A Nick & Carter Holiday #15
Sunday, July 14, 1957
It's Bastille Day in France and Nick and Carter are hosting a party at their house overlooking the Mediterranean just outside of Nice.
They've flown in friends and family from San Francisco and Boston for the festivities and it's turning out to be a lovely evening.
Then, Carter gets pulled aside with the shocking news that a couple has crashed the party.
Who would pull such a high-handed and socially unacceptable stunt?
It turns out to be none other than the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
What happens when the only man to have abdicated the throne meets the richest homosexual in the world?
Be sure to read Bastille Day, 1957 to find out!
Welcome to a year of holidays with Nick Williams and Carter Jones!
This is the fifteenth in a series of short stories and novellas all centered around specific holidays.
Each story is a vignette that stands on its own and takes place from the 1920s to 2008.
As I've said with the other entries in Frank W Butterfield's Nick and Carter Holiday series, I have not read any of the other full length novel Nick & Carter stories but they creep closer and closer to the top of my TBR list. I mention it again because the only knowledge I have of the multitude of characters in the author's N&C universe is when they pop up in these short novellas so my familiarity is limited.
Those who are more familiar with this world will have a better understanding of Parnell and Leticia as to their positive and negative sides but I'll admit as far as Parnell goes I was surprised by the level of closeness between him and his son, Nick, or maybe I'm remembering things incorrectly from earlier shorts. Either way, it's lovely to see and certainly makes me want to find out more(so I'll know if my recall is playing tricks on me or not😉).
Truth is Bastille Day, 1957 is probably more of a Parnell & Leticia story as the bulk of it centers around unexpected drinks and convos with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Ever since watching Prince Charles and Lady Di's wedding when I was a mere 7 years old I have loved learning about the monarchy and will freely admit that I was taken in by the romance of Edward and Wallis but as I grew up and learned of his fascination with Hitler the rose colored glasses fell away. It was very interesting to see Parnell and Leticia navigate hospitality and courtesy with their true thoughts on the pair for the sake of Nick & Carter's special night. I don't know that I would have been able to do so😉.
Once again, Frank W Butterfield weaves fiction and history into a fun, thoughtful, and entertaining read with interesting characters, both fictious and real. The blending of reality and fiction to reveal a one-night event in the lives of Nick and Carter make Bastille Day, 1957 an enjoyable little gem.
27, chemin du Phare
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
France
Sunday, July 14, 1957
Early evening
Nick Williams was grinning as he and Antoine Descombes stood by the wall at the bottom of the lawn of his and Carter's house. Their backs were to the Mediterranean as they faced the pool and patio in the distance and the house beyond that.
Nick and Carter were hosting a small party for Bastille Day. They'd flown in friends and family from San Francisco and Boston. Everyone was gathered for a buffet dinner before the fireworks started above Monaco, a few miles to the east.
Somehow, Nick had misunderstood and had scheduled the get-together for the night of Bastille Day. So, it had been a big surprise the night before when the fireworks over Nice (to their west) had suddenly exploded while he and Carter were having dinner by the pool with the small group of friends who were staying at their house. Apparently, the city of Nice did their big show on the 13th.
Even though they'd been living in Nice the summer before, neither Nick nor Carter had remembered that the fireworks show, which was set off right in front of their hotel, the Beau Rivage, had been on the 13th in '56. And, in all the bustle and confusion connected to the preparations for the hotel's grand opening following more than a year of renovations, none of their staff had thought to mention anything about it.
Nick had been promised, however, that the fireworks display over the palace in Monaco would be just as dramatic. The view wouldn't be as good, but Nick figured no one would care too much.
Antoine continued with his story. "So, I say to him, 'Jacob, you must close your eyes in the catacombs. I will guide you'."
Antoine, who was French and just about as big as Carter, was talking about his lover, Jacob "Jake" Robinson, Nick's American attorney in France.
"And this was in a part that tourists never see?"
"Oui."
"How did you two get in there?"
Antoine gave a classic Gallic shrug. "I know many secrets of Paris."
Nick laughed. "I have no doubt about that." He shifted his weight on the grass. He really needed to get back over to the house and mingle some more, but he always loved hearing Antoine's stories. Nick felt like he was seeing the real Paris through the other man's eyes. "So, what happened next?"
Antoine put his hand over his head and ducked down a little. "The ceiling, you know, is small."
"Sure."
"And la lampe..." He frowned. "How you say?"
"Lamp?"
He shook his head. Using his hand, he pretended to be holding something that he was swinging back and forth. "For seeing in the dark?"
"Oh! Flashlight?"
He nodded. "Yes, this."
Right then, Nick saw Carter standing by the pool and waving.
Nick waved back.
Carter made a summoning motion with his hand and didn't look happy.
"No good, I think," said Antoine. "We go, no?"
"Yes," Nick replied as the two men strode over in that direction. As they walked, Nick could feel a knot forming in his stomach.
Welcome to a year of holidays with Nick Williams and Carter Jones!
This is a series of short stories with each centered around a specific holiday.
From New Year's Day to Boxing Day, each story stands on its own and might occur in any year from the early 1920s to the first decade of the 21st Century.
Saturday Series Spotlights
Author Bio:
Frank W. Butterfield is the Amazon best-selling author of 89 (and counting) self-published novels, novellas, and short stories. Born and raised in Lubbock, Texas, he has traveled all over the US and Canada and now makes his home in Daytona Beach, Florida. His first attempt at writing at the age of nine with a ball-point pen and a notepad was a failure. Forty years later, he tried again and hasn't stopped since.
Bastille Day, 1957 #15
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