making friends through Colin Firth

A couple of weeks ago, I met a woman named Laurence at a France-USA dinner. There were a lot of people there, so we barely got to visit, but she said that she'd heard a lot about me. Her sister-in-law's son is in one of my classes. Of course I panicked inside, because I had no idea what the boy had been saying and to whom. When I found out which student it was, I was somewhat relieved; he's not one of the students who seems to hate me for no reason, so surely it couldn't have been too bad. Then she said that she'd like to organize a dinner party so I could meet the in-laws. And true to her word, she called last week to invite me to dinner.

Since the in-laws live just up the hill, they offered to give me a ride so I wouldn't have to drive to Amiens. Pascale sat in the back seat next to me so we could talk, and I explained once again the Oklahoma-Amiens story and how I came to be in Poix. On our way to dinner, we stopped at la FNAC so they could buy something. We agreed to meet back at the stairs in 15 minutes, so I browsed the cookbooks and travel guides and dreamed of gourmet meals and sunnier climes.

When I awoke from my reverie and found them near the check-out, I noticed that Pascale was holding a DVD of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightly. I commented that it was a pretty decent movie, but that I preferred the BBC version better. Turns out, that's the one she was wanting to buy, so we went back and found the right DVD. Then, like a couple of teenage girls, we giggled over the movie and Mr. Darcy. Il est si beau, she confessed.

While Christophe was at the cash register, Pascale and I talked even more. I mentioned that I'd walked to their village a few times, and she was excited to know that I was a walker, because she's been looking for a walking buddy. We exchanged phone numbers, and have plans to go for our first walk this week. But the best thing she said all evening? "My son loves your class."