Publish Year: 2022
Author: Patricia Ann Williams
It is 1964 and 23-year old Charlotte McGuire is embarking on the trip of a lifetime. She will spend a year in Paris studying French. While navigating a new city and culture she meets and falls for a French medical student. An ardent Francophile, she nonetheless experiences uncomfortable situations and disappointments in the City of Love. At the end of the year, Charlotte is faced with a difficult decision—a decision that will affect the rest of her life.
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Excerpt
Pressed against the ship’s railing, wisps of hair blowing in my face, the SS United States draws closer to the port of Le Havre…
I want to shout, to scream, to let the world know that I’m in France. After studying its language, its history, and its culture for more than ten years, I’ll finally get to see it firsthand. This has been my dream since I uttered my first bonjour in seventh grade. I am more than ready to view the sights I have only read about in books and seen in photos. My excitement grows as the ship, with its signature red, white and blue smokestacks, approaches the port.
White-winged gulls as well as tugboats escort us into the harbor. Droplets of spray kiss my cheeks. I listen to the gentle slap of the waves against the bow, the high-pitched chorus of the birds above. Nothing can spoil this beautiful moment.