TODAY’S WORD: la débrouille : resourcefulness, the art of getting by
PRONUNCIATION: [lah day-broo-yuh]

Grâce à la débrouille de Flora et à son sourire, tout s’est arrangé.
Thanks to Flora’s resourcefulness and her smile, everything worked out.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE…by Kristi Espinasse
Today, meet Flora–new friend, half my age and wise beyond her years

It all began with a spontaneous blog post about a barracuda (how’s that for a hook!)—and a last-minute announcement: “Final chance to buy a signed copy of A Year in a French Life!” After July 1st postal rates are set to soar and I wanted to communicate this to readers one last time. My previous mentions garnered a few sales so I wasn’t expecting to be swamped.

But soon orders began trickling in… until, like any in-the-clouds creative, I finally remembered to count my stock of books.

Making a beeline to the hallway bookshelf, I spotted a meager stack. One, two, three… thirteen. That’s when it hit me: thirteen really is an unlucky number.

Just start packing, I told myself. Come on, concentrate! There at the dining table, Ricci resting at my feet, I quickly began signing the books, hoping, like Jesus’s loaves, they’d somehow multiply.

So far so good: this one for Julie, for Peggy, for Amy Jo… for Bonnie, Earle, Robin, Ali…

Wait. You’ve begun with the most recent orders. That’s not fair!

OK, rewind: this one for John, for Gail, for Angela…

(Just then I remembered tonight’s dinner chez Jenny and Steve, and fellow guests Lauren and Bro, in from Puyloubier. I had wanted to offer a book, as Lauren is a reader. But it looked like I’d miss the chance–given I was almost out of stock!)

I peered at the stack. Still there. Sweet Jesus. Were they multiplying?

I shook my head free from the rêverie and focused on my inbox, searching for the next order. That’s when I saw a Zelle payment from Andrew K. $70—for extra copies. Then came an email from Anne W.: “Two books ordered! Thank you!”

And just like that, c’était la dèche. I was completely out of stock. More than la dèche, this was poor accounting on my part. I had to quickly order more books, but wouldn’t receive the new shipment until after postal rates rocketed, from 5€59 per package to over €29 ($33 dollars to ship one book)!

(Thanks to l’Offre Livres et Brochures—a special postal program promoting French culture abroad—I could send my book (sprinkled with French and steeped in local culture) for under 6 euros. But come July 1st, this incredible offer would vanish!)

Given my book + shipping was priced at $35 not only would there be no revenue, there’d be a deficit ($400 at this point) and it was growing by the click! (I quickly removed any promotional text from my blog, to deter any more click payments).

Just then, an idea struck.

I could scrounge together three more copies. There was one I’d signed to my beau-frère, Jacques, months ago. Mom had one. Maybe my neighbor would lend me hers, which I could later replace. Oh–and Max! My son had a copy. Next, I rummaged through my daughter’s room only to realize she’d taken hers with her to New York. Aw… With so many bags to weigh in at the flight desk, she wasn’t concerned by another 507 grams–mon livre!

This amounted to 4 more books, but they were already signed to someone else. Réfléchissons….What if I altered them? Creatively, of course. I could glue something–a cutting from an old French map, or a section of a carte postale-over the already–penned inscription. Voilà! While I could not write an inscription over the map, I could sign somewhere else on the title page.

Next, I scanned my inbox, where book orders were piling up. I was looking for readers who might not mind a creatively altered copy. Trisha A. mentioned she already owned the book but a signed copy would be nice. She seemed like a free spirit, easygoing—someone who wouldn’t mind a doctored book. (This was starting to feel like my April Fools’ prank—only this time, it was no joke.)

Ding! Another order came in—this time from A.J., my buddy in Wyoming. She would be totally okay with a special edition. Caught up in my rapidly-expanding imagination, it was Ricci’s bark that brought me back to earth.

