'Puzzled'

Episode 24 - A Holiday Fling

Episode 24 - A Holiday Fling‘Swiss Hotel’, Nice, France, 27 December

I get into the hotel elevator and bury my face in the chrysanthemums' heads, one of my favourite flowers. Don't even know why. It might be just because I've always loved the time of late autumn, or maybe, just because the yearly appearance of those fragile yet long lasting flowers announces, so beautifully, the arrival of winter magic.

Back in my room, I look for a vase. Not finding one, I call the reception, and soon, an artful arrangement of flowery tenderness comes into an existence on my night table: a welcome kiss of the Côte d’Azur.

Lying down on the bed, I look through photographs taken during my morning walk. The ones of the beach and the market seem to be especially good. I choose some and upload them on f*******:. Instantly, a comment from Nicolas arrives:

'Is it your take on 'the lady with the dog' [1]? Only in this instant the lady takes a pic of the dog ...  And who's that guy next to it, your holiday fling? :-)’

I type: ‘Ha-ha, have you been thinking of your literary ex again? Yes, my holiday fling. Are you jealous? :-)’

I wait, but he doesn't respond and, logging out of f*******:, I go to my ‘inbox’, checking for the reply from my electronic ‘admirer’, but no luck there.  Shutting the laptop, I throw a glance out the window and see a patch of sky, the bright blue. A sun ray falls onto my face. Caressing, it warms and lulls me at the same time.

I hear a knock at the door and listen, but all is quiet again. It must have been my imagination.

Getting up, I come to the window. Before me, a shimmering ribbon of lights winds away into the night. Admiring the view, I stand by the window a while, then swing it open. A breath of cold air enters the room, immediately giving me goose bumps. Humid, the air smells of seaweeds and salt.  The next moment, somebody's arms are thrown around me and I'm locked in a warm embrace, a male body passionately pressing against me.

'Chérie ... ' he whispers.

The embrace seems so cordial, so invigoratingly familiar. Trying to grasp the fleeting yet persisting memory, I’m about to turn around, but hear a loud knock at the door, then a key inserted into the lock.

I open my eyes and see a chambermaid walking in.

'Pardon, madam.,' she says, startled, 'I've knocked, but there was no reply. I thought the room’s empty. Would you like your bed to be turndown?'

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[1] The Lady with the Dog (Russian: Dama s sobachkoy) is a short story by Anton Chekhov first published in 1899. It tells the story of an adulterous affair between a Russian banker and a young lady he meets while vacationing in Yalta.