Memoirs of a Swinger Ep. 33

We turned to page three and which had a short article about the gig and a solo picture of Julie singing, as well as a photo of the four of us and Clemens sitting at our table.

"When we said 'Have a great night'," Kate said, continuing her rant "we meant have a nice night, but not as nice as the one that Daniel and I were going to have. We didn't mean have a night that ends up with you getting up on stage and playing piano with a French pop star. And we certainly didn't mean have the sort of night that leaves you turning up the next morning in the clothes you went out in the night before."

Lesley couldn't help sniggering.

"Alain, Julie. This is my best friend in the whole world, Kate Davidson. And this is her husband Daniel," Lesley said giving Kate a big hug.

"Don't think you're getting round me that easily," Kate responded laughing.

Alain and Julie shook hands with Kate and then Daniel and then Lesley moved over to Suzy.

"This is Suzy, our lodger," she said then hesitated over how to introduce Uwe.

"And this is Uwe, who is now officially my boyfriend," Suzy interjected.

"I'm so pleased," Lesley said giving Suzy a small hug too then asking Uwe. "Does this mean you're going to take Steven up on his job offer then?"

"If he still wants me."

"Definitely," I replied. "Let's talk before you leave."

"So what does the article say then?" Kate asked.

Alain looked at the newspaper and translated for everyone.

................................................................

'Every journalist wants to look back on their career and say 'I was there when...'. Most of us never get the chance, but last night I was privileged to witness something special. I had gone to the Planet Jazz club to listen to an up and coming young saxophonist called Clemens Grond. Had nothing else happened that evening I would have gone home a happy man. Mr. Grond has a promising career ahead of him, of that there is no doubt.

It is no secret that Alain Besson and Julie Picardie have recently made their home in Geneva. The enfant-terrible of French cinema and the mercurial pop-princess have been living a low profile existence in our city for the past few months, but last night they visited 'the Planet' with friends from England.

We will never know whether it was by chance or by design but for whatever reason Miss Picardie was persuaded to take to the stage. She did not however perform the tunes that have made her popular with teenagers across France. Instead she did four numbers by Billy Joel. Miss Picardie was accompanied by Clemens Grond on saxophone, while one of her companions that evening, Lesley Carter, was persuaded to join her on stage and play piano.

Miss Picardie delivered a performance of such vocal depth and emotion that it captivated the audience. She proved that she can be a 'Chanteuse' in the true French tradition and, watching her on stage, it was clear that she was enjoying herself.

When she spoke to the audience it was only to confirm that she and Alain were very much an item (something that will no doubt disappoint a large section of the female population) and to thank Mr. Grond and Mrs. Carter.

According to Miss Picardie, Mrs. Carter is not a professional musician and this was in fact her first time on stage. It is almost too much of a stretch to believe that she could just turn up and play with such skill and enthusiasm, but whatever the truth is, it would be a shame to think that we had heard the last of her.

In short, I will be able to look back on this night and say 'I was there when Julie Picardie showed that she could be so much more than a pop-princess...."

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Lesley began to cry a bit and Julie comforted her.

"You should have seen her," Julie told everyone.

The door to Poppy's room opened and the surgeon and a nurse walked out. Seeing Kate, the surgeon walked over to her but you could see him do a double take when he saw Alain and Julie.

"I just wanted to let you know that Poppy will be ready to leave on Monday, Mrs Davidson. The bandages are all off now. Tomorrow's my day off and so I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Thank you for everything," Kate said. "I know Poppy is going to be so happy now."

"I'm glad we were able to help."

"Is it alright to give some tokens of our appreciation to a couple of the nurses who looked after her?" Kate asked.

"We generally discourage it," the surgeon responded. "We like to think of ourselves as a team. Some patients, like Poppy, are a delight to look after. Some sadly are not. It's the luck of the draw for the staff but we try to make sure that we give everyone the same level of care."

"I understand, but a gift to the ward team would be ok?"

"It would and if I could be so bold, it would mean a lot to the staff if perhaps Mr. Besson and Miss Picardie could spare a few minutes to say hello, sign a few autographs and perhaps have a few pictures taken."

"We'd love to," Julie replied, "but I think there's somebody we need to see first."

