Code Name Hélène

by Ariel Lawhon

The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only. —VICTOR HUGO, LES MISÉRABLES

Besides, I’m hungover. And I think I might throw up.

she's here for a good time and so am i

“Nah. The Germans like to send their greetings as we come in over the coast.”

“What on earth are you doing?” the dispatcher shouts. “Putting on my armor.”

an icon

She is my tutor in the pursuit of becoming a Parisienne, and I am her devoted student.

“I’m learning the key is not to bother with all those bloody feminine and masculine rules of yours—all the le this and la that—it just gives me the shits.”

“Mr. Fiocca is very beautiful.” “Oui. But he is trouble.”

aren't they always

He has dark, curly hair, brown eyes, a square jaw, and the sort of cheekbones that could make a girl weep with envy. Broad shoulders. He’s sitting down so I can’t tell for sure, but I suspect he’s quite tall. Taller than me, at least, and this definitely works in his favor. I absolutely hate having to wear flats just because a man didn’t have the good sense to grow a few inches taller.

You cannot help but stare when you see him.

and I find this both amusing and sad.

He likes the way she laughs.

“I interviewed Hitler once.”

gurl did what?? a madwomen and i'm here for it

“Très sexy!” a man says, laughing, then goes on to describe my finer points, not the least of which apparently include straight teeth, shiny hair, a small waist, and gros seins. I glance down at my breasts in curiosity. Interesting.

all the time

I am a devoted fan of the male species. They are brave, brilliant, offer endless entertainment, are good for moving heavy objects, and make the act of procreation a great deal more enjoyable. I’d hate to see a world in which they did not exist. But sometimes they can be spectacular idiots.

Dealing with blood is one of the most basic realities for every woman alive.”

I’ve never killed a man and I’m itching to try. He seems like a good place to start.”

“He is a ridiculously virile male specimen.

“It’s not just that he has money, Nancy, he’s—how do the Brits say it?—bloody loaded.”

“I decided that if I couldn’t get credit for my work, as myself, I wasn’t willing to give it to a man who doesn’t even exist.

“I am French. And you are beautiful. It makes sense to me.”

a man...

“A girl who blushes. Now, that is a pretty sight.”

I have never been kissed like this. It is thunder and rose petals at once. Static electricity and delicate intimacy.

I am Mrs.—damned—Fiocca by the time he pulls away.

Henri looks as me as though I have single-handedly invented womankind.

He looks at me as if I am sun, moon, and stars all rolled ...

I consider it a great testament to my character that I do not suggest him as the main course.

me too girl, me too

“Ma fille . . .”

“My laughing girl.”

The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed. —ERNEST HEMINGWAY

“Please give me an excuse to shoot you. I regret not doing so last time I had the chance.”

a quick witted woman, i love her

“Your son is a gentleman and a gentle man. Whereas you, sir, are an arse.”

Rage is an odd thing, not so different from grief in the way it catches you unaware and then explodes in your chest.

Love is a choice.

It is the active choosing of good for another person. But like? It is a gift and it cannot be forced.

“There is no hurry. I am not going anywhere. I would be happy to marry you first thing in the morning. But if you ask that I wait until we are bent of spine and silver of head, I will.”

what in the everloving hell? i'm shooketh

“Every gentleman should be so lucky as to marry the woman he loves.”

All is fair in love and war after all.

“I would buy you this entire city if only to see the look you have in your eyes right now.”

“She finally becomes a Parisienne, only to leave Paris.”

“Fils de pute.

He would swan-dive into matrimony given the chance.

“It means, ma chère, that one day we will remember our friends and count the dead.”

and he, being sweet Henri was one of hers

“You are the damnedest woman I’ve ever met.”

If Henri is going to war, so am I.

Gentlemen of the human race, I say to hell with the lot of you. —VICTOR HUGO, LES MISÉRABLES

the greatest herpes blister in all of France

i'm dead

The thing about lipstick, the reason it’s so powerful, is that it is distracting. Men don’t see the flashes of anger in your eyes or your clenched fists when you wear it. They see a woman, not a warrior, and that gives me the advantage. I cannot throw a decent punch or carry a grown man across a battlefield, but I can wear red lipstick as though my life depends on it. And the truth is, these days, it often does.

I swear—I damn well swear”—and she does, throwing out an impressive string of invectives—“that this was invented by a man. The same one who created that damned cotton log known as the menstrual pad. I’ll kill him with my bare hands if we ever meet.”

Terror is a strong thing. It comes upon you instantly and consumes all thought and reason.

“Henri.”

he's sending her away :( its 1:10 in the morning and i'm crying