“Hi!” the little girl said. “Don’t cry. We’ll help you.”
I gave her a weak smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re American?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Us too,” she said. “You look like Princess Merida.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling bigger. “I love her.”
“Me too!” she said, bouncing in excitement.
He noticed my suitcase and backpack sitting on the sidewalk. “Did you just get in?”
“Nick!” She pulled on his arm. “Help her open the door.”
“Oh. Yeah, of course.” He smiled at me, and I noticed his eyes were chestnut brown with glints of amber in their depths. He punched in some numbers. The door buzzed, thelatch released, and he took my suitcase in one hand, opened the door with the other, and said, “After you.”
“The code is three-six-one-nine,” she informed me as she led us across the lobby to the second security door.
“Oh, that explains it,” I said. “My dad added a zero when he texted the codes. Big thumbs. Thanks for helping me.”
“You’re welcome. This one is two-two-two-three,” she said, reaching up to punch in the code. Nick held the door open again. We walked through, and she pressed the elevator call button. Then she took my hand, and I felt a burden lift. I already knew two people in Paris. I wasn’t alone.
“What floor?” Nick said when we were on the elevator.
“I’m on four,” I said. “Four-oh-one.”
He smiled at me. “Five-seventeen. I’m Nick, by the way. And this is my sister, Sophie.”
I smiled back. “I’m Tosh.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Sophie asked.
I shook my head. “It’s just me and my dad.”
“Don’t you have a mom?” she said.
“That’s kind of personal, Soph,” Nick said.
“It’s okay.” I smiled at her so she’d know I wasn’t mad. “She had cancer. She died when I was six.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Nick said. He looked uncomfortable.
Sophie’s eyes were wide. “Six is how old I am.”
“It was a long time ago. I still miss her, but she’s always in my heart.” I squeezed Sophie’s hand, and she squeezed back. The elevator doors opened. Nick took my suitcase for me because Sophie hadn’t let go of my hand.
“You should come meet our mom,” she said. “If you get lonely. She’s really nice.”
“I’d like to do that. Thanks for helping me get in.”
“You’re welcome.”
Nick smiled at me. “Remember,” he said, “we’re in five-seventeen if you have any more problems with locks.”
The strangest things can change your life. If Dad hadn’t been in a hurry when he sent me the codes, I might not have met Nick. If I hadn’t met Nick, I wouldn’t have seen the Paris that lives underground. I wouldn’t have climbed the Eiffel Tower and seen it sparkle in the twilight. I wouldn’t have fallen in love. I wouldn’t have killed somebody.
