30 - Paris recently

THE SUPERMARKET INCIDENT

The 89 bus goes from somewhere deep in the 15th arrondisement over to Austerlitz and the Jardin des Plantes. Jean-Marc would often take the bus, much preferred to the Paris metro and a very convenient door to door transport between his lawyers office and his Parisian pied-à-terre.

He liked sitting on the bench at the back of the bus. You could observe the passengers while keeping the best view of the streets rolling by.

She got on at Montparnasse, her golden curls and green eyes somehow reminded Jean-Marc of Lucie but the glossy lipstick and short skirt seemed out of place. She sat down at the opposite end of the bench and smiled at him.

At the next stop a mother and daughter boarded the bus, the teenager in tears while the prim posh mother with her perm and Dior suit tried to pretend that she was really somewhere else. They came to sit on the two empty spaces at the back of the bus.

Jean-Marc and the lipsticked beauty shared a glance, she leaned over and said in English "one plus one equals three, I need your help for this one". The teenager's abortion has not gone well, first, despite the logic, she had been forced against her will into making the decision but, most of all, the child's father was a caring and wonderful boy. They loved each other dearly and, despite their young age, the baby had not been entirely unintentional. Family pressure and keeping up appearances had nevertheless taking the upper hand and she instantly regretted it.

But the baby was not yet departed. Together they took her, the baby was a girl destined for great things that would now occur in another life somewhere else in another time and era, and pushed her into the column of light.

A sense of relief fell over the bus, some heads turned and the teenagers tears stopped. Oblivious to all that had just occurred, the mother took her daughters hand and led her towards the door. They got off at the next stop but in the street the adolescent stared up at Jean-Marc and mouthed "merci" with a little smile.

Alone at the back of the bus, uplifted and joyous, they kissed deeply, very deeply it seemed to Jean-Marc for whom this spontaneous and very exciting surge of passion seemed most unusual.

Coming to Jussieu she finally spoke, "come on let's go shopping, do you know what you're going to cook tonight?" Her English was perfect and her accent familiar but so strange. She sounded Indian but with tones from the West Indies, Jean-Marc was quite baffled, as if he knew her from somewhere.

The supermarket was packed with people shopping on their way home from work that evening. She bought sweet potatoes, plantain, chillies and okra. They queued at the check-out. While paying, under the bright lights, Jean-Marc noticed the shiny specks around her mouth, the kissing on the bus combined with the glossy spangled lipstick has left its mark. He wiped her chin and she likewise brushed away the incriminating evidence from his mouth. The cashier laughed. "What will your husband say?" said Jean-Marc, the cashier laughed more, he continued, "we just met on the bus, we had an unexplained moment of passion, just couldn't resist each other".

Still laughing on the street she finally spoke, "I am Domenica, we've met before and we'll meet again, thanks for your help".

And she was gone.

Meanwhile, up there, you know where, that place from where they can feel our every care, our every move, our every feeling, the unborn child Denis Weldone observed the scene. He knew that he would find another way back to an earthly life, he just hoped he would get there in time...