When they awoke, it was getting toward evening in Paris.

“We slept too long!” exclaimed Bea.  “We missed the day in Paris!”

“But we did NOT miss the night and that is when Paris sparkles!” announced Prudy.  “So what do you wanna do first?  The Eiffel Tower? Dinner? Shopping? What?”

“I’m starving!” announced Purity.

“Me too! said Bea. “You said the food tasted different.  What are we gonna eat?”

“Do you trust me to know what you like?” asked their oldest sister. The girls had little choice but to agree.  They did trust Prudy.  And she had one of those whimsical smiles on her face.

They went down to the lobby of the hotel and hailed a taxi.

“Le Champs Elysees, si vous plais!” Prudy told the driver.

Before long, they drove up to an avenue of twinkling lights and high end shops.  They walked up to a street stand that was making French crepes.

“What’s a crepe?” asked Bea.

“A crepe, pronounced crape, is like very thin pancake batter filled with all kinds of yummy insides.  The ones sold on the street tend to be filled with chocolate, strawberries, or bananas.  They also top the crepe off with whipped cream.  Let’s watch how he makes one and you can decide if you wanna try it.

“I want one of those!” they both gushed!

“Me too!  Don’t forget me! The girls heard a familliar voice come from the crowd.  All at once, they saw their sweet grandmother running up to them with her new little white poodle, Angel.  They rushed over to her and gave her a big hug.  For the next several minutes, the girls talked to their Grandmother about all their experiences so far.  When their crepes were ready, they wolfed them down like they hadn’t eaten in ten thousand years.

“Let’s go shopping!” Grandma said “There’s a store I most want to see.”

They walked down the Champs Elysees.  Angel pranced along as she led the way.  Bea remembered that her French teacher said this was THE street in Paris.  Her French teacher told of a legend that says that if you wait on the Champs Elysees long enough, everyone in the world passes by. They walked up to # 68 Champs Elysees.  The store name was simple: Guerlain.

“Grandma’s been buying perfume from this store for years!  Let’s go in!”

https://youtu.be/rJKAmLz3ywg

As they hovered over the fragrance bar smelling Grandma’s favorite perfume, Shalimar, they saw someone else they knew. Their oldest brother’s fiancee, Mari and her two young daughters were on their way to the restaurant within the shop.

“Where’s Kris?” asked Bea.

“He’s still eating dinner.  We were just on our way to check on his progress,” Mari explained. “He got to dinner late.  He was driving a Ferrari around the Eiffel Tower this afternoon and lost track of time.”

“Will you all be at the fashion show tomorrow?” asked Bea.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world! Mari smiled.  She hugged her sisters-in-law-to-be and led them to their brother.

When Kris saw them, he got up from his chair and hugged both his sisters tightly.

“I’m so proud of you, Bea,” he said.  You are really moving up in the world!”

For the next several hours, the group of them hung out, and shopped together.

“Let’s go see the Eiffel Tower!” Mari exclaimed. They hailed a few taxis and headed for the historical structure.

“Why is it still light out, Prudy?” asked Kris.

“Because we are closer to the North Pole here,” Prudy explained. The earth is tilted toward the sun during the summer and early fall.  The result is more sunlight for longer periods of the day. It’s just Science 101, really.”

“I learned that in school, but I never saw it in action,” said Kris.

Bea hugged her big brother again.  A well of joy and happiness rose up inside Bea’s heart.  Her family loved her and was with her.  She was sure that everyone she loved and had invited to this exhibition was in Paris tonight.  They climbed aboard the elevator which would take them to the observation floor of La Tour Eiffel.