“We don’t have a bedroom?” asked Lucy.

“No, madame. You have the sofa and this bath.”

Bill peered into the bathroom. “The tile is cracked,” he said. “It needs renovating.”

“It is a charming period salle de bain,” insisted Madame.

“It’s fine,” said Lucy, who knew when she was beat. “I’ve seen worse.”

“In a gas station,” muttered Bill.

“Quoi?” asked Madame, eyebrows raised.

“Nothing,” said Lucy, turning to Bill. “I guess we’ll stash the suitcases here. What do you think?”

“I think I’d like a nap,” said Bill, yawning and heading back down the hall to the living room.

“I hope you’ll be very confortable,” said Madame. “The second key is in the kitchen drawer. And now I will leave you.”

Lucy took advantage of the bathroom, which had a certain boho charm and was actually more to her taste than the rest of the ultramodern apartment, and freshened up. Then she returned to the living room, where Bill had stretched out on one of the sofas. “You shouldn’t nap,” she said. “It’s better to tough it out and keep going.”

“Who says?” asked Bill, yawning.

“The travel experts.”

“She’s right,” said Sue, joining them. “How’s your room?”

“This is our room,” said Lucy.

“You’re kidding!” exclaimed Rachel, rubbing lotion into her hands as she joined them.

“What a bum deal,” added Pam, seating herself on the other sofa.

“What’s a bum deal?” inquired Bob.

“Lucy and Bill have to sleep on the couch,” said Pam.

“That stinks,” said Sid.

“What stinks?” asked Ted.

“There’s no room for Lucy and Bill, just a sofa bed. At least I think it’s a sofa bed,” explained Sue.

“It’s a sofa bed,” sighed Lucy, who was leafing through a loose-leaf notebook she’d found in the kitchen, one containing instructions for the apartment, and came upon a lengthy explanation of the operation of the sleep sofa. “But it’s not the kind we’re used to. It’s going to be tricky.”

“France is tricky,” said Bill before dozing off with a snore.

“No, no, no,” said Lucy, shaking him. “It’s noon and . . .”

“It’s actually six in the morning U.S. time,” said Bob.

“Our bodies think it’s six,” agreed Ted, “and they’re wondering why we’ve been up all night.”

“Well, whether it’s six or noon, it’s mealtime, and my body is wondering when it’s going to be fed,” said Pam.

Sue, who had been exploring the kitchen, found the refrigerator concealed behind a wooden panel. “There’s at least a case of champagne in here,” she announced. “And a huge tub of pâté de foie gras.”

“Terrific cabinetry,” said Sid, who was busy opening doors and drawers. “And lookee here. All kinds of gourmet stuff.” He was sorting through a number of cans and jars. “Olives and mustard and looks like jam.”