It was a brisk November morning. The last of the fall leaves were falling from the trees and fluttering onto the ground. Joe was casually scrolling through his FriendFindr when he was struck with a question.
"Je me demande qu'est-ce que se passe à mes amis d'école secondaire." (I wonder what happened to my high school friends.)
He decided to search for their names. He started by typing in "Colette Laurent". The first result had her picture under the name "Colette Vernier". Why, Vernier was Marcel's surname. He clicked on the profile, and indeed, Colette and Marcel had married, and they even had two children together; a daughter who was a little younger than Katrina, and a son who looked to be around Daisy's age. Well, wasn't that nice of them. In spite of himself, he sent both of them a friend request.
After about an hour, Colette reciprocated his friend request and sent him a message.
Colette sent: Bonjour (9:53 am)
Joseph sent: 👋 (9:54 am)
Colette sent: Veux-tu la rencontrer pour le déjeuner quelque temps cette semaine? (Would you like to meet for lunch sometime this week?) (9:54 am)
Joseph sent: Oui (9:55 am)
Colette sent: 👍 (9:55 am)
Well then. Joe looked up when he heard Von Kaiser enter the kitchen. "Viktor, je vais rencontrer de vieux amis quelque temps cette semaine. Veux-tu me joindre?" (Viktor, I'm meeting with old friends sometime this week. Would you like to join me?)
"In Ordnung," said Von Kaiser. "Wohin gehen wir?" (Alright. Where are we going?)
"Je pense qu'on va a un p'tit restaurant," said Joe. (I think we're going to a little restaurant.) He did a little more searching to see if Armand wanted to come as well. But after seeing that all of his most recent posts were unsavoury quips about women, he decided it was best not to engage.
A few days later, Joe, Von Kaiser, Katrina, Colette, Marcel, their daughter Marguerite, and their son Yves all met at a restaurant for lunch.
"Alors, ceci c'est ton mari?" Colette asked Joe as they sat down. (So, this is your husband?)
"Oui," said Joe. "Nous sommes ensemble depuis quatre ans, et nous étions mariés en août." (Yeah. We've been together for four years, and we were wed in August.)
Marcel sighed as they waited for drinks. "Je souhait que j'étais plus gentil à l'école secondaire. J'étais tellement un tyran." (I wish I was nicer in high school. I was such a bully.)
"Ah, Marcel, c'était le passé," said Colette, "on besoin de se concentrer sur le présent." (Oh, Marcel, it was the past. We need to focus on the present.)
The waiter came by and dropped up glasses of water, and a glass of milk for Yves. Marguerite sipped her drink. "Alors, tu es un boxeur?" (So, you're a boxer?)
"Nos deux sont des boxeurs," said Joe. "Nous sommes dans le circuit mineur pour l'Association Mondiale pour le Boxe Vidéo." (We're both boxers. We're in the Minor Circuit for the World Video Boxing Association.)
"Genial!" Yves bounced in his seat.
"Tu sais, Colette, j'ai toi à remercier pour cette décision," said Joe. "Tu peux déclarer que je vraiment renforcer pour la Saint-Patrick." (You know, Colette, I have you to thank for that decision. You could say that I really toughened up for St. Patrick's Day.)
"Yeah, he told me that story," added Katrina.
Colette was surprised and rather flattered. One snarky remark from high school sparked a major career? She snapped out of it when everyone's meals came.
"Tu es à l'école intermédiaire, oui?" Marguerite asked Katrina. (You're in middle school, right?) "Je vais être là en septembre," she continued when Katrina nodded. "Je suis tellement excitée." (I'll be there in September. I'm really excited.)
As the two of them talked about middle school, Colette turned her attention to Joe and his romantic life. "Alors, vous étiez ensemble pour quatre ans?" (So, you were together for four years?)
"Nun, wir waren vorher neun Jahre befreundet," said Von Kaiser. (Well, we were friends for nine years before.)
"Oui," said Joe. "Amis pour treize ans, ensemble pour quatre, et mari pour quelques mois." (Yes. Friends for thirteen years, together for four, and married for a few months.)
"Colette et moi à marie juste après l'université," said Marcel, munching on a wing. "Et après cinq ans, nous avons Marguerite." (Colette and I married just after university. And after five years, we had Marguerite.)
The four of them laughed and shared more stories as they ate.
After the bill had been paid, the dishes cleared, and the coats back on, everyone was prepared to leave. Marcel stopped Joe a moment before he could leave. "Merci pour nos rencontres aujourd'hui. Ce vraiment me donner la tranquillité d'esprit." (Thank you for meeting us today. It really gave me peace of mind.)
Joe gave them both a warm smile. "Le plaisir c'est mon," he said, pulling them into a hug. (The pleasure is mine.)
When they let go, Marcel gave Joe a mischievous grin. "Au revoir, Lulu." They parted ways to go back to their own homes and their own lives.
