12. Lauren
CHAPTER 12
LAUREN
L auren jogged after the bus. She was running a little late, and while the next bus would probably still have reached Nico’s house on time, she didn’t want to risk it. She reached the stop just as the bus’s lights began flashing to indicate that the doors were closing. She was able to slip between the doors just in time and gave a grateful wave to the driver, as she’d seen Parisians do. Then she made her way to a seat at the window and slumped gratefully into place.
It was hard to believe that it had been almost three weeks since she and Nico had begun dating. Over the last weeks, Lauren had gotten accustomed to taking this bus ride, sometimes multiple times a week, to have dinner with Nico and Louis or to meet them for a weekend adventure. Other days, she and Nico met for lunch while Louis was in school or spent long evenings at one of their apartments while Louis was at his grandmother’s house.
Over the last few weeks, Lauren’s life had changed a lot — in quiet, sweet ways. She’d settled into her new role as a professor. Céline had even let her start leading classes and, from next week, Lauren would be teaching a few classes on her own. At the same time, she and Céline had become friends and had started meeting up for coffee most days. Céline was a vibrant woman who seemed eternally excited for everything in life, which Lauren enjoyed.
What stood out more than her professional development (even though Lauren was finally understanding what it was like to wake each morning excited about work) was her personal life. Over the last weeks, she’d learned a lot about Nico. She’d learned that he could easily get lost in enthusiastic analysis of French texts from hundreds of years ago. She’d learned that he had two pairs of glasses, one for work and one for the rest of his life, and that he hated contacts. She’d learned that there was little he loved more than a warm beverage, whether it was coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or something more exotic (he’d made horchata last week and matcha the week before). She’d learned that he got a little crease in his cheek when he gave a genuine smile and that he could be defensive about his parenting — although not usually with Lauren.
And Lauren had learned about Louis, too. She’d learned that he loved science and history and that he enjoyed making complicated inventions out of household items, like a dinosaur helicopter out of cardboard boxes, a marble maze out of toilet paper rolls and tape, or, once, when Lauren forgot her hair tie, a marginally functional hair clip out of a stapler spring and bottle lids. She’d learned that he enjoyed predictability and routine and that he always did his homework in a specific order. And she’d learned that he could make almost anyone laugh by pretending to trip over his own feet.
More and more, Lauren felt like she was settling into her life here in Paris. It wasn’t quite the freedom she’d imagined, since she spent most of her days at work or with Nico and Louis, but it was even better. Lauren had always felt a little sad that the circle of her family was so small with only her and her grandfather in it. Now, even though she knew it was too soon, she felt almost like a part of this little family.
Today, that feeling was only growing stronger. Lauren was on her way to Nico’s house, where they would pile into his car for a trip out into the countryside. Yesterday, Nico and Lauren had sent a flurry of messages as they planned and purchased picnic supplies, from chips to a baguette and cheese, to apples and lemonade. Nico had also sent a picture of Louis with a bucket hat and a pair of hiking boots and the caption “He’s ready for the wilderness.” Lauren had laughed aloud on the metro, drawing a few strange looks.
The bus pulled up at the stop near Nico’s house, and Lauren disembarked. She’d managed to be early, despite her concerns. When she arrived, Nico and Louis were loading a cooler and a few large reusable shopping bags into the trunk of their car.
“Lauren!” Louis waved fervently as though she might not see the two of them. “Over here!”
“Hey!” Lauren crossed the road to them, where she gave Louis a quick hug, then handed him the plastic bag of picnic provisions she’d purchased the day before. “Could you load this in the car for me?”
“Sure.” Louis slung the bag over his shoulder. “But you really shouldn’t use plastic, you know. It’s bad for the environment. Right, Papa?”
“Lauren can use plastic bags if she wants.” Nico emerged around the side of the car and Lauren’s heart warmed. He was dressed more casually than usual, in a pair of work pants with boots and a T-shirt. He would almost have fit in back home in Nebraska. His dark hair was tousled and he was wearing his casual glasses.
“I should buy some reusable bags, though.” Lauren winked at Louis and he grinned up at her before bounding off to load the bag.
