Page 45 of The Wilder Widows

“You will?” Alice’s face illuminated even more than right after she got one of her chemical peels.

“Okay. I’ll do it,” I whispered, still shocked to hear the words coming out of my mouth.

“Really? You’ll do it?” Sylvie beamed.

“I’ll do it.” This time I said it with conviction. This time I meant it. There would be no chickening out and turning away at the last minute, closing my eyes and letting another experience pass me by. This time I would feel the wind on my chest and the freedom that came with it. “I’ll do it!” I shouted.

“Drop the dildos, Sylvie! We’ve got some flashing to do!” Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the store, waving frantically at a cab.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Why is the line so long?” Marge grumbled while we stood in the same row of people we’d been behind for the last hour, each waiting their turn to take the lift up the Eiffel Tower.

Sylvie answered. “Because we didn’t plan on flashing Paris tonight and preorder our tickets.”

“This is getting ridiculous. I don’t do lines.” Alice rose on her tiptoes and peered over the heads of the people waiting ahead of us. “We need to get up there before Doris chickens out. I’ll be right back.”

Before we could find out what she was up to, Alice disappeared into the crowds all waiting their turn to tour the impressive structure towering over us. Tipping back my head, I stretched my gaze up to the top again.

“This is a lot taller than the water tower,” I said, staring up and feeling my confidence continuing its descent into darkness. Alice was right. Every minute we stood here was one more minute I had to change my mind. And after an hour, all that renewed enthusiasm I’d harvested in the naughty shop snuck out like a balloon with a pinhole in it. With each passing second, my courage deflated. “It’s okay, ladies. We can just go. I don’t need to–”

“No!” they echoed.

“You’re not backing out. Not this time, soldier.” Clasping my shoulders, Marge gave me a soft shake. “Forward. Always forward, soldier. And tonight, forward is taking you up there to show your tatas to the world.” She jutted a finger toward the top.

Once again, my head nodded before I had time to come up with an excuse to get out of this. And did I want to get out of this? Deep down, I knew I didn’t want to. For once in my life, I wanted to be wild. To shed my rigid rules and morals like a snake sheds its skin.

“If I can do this, so can you.” Stiffening her stance, Sylvie went shoulder to shoulder with Marge.

“Okay. I can do this.”

“You can do this.” Marge gave one last squeeze and released her grip.

“Widows! Wilder Widows!” Alice screeched over the din of voices flooding the space surrounding us.

We turned to see her waving frantically beside a tour guide near the entrance. After exchanging glances, we slipped out under the ropes and hurried toward her.

“Hurry up, girls!” she called as we got closer. “I got us in!”

“Of course you did. You’re Alice,” Sylvie said between huffed breaths when we arrived. “I would expect nothing less.”

“Ladies, meet Alexandre. He’ll be our guide.” Alice waved a hand over the middle-aged man who could barely take his eyes off her to acknowledge us.

“So, we’re really doing this?” I struggled to swallow over the lump in my throat.

“Yes!” they echoed, and Alice reached out and grabbed my hand, tugging me to her side.

“Lead the way, Alexandre.”

With one last smitten smile at her, Alexandre turned and led us around the crowds to the doors of the lift. When we stepped inside and started our ascent, I reached out and grabbed Sylvie’s hand. Her soft brown eyes traveled from the exceptional views and locked with mine. Even though she was the newest member of the Wilder Widows club, I felt like I’d known her my whole life... like a lifelong friend who had been at my side through all the ups and downs of my existence. She reassured me with a look, squeezing my hand tight.

When we arrived at the second story landing, Alexandre led us through the crowds for a peek out over the views sweeping across Paris.

“This isn’t even the top?” I asked while watching the tiny dots moving in the city below. Boats puttered down the river, the glow of their lights reflecting on the darkening water they floated across. The last sliver of sunlight crept beneath the horizon, and Paris glowed with a sea of lights flickering on below, fighting the darkness closing in around them.

“Cripes. That’s almost as beautiful as Roxy,” Marge said on a sigh.

Each time she mentioned Roxy, her eyes sparkled brighter than the lights multiplying below. While I stared at her face once again aglow, I felt envious she’d found someone else. A new love to reignite her even in her later years. It hadn’t occurred to me until this trip that perhaps there was still time for me to find someone else of my own. Perhaps I wouldn’t have to spend the rest of my life alone. Perhaps, just perhaps, I could find someone in this world who would need me once again. With a heart swelling at the thought, I turned away from Marge and let the idea start to glow like the lights of Paris.