Violet Rose

Lola was feeling a bit unsettled as she boarded the Air France direct flight to Paris to visit her grand daughter. A note was left by her late husband, and it had something to do with this trip, but what?

She was dressed comfortably in a plain black shift dress, flat black shoes, costume pearls and a green dotted scarf. She stuffed her carry-on in the bin above and held on to her pink Coach bag. She recalled how flying solo used to be her favorite thing to do before she and her husband travelled extensively. She missed him dearly.

Just a year earlier, her husband died of cancer. It took Lola a year to go through his things. As she began to pack for France she remembered he had an old wooden box full of antique coins. She thought she might bring her grand daughter some old French coins. But sitting at the bottom of the box was an inconspicuous, handwritten note. "Before you sell or distribute these coins, find the hidden journal in it’s proper place".

Lola used to enjoy her husbands riddles, games and scavenger hunts, but now he was gone, and this wasn’t funny. What proper place? What journal? He never kept a journal. Totally baffled, Lola looked through their book collections, in drawers, and in closets. She never found the strange journal, forgot about the coins and went back to packing.

Her grand daughter Lauren moved to Paris to teach English. She was having a bit of trouble making ends meet and Lola wanted to help her. Lauren was also very interested in the wine industry and thought of moving to Bordeaux. But for the time being this seemed an impossible dream. What Lola didn’t know, was that she was in a good position to help her.

Shortly after take off, Lola placed her neck pillow close to the window watching the clouds. She thought of the note. What journal? What proper place? She was alerted somewhere over the sea for lunch. A proper French brioche stuffed with ham, a small container of French yogurt, fruit, a package of Brie, coffee and a small chocolate. She loved these little French meals and couldn’t wait to get to Paris to enjoy the street sandwiches: Baguettes with jambon et beurre or gruyere or a Crepe Monsieur! But for now, she could enjoy a little glass of Cabernet adding to her solo pleasure.

Next to her was a very well dressed gentlemen with a briefcase, and next to him was a teen who remained connected to her iPhone games and music the entire time. Lola chose not to make eye contact with either because she didn’t like small talk on a flight as it would interfere with her solitude.

After the meal and a movie Lola became sleepy and thought about her husbands note. As a baby cried in the seat behind her and a man coughed in the seat in front of her, these noises didn’t bother her. Neither did she mind the turbulence. She closed her eyes and allowed the wine to help provide some needful rest.

When the well dressed gentleman got up to use the bathroom she thought this would be a good time to take a walk and freshen up. The teen was still in the same position seemingly unaware of her surroundings. Arriving back at the same time, she thanked the kindly gentleman for helping her gently fall back into her window seat after she re-checked the numbers 33 A, B, and C.

As Paris came into view she hurriedly gathered her things. When it was time to retrieve the overhead bag she noticed it was upside down probably from the turbulence. Going through customs and baggage claim was unusually swift and uneventful. Then she quickly headed for the RoissyBus, the most efficient way to get to the center of Paris where she would meet her grand daughter.

Charles De Gaulle is a busy, exciting place. What Lola did not notice was the well dressed gentlemen trying to chase her down, but he kept on missing her every step of the way. In customs, he was at the end of the line and she was far ahead of him. When she left the crowded baggage claim, he just arrived. As she stepped onto the bus, he missed that bus by just one minute. Even though Lola was in her 60s, she could move about swiftly.

In Paris, Lauren and Lola enjoyed the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay and attended a Paris opera. They enjoyed many gift shops and boutiques, historical sites, and way too many cafe’s. After a week of Paris it was time to pack her things. It was always sad to leave a place that she loved and of course sad to leave her grand daughter but this was their way of life.

While trying to pack most efficiently Lola noticed an unused side pocket of her bag where another note in her husband’s handwriting was gently folded and she had to reach deep into the pocket. "Well done! the note read, now you go and enjoy the wine with Lauren".

What gift? What money? What journal? Enjoy the wine? Is there a specific wine? What am I missing? Lola was dumbfounded and at a complete and total loss. There was no journal in the bag, anywhere. There was surely no money in the bag. Was there more to this riddle? She did not tell Lauren but continued to pack feeling a bit irritated and even more confused. Did he hide money in the bag? Or was it somewhere else? She read the note over and over again and couldn’t make any sense of it.

As the two ended their vacances Lola boarded the RoissyBus and they said their usual tearful goodbyes. Back at Lauren’s Paris apartment, however, a very well dressed gentleman stood at her door.

