Black Cat Weekly #4

FLOORED, by Hal Charles

FLOORED, by Hal Charles

Monica Jeffries glanced nervously at her watch for what must have been the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes. Where could Chloe be? Monica’s instructions had been so clear—what could possibly have gone wrong?

She had wanted her niece’s first visit to the U.S. to go perfectly, and the trip had been in the planning stages for nearly a year. Although Janine, her sister and Chloe’s mother, had been more than a little nervous about letting her only daughter travel from rural France as a high school graduation gift, Monica had assured her that all the bases were covered.

And they had been until a last-minute work emergency had upset Monica’s well-laid plans. Not two days before Chloe’s flight was scheduled to leave Charles DeGaulle airport, Monica’s boss had insisted that she attend a “game changing” meeting at the very time she was to meet her niece as she arrived at the airport.

Not wanting to pay the exorbitant fee to change flights, Monica had made a call to her sister with instructions to secure enough U.S. currency to pay Chloe’s cab fare from the airport to the city’s best known department store that fortunately was within walking distance of Monica’s office. Monica set a time for the two to meet that would allow Chloe plenty of time to get into the city from the airport.

Janine was a bit concerned, but Chloe, who had traveled across Europe as a member of her high school track team, saw the change of plans as an adventure.

After the meeting, Monica had checked her cell to be sure Chloe’s flight had arrived on time, then walked the two blocks to Deltons Department Store. She was so excited at the prospect of showing her niece the city she loved.

Her excitement had ebbed after waiting almost 30 minutes past the appointment time right where her instructions had indicated: at the marble staircase next to the elevators on the 1st floor.

Had Chloe been like most kids her age, Monica could have simply called her on her cell phone to find out what had happened. But since moving to France years earlier to live with Jean Claude, Janine had adopted a back-to-basics lifestyle that saw cell phones and television sets as distractions. The family didn’t even own a car, preferring bicycles as their mode of transportation.

Not knowing exactly what to do, Monica thought of calling Janine to make sure Chloe had actually boarded the plane in Paris, but surely her sister would have called if Chloe had missed the flight. And if her niece were on the plane, a call to Janine at this time could unduly upset her already nervous sister.

Monica scanned the busy store. Surely Chloe would not have wandered off among the aisles of clothing and other merchandise. No, her niece had the discipline of a budding track star and would have followed her instructions to the letter: 1st floor staircase near the elevators.

Monica comforted herself in the thought that the city’s streets were often clogged during the work week. Perhaps Chloe’s taxi was hung up in traffic or the cabbie had opted to take a less-than-direct route to the department store. She was certain Chloe, who spoke flawless English, had given the driver the proper address. Besides, every cabbie in the city was familiar with Deltons.

As Monica’s gaze shifted to the row of elevators to her left, a smile came to her lips. Why hadn’t she realized it sooner? She knew exactly where to find her niece.

SOLUTION

Looking at the floor indicators above the elevators, Monica realized that her instructions for Chloe to meet her at the staircase on the 1st floor would have meant something different to her niece. In France what Americans call the 1st floor is known as the ground floor; their 1st floor is our 2nd floor.

Sure enough, Monica found Chloe sitting in a chair next to the staircase on the store’s 2nd floor. Arriving right on time, Chloe the athlete had bounded up the stairs rather than taking the elevator where she might have figured out the difference in floors.

Chloe’s visit to the U.S. was so much fun for her and Monica that she promised to return the next summer.