“Hey, you.” Nico stepped close and planted a quick kiss on Lauren’s lips while Louis’s back was turned. Although Louis seemed to enjoy having Lauren around (Nico reported that he asked about her frequently), the boy made loud gagging noises at any kind of PDA.
“Hi.” Lauren smiled at Nico. Even after a few weeks, being this close to him still made her heart flutter, especially when he squeezed her hand in his.
“Are you looking forward to a day in the countryside?” Nico asked. Then he swept his gaze over Lauren and frowned. “Are you sure you have the right clothes?”
Lauren glanced down at her outfit, which was a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with walking shoes, then back up at Nico. “Unless we’re going to a swamp, I think I’ll live.”
“You look gorgeous,” Nico added. He gave Lauren another quick kiss, this time on the cheek, which elicited a loud “Ewwww!” from Louis.
“Sorry, bud.” Nico released Lauren’s hand and ruffled his son’s hair.
“Come on, come on!” Louis ducked his father’s hand and clambered into the back seat. “Let’s go!”
“I think that’s our cue.” Nico winked at Lauren, then circled the car to open the passenger-side door for her. “My lady.”
“Thanks.” Lauren slid into her seat, and Nico closed the door. Then she twisted to smile at Louis. “Are you excited for your day in the countryside?”
“Yeah. I hope we see some big snakes.” Louis held his hands as far apart as he could to indicate just how big the snakes would be. “But I’m a little worried about the bears.”
“The bears?”
“Yeah!” Louis’s eyes were wide with excitement. “There might be bears!”
“Really?” Lauren was more than a little skeptical that they would see bears in the French countryside, but perhaps Louis knew something she didn’t.
“Really!”
Nico slid in beside Lauren and turned on the radio. An eighties song about love and chasing the sun came on just as Nico guided the car out of the parking lot, and Lauren began to sing along. A moment later, Louis joined in with made-up lyrics. Nico laughed at them for almost a full minute before grudgingly joining in. By the time they pulled onto the highway, though, Nico was singing along just as loudly to a pop song about bubbles as Louis and Lauren were.
They exited the freeway onto a narrow country road a few miles later, and Lauren rolled down the windows to let the warm spring air in. The smell of fresh grass and sunshine floated into the car.
“Cows!” Louis exclaimed, pointing to a field on their left. Sure enough, there was a small herd of brown cows chewing lazily on the grass. They passed through a small leafy forest before Nico guided the car into a parking area. There were three battered picnic tables with a view over the forest behind them and the fields in front.
“It’s the wilderness!” Louis exclaimed. He couldn’t get out of the car fast enough and almost got tangled in his seatbelt. Lauren chuckled.
“He’s excited.”
“So am I. It’s a beautiful day and I’m apparently out in nature.”
“I don’t know if I’d exactly consider this as nature.” Lauren unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the car. The picnic tables were only a few steps away. “Maybe we could go for a little walk and find a nice picnic spot. I packed a blanket, so we don’t need a table.”
“Yeah!” Louis punched the air enthusiastically. Nico looked a bit more hesitant, but he nodded.
“I just hope we don’t run into any wild animals.”
Lauren laughed and threaded her arm through Nico’s to pull him closer.
“You’re adorable. I doubt we’ll see any animals wilder than cows and maybe a bird or two. You’re such a city guy.”
Nico rolled his eyes and squeezed Lauren’s arm. “Just because I don’t usually spend my weekends tramping through a muddy field doesn’t mean that I’m a city guy.”
“No, of course not. The fact that you’re calling this gorgeous meadow a ‘muddy field’ does. Are you the one who told Louis to watch out for bears?”
Nico gave her a shifty look. “You can never be too careful when it comes to bears.”
Lauren laughed so hard she almost ran out of air. Then she chose a small path that wound back towards the forest and led the way on their adventure. Louis ran circles around them like an excited puppy, his arms loaded with bags that he insisted on carrying, while Nico hauled the cooler and Lauren took the last few items. After a little more than ten minutes of walking, they came across a perfect picnic spot: a small patch of clear ground near both the meadow and a small stream that ran through the forest. Lauren spread out the picnic blanket and they set up their lunch.
