A Summer in Paris Read Free Page A

and planted a quick kiss on top of her youngest daughter’s head. “Whatever you want, Kerry. Nothing is too good for my Broadway star.”
    “Something interesting happened at school today,” Kristy said, finally turning around to face her mother. “The kids who are taking Ms. Darcy’s advanced French class have been invited to spend the summer in Paris. The deal is that you live with a French family, studying the language at the Sorbonne and living in a different culture. It would be a great way for me to spend the summer before I go off to college in Boston in the fall.”
    “Why, Kristy, that’s just wonderful!” Ms. Connor’s face lit up, and there was real enthusiasm in her voice.
    “It is?” Kristy looked at her, blinking. “You mean you’re really excited about my having an opportunity like this?”
    “It sounds perfect. It lasts all summer?”
    “That’s right. July and August.”
    “It’s ideal, Kristy. I’d been worrying about how I’d manage this summer, what with having to take Kerry back and forth to New York for this play. Sending you abroad is the perfect solution.”
    Already Ms. Connor had turned away. “Now, come on upstairs, Kerry. It’s important that you start learning how to remove your makeup properly. Here, let me give you a lesson.”
    When they were gone, Kristy looked at Jennifer and smiled sadly.
    “See that?” she said, her green eyes shining with tears she wasn’t about to let fall. “I just knew that when my mom found out how important this Paris thing was to me, she wouldn’t hesitate to say yes.”
    * * * *
    It was past six by the time Jennifer slunk into her own house. The two cars in the driveway told her that her parents were already home. Her mother, Louise Johnson, was back from New York City, where she was a partner in a law firm. Her father, Dr. Paul Johnson, had apparently already finished seeing the day’s patients at the office in town that he shared with two other psychologists.
    She intended to delay talking to them, planning to slip upstairs to her bedroom so she could buy herself a little more time. But the moment she placed her foot on the first step, her mother popped into the front hall from the kitchen.
    “Oh, hi, Jennifer. I thought I heard you come in.”
    “Hi, Mom.” Longingly Jennifer glanced at the staircase. So much for her escape.
    “Listen, Dad picked up a pizza on his way home. He and I are just setting up in the kitchen. Why don’t you come and join us?”
    Reluctantly she followed her mother into the kitchen, where her father was carefully putting forks and napkins next to the plates he had already set at each place at the table.
    “Hi, sweetie,” he greeted her as she came in. “How was school today?”
    “Fine.” Jennifer dropped into a kitchen chair.
    “I’m just reheating this pizza,” her mother said. “It’ll be ready in about three minutes.” Louise Johnson’s eyes were twinkling. “But in the meantime, I have some incredible news that I’m just dying to tell you. Jen, you’ll never guess who I ran into at the train station this evening.”
    “Who, Mom?”
    “The principal of your school, that’s who. AndMr. Kramer had something very exciting to tell me.”
    Jennifer feel her heart sinking down somewhere into her stomach. “Oh, really?” she asked. But she already knew what was coming.
    “Paul, wait until you hear this,” Louise Johnson said to her husband. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so glad that I’m the one to tell you about this terrific surprise.” She took a deep breath. “Weston High has been asked to participate in an international exchange program. The seniors who are taking Ms. Darcy’s advanced French class have been invited to spend the summer in Paris, studying at the Sorbonne and living with a French family. Isn’t that fantastic?”
    “I already knew all about it, Mom,” Jennifer said. “My French teacher made an announcement in class today.”
    Her mother looked surprised. “You