Yesterday, it was our friend Michèle’s 75th birthday. As the birthday girl is rather partial to a rum baba, I took her one from our village pâtisserie, sitting in a little plastic tub awash with syrupy rum and piled high with fluffy Chantilly cream. It was declared a winner, praise indeed from a connoisseur of such boozy extravagances. Afterwards, we walked into her village and had a cup of coffee (tea for me, bien sûr) and watched the world go by for a little while.
Michèle and I go back a long way. Back in 1992, I was just 20 years old and enjoying my year in France as part of my languages degree. I found myself working as a secretarial assistant in a civil engineering company, and that secretary was Michèle. We spent five months together in a little office near Avignon; I was introduced to the wonders of the Apple Macintosh (a funny little square thing that was the ultimate in advanced technology back then), and we worked, ate and laughed together to form a great friendship. Others found her abrasive and outspoken; I appreciated the fact she called a spade a spade, and we got on like a house on fire despite our 30-odd year age gap.
22 years later, we are still friends, along with others that I made from other parts of the company. She still calls a spade a spade, and is still abrasive and outspoken. She is also quite demanding and likes things her way, but underneath all that she is extremely kind-hearted with a strong sense of loyalty. When I was ill last year and in France without hubby, she took me under her wing, came up with all sorts of different foods to tempt my tastebuds and didn’t bat an eyelid when I left most of it, and put up with my irrational tears. In return, we often transport her from A to B as she’s not a fan of driving, and drive her the 60 miles or so to the seaside in summer where she is at her most relaxed.
Much to the amusement of the waiter at the café yesterday, we clinked our coffee and tea cups in celebration of birthdays and friendships. Here’s to many more years of entente cordiale!