14. A walk

They walked all the way from Rue du Bac and the D'Orsay Museum to the Notre Dame Cathedral, on the southern side of the Seine. The weather was absolutely stunning. A gentle breeze was blowing so they did not feel the heat. 

There were a lot of souvenir stalls, painters selling their paintings, various types of artists, musicians, dancers and mimes performing along the shore. Jo took a lot of photos, as usual.

Matthew was very exhausted, but he didn't want to tell her. She looked radiant, and it seemed like her smile did not want to leave her face even for a moment. That was an extremely rare sight for him to admire.

At that moment, he felt as if she was so happy, then he could be too. He just had to find a way to sit, even for a few minutes. He hadn’t had a proper rest and sleep since the reunion of their team on Saturday. His body was desperately demanding a little downtime to get back up.

"Jo, it's almost lunch time. We should look for a nice place to eat". He hoped that she was at least hungry, if not tired.

"I have an idea!" She said looking at his tired face. He looked terrible like a panda with dark circles under his eyes.

"Hmm?" He muttered, albeit a little scared. He knew perfectly well what crazy ideas she had.

"A bad day in Paris is still better than a good day anywhere else as the famous saying goes."

"I am afraid to ask where I would like to eat." Finally he admitted his fear.

"Matt, I will have mercy today. I promise."

"Thanks. Could we find some patch of green grass where I could lie down for a while and have a short nap?"

"Forget it! I don't have that much mercy."

"I already had hope and began to regain faith in people, in your humaneness." He was teasing her but he knew exactly what to expect from her since they were in Paris.

"I'm not a compassionate person. You know that. I remember how you hurt me and I know what revenge is. As you tricked me to come to my bellowed Paris, I will show you a little compassion and understanding." She said in a very serious tone and tried to keep a poker face. 

She hesitated a moment but then started to talk even more seriously. "Let's go to Pompidou Centre. On the top there is a lovely restaurant with a beautiful terrace and we can take a taxi."

When he heard the last word, he was truly happy. By the next ten minutes, they were already standing outside the building.

"Could we take the lift inside? I don't like these escalators." He stated, looking at the escalator on the outside of the futuristic building. "Jo, I don't like high-tech architecture!"

"I know, but that's the fun of taking the escalators."

"Ok. This building is not that tall, I will survive." He muttered as he stepped on the escalator.

She was talking to him, so he didn't even notice when they arrived at the top floor. To their surprise, there weren't many customers in the restaurant and thus they had no problem finding a table outside on the terrace. 

The sky was cloudless and painted in a beautiful blue. The air was dry and clear so they could admire the city skyline with the Eiffel Tower.

"The view from here is magnificent!" Jo was ready to get up and take a few shots but before she could, the waiter arrived with the food.

"Jo, when you finish your lunch, you can go to the Museum of Modern Art. I can wait here. I know that you love that type of art." Matthew suggested. He already had a plan for a little rest.

"Do you realise that the museum has the second largest collection of modern art in the world? The biggest collection is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I already spent a few full days. If I go there, I won't be able to leave before the closing time. I love the photography, cinema and the new media collections." She said honestly. "Maybe next time."

They spent almost two hours in the restaurant where Jo took a lot of photos, until the battery in her phone was dead. Mathew offered his phone but she refused. After all, it was her fault that she hadn't charged her phone. In fact, it was even a good thing because Mike had sent her several messages since morning asking if she had eaten, if she had taken an antibiotic, how she was feeling, etc... She felt like the control freak was back. It didn't take long before he started sending messages to Matthew. She could see that he was irritated by this and finally stopped writing back.

"Matthew, tell him to fuck off. He could have come with us."

"It is correct. He could have come."

"I feel like the fucking control freak is back. It reminds me of various things from the past that I’ve tried to escape. Argh! I just can't stand it."

At that moment Matthew's phone began to ring. They both knew who was calling.

"Could I answer your phone, please?" Jo asked.

"No point in discussing anything with that freak." Matthew hesitated for a moment before answering. "Hello, Bro! What's the matter?" He said with a very cold tone. "We are fine. Jo’s phone is dead. Mine will also be dead in a moment. We are just on a walk Bro, I will call you later."

"That was so cool! You didn’t give him time to retort. I should learn from you."

"Mike didn't change much. He is still a control freak. If you don't stop him in time, he'll tire you with questions."

"After our reunion and especially yesterday, I now feel I shouldn't regret that I ran away." She admitted honestly.

"If you don't have regrets, you should be careful. He is not over both of yours past together, as of yet. I shouldn't say that, but you are also my friend."

"Thanks. I know. I can feel it."

From Pompidou Centre, they walked to Forum the Halles, a modern shopping mall largely built underground. Jo really wanted to buy a dress but when she saw the big crowds in front of the store, she gave up. She didn't like shopping, anyway.

Matthew laughed at her attempt. He knew that her greatest pain was to try on some clothes and shoes.

"You are too tall, have too long limbs, in fact. Wait, I have an idea. Let's take the rue de Rivoli. There are a lot of boutiques in that area. If we see a shop without too many customers, we can try there. What do you think?"

"I can buy something online."

"Are you sure you don't want to buy a dress in Paris?" He was teasing her. He knew perfectly well that she didn't care. In fact, he was so tired that he preferred to sit somewhere in the store while she would try on some clothes that could take a long time, rather than walk more miles on his feet.

"A dress from Paris or a dress ordered on-line, doesn't make any difference for me. It's only a dress."

"I am with you. That's the difference. I can help you with shopping in Paris. Online? Not so much."

"If you wish to have a boring afternoon, that's fine. Let's go shopping."

They came back home just before 8 pm. Matthew didn't realise that shopping with her was a real perdition. Despite the fact that she had an ideal figure, it was difficult to buy something that would look good and fit her perfectly; likewise with shoes. She was tall, so they couldn't buy too high heels. 

Anyway they came back with a few bags full of clothes. After this experience, he had doubts regarding what was worse, walking around with her while having a hangover or shopping, which caused him no less headache.