Retrospective: Paris - How we met

2.2 Mae West - Focus
Fall 1993, Le Môle

It was already late at night, and Mae knew that the bar would close soon.

She tried hard to focus on her homework, and not look too often to the stage. She grew a little impatient, because she couldn't wait to talk to her new friend again.
The first time she had come here with her friends from class, shortly after school had started. The bar was ran down, and the drinks terrible, but cheap. And the live music was usually some french folk chansons, badly played by the band.
Soon her friends had moved to other places to hang out, but she kept coming here and staying until they closed. She had come to like the singer's voice. It was deep and soothing.

And after a while, he had noticed her. When the bar was about to be closed, he came over to her table.
"Vous êtes là tous les soirs", he had said to her, with a heavy English accent.

Mae had laughed, because it sounded so funny. "Your French sucks", she blurted out.

He wasn't mad. "You speak English? What a relief. I never got a chance to learn that stupid language well."

That was a few days ago, and since then he had come over every time before they closed to chat a few minutes, before leaving with one of the waitresses, that closed the door. Mae guessed she was his aunt.
His name was Francesco.

"How can you even do your homework with all this noise?"
Mae 's mind had gone astray again, and she had not noticed that Francesco had come over to sit next to her again.

"I think your singing is more distracting than the noise", she smirked.
He laughed.

"François, Je dois fermer tôt aujourd'hui." The waitress who Mae thought to be his aunt, interrupted them. "Et... mon mari revient ce soir."
"Je suppose que je ne peux pas rester chez toi", Francesco replied.
Okay, maybe she wasn't his aunt, after all.


The waitress looked uncomfortable. "Non, je m'excuse. Peut-être tu devrais te réconcilier avec ton copain"

"Aww, you're gay?", she blurted, before noticing what she said, loud enough for him to hear.

Francesco let out a small chuckle of surprise, but then turned back quickly to the waitress.

"Ne t'inquiète pas", he said.
The waitress sighed. "Bon. Sois prêt à partir bientôt, s'il te plaît."

Mae had watched them attentively. She was too curious what was going on, why he stayed at an older woman's place, and what was wrong with his boyfriend.

"Uhm...", she started, a little insecure, "if you don't mind, you can stay at my place tonight. If you don't have anywhere better to go."

He shot her a look of disbelief. "You sure? You barely even know me", he said.

"Well... you seem okay. I have people over a lot", Mae assured him.

"Okay, then...", he said hesitantly, but nevertheless he looked quite relieved.

She was glad that she could help out, so he wouldn't have to go back to someone he apparently didn't want to. And she wanted to know him better.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Translations

"Vous êtes là tous les soirs." - You're here every night.
"François, Je dois fermer tôt aujourd'hui." - François, I have to close early today.
"Et... mon mari revient ce soir." - And.. my husband comes home tonight.
"Je suppose que je ne peux pas rester chez toi." - I guess I cannot stay at your place.
"Non, je m'excuse. Peut-être tu devrais te réconcilier avec ton copain." - No, I am sorry. Maybe you should make up with your boyfriend.
"Ne t'inquiète pas." - Don't worry.

"Bon. Sois prêt à partir bientôt, s'il te plaît." - Okay. Please be ready to leave soon.