Julien had never been to Venice, but he said he was sure it would be “majestueux,” and he was delighted to be going, if only for a week. Although Austin and Julien spent almost every night together, they hadn’t said, “I love you,” nor talked about their future. All along Austin had felt he couldn’t exact (or express) any promises until Julien’s divorce had gone through. Perhaps if he’d been more insecure, or more desperately in love, Austin would have demanded reassurances. Austin had accepted a position teaching the history of European furniture at the New England School of Fine Arts in Providence, Rhode Island, a job that was due to begin next January, just five months off, but he hadn’t asked Julien yet to accompany him to the States, even though Julien knew Austin was leaving Paris. Julien’s English was very approximate. Would he want to trade in his sure-fire job with a big Paris architectural firm for something vague in Boston or Providence? Would he need a work permit?
