Emplette: Only in France Can Children Buy Wine!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Fruit and vegetable crates at a corner market in Orange (Vaucluse).
une emplette
(om-plet)
noun, feminine
a purchase
When Max and his soeur cadette, Jackie, offer to ride their bikes to the bakery, I request a little detour along the way. "Please stop by the supérette. We're out of toilet paper!"
The kids wrinkle their noses, complaining that they'll look carrément ridicule shopping for le papier WC. But not wanting to lose the right to ride to town, they quickly come up with a compromise.
"Can we get Sopalin instead?"
I'm not crazy about the paper-towel idea, but have to give the kids credit for some creative problem-solving.
Half an hour later, brother and sister return from les courses with a few unexpected purchases. Jackie, her cheeks crimson from the cool autumn air, hands me a package of toilet paper.
"It smells like peaches!" she says. "Sens-le!"
I sniff the fruit-scented TP. It does smell good! Still, I am suspicious. How did my daughter suddenly muster up the courage to be seen in the toilet-paper aisle? And what is that in the other bag?
As if on cue, Max pulls a bottle out of his sac à dos. "Pour faire plaisir à Papa," our 11-year-old Max explains.
"Wine?" Jean-Marc, walks into the room. He's as confused as I am. Examining the bottle, the future wine-maker is amazed at the coincidence: the Côtes du Rhône wine is from the area to which we will be moving this summer!
Busy reading the label, Jean-Marc seems unfazed by the fact that his child has managed to buy alcohol. More than fazed, I am curious to know a few details about the booze purchase.
"It's a 2004," Max is busy talking wine with his dad. "It cost 6 euros 80 for the bottle!"
"But Max," I question, 'How is it that the store clerk let you buy wine?"
"I told him it was for my dad."
My eyes shoot over to Jackie. Eh bien! That explains Jackie's sudden willingness to buy the toilet paper. She must have told the clerk that the TP was for her mom!
***
Max, Jackie, and Breizh the golden retriever. Breizh grew up and had babies, including Smokey.
Your Edits Here. Is the story clear? Better to leave off the final paragraph? ("It's for Mom!" may be a strong enough punch line, no? Thanks for your thoughts here in the comments box.
French Vocabulary
la soeur cadette
little sister
la supérette
small supermarket
carrément ridicule
completely ridiculous
le papier WC (also le papier toilette)
toilet paper
le Sopalin (from "Société du Papier-Linge")
paper towel
les courses
errands
sens-le
smell it
le sac à dos
backpack
pour faire plaisir à Papa
to please Daddy
Côtes du Rhône
wine grown in the Rhône region of France
eh bien!
well!
Les Arcs-sur-Argens, the village where today's story took place.
A Message from Kristi: Ongoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.
Ways to contribute:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]
2.Paypal or credit card
Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety
A fun story. Reminds me of my trips to the corner store in Massachusetts on my bike in the 1950s. My Dad would occassionally ask me to buy him cigarettes, which I dutifully reported to the store clerk. He'd hand me Dad's brand and off I'd go with my candies and Dad's smokes.
Posted by: Ray Stoddard | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 03:09 PM
How about a compromise? Leave off the very last sentence and move the "mother's little helper" line up to end the previous paragraph. Ca va?
Posted by: Jeri | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 03:16 PM
Thanks, Jeri. I like it! I think I would still keep the mothers little helper line one line down. But I like the idea of removing the very last sentence.
Posted by: Kristin Espinasse | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 03:37 PM
OH HOW I LOVE THIS MEMORY KRISTI.
MY MOM USED TO SEND ME FOR CIGARETTES WHEN I WAS 11 YEARS OLD....I WOULD USE MY ALLOWANCE TO BUY AN EXTRA PACK FOR ME.
SHAME ON ME !!!
MAX IS A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK....I'M GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE ANOTHER LITTLE TALK WITH HIM.
XOXO
MOM
Posted by: JULES GREER - PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 04:09 PM
PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE USED 'MYSELF' INSTEAD OF ME.....
IT IS SO INTIMIDATING (SP?) to come into this forum and comment, I am humbly sneaking in here just to tell all of you how precious your input and guidance is for Kristi. Kristi could not do this project without your help. Big hug to all of our friends today.
XOXO
JULES
Posted by: JULES GREER - PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 04:13 PM
Hi Kristin, Lovely story. I don't understand what you mean by "own up to the toilet paper".
"pint-size" should be "pint-sized"
Question: Why is papier-toilette PQ and not PT?
Amicalement,
Divya
Posted by: Divya | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 04:32 PM
Mom, so happy you joined us here!
Divya, thanks for pint-sized. Also, by *owned up to the toilet paper* I mean that it is now okay that Jackie told the story keeper it was for me (even if this is only in my imagination.). I can see that this line could be confusing. Do you think I can leave it as is?
