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Elizabeth

#709

The Eiffel Dilemma

It was year 2006, on the 4th

of March, not long after I had turned seven, at exactly 8:45 in themorning; a public announcement came on when Dad was watching the news on channel ten. I

recall the exact words of the announcer.

“We have just received word of an earthquake approaching, magnitude 3.1. Scientists have

reported that much damage should come to the tall structures in the area. We have also been

informed that everyone should stay out of the downtown area and that all shop owners should

close up immediately and evacuate.” Those were his exact words of warning.

Dad’s fear got the best of him as he grabbed his wallet and rushed me out the door. I tried to

explain that it wasn’t a magnitude of large destruction and that it was only caused by tectonic plates slipping against each other, but he wouldn’t listen. 

The train’s stations were crowded with passengers with the fear of dying looming behind them.

Dad pulled me into a train, and the

door slid shut.

That’s when dad’s phone rang. It was

my mom calling from Rome, Italy.

Dad shouted into the phone over the

loud commotion in the background.

“Catherine?! I thought we agreed tonever call one another again!” 

Eventually Dad and I made it safely

to Berlin, Germany where we stayed

for a week before returning home to

Paris.

It was a memory that pierced myheart like a sharp arrow, each time I

thought of that past.

 Now I pulled my leather cowgirl boots on and followed dad out the

door, not forgetting to grab the velvet bag on the glass side table.

“Come along, Edith. We don’t want to be late.”

“But Dad, I told you, I don’t want a step-mom. I want my mom back.” 

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“Edith. I told you to quit bringing that subject up. We are through talking about Catherine.” His

eyes filled with tears. Dad had loved mom more than anything until they had a fight about how

much Dad was away on business and how he never spent enough time with his wife or daughter.

It had broken my heart to watch my parents argue with one another. Then came their divorce.

 Now, I lived with dad in Paris.

 Now that memory had passed, and I was living in Paris, and I was getting ready to meet the

newest-to-be person in my life. Dad had told me that he was taking me tonight to meet hisgirlfriend since she was going to become my new step-mom. This was something that I wasn’t

looking forward to.

Dad heaved a heavy sigh, “Now Edith, when we get to the restaurant I want you to present

yourself as best as you can. Elaine is a very sweet woman, and I don’t want to lose her like I lost

your mother.” 

I fumbled with the small velvet bag in my pocket. It had a magical dust that would make anyone

fall completely in love with someone if they inhaled the dust in some way. The dust was called,serifoam.

When we got to the restaurant,

my dad spotted a woman with

long blonde hair and she waswearing a simple evening

gown that was a deep blue.

We started to edge our way

towards her, and she came

gracefully waltzing over, and

kissed dad on the cheek. Itangered me to see that he

smiled from it.

I could see it in his eyes. Hewas falling for her, and

forgetting about mom.

“Bonjour, Nikki!” She offered

to get my dad a cocktail, but he refused and walked quickly to get a soda instead.

“Nikki? His name is Nickolas!” I put a hand on my hip for satisfaction.

“May I suggest that you give me the serifoam little girl?” Her eyes flared up in a dramatic way as

her eyes shifted towards Dad.

I glowered back and hissed, “ Not for the world Elaine!” Although at the same time, I wondered

why she had known about the serifoam in the first place. Dad did not even know that I had itwith me. She must have had some sort of x-ray vision, and just the thought of that freaked me

out.

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For the rest of the evening I tried being sweet and gentle towards Elaine since that’s what my dad

wanted me to do. But all she kept doing was yelling at me to bring her more sweets that her big

mouth could devour.

Finally, I gave up trying to act like a stepdaughter to her, and I flopped on a couch with a

magazine.

Eventually, my eyes fluttered shut, and I woke up to someone bending over me.

Dad whispered to me as his eyes twinkled, “Edith, I understand now that no woman could ever 

come between our bond as dad and daughter.” 

I didn’t reply. My eyes shifted over to the revolving door.

A woman in a lavender gown had just walked in. I could recognize those leather-strapped

cowgirl boots anywhere.

The pretty woman was mom, and I was overjoyed only for a few moments, until I saw what I

had missed.

There was someone with her.