May Memoir: Ca va? Stories from Rural Life in Southern France, Chapter 29: Day minus 3, 2, 1

Welcome to May MEMOIR!

Day 30

For the entire month of May, I'll be sharing part of each chapter from my memoir, Ca va?  Stories from Rural Life in Southern France.

We’re coming to the close of May Memoir which means two things: the wedding is almost upon us and our stress is mounting.  The menu has been created, Christophe has finished the tables and benches, the dress is in its finally stages of completion, and housing is set up for all our out of town guests – that is, if they can get here.  My family’s plane was delayed 24 hours and I have no news if their newly scheduled flight has left Chicago, or if they are lost in the chaos of a Paris train station.  

Chapter 29: Day minus 3,2,1

We wake up early the next morning to continue with our last minute preparations.  My mom and sisters should be arriving today, so I am impatiently waiting for their phone call to confirm their plane landed and they are on their way.  The whole morning passes and we are quickly approaching noon with no news; my stress level has piqued and I am at the verge of tears thinking their plane is still sitting on the tarmac back in Chicago.  I convince Christophe he must call the airlines to find out if their plane has taken off, but he must do so at Chantal’s so not to tie up the phone line in case they call.  Wanting to give me as much room as possible, he quickly agrees it is a good idea and leaves me alone to pace in the living room.  A busy seamstress is much less dangerous than a soon to be bride whose family has not yet arrived.  After a few minutes, he hesitantly returns with news.

“Their plane landed two hours ago”, he says.

“Then why haven’t they called?”  I ask.  “What is the problem?”

“I’m sure everything is fine, Lynn.  Maybe they are on the train”, he replies.

“Or maybe they are standing in line to buy tickets.  You know sometimes the line can take hours and the trains are almost all full this time of year.  Maybe they couldn’t buy tickets.  The wedding is in two days!”  I say in a panic.

“They will be here, don’t worry.  For now, we have two guests to tend to and its almost lunch time, so can you set the table on the terrace?”  He asks trying to divert my attention momentarily.

I take some plates out to the terrace and start to set the table.  Then, almost miraculously, the phone rings and I race to it.

“Hi”, my sister says quickly on the other end.

“Where are you?”  I ask impatiently.

“We got on a train right away, so we didn’t have time to call from Paris”, she begins.  “We are close to Montpellier and will arrive in 3 hours; got to run, the train is about to leave again.  Bye”

“Bye”, I squeeze in before she hangs up.

Christophe looks in at me.  “What’s up?”

“They got on a train and are close to Montpellier, but she didn’t have time to tell me more.  She was calling from a train stop.  They’ll be here in three hours”, I reply.

“Great!”  He says.  “They will be here in time for dinner.”

Relieved, I go back to my task and help prepare lunch.