"Mom! Can Matthew come over today?"
"What?!!! Already? Have you even met him?" I stopped washing dishes to look at him, shocked. "Well yeah, we go to the same school remember," Alfred only started school a couple of days ago. "Are you sure? I mean, do you trust him?" I asked worriedly. "If you want you can talk to his mom...?"Alfred asked in a hopeful way. On one hand, he did not know this person very well, while on the other hand, I really wanted him to make new friends here in France. "Fine...I will talk to his parents...only because I trust your judgment."
He fist-pumped the air and did a small dance that made me laugh. "Great! I can't wait to tell Matthew."
"Wait so that he would be coming over today?" I asked. Alfred nodded slowly, and I shrugged. "If he is getting dropped off, make sure I can at least introduce myself to his parent. I don't want them freaking out about their son coming to a stranger's house" I pointed out, and he nodded quickly. "If anything goes wrong, I will protect us" he pretended to flex his muscle, even though he did not have much.
I am kind of excited to meet this Matthew fellow. Alfred has not stopped talking about him. It was amazing how they were easily able to see each other. I mean, I did help on Alfred's part, but I guess everything fell into place very well for them to be able to meet. Alfred ran off to call Matthew as I started to finish washing the dishes. I think as a parent I might be too lenient with Alfred, but he grew up to be a great kid that I could trust for him to talk to me.
This is one of the times when I really have to trust him. "Okay, so he said his mom can drop him off today to hang out, and the two of you can talk," Alfred got off the phone and came beside me. He leaned against the counter in a relaxed position as I finished up the dishes. "His dad is not coming?" I asked, and he shook his head. "His parents split up a long time ago; he hasn't talked to his father in years...so it is just his mom," he explained. I nodded, feeling a bit bad for him.
"The two of you can be friends" Alfred laughed. "Well, I guess I better make some food; I wonder what French people like?" I asked, looking through our food. "They like bread! And wine!" Alfred laughed. "I can't just give them bread and wine...they aren't prisoners," I laughed. The two of us both laughed at the thought as Alfred started to help me find food for them to eat. I rolled up my sleeves and tried looking for something they would like. "Oh! How about some cheese and crackers?" Alfred took out some string cheese and crackers.
"I do not know about that one kid." I laughed. I looked in The freezer, and nothing...it would be too late to thaw any meat, so I would need to prepare something fast." I tried thinking but could not come up with anything. "Fine, we are giving them baked croissants and .....juice?" I looked at Alfred confused at the last part, but he shrugged. "If I were them, I would like juice..." he laughed. "No help," I said, shaking my head. I quickly turned the oven on and started to open up the dough.
"French people....from what I could tell from movies. Are pretty fancy. Maybe when I offer them drinks, I could say something like. Would you like juice? Or water? Or maybe some tea? Wait, do French people like tea?" Alfred looked so confused and nervous as he tried to figure out what to do.
"I think you might be overthinking it. Just be yourself," I smiled. He nodded at my suggestion and started to help me roll out the dough. "It's just that he is the first person who talked to me here. At school, no one wanted to try and talk to an American. I guess we have bad reputations."
"I don't think so....maybe they are just as nervous as you are. Humans just try to find ways to deal with their feelings....sometimes it is hard to do the right thing or an easy thing....don't ever feel that you weird people out; I am sure they were figuring out what to say to you....if we are honest, they probably didn't know you knew French....you should try taking that step forward," I nudged Alfred in a carefree way that caused him to smile brightly.
Once we finished rolling the bread, I placed the pan in the oven to bake. "When were they going to come?" I asked. I wiped my hands on my shirt and tightened my ponytails. "Any minute, honestly."
"Oh, I should change, right?" I asked, but as soon as I did, there was a knock at the door. Alfred and I stared at each other when he suddenly ran to get to the door. I have no idea what to do. Should I change? Or wait to meet the mother? I looked around, a bit confused as I tried to fix my face through the kitchen window. Of course, it did not work.
"MOM!! Matt and his mom are here," Alfred yelled. I felt nervous all of a sudden. I turned around and saw the most sweet-looking young man standing beside Alfred. I was glad I could trust Alfred. "Hello, my name is Matthew, and this is my mother," Matthew looked over in the living room, waiting for the mother to show herself. "Oh! So sorry, Mattie," she laughed. The mother stepped into the kitchen and looked as sweet as her son. "Hi, I am Alfred's mom, Alice," I walked up to her with a smile. "Francine, what a pleasure" she held her hand for me to shake. Which I did with no hesitation.
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