top choice NO MEAT NO MEAT NO MEAT she said three times... she didn't know what it was but just said "give me something without meat"
At 85 EU... it wasn't a hard request...
Can I make a phone call?" she asked again
He actually smiled and tilted his head towards the manager a portly guy behind the bar and spoke for two minutes non stop
II immediately took off... and said "May I use your phone?" she asked tapping a black complicated Graham Bell invention with a huge LED display on it
He tried to stall her, circling his index finger and saying "Its only an intercom?" she didn't know
He was busy making drinks, a towel on his shoulder picking up upside down wine glasses that hung like strobe lights all over his head, he tapped three of 4 kinds before getting it right the 5th time
A lady he was serving eye signaled him about II
he said something about the phone, seeing II not gone yet... he approached her again and said "Yes"
"Can I use your phone, I just ordered food" she said tapping the menu
Turned out it was the Beverage menu, and he peered at what she tapped and asked if she wanted a small or a large
AYYYO!! HOW WILL I GET HOME? IT JUST SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE
AAYO! RAMA!
SHE INVOKED GANESHA... RAMA AND KARTIKEYA
SAID EVERY PRAYER SHE KNEW
SILENTLY
He poured out some beer like thing filled up more like from a tap and handed her a glass!!!
"Directory" "Phone book" "Car?" "Cab" she said in as many words as she could, she didnt know she would ask the cabbie to take her but she was
hoping she would find one and maybe go to a hotel? and call Akka in the morning? Akka would fly down and kill her but
The guy looked at her curiously and then quickly shifted attention to the woman wearing red lipstick and smoking at the bar, she said something about II's height
They both said something later in French
"No" she said and walked back to her table her food sat there on a bed of flat noodles with white sauce... in the center was a bunch of what looked like clams!!!
It rim of the bowl sprinkled with some herb, there was long baguette, and a bowl of some soup she couldn't identify... she drank her remainder of water
She really couldn't contain herself any more she wept into her napkin
The waiter returned to see "if everything was OK" how ever that is said in French
Seeing the food untouched he asked her two things she didn't understand either... placing what seemed like creme brulee dessert
She pointed to the door and did a "close" gesture
He showed his 10 fingers... both hands basically
Fingers spread out, 10 minutes? or at 10 PM? she did not know
On her 3rd day of her honeymoon She sat in some restaurant in Paris at 10 PM or 10 minutes before close with a plate ful of food she had never seen or heard of
Her attempts to order food to be able to make phone call, attempts to convince to be allowed to make a phone call all completely wasted
She sat there in despair the two big groups walked out laughing a few lit up as soon as they got to the door.
The guy came to check on her again, he asked maybe if she needed a box? She shook her head and pulled her credit card out , it was returned, so she handed 100 Eu in cash and began to wear her hoodie
watched the others like her that ate inside begin to leave, she wondered WHERE she would go next, as it began to rain outside... people in side walk seating pulled their chairs closer to the restaurant window.
She was down 100 EU in the last hour
Her food was untouched and she was as lost as she was when she entered almost an hour ago
But yes, she drank a full glass of water...
She stumbled out in the rain, zipping up her jacket... walked down that street and realized she hadn't asked WHERE the nearest Metro station was, in her panic of taking the wrong trains twice she had walked out and wandered off from what was originally a safe location to be... "safer" than this one? She had heard stories of NY subway crimes, and mugging and rats and homeless people, she hadn't heard or bothered to read any about Paris subways
What appeared as a bank flashed a huge neon sign "Societe Generale" it said with drive through ATMs... and it had a temperature and time LED... 10:20 PM 6C it said
She stopped a obviously in love couple and asked "metro" "please"
He removed his cigarette and freed his arm from around his lady friend and pointed to a street perpendicular to where she was, and did a slice with his hand (cross street?) many slices, she counted 2? 3? she nodded tearfully and crossed the street... she saw a store called Fromagette and Pharmacie
She saw a sign flash on Fromagette's door... she entered, and asked "phone? phone please?"
The guy was covering the glass cases with towels, spraying some bleachy? solution on the steel counters and wiping them off, a cheese store? she thought...
He continued doing what he was... "Phone? emergency" she said
He slammed a phone down on the counter 5 EU he showed five fingers, she put the money out first... and dialed... it didn't go through... she realized the guy didn't have Intl calling, she quickly
Walked out... the Pharmacie was closed
Walked to the end of the alley, she lost count of how many she was supposed to let go...
she turned and counted back cross walk signs, one, two, three, she stood at the 4th wondering how much farther as it started to rain harder...
~~~~
He dialed 17 around 8 ish and reported... they wanted him to come by, so he rented a cab and went to the 8th Arrondissement precinct
Edited by Nisha0604 - 9 years ago
