The Optimist in Me (Ravin’ Ink 12.07.24 submission)

When something goes wrong . . .

We did not have expectations this would be a fun trip. The final “clearing out” of a home after a parent’s death, is never going to be fun. Complicating the task is it would be an overseas trip, USA to France and back. It had been two years since my mother-in-law passed. She lived with her husband (my father-in-law) in France for over 30 years. When she passed, my father-in-law left France with my husband and me to live in the US. My father-in-law, who I will call “E,” often said “France is a beautiful country, except for the people.”

The first day, E closed a patio door, and it shattered completely. It was April 2011 and still a bit chilly. The plan was to sell the condominium, and the door would need a fix quickly. “Quickly” must not be part of the French language, because nothing happens quickly in France. The door repair happened about 10 days later.

A “garage sale” of sorts was the plan. Anything not sold, thrown out or donated. The sale was poorly planned and only a few ladies showed. With no pricing determined for any item, husband and E asked me to “figure out” the price I thought was best for the items. I specifically remember a plastic platter with a crack that I “valued” at 50 cents. E had very terse words for me.

“How could you value something so terribly? These are not a bunch of cheap items!”

We did not sell much, and I spent the next several days boxing up the “not so cheap items” to donate. I am a banker and in my little brain, 50 cents is better than $0 plus the time spent boxing. All I can say, is thank goodness I really like French wine. With no food in the house, we ate out for lunch and spent dinners saying goodbye to old friends. Wine was the drink of choice for each meal.

Next, was the closure of a safe deposit box. Now, I had tried hard to avoid this trip. I mean, surely my husband and E could handle all of this without me, right? The safe deposit was the ‘reason’ given for me to be there because it held my mother-in-law’s jewelry we would transport back home in my carry-on bag. It would look suspicious if two Iranian men had a cache of jewelry in their bag, but it would not if an American, Caucasian mutt of a woman carried it. That would be me. We dropped off E at the bank to close the safety box. Parking in southern France is hard to find, so husband and I drove around for about 15 minutes and returned to the bank. E was standing outside and hopped into the car. A conversation ensued in which E revealed he could not bring himself to take the items out of the safe deposit box. Emotionally, it was too hard for him. As I stated previously, nothing in France happens quickly. To access the safety deposit box, it requires an appointment. This meant we could not just go back into the bank (like you can in the US) and remove the items. At this point, I turned into an angry task master. I told my two, traveling companions at the next appointment, both would go into the Bank together to remove items and close the box. That afternoon, we drove to St. Tropez. Bright, yellow wildflowers were in full bloom along the drive with smooth waves of the Mediterranean Sea providing a stunning background. I had never been to St. Tropez; it was a welcome diversion.

Next day, during the second Bank appointment, I waited at a nearby coffee shop. Homesick, I decided to review our return flights, several days out. I always make the flight arrangements. Where we live in the US, the flight requires at least one stop at another airport to get to Southern France. My preferred travel itinerary is to fly through London’s Heathrow airport because I enjoy shopping at Heathrow with as many shops as a large USA shopping mall. However, I made a mistake when I booked the flight. Our flight from Southern France was to London City Airport, not Heathrow. Our flight back to the US was from Heathrow. We were flying into the wrong airport!

The next several days, I emailed and called the airline many times trying to change the flight from Southern France to Heathrow instead of London City Airport. Despite my pleas, tears, anger and even making my husband call with his more authoritative voice, the airline would not change the flight. The only alternative offered was to forfeit our tickets and buy new tickets for an added cost of $3,000. My only saving’s grace was a long layover time between flights. We have travelled this route enough times to know delayed flights are common and try to have at least a two-hour layover between the time our flight in Southern France lands and our flight from London takes off. Our layover time was nearly five hours, which would give us enough time to fly into London City, gather our luggage, and take a cab to Heathrow approximately 26 miles (40 km) away. My little, bank brain calculated a cab ride was much less expensive than buying new airline tickets. Upon arrival at London City Airport, the three of us, exhausted and grumpy with six large luggage bags, waited for a cab. You see, E decided to take too many items out of the donation or throw away pile and pack it in suitcases. Oh, and the cache of jewels I was supposed to transport, E kept in his carry-on bag. He did not trust me anymore.

Fate turned when a big, black cab pulled up with plenty of room for three people and six suitcases. I told the cab driver our destination was Heathrow, and he shook his head, confused. I explained the unfortunate mistake I had made on the flight arrangements. The cab driver asked if we had ever been to London before, I had not. His response:

“Well, you have plenty of time, would you like the sight-seeing ride?”

Of course, I accepted. It was a beautiful Sunday in London with blue skies and no rain. We saw Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and more. Particularly lovely was the beautiful Westminster Abby where a certain prince and princess named William and Kate had married two days prior. London parks and streets were full of people celebrating the wedding and enjoying the weather. It was one of the best days of my life.

The experience is one I often recall. It taught me that when things go wrong, good can result. French wine, lovely drives through St. Tropez and London made a not-so-fun trip more enjoyable. Oh, and the condominium sold two weeks later.

Author's Note

Perhaps a bit too long and/or a little boring? Let me know.

