Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
T he Eiffel Tower stood proud above the buildings and trees of its city, a remarkable feat of engineering from 1889 that was only ever meant to be temporary. Chrissie found it strange to imagine this landmark had watched over a city that had seen such turmoil and change in the last 135 years.
Their group was stood in a line across one of the bridges over the Seine, pausing so that anyone who wanted to could take a picture. Chrissie preferred just to look and take it in, while Nisha took about forty-seven photos and Dan made a short film for the school’s Instagram channel.
“It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?” said Philippa.
“It really is,” said Chrissie.
“I’ve seen it countless times – my company has a sister branch here in Paris – but I am always taken aback every time.”
“Your career sounds very glamorous,” said Chrissie. “Not like ours.” She gave a little laugh.
“No,” said Philippa, “don’t laugh. What you do is essential. Honestly, I cannot tell you how much you have given Dottie this year.” Philippa looked over at her daughter, who was pointing out a blue boat to her friends. “She had terrible anxiety last year, but somehow between you and Ms Rajan, you seem to have helped her find some calm.” She sighed. “I know she seems confident and chatty, but we had some really tough times last year. Her father is away a lot on business, for weeks at a time, and she struggles when he’s not there, worrying about him being ok. The irony is that he’s almost always in a first class lounge or five star hotel somewhere, so he’s more than ok…” Her voice trailed off, making Chrissie wonder how Philippa felt about her husband being absent so much of the time.
“It must be hard for you both,” said Chrissie, carefully.
“Oh, not for me,” replied Philippa with a laugh. “To be honest, I’m not sure what I’ll do when he retires. He’s been working like this for the last seventeen years.” She gazed along the Seine. “We’ve always lived separate lives, to be honest.”
Chrissie thought back to her own marriage. She could relate. But she knew that for some people, that sort of relationship worked.
“But back to you,” said Philippa. “Have you ever thought about training to be a teacher? You seem eminently capable, and I’m sure you’d be accepted onto a course.”
“Oh, I’m not sure really,” replied Chrissie, shrugging it off. “I need to work to pay my rent. Taking time out of work to train would be tricky.” Working at the school had been part of her desire to give something back. She’d never thought about what it might give to her.
“Perhaps you should consider it,” said Philippa, giving Chrissie a hard stare.
“Mmm,” replied Chrissie, not sure where to put herself. “Ms Rajan, I think perhaps it’s time to move onto the tower?” she said, raising her voice and changing the subject.
Nisha waved from the other end of the group of children, and Chrissie’s heart leap as an involuntary – and thoroughly indecent – image from the night before flashed across her mind. “Come on, everyone,” said Nisha, “time to rock and roll.” The children began to shuffle towards the Eiffel Tower, chattering loudly about how scared or otherwise they were of the height they might end up climbing to.
“I could climb to the very top and sit on the point without being scared,” Hardev announced.
“Right you are, mate,” said Dan. “Come on, you lot, pick up your feet.”
Happily, because they were a pre-booked group, the Birmingham school party didn’t have to wait in the enormous queue filled with tourists from around the globe. For the sake of simplicity, and to keep things interesting for the children – and perhaps to tire them out a bit – they’d opted to take them up the stairs rather than use the lift.
By the time they’d all reached the main platform, they were ready for a rest. “Ok, everyone,” said Nisha, “grab your water bottles and have a little drink before you do anything else, please.”
Suddenly, the sound of Nisha using her teacher voice had become something far more intimate to Chrissie, who had been bossed about by the teacher in a very different setting just a few hours earlier. She shook her head. This was not the time.
“Miss Anderson?” came a little voice. It was Francis. “I’m a bit scared. Will you hold my hand?” Chrissie looked down at the boy, who had significantly more colour in his cheeks than he’d had the night before.
“Of course, Francis. It is very high, isn’t it?” said Chrissie. His hand was cold. “Don’t you have gloves?”
“I have mittens,” Francis replied, “but Hardev said they were babyish.” He looked at his shoes.
“Mittens!” said Chrissie, “I love mittens. Look at mine,” she added, pulling her purple and green woollen ones from her pockets. “These are my favourite pair. Look, I’ve got them on now, and I’m not a baby, am I?”
“No,” said Francis, a smile forming on his face. “Look, mine are blue and red.” He put them on.
“Lovely,” Chrissie told him. “I must get a pair like that.”
It was clear Francis wasn’t going to cope with the higher levels of the tower, so Chrissie offered to stay behind with him while Dan, Philippa and Nisha took the rest of the overexcited rabble up.
“Right, Francis. Don’t tell anyone, but as well as mittens, I love hot chocolate. There’s a café over there, and I think they do hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows on. What do you think?” asked Chrissie, once the rest of the children had disappeared.
Francis’ eyes grew large. “Are we really allowed?”
“Yes,” said Chrissie, looking at his tiny frame and thinking he could probably use the calories. “Come on, let’s go.”
They sat side by side, drinking their hot chocolate and studiously avoiding the view in case it made Francis feel afraid. Chrissie allowed herself to think back to the feel of Nisha’s lips on hers, Nisha’s hands on her body, and shivered. The sweetness of the hot chocolate only added to the sensation of warmth she was experiencing.
“Miss,” said Francis, taking her from her reverie. “I think this hot chocolate and the mittens have made me brave enough to look at the view now.”
“Wow,” said Chrissie. “Ok, Francis, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. But perhaps you could hold my hand?” he suggested. “But don’t tell the others.”
“Deal,” said Chrissie with a smile.