The Smile

I'm from California. So, I smile all the time, even when I'm not happy or feeling the least bit friendly. It's just in my blood, I guess.

Smiles are never returned in France. If I have to smile for some reason, I just avoid making eye contact. Then, I'm in my own little smile world. This has worked fairly well so far, avoiding unreturned smiles which could start to become a bit depressing.

Today is Sunday. The streets are pretty empty on Sunday mornings, especially when it's this cold out. I was out walking in the neighborhood, going to pick up a few veggies, the newspaper and a baguette. The street was deserted. A woman appeared, walking in the opposite direction. She looked like a normal middle-aged French woman to me.

As she approached, I noticed that she was smiling. She was looking directly at me with a big smile on her face. Confusion and a bit of panic scrambled my early-morning reverie. Should I smile back? Should I look the other way? She must want something from me. Does she look homeless? Crazy? I couldn't decide what to do fast enough, so I smiled back. Not a big smile, just a bit of a smile. Then I looked away, just in case.

The moment I looked away, she passed me, yelling out, "Bonjour Andre, ça va?" I looked behind me, and about three paces back was Andre, the object of the smile.

I don't think she even noticed my smile, she was so focused on Andre. I'll have to be more careful in the future.