Napoleon and Josephine can't go on their cruise without Max.
It always looked so easy on television! But she had been teasing the door lock with a bobby pin for almost 10 minutes and it didn't show any signs of opening. The ocean surf pounding in the background drowned out any clicks that she thought she was supposed to be hearing. Suddenly, the door flew open, she fell forward with a grunt, and there stood a black lab puppy complete with collar, dinner bowl in mouth and standing pigeon toed in the foyer panting and grinning with dark brown eyes dancing with excitement to see a human.
“He remembered my birthday. He is a sweetheart.” Lois was thinking as she dialed her cell phone.
The other end didn’t answer until the fifth ring but the wait was worth it. “Hello, Frank here.” The male voice said. It was pleasant and familiar.
“Frank, you sweetheart. I just walked in. Thank you for the great surprise. He’s beautiful. Thank you!”
“Lois? Slow down. Where are you?”
“At the villa. I just got back.” Then trying not to sound too embarrassed she added, “Actually I got here a long time ago but just managed to pick my lock. I lost my keys in the surf as I was getting off the shuttle boat and you know how these French locks are when you don’t have that magic key.”
There was a long ten seconds of dead air before Frank said, “What surprise Lois?”
“The puppy. The black lab puppy.” The excitement in her voice was starting to wane with each word as she suspected she had just goofed.
“Lois….” She stopped him before he could explain he was not the responsible one as she changed the subject with, “Had to go into St. Helena this morning for supplies. Working on this last four hours of credit is taking more time then I thought and I’m snacking more and sleeping less.”
She was rambling so he helped her with, “How is the dissertation going? Have you mastered Napoleon and Josephine yet?”
There was a sigh of relief in Lois’s voice as she went along with the conversation while walking around the kitchen area putting away Twinkies, peanut butter, grapefruits and rearranging shelves.
The conversation ending on a high note as Frank good naturally asked if he could come over later for a drink and take her downtown to a dinner of snails and red wine. She said “You would think if I was going to live here where Napoleon was exiled while doing my research for my PhD I should learn to eat escargots but there’s just something incredibly stupid about putting in my mouth anything that craws on it belly and leaves a wet slippery trail.”
Frank was afraid to carry this conversation any further so he signed off with, “Pick you up at 8. OK?”
That was fine.
She followed the puppy out of the kitchen where another surprise was waiting. Two figures, one male and one female and neither casting shadows. The male was no more then 5’-2” and dressed in tight white pants and a tailed waistcoat where he was standing with his right hand resting under his left arm pit. The female was beautiful, elegant and stylish for the day. The only problem was the day would have to have been in the year 1796 in France.
Someone looking a lot like Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine de Beauharnais were standing in Lois’s living room.
“Allo^, bonjour, comment allez-vous? être en colère.” Lois’s furled brow told white pants he had best change languages because she was lost. The hand in the jacket then said in broken English, “Hello. Please don’t be afraid, have you seen my black puppy?”
Was Lois scared? You bet… but she had her new friend at her feet and the Lab seemed to give her courage.
“Max. What do you think?” Great… the puppy had a name now but she hadn’t bothered telling it.
Then it registered what they had said. “Your dog. What do you mean, ‘your dog’” Lois was stumbling over the words but she was afraid if she didn’t hurry and say them they might be lost forever in her throat.
Tight pants was cool as he looked up and replied, “Josephine and I have been down at the docks readying the fleet for the invasion of England and we decided to take our pet.”
“Josephine? And I imagine your name is Napoleon?”
“Yes as a matter of fact you are correct.” Tight pants said.
Lois didn’t skip a heart beat as she said, “What year is this?”
“1805. Why?”
Lois didn’t have two masters in history and preparing for her doctorial for nothing. She said, “If this is 1805 you had best rethink your plans and concentrate more on facing the Austrians and the Russians at Austerlitz.”
The wall clock chimed 8 just as the front door knocker announced who she thought was Frank for a dinner of snails.
As she opened the door the balding short male visitor was still in his wet suit carrying huge flipper under his left arm as he said, “Madam have your seen my black puppy?”
Lois quickly looked back toward the living room then toward the open door. She was standing alone in the villa.
Harold, Enjoyed your story. Napoleon has always caught my interest and here you have told little aspects of his life. That thin air between today and yesterday is more real than some believe. You've caught my interest!
That was wild, Harold! De-doo, de-doo, de-doo. I never can get that tune right, you know the theme to The Twilight Zone. Great story, and I like the way you leave the unanswered questions--makes me think (oh no, not that).
Rosetta was born in 1909 as the youngest of ten children. The family had more laughter than money and neighbors would knock on their door to ask, "Can we come in and laugh, too?"