"Of course. Poppy's ready to receive guests without her bandages." The surgeon hesitated then picked up the courage. "I really do have to go but I have a wife and a daughter who would kill me if they knew I had met you and not got your autographs."

"Of course," said Julie. "What are their names? I think I can guess who wants which autograph."

After Alain and Julie had signed their autographs for the surgeon, Daniel suggested that just Lesley and I took them in to see Poppy.

"It will be too busy otherwise," he told everyone. "Besides, Claude's already in there as well."

Claude was Anton's cousin and Kate and I had first met him when we got stuck at the mountain refuge on the night we met Poppy. He was a doctor at the surgery where Alice worked and it was through Claude that Alice and Anton had met.

Lesley and I went in first and Alain and Julie waited outside the room. Poppy's face lit up when she saw us but seeing Poppy for the first time without a bandage was too much for Lesley and she cried. The scar had gone. There was still inflammation along the line of the incision but this would fade over the coming weeks.

"Kate needs to see you without your bandage darling" Lesley said and rushed back to get her. When the two girls returned there were more tears, which I think left Poppy a bit confused.

"I have a surprise for you," Lesley said when she'd regained her composure. Close your eyes.

When Poppy was allowed to reopen her eyes, Julie was sitting on the bed next to her. The look on Poppy's face was priceless.

"Mom. It's Julie Picardie," the little girl said in amazement.

"When I woke up this morning," Julie told Poppy. "A faerie princess was standing next to my bed. She said she knew of a very brave girl who I had to come and visit. So here I am. I've brought my boyfriend with me. I hope that's ok."

"What's your name?" Poppy asked Alain.

"Alain," he replied.

"You're very lucky to be Julie Picardie's girlfriend," Poppy said, which made everyone chuckle.

"I am," Alain agreed.

"It's me that's the lucky one." Julie replied. "You see Alain rescued me."

"You mean like Steven rescued Lesley in the book?"

Julie looked confused.

"Yes Poppy, just like Steven rescued me," Lesley confirmed.

"So, next year, how would you like to be a guest at one of my concerts?" Julie offered. "Your mum and dad can come with you and I promise that we'll get to spend some time together."

"My dad can't come, he's gone to heaven," Poppy said with sadness in her voice.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Julie said looking at Alice and Anton and regretting her assumption.

"Could Anton come instead?" Poppy asked.

"Does he love you?" Julie asked.

"Yes."

"Then he can come instead."

Julie and Alain stayed with Poppy for half an hour during which time Poppy bombarded Julie with questions about what it was like to be a pop star. When it came time to leave Poppy asked Julie if she could write to her.

"This is my secret address," Julie said, writing down the address of the apartment in Geneva. "Very few people have this so you must promise to keep it to yourself."

"I promise."

"I'll give it to your mum for safekeeping but if you write to me I promise I'll write back."

Julie handed Alice the note.

"Thank you for coming to see Poppy," Alice told them. "It was a lovely surprise for her. When Kate and Steven turned up at my parents' refuge, soaked and half frozen, I didn't think that six months later we'd be here talking to you now. And Poppy without her scar."

"It's been a pleasure for us," Julie told her. "I've written our telephone number down. We're only in Geneva so just call us if you need anything when you get home. I may not be your first choice for a baby sitter, but Alain is a responsible adult."

A small crowd had built up in expectation of Alain and Julie's re-appearance. Somebody found a camera and they posed for photos with the staff, then patiently the two of them signed autographs. Afterwards, we all knew it was time for them to leave.

After saying their final goodbyes to everyone, Lesley and I walked with them to the main foyer. There were no taxis outside and so the receptionist had to call for one.

"It's been the weirdest twenty four hours," Julie said as we sat and waited.

"You can say that again," Lesley agreed.

"I think it must have been different for you girls," Alain opined. The he added cheekily, "For me, it was just great fun, interspersed with mind blowing sex."

"You can say that again," I mimicked.

"I'm sorry if I was a bit enthusiastic last night," Lesley apologised to Alain. "I'm not normally so demanding."

"Believe me. You have nothing to apologise for," Alain replied.

"This is going to sound silly," Julie told Lesley, "but I could really do with you as a friend, Lesley."

"You already are," Lesley reassured her.

"Thank you."

We swapped addresses and when the taxi came there were hugs and a final goodbye. After we'd waived them off Lesley turned and gave me a big hug.

