Invisible Love by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Howard Curtis Read Free Book Online

of the two men. As far as they were concerned, the boy was no ordinary teenager, he was an angel fallen among devils.
    After half an hour, David found himself faced with a dilemma: he was torn between the famous bracelet and a pair of emerald earrings. The two lovers stared at each other, blushing slightly, their temples throbbing. They both hoped that David would choose the emeralds, which were the most expensive item in the shop. There was such a discrepancy between the real price and the price he would pay, the mere thought of it filled them with glee. Now that was a lie that would have a bit of flair!
    â€œI wonder . . . ” David murmured.
    â€œYes?”
    â€œAre these emeralds?”
    Jean wanted to help the boy, not take advantage of him. Especially as he wasn’t stupid. “You’re right, young man. At that price, you won’t get emeralds. Mind, though, they aren’t fake emeralds made of glass either! If you hit them, they’d withstand the blow.”
    â€œReally?” David stammered, intrigued.
    â€œYes. It’s a semi-precious stone from Brazil that’s meant as a substitute for emeralds. It’s called emerodino. To look at, to touch, it’d fool anyone, even professionals. You’d have to do a chemical analysis to detect the difference. I prefer not to lie to you.”
    â€œThank you.”
    â€œThat doesn’t mean you can’t tell your mother they’re emeralds.”
    â€œOh, no! She’d never understand how I could afford them.”
    â€œAs you wish.”
    When David left, his treasure in his hand, after thanking the two men profusely, as if aware that he owed them a lot, Jean and Laurent collapsed into the armchairs, exhausted.
    â€œJust imagine! He came in . . .”
    â€œHe spoke to us . . . ”
    â€œDavid!”
    â€œCongratulations on inventing the emerodino! I almost fell for it myself.”
    Laurent stood up and looked out at the Galerie de la Reine, which still bore traces of David in the air, then looked at Jean. “If anything happens to us, Jean, I’d like everything we have to go to David.”
    Jean sat up. “What?”
    â€œImagine we’re on a plane,” Laurent went on, “and the captain informs us there’s a technical fault that can’t be remedied. Well, before we crashed, we’d at least have two consolations. One, we’d be dying together, two, we’d make David rich.”
    â€œI agree with you two hundred percent.”
    The following day, they went to their lawyer and drew up two identical wills. Each bequeathed everything to the remaining member of the couple, but if both men were dead, the inheritance would go to David Grenier.
    That night, they opened three bottles of champagne, made several toasts to that child who was not there and suspected nothing, and made love until dawn.
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    Every year, David came back to the shop just before Mother’s Day. He was a man now, but had kept the liveliness and freshness of a child, which made him not only admirable but touching.
    Every year, David saw these two men, thinking he had not seen them for a year, unaware that they had been watching him. School outings, sporting activities, plays—none of his public appearances had escaped Jean and Laurent, who would slip into the crowd without David or Geneviève ever noticing them.
    They forbade themselves to do more. Their attachment to David and Geneviève had to remain secret, like their wedding behind the pillar in Sainte-Gudule thirty-five years earlier. True, there was an occasion when David expressed an interest in the theater, and Laurent offered to take him backstage. But the next time something like that happened—Jean had suggested taking the boy to a classic movie that was showing nearby—Laurent fortunately intervened: there was no question of forging ties of friendship with David! They might be keeping track of his