My friends and I used to hang out at this dive hotel bar downtown that we affectionately called The Pit. It was convenient for all of us, it was cheap to drink there, and on any given night, someone you know would show up to unwind after a hard day.
One typical night in June, I was hanging out with two of my friends, Dale and Rhonda. We were talking about the typical things that people typically talk about after work. It was all very typical. It was a Wednesday.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a girl walking by, a very attractive girl. That wasn't typical. An attractive girl at The Pit?
A little later on, that same girl came over to our table and asked if she might have a cigarette. That's happened at the Pit all the time but no one ever asked with a French accent before.
That’s the moment my life changed forever.
“You know, you can join us if you like.” She said “thank you” and sat down. My heart was beating like a hummingbird's wings.
She told us she had arrived in Phoenix yesterday for a summer internship at the Phoenix Art Museum. She was looking for a room to rent through the local New Times classified ads and was staying at the Ramada until she found one. I would have asked her to move in with me right then but I was thinking “Shit, I should have cleaned the house last weekend.” Knowing that our friend Michelle had a recently vacated room, I suggested that. "What a good idea!" Rhonda called her.
Michelle wasn’t too keen on the idea. She said "No way am I going to let someone you met at The Pit in my house!" But Rhonda talked her into at least meeting her first before she said no. So she did...a few days later. Michelle fell in love with Cécile just like I did. Well, not quite like I did.
I got to spend the whole summer with her. It was the greatest summer of my life. Unfortunately, she had a boyfriend back in Paris. Shit.
Because she had to take the bus to and from the museum everyday (and anyone that's been in Phoenix in the summer time knows how much that sucks), I would leave work early to drive downtown to pick her up just so I could drive her back to Michelle's or maybe take her out to dinner or a drink. I spent every moment I could with her.
One night during our trip to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, we sneaked away from the rest of the group we were with and watched a jazz fusion band playing outside. I put my arm around her shoulder (hey, it gets cold in Flagstaff at night) but I felt her kind of tense up so I removed it (but in a cool way...yeah...right). Oh well.
But, the next day, she made me so happy when she said she would ride back to Phoenix with me in my truck. Cool. Two and half hours of just her and me. It was awesome.
As the summer was winding down, it was time for Cécile to finish her internship paper. She had decided to write it in English and asked if I would help her edit it. We were up until 2:00AM finishing it. We sat side by side for 6 hours. Sometimes our legs would touch or a shoulder would brush against the other's as we would lean towards the screen or point to something. That was the sexiest editing job I ever had.
Alas, the summer was over. She was going back to France. As a surprise for her going away party, I put a cooler in the back of my pickup with a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. As the party wound down, I asked Cécile to come outside and take a walk with me. We drank the champagne out of plastic cups and then took a walk around the neighborhood. That was the first time I kissed her. It was only a little kiss on the lips. Nothing that anyone but me would have thought was earth shattering (unfortunately, she was a little tipsy and, to this day, doesn't remember it).
As a going away present, I bought her a bell from Arcosanti. This one was designed by Paulo Solari in honor of his departed wife. I bought one for myself too. I knew every time I heard it ring, I would think of Cécile. I was hoping that it would be the same for her.
That day at the airport was a really hard one for me. When it was my turn to say good bye, I hugged her so tight (that, she remembers). Later, she told me that it felt so great to be in my arms. I wished I had known that then. I would have gotten right on the plane with her so I would never have to let her go. As it was, I wondered if I ever would see her again.
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