"They're nice people," she said.

"They are," I agreed.

"Carole is going to be so jealous when I tell her on Monday."

It was good to catch up with Claude in the afternoon. I liked talking to the pragmatic doctor. They didn't allow smoking anywhere in the hospital and so I joined outside him when he went for a cigarette.

"I thought Anton might have proposed to Alice by now," I said.

"You and the rest of the world," he joked.

"Do you think he's worried about Poppy accepting him?"

"Poppy adores him," Claude replied.

"Yes, that's what I thought the other day."

"I told my wife I'll give him until New Year and if nothing has happened he'll get a kick up the arse."

I laughed at Claude's forthright attitude.

"You know," he said stopping to draw on his cigarette. "I probably owe you an apology."

"What for?"

"When we first met at the refuge, I thought that you and Kate were the sort that had more money than sense. Not to mention questionable morals."

"I could see why," I told him

"I underestimated Kate badly. She's been a good friend to Poppy and to Alice. And I think I underestimated you too."

"This is all Kate's doing. The rest of us are just the supporting cast."

"So it was Kate who sorted out the scanner?"

"What scanner?"

"When Poppy had her operation the surgeon noticed some bone damage to her cheek. He repaired it but Poppy will need monitoring to make sure that sure that it settles. That requires a scanner I don't have at my surgery and certainly can't afford."

"I see."

"Well, I say I don't have one," he continued. "Somebody from the Obermann Medical Company rang me on Saturday to say that one would be delivered on Monday, free of charge, along with somebody to train me and my staff. I told him there must be some mistake, but he assured me there wasn't. It had come from the very top of the Obermann organisation.

I chuckled at Ursula's understated kindness. She was a classy woman.

"Alice told me that you visited Poppy with Heike and a lady by the name of Obermann on Friday?"

"I did. Ursula is the wife of the head of the Obermann Corporation."

"Who you just happen to know."

"I'm doing some work for her husband, looking at modernising his company."

"And that's just it, you see. When we met I couldn't figure out if you were Kate's toy-boy or her husband's minder," he chuckled. "Now I realise you're neither."

"We should be getting back I guess."

"Please thank the Obermanns for their gift. This scanner will help a lot of people, not just Poppy."

"I will," I told Claude.

"Before we go back, can I just ask," Claude said inquisitively. "What's Julie Picardie really like? I mean you read all that stuff in the papers about her."

"She's pretty normal," I told him. "Fame's had its downside but she's just like the rest of us really."

"Those legs of hers though," Claude said absent-mindedly. "They look even better in real life."

"They do," I admitted.

Claude and I sat in silence for a few moments, each with our own vision of Julie's legs then made our way back up to Poppy's room.

We spent as long as we could with Poppy but at three in the afternoon it was time to leave. I promised Poppy I would be back next weekend to see her and that was when Kate dropped the bombshell.

"I said we'd look after Poppy next weekend so that Anton and Alice could have a weekend away," Kate said slightly sheepishly.

It wasn't the weekend with Kate I'd been hoping for.

"We're going to have fun," said Poppy. "Can Lesley come to?"

"I'm sorry," said Lesley with a hint of embarrassment. "I have to go to America on urgent faerie business. But I think you'll have plenty of fun with Kate and Steven."

"In that case. I will see you on Friday evening young lady," I told Poppy. "Can you cook?"

"No."

"Oh dear, neither can Kate," I said, which earned me a slap from Kate, even though it was true.

"We can eat Pizza then," Poppy suggested.

"A girl after my own heart!"

After saying our goodbyes we went back to the hotel. Lesley packed our stuff while Uwe and I had a quick chat. Although he was also going to the airport we were headed for different terminals.

"I'm glad you're going to take the job," I told him. "I don't know if there was anything you wanted to discuss."

"Not really," he said. "Well not about the job anyway. I just wanted to thank you for helping Suzy and me out."

"I'm glad I could."

"I want you to know we'll respect your privacy. Suzy's already told me there'll be no stayovers. She'll come over to me when I'm in London."

"A bit of professional distance is probably a good thing in the week, but you're welcome at the weekend, any time. In fact we'll be offended if you ignore us."

