“Coffee?” Arnaud asked, leaning over to brush Reno’s hair away from his face. “I think I saw a shop down the street.”
“Get your morning breath away from me, you monster,” Reno mumbled and swatted blindly at Arnaud, missing. Arnaud laughed and bent down to blow in Reno’s face, then smacked a wet kiss to his cheek. Reno squirmed away, complaining, “Disgusting.”
Arnaud bounced away, proving himself more of a morning person than Reno. He left for the bathroom and returned shortly.
“How much sugar for the princess today?”
“Enough to kill me. Extra shot of espresso, too,” Reno mumbled, half his face still buried in the pillow.
“D’accord, la mort pour toi aujourd'hui?4.”Arnaud slipped on his shoes and left the room, and the silence in his absence was blissful.
By the time he returned with his arms full of pastries and coffee, Reno was feeling slightly more ready to face the world. The sleep-fuzzy feeling was gentle this round of waking when Arnaud gave him another kiss on the cheek and then pulled him to sit.
Reno stayed limp as Arnaud yanked, dramatic on purpose as he groaned, “Les matins. Les pires?5.”
“Je sais?6.” Arnaud sounded unsympathetic. “Drink your horrible milkshake.”
“Frappe,” Reno corrected. “Oh, caramelandwhipped cream, you do love me.”
“Of course I do.” Arnaud pulled a pastry out of the bag and took it with him as he left to wake up the other band members with their own coffees.
Reno dug through the bag and found some kind of egg soufflé pastry and started in on it as a knock came from the door.
He set it aside to answer the door and Kandi came in, looking much more awake than he was. She was wearing a charming cream blouse with a touch of ruffles around the neckline and dark, fitted slacks. The chunky pearl necklace peeking out from the ruffles was a good touch.
She invited herself in and took the armchair, saying, “Good morning. Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is.”
“It is a soufflé,” Reno said as he took a long drink of his frappe and picked up the soufflé with his other hand to show her.
“If you break out, it is not my fault.” She pointed at the sugary coffee. “Is everyone else up yet?”
“Arnaud is bringing them breakfast now.”
“Good man.” She complimented Arnaud, like usual. Reno had a sneaking suspicion she liked him the most because he made them work. “We need to get going in the next thirty minutes. Oh, while I have you though, Arnaud was asking about New York.”
Right on cue, Arnaud came back into the room. “Bonjour madame, would you like a pastry?”
“Bonjour," she replied, her London accent sounding almost as bad as Reno’s when he attempted to speak French. At least Kandi didn’t have to fight a Tokyo dialect on top of it. It made Arnaud happy when they tried, though. “Actually, oui.”
Arnaud snickered a little but grabbed the bag for her. “Have your pick. I heard something about New York?”
She rifled through the bag before picking a bagel out. “Yes, is there cream cheese? Oh, merci. We will be in New York in about a week for our last show in America.” She took the cream cheese tub Reno pulled from the other bag. “I was telling Reno how we were chatting about it. Where was it you wanted to go again?”
“The Met, if we have time. I want to see theDenial of Saint Peter.”
She shrugged. “Sure, see whatever you like at the museum. I’ll arrange tickets beforehand. How’s the day after the show?”
“How many days do we have?” Reno perked up, a dangerous idea forming in the back of his mind.
“Three. But the first day will be settling in before you play, then you leave on the third day in the evening, so you have one full free day.” Kandi said as she tore chunks of her bagel to dip into the cream cheese after coming up empty-handed on her search for plastic cutlery. “Do you want to go to the museum with Arnaud?”
Reno tapped his toes against the floor, thinking. “No. I’ll make my own plans.”
Arnaud arched an eyebrow at him and Reno could spot the exact moment he decided not to ask in front of Kandi.
“Okay, ask the other boys for me, would you? I’ll get tickets. Thank you for the bagel.” She stood from the chair and took the rest of the bagel and cream cheese with her. “Twenty minutes until we leave, pack up.”
“Yes, Kandi,” they both said and she sent them a fond look before leaving the room.
