Gargoyles Watch Over Us

Night has fully fallen and Notre Dame has taken on a whole new dimension. The gargoyles are guarding the cathedral and the city.  As my teddy bear and I walk beneath them they look down upon us and watch as he gently kisses me in the shadows of where we first met. The clouds move slowly across the full moon and the night is slightly chilly, he wraps his arm around me as we continue our walk.  Paris deserves the title “City of Love” for a reason, along our walk we see many couples in the moonlight, holding hands, embracing, kissing and laughing. I look into his eyes and think to myself, “for once I am among those enjoying this pleasure as well and with such a beautiful person, how did I get so lucky?”.  As if he reads my mind, he strokes my platinum blonde hair, and tells me he loves how my hair shines in the moonlight and how beautiful I am.  He feels as if he is the luckiest man in the world tonight to be with me. We stand at the edge of the riverbank in a small park and embrace for the longest time, not wanting to let go.

We circle Notre Dame once more as he watches me take more photos of the gargoyles as I am fascinated by them. They are more predominate at night than they ever are during the day.  Are there more of them?  They seem alive. There is magic in the air. The moon plays peek a boo with the clouds. Teddy Bear and I kiss each time it hides.  We laugh and walk as we play our game with the moon.  We talk about our lives. He asks about my home, how often I travel, if I like to travel, if I like traveling alone if I would like a travel partner sometime.  I look at him as he smiles and looks at me out of the corner of his eyes. I find out that he is not from Paris, but from Italy, but here because he comes from a long line of artists and his family has art displayed in some of the museums.  His story is fascinating. He shows me the museum that is now closed where his father’s artwork is displayed. We have now walked to the west side of Notre Dame and closer to the Musee d’Orsay. He says,. “My apartment is near, would you like to come up for a drink?”  By now, I am becoming familiar with Paris and realize just how close he lives to my flat.  Not far at all.  “Yes, I would love to come up”, knowing full well, it means I will most likely spend the night in my lover’s arms.

• Photography by Candace Stauber, Notre Dame, April 2016