I had just sent a letter to my father saying that I didn't see how I could possibly come to Paris to celebrate his and my mother's 80th birthday as well as my mother's book presentation, given the pitiful state of my finances. The three-month stay permit in Taiwan was coming to a close and I had buy a ticket to somewhere (Bangkok? Hong Kong? Singapore? Kuala Lumpur?), pay rents and bills... With practically nothing but long term projects in the horizon, I was beginning to freak out. Just beginning to...
"Unless there's a miracle, I don't think I will be able to come to Paris in September" I wrote.
A miracle... As I was walking outside on my way to the nearby buffet restaurant, I gave the word some thought. What kind of miracle could happen? How? I was resigning myself to the idea, almost feeling relieved not to go, planning alternatives to be there virtually.
Things cleared up when I came back after lunch. I was having a chat with Dennis' partner François, recalling my first terrifying encounter with his mother last winter during one of their 'catholic' family dinners. After 20 years, François told me, she had finally showed her full acceptance of her Japanese daughter-in-law in the form of a wooden napkin ring with her name engraved on it!
"Five more years for Dennis before he gets his" François joked.
"Twenty years... It could be a saga like The Lord of the Ring..." I added.
The conversation went on for a while until I told François that chances were that I may not come to Paris after all.
"Does this mean that you want to do like Kate Torralba and use my miles to come to Paris?" he asked.
The question left me speechless for a moment. Kate came to Europe in June to promote her new album with a series of small gigs in Paris and London.
"Yes, I sponsored her last trip to Europe. I gave her my miles"
"That is so noble of you... She fully deserves it!" I knew what he was getting at, but didn't want, couldn't believe it.
"You'd deserve it too. In exchange of a song for my hubby, if that can inspire you..."
Yes a miracle.
Yes a miracle.
No comments:
Post a Comment