The Man in Red

Somewhere at a university in France, there’s a picture of me posted on a wall. I was sought after and eventually found. I didn’t resist.

* * * 

     Let me start at the beginning. We had just arrived in Boudreaux and decided to walk around the city ending up in a plaza. It was Friday, and people filled the streets enjoying the pleasant weather and fun activities.

     There were four of us from the States, anxious to experience the French heritage and world-renown French wines. It was easy to be mesmerized by the atmosphere as we wandered through the square. I walked ahead of our group taking in the sights. My wife, her sister, and my cousin stood back observing the activities.

     As I stood watching a parade, a pretty young college girl came over to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and spoke to me in French. It’s truly is a romantic language. It could be one of the only languages where they are telling you to buzz off and you would just smile and say, Merci.

     Why would this beautiful young girl want to speak to me? I’m in my mid-sixties and she looked to be twenty-ish. I had no answer but I couldn’t keep from smiling. 

     I turned toward her expecting to say, “Parlez vous Anglais?” I had practiced the phrase in case I came across a situation like this. I wanted to be a courteous and respectful tourist, but instead, I said, “Do you speak English?” What a disappointment. Three little French words and I blew it. 

     Without any hesitation, the young girl switched from French to English faster than I could say, “Wow.”

     The young French beauty said. “We’re on a scavenger hunt and need a picture of a man wearing a red shirt. “Can you help us?”  The shirt I wore that day was Ferrari Red and it even had a racing stripe. “Well, certainly,” I responded. Why wouldn’t I want my picture taken with a French supermodel?

     She immediately walked over to her college friends and brought back a tall young man to stand next to me as she took a photo of us. Not quite what I expected but still a memorable experience. It was a good plan to send the stunning young girl to ask a favor from a stranger.

     Standing a fair distance behind me was my wife, cousin and his wife puzzled, but not surprised, that I had stumbled into an interesting scenario. Why? Well, because I always do, I don’t know why it’s just the way it is.

     After the co-ed took the picture she thanked me, kissed me on the cheek, and hugged me. No! That’s only in my mind. In reality, Miss Universe simply said, “Thank you.”

     The goddess and her young troupe of college students moved on to find the next item on the list for the scavenger hunt. I stood, satisfied that this was another unexpected experience. 

     My cousin Tom walked up and said, “Do you still have your wallet?”