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Chapter Eighteen

In some ways, not starting off with a huge knowledge of my subject helped write the Paris section. Eric didn’t know anything about Paris, either, so when I, as the author, got stumped by something, I knew that Eric would too.

For example, I was trying to be as accurate as possible with the Paris stuff, and so I really wanted Eric and Rebekah to take the Metro, and I’d be able to say “They took the number nine to the number 14E, and exited at the Blue Bridge Station.” However, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out the Metro map in the travel guide. It was too small, for one thing, and lacked even basic details. So, rather than throw that idea out, and have them just take a taxi, I included this scene at the beginning of Chapter Eighteen, where Eric’s trying to interpret the map (and thinks the Seine is one of the trains). (Here’s the map.)

The hotel they stay at (Hotel des Deux Iles) is a real place, which I chose specifically because it had a good website with lots of pictures.

Here’s something fortuitous: In the real world, if Eric and Rebekah were boyfriend/girlfriend, then (1) the FBI probably would have simply put them in the same house for the Witness Protection Program (because it’s so much more practical). And (2) Isabella would have probably just got them one hotel room, because it’s cheaper and easier, and Rebekah is ill. However, that wouldn’t fly in an LDS book, regardless of whether there was any tomfoolery involved—cohabitation is a pretty strict no-no. So, happily, the false Witness Protection Program turned out to be run by her father (who would never have allowed the cohabitation), and Isabella, being the desperate one, was in no position to impose pragmatism of questionable implications. Plus, Rebekah never would have put up with it.

Which brings up an interesting question: would Eric have put up with it? Let’s say there’s absolutely no tomfoolery involved, whatsoever. Rebekah would have still said no to both of them living in Edward’s house on the island. But I think Eric probably would have been okay with it. Discuss.

Later in the book Rebekah complains about monocausationalism (which is the erroneous idea that one event is caused by one other event—and only one other. It’s erroneous, as Rebekah later points out, because nothing exists in a vacuum, and there will always be more than one factor leading up to anything.) And yet, here she is, saying that the American Revolution led directly to the French Revolution, and ultimately, the Louisiana Purchase. The little hypocrite.

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