Pigeon
I was hoping that when Bakary said he had a cadeau for Allison, a “pigeon”, that maybe the French word pigeon means something other than what we know it as. Actually, I was hoping that pigeon would mean something that wasn’t a bird at all, maybe some cute handmade toy or something. The next week he did show up with a small ominous carton, rectangular holes carved into each side. Yes, it was a pigeon, just like what we would call in New York a “flying rat”. Thoughts ranging from bird poop, to Tucker with a mouthful of feathers, to avian flu rushed through my head. How could Bronwyn have let this happen? She insisted that Bakary was “my” problem because he was “my” odd job man. Did she forget that “my” French is lousy? Bakary gently produced the pidgeon for our inspection. I managed to flap my wings and ask, “ Est ce qu’il peut…fly?” No, he showed me that the bird’s wing was inadequate- through device or accident, I couldn’t translate. At least we would be keeping a lame bird in a box. That was a shade better than boxing a bird in top form. In my most careful French I finished with “Nous… peuvons… avoir… le oiseau… pour… une semaine,… mais……… pas… pour… tous les jours”. He chatted away in response. Steely eyed, I turned to Bronwyn with, “He understood that it’s only for a week?” “Oh yeah,” she knocked off, not understanding the grave nature of the situation, “He understood”. Eager to gain some French from this experience, I consulted Larousse later, to find that the alternate meaning for the French word “pigeon” is… “sucker”.