“Okay,” Nico said as Lauren handed him a chunk of baguette and a bottle of lemonade. “I have to admit that I was skeptical, but this isn’t bad.”
They looked in unison at Louis, who was busily jumping back and forth across the stream. He was as surefooted as a mountain goat on the large boulders and logs that lined the water.
“It really isn’t,” Lauren agreed. With a smile, she reached over and squeezed Nico’s hand. “Thanks for inviting me to come with you.”
“Inviting you?” Nico gave an uncharacteristic snort. “We wouldn’t have come without you. You encouraged me to get outside more, and this is directly because of that. So, you’re the one we have to thank for this gorgeous day.”
Lauren blushed. “Well, you’re the one I have to thank for all the gorgeous days I’ve been having since I got to Paris.”
“Days and nights.” Nico winked, and Lauren blushed.
“Yes, and nights. I know we’re taking things slow, but I want you to know that I love spending time with you and Louis. It’s been wonderful.”
“We love spending time with you, too.” Nico gave Lauren a quick kiss on the cheek, then, when he saw that Louis was thoroughly distracted by a particularly fascinating stick, he tilted her face and kissed her more deeply. “To be continued,” he said when he pulled away.
Warmth and anticipation flooded Lauren. Somehow, Nico became more attractive to her with each day they spent together. She’d felt a strong physical pull from the very beginning, which had only grown, but seeing Nico as a professor and a father only increased her attraction.
“What’s for lunch?” Louis came bounding back over the stream. Nico introduced the options, and Louis grabbed an apple and a piece of bread before continuing his forest exploration. Lauren smiled after him.
“It seems like we’re going to have to entertain ourselves,” she pointed out.
“Don’t worry, I brought a whole stack of papers to grade.” At Lauren’s scowl, Nico laughed. “I did, but that doesn’t mean I have to do them right now.”
“No, we probably should. I brought some tests with me, too. This is the part of being a professor that I’m not loving.”
“The constant grading?”
“Yeah.” Lauren wrinkled her nose. “I like the students, and the teaching is getting easier. But the grading never gets more fun. And the spelling is atrocious.”
“Even the spelling in French is atrocious. And I don’t just mean yours.”
“Hey!”
“I am your professor.” Nico wiggled his eyebrows. “We’ll see what grade you get.”
“Conflict of interest!” Lauren whacked Nico gently on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry.” Nico grinned. “I’m actually having another professor grade your assignments, just to be safe.”
“How professional.” Lauren was actually impressed. She hadn’t considered that Nico might have taken steps to protect them from any sense of foul play, but she liked that he had. It made her feel cared-for.
“Is there more food?” Louis was back, a splatter of mud on one of his legs, looking flushed and happy.
“Of course. Would you like another piece of bread?”
“Sure.” Louis accepted the bread and flopped down onto the picnic blanket, signaling an end to the adult conversation. They spent the rest of the afternoon eating and enjoying each other’s company and the beautiful view. Louis went exploring a few more times, returning each time with a little more mud and grass stuck to him.
“It’s good that clothes can be washed,” Nico mused as Louis picked his way towards them across the meadow, a stick as tall as him grasped in his hand. “And faces.”
“True. But the memories will never be washed away.”
Nico looked at Lauren and they both burst into laughter.
“That was the cheesiest thing ever, ” Nico said when he regained his breath. “You’re adorable. You should become a poet!”
“Not with a line like that!” Lauren giggled. “’Though the clothes will one day be clean; the memories will stay, if you know what I mean.’”
“That’s even worse!”
“I know!”
By the time they arrived back in central Paris that evening, all three of them were in good moods. The day out in the fresh country air, with no bear or snake sightings, had done them all good. Nico gave Lauren a long kiss outside her door before she went in, both of them ignoring Louis’s boos.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come back to my place?” Nico asked, Lauren’s hands clasped in his. She hesitated. It had been a long day, her shoes were muddy, and she had papers to grade. But really, there was no question.
“Of course I will.”
“Excellent.”
And so that night, as was happening more and more, they fell asleep in each other’s arms in Nico’s bed, dreams of meadows and forests and the future floating through their heads.