racks of fresh pasta, stalls of iced fish and dark shelled mussels.
They visited Hediards a gourmet food market that had opened in 1854 and dedicated itself to good taste. It was pure excitement, tantalising every sense. There were the lingering aromas of coffee and spices packed in huge timber crates. The colours of the fruit and vegetables were unlike anything she had ever seen.
Hediards did not just have green asparagus; it had purple and white and miniature. It had tiny bananas, and mini apples and pears to serve with cheese. Crates of plump shiny brown dates, fruit pastes and jellies in a rainbow of colours, intensely fruity flavoured jams, caviar, smoked salmon, terrines, pates, oils, cooked chickens, soft white bread that smells of comfort, condiments and their very own Hediards biscuits that came packed in distinctive red and black metallic boxes for freshness.
Together they sampled all of this. They’d purchase tiny servings and make a picnic to share on their favourite park bench in the Jardin de Tuileries. Always to accompany it, a warm, crisp baguette from the local boulangerie; the outside toasty, tight and crackly; the inside creamy, nearly golden, never bone white, and marked with an irregular profusion of glossy bubbles and holes.
Her grandmother explained that you only needed a taste of all of these delicacies; but there was so much to taste. Chilli loved it all, the colours, the tastes, the sounds and the smells.
The food delight that she was never to forget was her first visit to Laduree, a turn of the century tea salon. It was famous for its crispy, flavoured macaroons. They came in delicious flavours of praline, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, lemon and raspberry. Her grandmother found a table beside the window. They were to sit and take their time and savour every moment. In between, they would people watch. It was incredibly exciting.
However, the problem was that Chilli did not know which flavoured macaroon to choose. Her grandmother reminded her that they would return many more times, so to pick just one to try now. The pot of steaming hot chocolate came in a little silver teapot and when it was poured it was liquid chocolate, and the scent was pure heaven. Her first macaroon from Laduree counts as one of life’s memorable taste sensations.
*
Chilli pulled the cuff back on her black organza shirt and looked at her watch for the hundredth time. Tutting, she tried Rob’s number yet again. How ridiculous! If his meeting had gone over time, he must have some idea that she’d be getting worried by now, not to mention hungry. She shook her head, thinking that she should have insisted on catching a taxi.
Maybe she should give Sam a call and see if he had heard from his father? No, why bother him? She’d just have to wait. Surely he’d call any minute.
Further down from where she stood was a seat. She’d wait there. She repeatedly fiddled with the lock on her black patent Hermes handbag. Beautiful handbags were a love of hers. Another love inherited from her grandmother.
At her home, with the help of a furniture craftsman, she had designed a walk-in-robe for her extensive collection of beautiful handbags and shoes. Many of which had been purchased with her grandmother on their trips.
The memories were so special, the last thing she wished to do was to lock them away out of sight. And of course there was a special bank of glass fronted, shallow drawers for her scarf collection. All sorted by colour.
The shopping trips in France had been wonderful. Not that they had actually ever purchased much. They were more browsing trips or learning trips, as so much information was passed on to her during the looking.
Her grandmother would buy her a pair of shoes, a handbag and a scarf, even on the very first trip, when she was only a child of ten. These were only purchased near the end of their stay when the two of them together had looked at everything. Or it felt like everything! Her grandmother explained that she could get almost as much fun from just looking at all of the beautiful things. “Spend your time looking at quality and then only buy a few special pieces,” were her words of wisdom.
Printemps and Galleries Lafayette were absolute favourite department stores. As a young girl, it was like being Alice in Wonderland. They roamed around every department and looked at and felt all the beautiful fabrics. They viewed all of the lingerie. They admired every handbag and pair of shoes. They inhaled the fragrances of all of the perfumes. There were lessons in fine napery and quality sheets and towels.
Together they roamed Paris looking at the art galleries and antique shops, in between stopping at markets and cafes to fortify themselves; trying tasty morsels and sipping teas flavoured with rose petals. These trips were pure indulgences for both of them and Chilli just soaked it up. This was another world and she loved it. Her grandmother was a wonderful teacher in appreciating the finer things in life.
Chilli would be forever grateful for this grounding as it gave her the confidence to open her own business when she was just 26. On returning from her trips to France, her friends had been envious of her purchases. Knowing there was a need in the local market for such things, she began importing beautiful handbags, stunning shoes, racks full of scarves, exquisitely bold jewellery and dramatic accessories. After all, the French invented the word luxe, and no one did luxury goods as they did.
She started out with not much more than bold enthusiasm, retail was new to her. However, before long, appreciating texture, colour, dimension, proportion and quality became second nature to her. She was an excellent merchandiser, and with her grandmother as her mentor, she could hardly lose.
She set up ‘Celeste’s’ in Racecourse Road in the 80s and quickly established a stylish clientele. Within the first few weeks, her stock was selling almost faster than she could refill the shelves. She stayed in the tiny shop until her lease ran out and then moved down the road to larger premises and added additional French products to her stock range; at first a small collection of lingerie and then a much larger range when she saw how popular it was. Also adding beautiful fragrant French body products was so well received that they virtually walked out the door. Her merchandise was very different to anything else that was available, and her clientele appreciated her unique vision of luxury.
*
Okay this was really getting ridiculous. Chilli crossed her arms. A bit late was one thing, but this was a whole other story. She sighed loudly. She would get a taxi.
“Where to luv?” the driver asked, looking at her in the rear vision mirror.
“Oxlade Drive, New Farm please,” she said, at the same time pulling her mobile phone out of her handbag. She dialled and then exhaled heavily, waiting for Sam to pick up.
“Listen sweetie, you haven’t heard anything from your dad have you?... He was supposed to pick me up from the airport and he’s running really late... No darling, I’m already in a taxi... No his phone is ringing out and then going to message bank... Yes I’ll keep trying... You know him, always late... Okay I’ll give you a call when I finally hear from him... Bye.”
Sitting further back on the seat, she couldn’t help but wonder what was so important he couldn’t call her. Thank goodness the taxi driver wasn’t a chatterbox, she wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
“This your street lady?”
“Yes, thank you. Turn left into the easement beside the tennis court,” she instructed.
The taxi driver gave a slow whistle. “Well, some people are very lucky?”
“Yes, they are.” That was the second time she’d heard