“Mademoiselle! Bonjour, Pardon…” He started in French but changed to English. “I have something that belongs to you, or your grandmother…”

“Ma Grand-mère?”

“I have a story to tell. May we please sit down?”

She trustingly let him in to the apartment. By his appearance she didn’t suspect anything and if there was anything to worry about her phone was in her pocket. Does Grand-mère have a friend I don’t know about?

“Your grandmother’s black journal fell down from the overhead bin on the plane,” he began, “and I couldn’t keep up with her in the airport.”

He told her how difficult it was to get the airport office to finally give him the address where Lola would be staying. The wealthy gentleman was retired from a prominent wine business. He gave Lauren the equivalent of $20,000 in Euro’s. Shocked and bewildered Lauren was at a loss for words as she read a handwritten note from her grandfather.

"Lauren, you are our only grandchild. I left this money knowing your grandmother was coming to see you. When you moved to France you mentioned how much you would love the wine industry. My grandparents, your great grandparents were in the wine business. Here is $20,000 to get you started in their honor. I hope this is enough…"

But the money slipped out of the journal and the gentleman never saw it. All he did see was the note. Coming from a wealthy wine family, he wanted to be a silent investor for someone who would love the industry as much as he did.

Arriving back home Lola turned her phone back on but was too tired to answer a few calls from her grand daughter. Instead she left a text showing a heart, an airplane, a house, and a few smiley faces to let her know that she arrived safely. Lauren believed that the smiley faces meant that her grandmother was pleased about the money from her grandfather, so she didn’t call back.

Two weeks later, an anonymous handwritten letter arrived in the mail postmarked from Paris. Lola opened it and began to read:

"Madame, it took me a whole week to finally get your address from the Air France office. I told them it was an emergency but there are rules about privacy. I have a story to tell you. I was the girl in the seat plugged into my games and music. I guess you think young people are unaware of their surroundings but this is not the case.

When you retrieved your bag there was a black book that fell down and you didn’t see it. As there was a rush of people and you disappeared I didn’t want to call you and create a scene. Madame, that book had money in it. Lots of money. The office told me that cash is irreplaceable. There’s no way to prove anything".

Lola felt like her heart fell out of her chest.

"The gentleman between us picked up the book, but the cash fell out. Even he didn’t notice it.

Madame, do you remember the poor sick man who was coughing? I saw him lean down to pick up some of the bills. I think he was quite ill. His cough was not just a cold. The attendants kept bringing him hot tea. There was not much anyone could do for him. The woman behind us had a baby who cried a lot. Do you remember that? Well, the woman was also crying. As she held on to her baby she kept drying her tears with her Hijab scarf.

Madame, these two people leaned down to collect the cash. I promise you this story is true or I wouldn’t have written to you. The gentleman was trying to catch up with you to give you the book. Nobody saw the money fall out of the book except for me. I hope that you believe me. I have no idea how much money was under the seat. I am so sorry that I was unable to help collect it, but I couldn’t bring myself to take it out of the hands of these two very sad people."

Violet Rose

No last name, no return address, no phone number.

Lauren didn’t realize that her grand mother was unaware of the money in the journal, nor did Lola tell Lauren about the letter from Paris.

Still feeling unsure about this whole situation and realizing that the money was gone forever, Lola paid a visit to a coin dealer. With wide opened eyes he told her “Ma’am, I am a collector. I can tell you with certainty, that these coins are at a current value of $20,000.”

Lola called Lauren immediately to tell her the news but Lauren interrupted “Grand-mère, the gentleman from the plane came to my apartment and gave me $20,000…”

The look on Lola’s face was indescribable as she dropped the phone. There were too many strange coincidences. Was this a mission of God aligned with the heart of her deceased husband destined to help two needy people and my granddaughter too?

A few years into the future, Lola sold most of her things and her farm house that she and her husband were lucky to enjoy for many years. She didn’t want to stay there alone. One could find her though, somewhere near Bordeaux working with lovely grape vines in a sunny French field with her grand daughter. A very kindly well dressed gentleman would often stop by to have a taste of the wines while Lola would take notes in the old black Moleskin journal.

And what’s even more strange? A young girl came by to ask if she could be of help. After all, she heard there was a new winery and that it was (most appropriately) named after her.

Money will come and it will go, and if you have a good, generous heart, everything you do, think or feel, will come back to you in ways you least expect.