The small meal had been delightful and the conversation wasn’t a complete bore. Piper was actually shocked at the great time she was having. She and Larry had listened to the conversations of locals while trying to decipher the language before eventually giving up and developing their own silly translations instead. At one point, a woman carrying on a colorful conversation with what a appeared to be a friend, spotted their overly dramatic re-enactment and rolled her eyes and said, “Oh les américains.” This only seemed to ignite their laughter further.

When both of them were able to finally compose themselves, Larry eyed the blonde suspiciously, “So, Piper, what brings you here?”

For a moment, Piper looked like a deer in headlights as she determined how to best answer the question, finally she giggled a bit and said, “Umm…you mean here?,” she then pointed to the tabletop, “or you mean France?”

He smiled, “Either…or…both?”

She smiled politely, “Well, I’ve actually been living here in Paris for 6 months…”

He raised his eyebrows as he interrupted, “Oh wow, I don’t know for some reason I just assumed you were traveling like me.”

She smiled and swallowed, “Well, it’s only temporary, really. So I suppose you could call it traveling.”

He nodded trying to decipher the cryptic way in which the blonde was describing her current arrangement, “So, that sounds like an interesting story…”

Piper took a sip of her Pousse Café and shook her head, “No, not really. A friend of mine is an importer of…art…antiques and the like. I just came with.”

Larry looked impressed, “Really? That must be an interesting job.”

Her eyebrows lifted considerably as she pondered the thought. She was about to tell him he had no idea how interesting when a girl approached the table. Piper looked stricken, but it was too late to leave the café because the girl had already called her name, “Piper, hey! Is Alex with you?”

It was one of Alex’s mules. Piper did not relish the idea of involving Larry in any part of Alex’s business so she tried to keep the encounter to a minimum. “No, sorry,” she replied keeping her eyes downcast.

The girl didn’t seem to get the hint, “Well, shit! I’ve been calling your apartment for the last hour. Look, I’ve got an investor. Do you think you could take a message?”