Chapter 7 Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Wyatt
“When will we finally get off da plane, Papa?” Theo whined.
“Soon, buddy,” I said.
After two changes, we landed in St. Louis.
Recent media scrutiny on Odette’s travel planning—and her frequent appearances on the company jet—made us take commercial.
I got that optics mattered, but things hadn’t been easy.
Given her disconnected, tired face, I knew she regretted austerity measures, but I would never say ‘I told you so’.
This trip meant the world and I risked nothing.
The plane pulled to the gate. Odette tossed her book in her purse and helped contain Theo while I fetched our carry-ons.
Theo’s legs were suddenly on fire. Odette, exhausted, tried distracting him long enough for us to debark.
Unlike LA, New York, and Chicago, there was no VIP area at St. Louis.
We walked through the terminal like anyone else to reach baggage claim.
“Grandma!” Theo screeched as we entered the arrivals area for our bags.
Mom appeared, picking him up and throwing him around, tearful, “Oh, there’s my favourite little man!”
Rebecca, my sister, greeted us while Theo rambled.
She hugged Odette. “How are you liking America?”
“So far,” Odette answered, “it has been a blur. Ask me in a couple days.”
Odette was overwhelmed, overstimulated, and disoriented. Normally, she was very warm.
“Of course. Let’s get you all home,” Mom said. “You must be exhausted.”
“I’m so tapped out,” Odette admitted.
“We’re going to be glad for a good bed.” I rubbed her back. “It’s not far to the house, babe.”
“Thank God. Let’s get the bags.”
“Let me get them,” I retrieved a luggage cart. “You all can wait.”
“I’ll help,” Rebecca offered.
Odette, Mom, and Theo chatted on a bench while Rebecca and I checked arrivals.
“Well, it’s coming soon,” I said.
“Uh-huh. And how are you?” Rebecca asked knowingly.
“My lips are sealed, sister,” I said. “But things are fine.”
“And it’s with you?”
I patted the ring box in my coat pocket. “On me all the time. It was a little harrowing going through security, but thankfully Theo kept Odie occupied.”
“That woman is a saint to do this journey with you,” Rebecca said. “You better wow her tomorrow.”
“I hope to,” I turned to them. “She deserves it.”
“You waited long enough.”
“It’s not my fault time just flew through our fingers. Things are complicated with Theo in full-time school.”
I’d not deliberately put off proposing to Odette.
She was everything I ever wanted in a partner.
I knew she was the right one. She even sort of proposed months before, but I promised her I wanted to do it properly.
I had a big reservation at a beautiful sky-high restaurant—a place that meant something—where I would propose.
With a buzz and a jolt, the belt started.
“Fingers crossed,” Rebecca clapped her hands.
I just wanted to grab the bags and head home. We quickly pulled my luggage and Theo’s space-themed suitcase off the belt. Unfortunately, that was it.
“What does her luggage look like?”
I pointed to the Louis Vuitton suitcase sitting near Odette’s feet.
“It all matches that,” I said.
“Oh, so pink and brown.”
“It’s custom,” I sighed. “Her own monogram is buried within it. You’ll see it.”
“How do you—”
“I don’t ask. It was a gift from her sister for Christmas. I swear to God if they’ve lost it, I’m going to lose my fucking mind, Becky.”
After thirty minutes and our flight disappearing from the big board, I panicked. It was time to break the bad news.
“Baby,” I said. “Bad news.”
“Where’s my luggage?” Odette asked in French before I even had time to explain.
“It’s missing. I will go down and report it. Why don’t you all go home while I sort this?”
“I just want to sleep,” Odette said in weary French.
“I know, baby. Feel free to sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll sort it out, okay?”
“You can borrow some pyjamas from me,” Mom offered. “You’ll be fine.”
“Those are brand new suitcases,” Odette said. “My evening dress is in there and—”
I leaned and kissed her head. “I know, I know, sweetheart. We will figure it out.”
She stood, hugged me tight, and said to Theo, “Daddy will join us later.”
Totally unbothered, he chirped. “Okay! Can I have cookies before bed?”
“Whatever you want,” Odette said.
As long as you are quiet and let me rest. That was the implication.
I stole our baggage claim tags from my carryon and threw the hand luggage on my bags.
My sister packed off with them, pushing our luggage along to Mom’s car.
Meanwhile, I went to report the lost bag.
There, I found three other people who flew Paris to New York, then onto St. Louis with the same problem.
Thankfully, this suggested they would eventually find our suitcases.
“Yes, can I help you?” The attendant asked.
“Yeah. These bags are lost.” I slid the claim tickets across the counter. “All the tickets are under my account.”
The attendant keyed in the information. “And this is your wife’s bag?”
I knew if I said no, there would be trouble. My superstitious side didn’t want to say, “Yeah, of course” because then what if she said no?
“Yes. She’s taken my son with her to my mom’s where we’re staying,” I said.
She nodded, satisfied. “Where will you be staying then?”
I wrote the address and passed it over.
“Alright. It looks like the bag probably went to Tampa along with the others I suspect,” she said. “We should have that back soon. I’m going to give you a number to call, and you can be reimbursed for whatever until that point. Just have her save any receipts.”
I took the piece of paper and called a cab.
I prayed the luggage made it in time for the gala.
We’d been invited to a Christmas-themed gala to celebrate the new tram opening.
We’d supplied the tech for it, but the system was unique.
The theme was Meet Me in St. Louis, a musical Odette adored.
She’d gone all out trying to reimagine Judy Garland’s dress from the ball.
I told her shoving it in the overhead bin was overkill and forced her to change things last minute to make it easier for us to make our tight connection in Paris.
Now, her dress was missing and nothing had gone right.
I departed back to the historic neighbourhood Isla and I chose for our U.S. home base years before. I realized I’d missed seeing Odette’s reaction. My heart sank. I wanted her to love it—and this city—but we were not starting out on the right foot.
At home, I found Mom and Theo awake.
“Where’s Odette?” I asked.
“The poor thing went straight to bed,” Mom said.
“Did she say anything about the house?”
“She was very quiet,” Rebecca said. “I’m not sure what to think. Is she upset? Did you two argue?”
“No,” I answered. “She’s exhausted and overwhelmed. You all have to remember that she’s never been to America—let alone the Midwest! This isn’t at all what she expected, I suppose.”
“Well, we will take her out to eat tomorrow morning and go shopping. I suppose she will need clothing,” Mom said.
“I can grab her some casual things. I’ll bring them around,” Rebecca offered. “It will do in a pinch. But you’re right.”
“Take her to Saks.” I scratched my head. “But what if she absolutely hates it? What if this place is just awful to her? It’s all gone so wrong!”
Theo interjected. “Papa, she will be happy. She always is.”
I patted his head. “You’re right, buddy. She just needs time to adjust.”
“I am happy she is here,” Theo said. “She’s my best friend.”
My heart melted. “Mine, too, buddy. Mine, too.”