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until later.  She then set out a range of different foods covered over – grated cheese, ham, sliced mushrooms and tomatoes.  “These are different fillings for the crêpes so everyone can choose what they want,” she explained as she saw the girls’ puzzled faces.  They had never had crêpes, although of course they had pancakes every Shrove Tuesday.  Usually with lemon, though, not savoury fillings.  This was going to be an interesting evening, thought Christina.
    The usual bowl of ‘salad’ was placed on the table and a stack of plates ready for the crêpes.
    Soon everything was ready.  Jean-Luc, Odile and both girls were changed and ready for the party to begin. The girls had spent some time deliberating over what to wear.  Christina had opted for a short black dress that looked perfect with her long blond hair.  Isabelle had gone for a cream dress, her current favourite, which she hoped would show off her tan.
    Jean-Luc poured a pastis for himself, a martini for Odile and two small glasses of red wine which he handed to Isabelle and Christina.  He chinked the glasses, “Tchin tchin” and they echoed the sentiment.
    “Now for music,” declared Jean-Luc and the sounds of Bob Marley filled the small room.  He began to dance, moving well to the reggae music and pulling Odile in to dance with him.  The girls watched, smiling, their enjoyment was infectious.  For a moment, Isabelle remembered her previous worries that Jean-Luc and Odile would be boring.  So far from it!  They were the most entertaining ‘old’ people she had ever met.  She grabbed Christina and joined in the dancing.
    A few minutes later the doorbell rang.  Jean-Luc sprang off to answer it and a couple came in bearing more wine. 
    “Voici Martine and Jacques” Jean-Luc introduced his friends and the girls received the customary kisses.  They were getting used to the French way of greeting.
    Next came Dominique and Paul, quickly followed by Gerard and Marie-Frederique.  Chantelle and Daniel were next to arrive.  The girls looked at each other in despair – how would they ever remember all these names?
    The lounge seemed to have burst into life with the arrival of the friends and the resulting chatter.  The small room was packed with people now and warming up quickly.  Glasses clinked with each other.  Calls of ‘santé’ rang out. The girls couldn’t help comparing the party here to the ones they had at home sometimes.  Here there was none of the polite chatter whilst people stood around waiting for everyone as they would at home.  No, everyone was up dancing, chatting and laughing straight away.
    Isabelle kept stealing a look towards the front door wondering when Etienne would arrive. 
    Eventually her patience was rewarded. The doorbell sounded once more and realising everyone else was absorbed in the party, Isabelle opened it to find Etienne.  He had changed and was wearing a striped blue and white shirt, open at the neck, with black jeans.  He leaned forward to kiss her and she barely resisted the impulse to melt into his arms, accepting the customary formal kisses on the cheek instead, squashing the small sense of disappointmen.
    The party was in full swing, filled with chatter, music and laughter.  Several of the couples danced casually along to the music, obviously all fans of the reggae music that Jean-Luc avidly enjoyed.   The room grew hot and someone opened the doors onto the balcony inviting the night air in and exposing the beautiful vista of Paris dressed in her evening clothes.
    Soon Jean-Luc began making the crêpes.  The girls watched fascinated as he deftly put the batter on the electric plate, swept it around with a palette knife and as it began to cook, he tossed it over.  The first crêpe came to Isabelle, who chose ham and cheese.  Christina’s followed and soon everyone was enjoying crêpes, washed down with wine.  Jean-Luc kept tossing crêpes, making certain that everyone’s plates