‘Right. And you’re on a date later?’
‘Not sure. What about you?’ she found herself asking. ‘Are you dating anyone?’ Her cheeks flushed as she heard the words aloud.
‘Nah. Not right now. Need to take a bit of “me” time.’
‘That sounds so sensible.’
‘It does, don’t it!’ He grinned and rolled his eyes. ‘If I’m honest it’s not so much a decision but something that’s happened. I’ve kinda forgotten how to do it.’
‘Do what?’ She raised her eyebrows suggestively.
They made brief, humorous eye contact and she was surprised to see his cheeks redden.
‘Dating,’ he said. ‘Not, um, the other thing. I mean, the rules have all changed. Have you seen the dating app stuff?’
‘No. Well, not really.’
‘And there’s all this— There’s these rules,’ he said. ‘Like having a date, which is different from actually dating, then being official, and BF and GF and exclusive and… I mean, what happened to just going on a date and liking someone?’
‘It is a minefield.’
‘Definitely.’
‘You know,’ she said. ‘I didn’t feel at all old until I started to try to act younger than I am.’
Brad laughed.
‘I mean it! There’s nothing worse than realising you no longer understand how the world works.’
‘How the world of Gen Z works, you mean.’ Brad jabbed his thumb against his chest. ‘I’m a proud Millennial like you.’
‘Remember when we used to be seen as the complicated ones? The ones with all the newfangled ideas.’
He laughed again. ‘Ah, those were the days, right?’
They finished their coffees and Brad returned their tray. Then they made their way out into the day again. It was two o’clock and the air felt hot after the cool of the palace rooms.
‘Want to check out the gardens?’ Brad asked.
She checked the time. ‘Yeah, why not?’
Despite the heat, walking the orderly paths next to lush green bushes and plants was cooling – both the plants themselves and the shadows they cast gave relief from the intensity of the sun. She found herself breathing deeply – the air, still full of city scents, smelled cleaner here, fresher somehow.
‘I think I like the garden better than the house,’ she admitted. ‘It’s gorgeous, isn’t it.’
‘Yeah. That it is.’
‘It’s amazing really that all this is here. That you could walk ten minutes and be on city streets, take a bus ride and be in Paris. It’s like someone has managed to bring the country into the city; I could imagine I was miles away from anywhere.’
He was looking at her. ‘I like that,’ he said. ‘Like a reprieve from city living. An oasis.’
‘That’s it!’ She grabbed his arm and he looked around, alarmed, as if worried about a possible ambush. ‘The theme! I could bring the countryside to Hôtel Benjamin. Not the Paris theme – like you said, the guests are already in Paris. But something greener, bluer, more natural. Water, woods, wildlife. People could step through the door and feel like they’ve escaped all the noise and the dirt and the artificial light.’
He was still watching her face, nodding. ‘I love it!’ he said.
‘Thank you.’ She rummaged in her pocket and pulled out her phone. ‘I’m just going to note it down before I forget it.’
‘Good idea.’ He was silent for a moment as she typed. Then, when she slipped her phone back into her pocket: ‘You know, when you had that idea, you looked kinda?—’