Reviews

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

when overseas, Murphy's law akways rules. i enjoyed this quirky little story about the misadventures that seem inevitable. not just while travelling, but with life in general. the main character's bank-brain was a fun little twist that really made the story. and the final optimistic turn left us with a good moral. if everything went as planned, life would be a bore.

[LisaCarol]

Hello Ern and Happy Holidays! Good to hear from you and thank you so much for your kind words. This is a true story about my own experience and I am the banker (now since retired). I hope all is well in your world.

[Thomas W Case]

Brilliant work. Powerful writing.

[LisaCarol]

Thanks so much, Thomas.

[Aarti Sriram]

Enjoyed reading your content dear Lisa. It is always interesting isn't it to learn about different wasy of other countries and people. When we had travelled to the US it was easy for us to settle down with everything open until late and for more than 24 hours and ofcuourse language was not a barrier but now in Europe it feels weird that things close down as early as 5pm . We were ( touring Normandy and Bonn) visiting this beautiful cathedral but had to cut short our visit within an hour when crowds of us were told to leave as they were closing down at 4pm. Ofcourse the beauty of Europe is uncomparable to the mostly homogeneous looks US cities display. Its always a plus and another negative point about cities and we slowly learn we cannot compare. They are so much more deeper and complicated than logic or culture for us to even comment.
You were a saving grace for the family and I liked how you took time out to help and enjoyed around France and London amidst all endless wait, impractical turn of events. You were there for him in his very difficult time of life without his partner and shifting away from the family place, and it was a herculean task not an easy one for us ladies either. I could relate to your optimist story with myself having older parents and parents in laws and in very different places. Thankyou for sharing dear.

[emmajoygreen]

Those words, strung together like pearls make an incredible piece of writing. Seems touches of panic and pleasure turned the whole event near chaos with occasioanl gasps of 'let's get over it somehow' And somehow you did.. and can - being a proud Brit cheer about your successful visit to London! Know France too and whilst organised, have found the nationals somehat erratic in their dealings with non-nationals, french speaking or not! Seems to me you appear to be calm and efficient when it come to getting things done? What would happen if you did little or nothing - would you still be waiting?! Whilst being full of near trouble, your write sparkles with chaos and more BUT by the end - was/is cheer worthy!!!

[LisaCarol]

Thanks Emma. You are very perceptive. To answer your question, we would still be waiting had I done nothing. Hubby and E (who has since passed) are what I call (lovingly) ‘Persian Princesses’.

[emmajoygreen]

There are a few of those - globally! Just back from hospital.. need relax a while. Back later, dear you. Time for you to take a rest..too! Life's fun, at times. :))))

[emmajoygreen]

Forgise, my warder neice had other plans for me! Tomorrow, now here for me, is another day.. will chase til I find you.. will whisper, know you choose peace. Here, the birds are preparing trips back and forth my garden, blackbird has done a touch of tuning up.. this terratorial robin is sleeping in. Cold air.. dribbling eaves trying to drip!

[Lorry]

The worst of misplaced plans turned out well in the end. I've found similar, when faced with an unenviable task, but in foreign parts the chances if things going wrong only increase.
And plus, at least you got a story out of it! 😃

[LisaCarol]

Hi Lorry - Thanks for reading and reviewing. I appreciate your comments.

[Vol]

Lisa,
Not too long at all... and a perfect reminder that life is an obstacle course. When you can't jump over, maybe you can go around... NOT THAT WAY, THE OTHER WAY! Would it not be nice if we were allowed an instant replay, so the door did not break, everything sold for more that it was worth, and suitcases did not break our backs...
Vol

[LisaCarol]

Agreed, the part about having instant replay. I often say something about our government, we need a “do over” or a mulligan. Thanks so much for your review. I always appreciate your help as I navigate the world of writing.

Lisa

[Ken Simm.]

Not boring or too long. The subject matter connected me as well in various ways. I now live in the highlands of Scotland but I have lived in France and London. Amongst other places including the states. Primarily California. So I recognised.
France is a lot like Scotlands in that a saying is " Why have a watch when a calendar will do". Oh and even the French hate the Parisians and the Parisians hate everybody.
This is a charming, extremly well written story that hit a lot of my buttons.

[LisaCarol]

Ken - thank you for reviewing. It means a lot to hear your kind words.

Just finished The Matters of the Islands. I know it will be stories I read over-and-over again. So captivating and poetic.

[Ken Simm.]

Thank you for that. If you could review it would be grear.

[LisaCarol]

I posted a review on Amazon. 5 stars, of course.

[Samuel Dickens]

It's not too long for me, but then I thrive on stories. In my opinion, the number of words you used was just the amount needed to tell the story.
Like most folks my age, I have endured that dreaded task of managing a deceased family member's belongings. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if I'd had to travel to another country. Sheesh, what a chore! And then the trip-up with the flight scheduling--I think I might have pulled a few hairs out. I noted a few small errors, (which you could fix with a close going over) but overall, I find the writing very good and the story, interesting.

[LisaCarol]

Hi Samuel - thank you for your review and comments. I really appreciate all suggestions since I am new here. I look forward to reading your stories to get examples and ideas. Have a fabulous day.