People don’t take trips, trips take people - Antoine 03

As Lily re-entered her bedroom 10 mins later, having given Antoine one of her wigs, a stripy long sleeve top and a pair of loose pants to change into, she found him looking incredibly miserable leaning against the wall.

(See image)

She couldn’t help but giggle seeing him standing there in her clothes. “Please, don’t laugh at me Lil, I feel self-conscious enough as it is", he said flustered, "we can't do this, it's crazy, I’m never going to fool your mother into thinking I’m Zara”.

“Sorry, it’s just so strange seeing you dressed up like that and you look so different with long hair, but trust me it will work, after I leave the room, wait a few minutes before leaving, keep your head down and go straight to Zara’s room, ok”?

“What if she talks to me”?

“Just ignore her and keep moving, it doesn’t matter if she thinks you’re unfriendly, she only has to believe you’re Zara”.

“I guess it could work, but I’m really nervous Lil”, Antoine said shaking.

Lily stepped forward and gave him a kiss on the lips, “you can do this, ten seconds and it will be over, then you can go on your trip later, forgot all about this, and when you get back in a week, everything will be back to normal.

She kissed him one more time and gave him a smile that melted his heart, "Ok, ten minutes, right"? she said, he nodded indicating he understood and watched her leave the room, leaving him alone to contemplate the crazy situation he found himself in.

“Ok you can do this Antoine, man up”, he said to himself as he paced the room in Lily’s pink furry slippers, the only footwear she owned that would fit his larger feet. It was hard not to think about what he was wearing, still surprised, he fit into any of Lily's clothes at all, her being a foot shorter and lot smaller than him, but the loose baggy clothes she had chosen all though a little tight fit would have to do.

Ten minutes later, and it was go time, he stood with his hand on the doorknob shaking, psyching himself up, trying to find the courage to step into the unknown. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, opened the door and stepped out into the living room, and bumping straight into Lily’s mother. 

He cursed his luck, he had always had terrible timing but for her to be walking in front of the door at that moment was particularly unlucky, “Oh, careful”, shrieked Lily’s mother, “you almost knocked me over”.

Antoine stood there trembling with his path blocked as he quickly ran through his options in his head. He could run back into the room, but that seemed like a bad idea, if he was supposed to be Zara, it would seem odd for her to go back into Lily’s room. Alternatively, he could push past her make a run for Zara’s room, but that would be extremely rude. It left him with only one option, he lifted his head and smiled, “I’m really sorry, I’m Zara”, he said in a high awkward voice, “it's nice to meet you”.

Lily’s mother looked confused as she stared at him scanning his facial features, trying to work out who or what stood in front of her. For Antoine, those few seconds being scrutinized and sized up, felt like hours as his palms started to sweat, and his heartbeat quicker his chest.

After a few moments with no reply, Antoine ducked his head once more, he had been caught, he knew it, and now he would have to explain who he was, and why he was wearing Lily’s clothes, it would be humiliating and worse still, he would probably never be allowed to see Lily again. Wanting to end the awkwardness, and about to apologise and tell the truth, Lily’s mother stopped him by finally deciding to speak, and it definitely wasn’t the response Antoine was expecting, “oh don't worry dear, it's my fault, I should have been watching where I was going, did you find an outfit”? Lily’s mother asked smiling.

Antoine looked confused, “outfit”? Antoine asked puzzled.

“For your date, tonight! Did you find something to wear”?

“Err..’ oh yeah, an outfit, yes, Lily helped me pick something out”? Antoine said shocked that the woman actually believed he was Zara.

“Perfect, well come and join us for a chat then, you can drink your coffee, I'm Monique, Lily's mother”, she said raising a manicured hand.

Antoine took a hold of her hand and gave it a light shake, “my coffee”? he asked.

“Yes, well there are two cups on the side and there’s only you and Lily here, it’s yours right”?

Antoine looked over to where he had left the two coffee cups from earlier, before looking over at Lily for help, who just shook her head and mouthed the words no.

