Pieces Falling

My birthday took place in February. I have often joked that Bruce never really knew the date of my birthday. He just knew it was the day before Valentine’s Day. So as those Valentine’s Day ads started appearing on television or on the radio, he knew my birthday was around the corner.

On Valentine’s Day 2002, I received a dozen red roses from Squad 41. I loved the gesture. I laughed because Bruce never gave me roses on Valentine’s Day—they were just too expensive. Bruce bought me flowers on other days but no flowers on Valentine’s Day. The roses from Squad 41 were a first.

A few days later, a telephone call brought an exciting opportunity.

“Hi, Ann. It’s Steve from Squad 41.”

“Hi, Steve.”

“We thought you and the girls might be interested in a trip to France. The trip is sponsored by the Paris Fire Department.”

“Wow!”

“Actually, we thought of you because you have culture.”

Steve explained that we would be staying with a French firefighter’s family and at least one member of the family could speak some English. The French I remembered from four years of classes in high school was limited to merci, au revoir, and où est la bibliothèque, which means “Where is the library?”

I wasn’t really sure what the comment “you have culture” meant, but this seemed like an awesome experience.