"Ok, thanks. She's also told me that she doesn't want her relationship with you, Lesley, Daniel, Kate and Carole to change."

"And you're ok with that?"

"I think so. I know that the life she has now is far better than the one she had before. She'd be foolish to throw that away."

I appreciated Uwe's honesty.

"If it's any help, I'm pretty certain that Suzy is looking for someone special to share her life with. If you can embrace her lifestyle then I'm pretty sure that you tick a lot of the boxes for her."

"Thanks."

"You know. I met Hannah, your mother by chance at the airport on Friday."

"Frau Obermann did say."

"Hannah's opinion of Suzy was coloured by her concern for your inheritance. That's none of my business but it's not fair to accuse Suzy of something she wasn't even aware of."

"I'd rather not talk to Suzy about the inheritance just yet. In the meantime Frau Obermann said she would talk to my mother."

"Do you think that will work? Your mother seems quite headstrong."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'rude'," Uwe laughed. "But I've no doubt my mother will do as she's told. Frau Obermann's a powerful woman in Bavaria."

When we all met up back in the lobby, it was time to say goodbye to Kate who was a bit tearful. Everyone told her what a great job she was doing and it was true, she'd really put herself out for Poppy and Alice.

The mood in the taxi was a bit subdued and continued after the chartered jet had taken off.

"So let's recap then," Daniel said. "Poppy's operation was a success and they're going to back to Annecy tomorrow. Suzy has a new boyfriend, Steven has a new employee and Lesley's a pop-star. So why is everyone so miserable?"

"You're right," Lesley agreed. "As weekends go, it was pretty special, wasn't it."

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The alarm went off at six o'clock and it took me a moment to realise I was in Daniel's Chelsea mansion house. Suzy groaned and turned away from it as if protecting herself from an impending explosion. We'd enjoyed some pretty aggressive sex the night before, which I put down to the fact that she'd been trying to convince herself that, although she now had a boyfriend, nothing had really changed. I was happy to help her prove a point.

"I'm going to the gym," I told her gently. "I'll see you on Wednesday."

Suzy put her arms around my neck and said, "I love you."

"I love you too."

I put my gym kit on and took the spare suit that I kept at Daniel and Kate's house for times like these then knocked on the door of the room that Daniel and Lesley were in. I heard Daniel answer and so I opened the door. Lesley was only half awake. I bent down and kissed her and could smell Daniel's scent on her.

"I'll pick you up after work," I told her.

"Ok," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I knew I was going to be rubbish at the gym but boxing had taught me that maintaining a regime was key, however you felt. The shower afterwards was refreshing though and I emerged from the posh gym with its good looking clientele ready to take on the world, or at least a small part of it.

When I got to the office I sat down with Lynne and we made a plan for the week. As we sat in my office Carole walked in through the open door, closing it behind her.

"Do you know what your boss and his wife got up to this week-end?" she asked Lynne.

I think Lynne had a pretty good idea what Lesley and I got up to on an average weekend, but she feigned ignorance.

"Have a look at page ten," Carole told her, placing a French newspaper she'd picked up that morning at the airport on the table.

Lynne flicked through the pages until she found page ten. It contained the same photos that the paper in Geneva had published the day before, plus a couple more.

"Is that Lesley playing the piano?" she asked.

"Yes," I admitted.

"Who are the other couple?"

"He's a French film star and she, as you can see from the lithe body and the fact that she's holding a microphone, is a pop-star," Carole clarified. "What do you think of them?"

"Erm. He's really dishy."

"Really Lynne, are we still at this stage in our professional relationship," Carole said tongue in cheek. "You're forgetting that I live with these two in the week."

"Ok, Carole. She's really hot. I mean, just look at those legs."

"Hang on," I told them both.

I found my wallet and took out the slip of paper Alain and Julie had given me then dialled the number. It rang a few times then Julie answered speaking in French.

"Hi Julie, it's Steven," I said putting the phone on conference mode

"Hello Steven, that's a coincidence I was just thinking about you," Julie giggled. "I don't think I'll ever be able to look at the bed in the guest room without thinking about what we did."

Carole and Lynne sniggered.

"Erm, I'm actually on speakerphone at the moment," I said, which made Julie giggle again. "Is Alain there too?"

"He's in the other room. He's working on a screenplay. Do you want me to get him?"