Chapter
6
The
Louvre
Li Li had wanted to enter the museum through the
shopping mall underneath the complex, no doubt hoping she’d be allowed to
forego the art altogether, and be left to her own devices among all the
boutiques, and teenagers. She’d even taken the trouble to ascertain the
existence of a shop that sold discounted gallery passes, along with its
collection of snow globes and post cards. But her scheme went awry when Andie
announced a desire to see the Jardin des
Tuileries, which meant getting off at the Tuileries metro stop and walking
above the ground the rest of the way to the glass pyramid entrance.
“Why can’t I go this
way?” she pleaded, once they’d finally descended the main escalator. The main
atrium underneath the pyramid was brightly lit even on an overcast day, and she
tugged on Emily’s arm as the others tried to decide which of the three smaller
escalators to choose, each one leading to a different wing of the museum.
“Perry can come with me, if you’re worried. I bet he doesn’t want to look at a
bunch of stupid paintings all day either.”
“It’s not going to be all
day,” Andie said. “Besides, we do things together in this family.”
Emily had been studying
the floor plan of the museum this whole time, with one ear cocked to Li Li’s
complaint. She glanced at Perry and smiled, and he returned one of those sad
puppy expressions that meant, “Please don’t make me go shopping with a
teenager,” or something to that effect.
“I doubt Perry really
wants to go clothes shopping, sweetheart.”
“Fine. Then I can go on
my own. I can find my way around.”
Emily glanced at the
floor plan one more time. “How about you and Perry and I go to the Richelieu
wing? That’s where they keep all the cool sculpture. I think Stone will prefer
to explore the Denon wing, where all the really famous paintings are. Okay?”
Li Li grudgingly assented
to this proposition, and Emily had guessed right. It wasn’t the museum she
really objected to, but the prospect of having to go wherever Stone wanted, to
see and do what he wanted. Emily turned to Stone, and ran her fingers through
his shaggy hair, and pulled it away from his face. “Is that okay with you?” He
nodded, his eyes a little watery.
Finally, she turned to
Andie and Yuki. “We’ll meet here,” she said, pointing to a room marked in red
on the plan. “It’s the main hall on the first level. Two hours?”
“Shall we keep Ethan and
Jerry with us?” Andie asked, and Emily nodded.
“We’ll be okay on our
own.” Emily knew this thought would thrill Li Li, and maybe she deserved some
special treatment.
