Just got back to Paris. Although I had sent A an email last week to say when I was arriving, it was clear when I got home that no one had been expecting me. While the house was actually pretty clean, it was also obvious that a lot of teenagers were living there. And of course there was not a scrap of food left in the place. Hungry, I went out to the local small shopping street, which every neighborhood in Paris has. Ours has a butcher, a rôtisseur who roasts chicken, a greengrocer, a pharmacy, two restaurants, a cobbler, a dry-cleaner, a fish store and a working-class bar where I have never seen a woman set foot. Also, two small stores that older French people often call les arabes. Most of the small grocery stores in Paris are owned by hardworking North Africans.
Mohammed was there and greeted me with a smile. "You are back? Did you have a nice summer?" He didn't look too good. He hasn't been shaving lately and I saw patches of scalp through his hair. He smokes too much and works six days a week. And the kids say he sometimes sells products that are périmés (expired) although he always replaces them if you point that out. We chatted a bit and I said, "You should take more breaks. I think you work too hard. It's not good for your health." "Oh, I took several short breaks while you were gone. I went down to Provence several times. I like Marseilles. I have a friend in the SNCF [French national trains] so it's not expensive at all. 35 euros an aller-retour [round-trip]!" "How did you manage that!" I said. I had just bought a ticket for one of the kids which even with the youth fare came to more than €170 round-trip. "A few years ago this guy was living in a chambre de service [maid's room], nine square meters, really pourri [rotten]. He came into the store all the time and we got to be friendly, so when I found out about a nice small apartment I told him about it and he got it. He used to work as a counter agent in the SNCF and now he's some kind of big shot. They get a family ticket every week, they can go anywhere in France aller-retour for 35 euros. He doesn't use it, so he just gives it to me. I go to the counter and my name is already on the ticket, it's great!"
