A Face in the Crowd

 

It was true Callie never liked Holden from the get-go. And to spend the summer with him in Paris was like the last blow. Of course, he told her she didn't dress properly. What was the meaning of wearing something so skimpy when they would be focusing behind the camera? It was a University project. Couldn't she get with the program?

Her first time abroad, her sophomore year, and she was stuck with a high and mighty senior who thought he knew everything about photography and traveling, evidently. Of course, he was a techie and never went anywhere without his phone. Didn't she know that was all she would ever need in this life? It was communication, documentation and of course, an easy way to turn in course assignments.

And that's just what they did scavenging the city, in the brutal humidity, the rough cobbled streets, and some French dudes looks at them suspiciously. Her French wasn't bad, but his was better.

"I covered this area a few years back," he'd said. Only some shops were closed now and there wasn't the ambiance there had once been before the pandemic. Oh, where was the jazz? Why weren't the bars open all night?

Callie was puzzled. She didn't know he was that kind of worldly. On the other hand, she taught him a thing or two. She sweet-talked the old woman into using the backroom at her bookstore for a darkroom to develop her pictures. Callie worked on weekend afternoons and got to know the locals. She even took photos of what they read.

By the end of the six weeks course that Callie was certain at times she might never finish, Holden said they made a good team. Honestly, it made her laugh deep inside. No way could she have fallen for him, but from the looks of it, she had a funny feeling they'd start dating once they got home. She knew he'd miss not having her around to lecture to.