Paris Cowgirl

I searched and searched...

And I still haven't found my pictures. They must be in the basement and I know they'll turn up, it's just a matter of time.

You can't believe how fast the next two months flew by. I packed, unpacked, and repacked. What the heck do you take to Paris? The day he picked me up to go to the airport I thought I was going to throw up. The first leg of the trip was only to LAX where we would stay the night and then board a plane to Chicago. I still had one more chance to back out! Of course, that didn't happen. I don't think I slept one minute that night though. Even if he did bring the standard two Coors Light. The next morning was a rush. Board the plane, fly to Chicago, and then stand in line to board a plane to Paris. It was in that line that a little reality set in. There were other "couples" that were on the same business/prize trip. When I say "couples" I mean married couples. I was introduced to all of them and told how long they had all worked together. They all talked about other trips they had been on together and all of the Christmas parties. It was then that I realized "they all knew his ex and I was "the other woman". Well, not really "the other woman", but I wasn't the wife that they all knew. Some of the looks that I got were incredible to say the least. I would have thought that word would have spread through the company that he was divorced, but apparently not. He was also the only person on the trip allowed to bring someone who was not a "spouse". There was somone else that wanted to bring a significant other but he was not allowed. Apparently they both worked for the company and the bosses thought it wasn't a good idea. I guess it's o.k. if no one knows you. They can talk all they want about you and you'll never find out. I only wish I could have heard some of the conversations that these women had with their husbands. I felt slightly uncomfortable to say the least!

What a long flight! Lucky for us we weren't seated near any of his co-workers. We spent about 11 hours just talking. Finding more out about each other. Learning that we had more in common than I had thought. He loved country music, horses, and camping. He wasn't Mr. College Educated Corporate Man. He barely graduated high school and worked his way up in the company through nothing but hard work!

As soon as we landed in Paris we were shuttled to the Hotel. In the room was in invitation to a Cocktail Party down stairs. That's where we would meet everyone. More weird looks and questions...I wasn't up to it. I stayed in the room while he went downstairs. After about 30 minutes of realizing I was acting like a big baby I jumped in the shower, put on one of my borrowed dresses and found my way to the party. He greeted me with a huge smile and the party started!