Was I absolutely delirious? “Special edition.” Tu rêves! I stood up to let the postman in the gate, my computer still pinging with book orders. They were coming in through Paypal, through Zelle, through Stripe…and maybe even personal checks! (Normally I camp outside my mailbox, waiting for mail orders, but today I nearly hid from the postman, as I gradually became conscious of a growing conundrum.)

The postman handed me a letter from Jill, in Green Valley, AZ, and I remembered, with relief, I’d already shipped Jill’s book, even before receiving her check. Ouf!

Back to my desk now, orders were flowing in. Was I tracking everything correctly? There began a nerve-racking romp through my email: four orders via Paypal, 18 via Stripe, Zelle’s (bank transfers) now totaled three… It was Black Friday in my inbox. What had gotten in to everybody? What if I forgot somebody? I began noting orders in my calendar, then in my “Notes” app. I continued to address my cardboard envelopes, arranging them in alphabetical order…anything to keep on top of le déluge.

After sealing the last package, I transferred all thirteen livres into my market cart and wheeled them to the post office. At 2:30 p.m., il n’y avait pas un chat. No customers in this heat wave. “Everyone must be having a sieste,” I said to the young clerk, only to be surprised as clients began streaming in. Zut! I didn’t want to annoy them with my cart full of parcels.

The clerk smiled back: A growing line didn’t scare her one bit. Même pas peur. “This morning I had 26 lettres recommandées. Everyone can wait.”

I watched as she calmly and efficiently processed each package. Dressed in all black—a striking contrast to her light, upbeat mood—she moved with quiet confidence. Her long caramel-colored hair framed her face, drawing attention to hazel eyes and an easy smile.
As she weighed and labeled the last parcel, she paused thoughtfully.
“Is this your book?” she asked.

“It is,” I said. “But I’ve run out of inventory—and now I can’t ship the rest until after July, when rates go up,” I shrugged. C’est ma faute. Je me suis mal organisée.

“How many more books do you need to ship?”

“I’m not sure. Ten? Eleven?”

“Well, there’s the professional rate. You’d get half off…” The young woman paused thoughtfully, then brightened. “Or, I could preprint the étiquettes!”

“Really? Do you think that’s possible?”

“I think so!”

“Merci! What’s your name?”

“Flora.”

Flora… Suddenly, my shipping souci became a sweet meadow of fragrant flowers.

“Thank you, Flora! Would you like a book? It’s on me! Vous m’avez sauvée!”

“….and just like that, my problem was solved, thanks to that young lady!” I shared with Mom, having rolled my empty cart home, to recount the whole story.

“What was her name?” Jules wanted to know.

“Flora.”

“Flora. What a lovely name! And you made a new friend!” Mom added. Then she lit up: “Why don’t you write a story about Flora? She can read it in your next book!”

“Good idea, Mom!”

“Flora,” Mom echoed, taking Ricci’s face into her hands. “Now that’s a beautiful name. We like Flora, don’t we Ricci?”

---

FRENCH VOCABULARY
To listen to Jean-Marc pronounce all the French words, click the arrow below:

La débrouille = resourcefulness
le beau-frère = brother-in-law
le livre = book
la carte postale = postcard
réfléchissons = let’s think
voilà = there you go / done!
la dèche = rock bottom
l’Offre Livres et Brochures = French postal program for cultural items
mon livre = my book
tu rêves = you’re dreaming
le déluge = flood
il n’y avait pas un chat = there wasn’t a soul around
la sieste = nap
même pas peur = not even scared
les lettres recommandées = registered letters
c’est ma faute = it’s my fault
je me suis mal organisée = I didn’t plan well
les étiquettes = labels
vous m’avez sauvé(e) = you saved me

REMERCIEMENTS
Thank you to the following readers for your donation this past week to this journal!

Mimi M.
Mike P.
Mary J.
Lynne K.
Susan B.
Bobbi F.
Ginger S.
Carolyn C.
Robert B.
Teresa W.

If you’d like to support this journal, please visit this page. Merci beaucoup.