Wow.
I wish I'd written this. It's both ethereal and deeply rooted in reality. It floats on a cloud of steel while drawing in the reader with its gentle prose, sketching a Clark Kent who's lonely for the right woman but completely unwilling to lead one on or deceive her in any way.
And Sandrine? She's beautiful, smart, talented, determined, gentle, compassionate, and motivated. She's going to need all those qualities and more when she learns Clark's biggest secret. I would guess that she'd eventually offer him her heart, but if she does that offer would be qualified and would come with an expiration date. Still, Clark would be a fool to shut her our of his life completely.
The one thing I really hope doesn't come to pass is her demise. That would almost be cheating, and it would scar Clark deeply - especially if he thinks he could have prevented it.
Now a few words about the other wonderful character in this tale, the City of Lights herself, Paris.
As Sandrine's perception of America and her cities is informed by movies and television (not the best way to learn about another country), the majority of my information about France comes from movies like Charade and the occasional foreign screenings on TMC. Rarely do I get to read the thoughts of a Paris native as (in this case) they are being shared with a non-French national. It's truly eye-opening.
When my father was in the US Air Force in the mid 1960s, he had an extended temporary duty assignment in Paris. He couldn't speak directly about what he was doing due to security restrictions, but he did sent us tapes about the city itself. I'm sad to say that he wasn't impressed. It may have been the still-recent hangover from the German occupation or the disappointment he seemed to feel that the city wasn't New York where people spoke French. Or maybe it was something else. I do know that he didn't see the Paris that you are showing us, a place where people are pretty much like the people everywhere else and the best parts aren't the ones that jump out at you. Thank you for this intimate look at this pearl of Europe.
So where's the next chapter? I want to know what happens next!
