French Friends

“Je vous souhaite un joyeux Noël et une bonne année,” I shyly said to the two couples seated in the restaurant. Rather presumptuous of me wishing them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year since I did not know these people and a rather strange thing to say to them since it was early August. It was in the ’70s and Lil and Hal were touring France with Ben and me. We were waiting for the hostess to lead us to our table, when I noticed the two couples smiling at us. They looked about our age and were speaking in French as French people are apt to do so I decided to try out my limited French vocabulary. I approached  them with a smile and said, “Je vous souhaite un joyeux Noël et une bonne année.” This certainly thawed any ice that would be present in August. They laughed and insisted we join them at their table. This was the beginning of a delicious meal and a delicious friendship.

After the sumptuous supper they escorted us to one of their apartments. They woke their children to meet “the Americans.” We sat in a circle on the floor chatting in a mixture of French, English and sign language. It was still the era when we all smoked, so it wasn’t totally peculiar when they passed around a huge bowl of varied brands of cigarettes. 

The next day the women picked us up and took us to their husbands’  place of employment. One was a dentist and the other an attorney. They were originally from Paris, but job opportunities were very promising in this small city because of the opening of an automobile plant. That night they drove us at great speed through a large dense forest to a huge mansion. I have no memory who these wealthy famous people were but they had a sign-in book with names and signatures of many international  dignitaries. 

Our touring plans were very tight, with arranged hotel reservations, so early the next morning we were packing our car to leave when to our surprise and pleasure they all arrived with gifts for us. They presented each couple with a box of French chocolates, a bottle of French wine and a beautiful book about their region of Burgundy.

We knew we had made a short-lived friendship but this fleeting brief encounter has remained a lasting memory for me  and perhaps for them too.

Ethyl Haber (October 2020)