“Uh, yes it’s mine”, Antoine answered bowing his head, he hadn’t known what else to say.

“Why are you so nervous dear? I don’t bite you know”, Monique said putting her arm around Antoine, "come and sit with us, Lily has told me a lot about you, but it’s nice to put a face to the name”.

Antoine shuffled across the living room carpet, in his Lily’s furry slippers and sat down on the sofa. He looked over at Lily and got a sinking feeling in his stomach, seeing the look of terror on her face, in all the time he had known her he couldn't recall ever seeing her look frightened, she was always so decisive and confident, and this more than anything else that had happened that day terrified him the most.

“So, Zara, you were on the same fashion course as Lily, right? How did you find it”? Monique asked.

Antoine looked at her with his mouth open, not knowing how to answer, he knew nothing about fashion, what was he going to say? Luckily Lily came to the rescue, “she did great mama, top of our class, a much more talented designer than me”, Lily said answering for him, but talking about the real Zara.

“Wow, that's wonderful, I’ve seen some of Lily’s designs, they’re really impressive, and I’m not just saying this because I’m her mother if yours are even better, I'm sure you'll go far, “Monique said impressed.

After a moment of awkwardness, where no one spoke, Monique continued to ask questions, “so, Zara,  Lily tells me you cancelled your trip to find a job, any luck so far”.

“She’s still looking Mama”, Lily answered for him once more.

Monique looked confused, “Lily, the girl doesn’t need you to speak for her, I’m sure she’s capable of answering for herself”, she said glaring at her daughter.

“Sorry Mama”, Lily replied shaking her head. "just trying to help".

Monique tried again, “so, Zara, what kind of work are you looking for”?

Antoine was on his own now and would have to come up with a believable answer, he thought for a moment about the real Zara, and what she might say if sat there in his place, “Well my dream is to one day design my own fashion line and see it walk down the runway at Paris fashion week, but right now, I know I need to start at the bottom, so I guess I would take any retail job, just to get some experience”. Antoine answered, seeing Lily out of the corner of his eye in shock, he couldn’t blame her as he was equally as shocked himself not knowing where the words had come from.

“Oh how nice, it’s so refreshing to see a young person with some ambition, you chase your dream Zara, and if there’s anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask, ok? You obviously mean a lot to Lily”.

“Thank you, Mrs Charpentier, that’s very kind”, Antoine answered.

“Happy to help dear, and please call me Monique, Mrs Charpentier make me feel old”.

“Ok”, Antoine said unsure of himself, “thank you, Monique”.

Monique smiled turning to face her daughter, “I like your friend Lily, she so polite and has a goal in life, you could learn a thing or two from her, you know”?

Lily sighed and looked a little annoyed, “If you say so, mama”.

Monique ignored the snarky comment and turned back to Antoine, “so, tell me Zara do you have any plans for today? are you going out at all”? She asked.

Antoine didn’t like the question, “errr…No, I’m going to be in all day”. he answered quickly.

“All day, I thought you had a date later”? Monique asked confused.

“Yeah, my date, of course, but that’s not until much later this evening, sorry I thought you meant this afternoon”, Antoine answered, the word date almost getting stuck in his throat as he glared at Lily.

A strange look crossed Monique’s face, "no, that won’t do, we can't have that, it’s a beautiful day outside, you can’t be couped up in here all day, Lily has promised to take me out into the centre for a little shopping, you can come with us, it would be so nice to have someone cheerful around for a change, maybe you’ll rub off on miss misery guts over there” she said glancing at her daughter, “now go and pick out a nice skirt to wear, it’s far too warm for pants today, and I’m sure a young fashionista like you wouldn’t want to be seen out in those tatty old things”, Monique added, looking down at his baggy pants and pulling a face, “now if you’ll excuse me, I need to freshen up a little before we head out, shall we meet back here in one hour girls”?  And having finished her sentence, Monique stood up, walked towards the guest bedroom, set up for when she visited, leaving Antoine and Lily staring at each other in stunned silence.