Posted by: Kristin Espinasse | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 06:27 PM
Divya, I forgot to say that PQ (which you would not want to say in public...) is short for papier-queue (or tail paper). I will need to add this bit to the vocab list...
Posted by: Kristin Espinasse | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 06:29 PM
Bonjour Kristin,
I think the story is adorable. I like it as it is. I always learn from your stories --- especially the voc words.
I always look forward to your words of the day!
Stay well!
Posted by: Faye Stampe, Gleneden Beach, OR | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 07:01 PM
Hello Kristin,
This really cute story is paced just right.
Thanks for adding the PQ explanation; I had to look it up!
I am a little uncomfortable with the last line as it seems to forget that the scenario is imaginary. Moreover, 'Mother's Little Helper' was really Diazepam (Valium) as 'celebrated' in the Rolling Stones song.
If you do keep it, Merriam-Webster is ok with 'pint-size', listing 'pint-sized' as a variant.
Also, 'own up to the toilet paper' was clear on my first reading.
Posted by: Sushil from Mauritius | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 07:10 PM
Hello Sushil, I appreciate your feedback. You have so well expressed what it was that had me hesitating on the storys final lines: they imply that the scenario is no longer imaginary! I had a feeling the punch line would work just as well without these lines, and so I am deleting them.
For anyone wondering just what were those final lines??? Here they were:
With that, the pint-sized enablers pedal quickly home, a bottle of Mothers Little Helper in their backpack.
Posted by: Kristin Espinasse | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 07:29 PM
Sushil, interesting to learn the origin for the Mothers helper reference. (I had been wondering why I could not find more alcohol references linked with the term. Now I know!)
Also, I was wrong about papier-queue: it should be papier-cul--which is labelled vulgar in most dictionaries so one should not throw the term around (better to say le papier toilette!)
Posted by: Kristin Espinasse | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 07:34 PM
Hi dear Kristin,
Love this!
Another wonderful story that brought smiles
and tugs on my heart strings.
Your changes made it perfect!
Love, Natalia XO
Posted by: Natalia | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 08:19 PM
Funny, funny story. I suggest "the area to which we were moving." I'm curious, as your mom hints, where do you think the kids hid the second bottle?
Posted by: Ron Lauderbach | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 08:36 PM
I can relate to Jackie. Quand j'étais jeune, ça m'a tant embarrassée quand je devais m'acheter des serviettes hygiéniques. It was not like today when they are on the shelf, you had to ask!!!
Posted by: Millie | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 08:48 PM
Maybe: "I finally accept the toilet paper being called mine."
Another adorable story.
Posted by: Betty Gleason | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 09:47 PM
No mistakes, only laughs. What a great story. This, for me, embodies the phrase coined by David Lebovitz: a WTF ("Welcome to France") moment! Ha.
Posted by: Rebecca Q. T. in Baltimore | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 10:24 PM
Laugh, Laugh and more laughs.
I can't even buy Robitussin anymore without giving my driver's license to the clerk. Times have changed.
xoxo
Posted by: Karen from Phoenix | Monday, April 30, 2012 at 10:54 PM
Great story, but I was also confused by the own up to the toilet paper. It brought back a memory of a trip to Paris when we rented an apartment & went to the store to restock the toilet paper. When we got home & opened our package, we discovered paper towels instead. When we went to the cupboard to put them away, we found numerous rolls of paper towels, indicating we weren't the first to make that mistake.
Posted by: Susan Carter, Westminster, CA | Tuesday, May 01, 2012 at 12:48 AM
Kristin, I must say that I agree with others who didn't understand the "own up to the toilet paper" comment. I don't think it's clear what it means in this context. "To own up to something" usually means to admit to doing something.
And maybe, instead of "In breathless voices," say "Breathlessly"?
Posted by: Janet | Tuesday, May 01, 2012 at 02:48 AM
Kristin,
I loved this story and from today's post, I loved the photos of Smokey and his red poppies! I have no corrections, I think they have all been covered - and I didn't even notice anything that really stood out during my first read.
Posted by: Judi Boeye Miller, Lake Balboa, CA | Tuesday, May 01, 2012 at 04:29 AM
Hi Kristin, Thanks for your response about the PQ. But I notice you're now using it in your story - I don't think it was there before. Does that mean it's not all that vulgar?
I now understand the "own up" comment but it doesn't resonate in the least bit (specially not by your stellar standards on that front).
Posted by: Divya | Tuesday, May 01, 2012 at 04:46 AM
Hi Divya, I decided to take out the PQ reference. In the meantime, I learned a popular term (by a French friend who is staying with us at the moment), She said that in her home they call it le papier WC !
Posted by: Kristin Espinasse | Tuesday, May 01, 2012 at 01:30 PM
In the second paragraph, second sentence, there should be a comma after the introductory word, "But" to correspond with the comma after the word, "town": "But, not wanting to lose the right to ride to town, they quickly come up with a compromise."
Posted by: mhwebb in NM, USA | Tuesday, May 01, 2012 at 04:46 PM