2016
I know I said I would keep quiet, but I just can’t do it anymore. “Of course I knew he was special,” I huff.
“Yes,” Amélie replies. “I see that now.”
“You were falling in love with him.”
She nods. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was. I didn’t want to be, but I couldn’t help it.”
“Jack always had that effect on women. He was so good-looking.”
“Yes, but his appeal was far more than his appearance. What was truly devastating was his kind heart.”
“Kind!” I glower at her. “You think it was kind of him to practically jilt me at the altar?”
“He felt terrible about that,” Amélie says. “If you knew him at all, you must realize how difficult that was for him.”
It couldn’t have been more difficult than it was for me. I sniff. “So did you seduce him that night?”
“Non.” Amélie crosses her legs. “We slept in the bunk beds. He was a perfect gentleman. He took the top bunk. He gave me privacy to undress and ready myself for bed. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. It was on the second train that everything changed.”
Now we are getting somewhere. I lean forward.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” Amélie asks. “Perhaps it will be too painful.”
“No, no, no! Don’t you dare stop now!”
She dips her head in a graceful nod. “All right, I will continue. But you must be quiet and let me talk.”
“I will.”
“I realize this will not be easy for you to hear.”
“Please. I want to know.”
“Do you want to hear the things he said about you?”
“Oh, yes. I especially want to know that.” Unless you are making it up to hurt me.
“It might make you angry.”
“I have been angry for years.”
She lifts her brows and gives a little smile, as if I have said something amusing.
“I will become angry only if I think you are lying to me or not telling me everything,” I say.
“I have no reason to lie or withhold information—if you are sure you can bear to hear it.”
“You cannot tell me anything that will make me hurt worse than I have already,” I say.
“All right, then. Here goes.”