A Little Blackbird Told Me

Moving to a new country is never easy but John thought it could also be exciting. After all, his grandfather always taught him "with risk comes reward". The new job came available so quickly and he couldn't believe he actually got it so he knew this was meant to be. However, he couldn't help but feel a little homesick and all alone and he didn't even move yet! John was from a small coal mining town in western Pennsylvania and his new job was in Bordeaux, France. So this was not just a move to a city...it was a move to another country. John was always very smart and picked up French at the age of eight. His mother always wanted him to have options so he could be whatever he wanted when he grew up so she signed him up for all kinds of lessons when he was young. He took piano lessons, singing lessons, French lessons, you name it, he studied it! He really didn't mind because he knew his mother was doing it to make his life better. Not to mention she always made sure John had plenty of time to hang out with his friends and play sports. Well, he really exceled at languages and not only was he fluent in French, but, also in Spanish, Italian and German as well. When he went off to college he was already fluent in so many languages that he decided to major in finance thinking excelling at both would give him an advantage and could lead to his "dream job". He knew he would have to move to the city to get the job he wanted but he was thinking somewhere like Pittsburgh but not the whole way to France! He really did love Pennsylvania for many reasons but the most important was that his family still lived there.

He arrived in Bordeaux and settled into his new apartment then started his new job at a multinational corporation in the finance department. Just like he planned, he got the job because he was fluent in so many different languages plus he was very good with numbers, which helps when you work in finance! During college he dated a few different girls but those relationships did not develop into anything serious. He was hoping to meet some new people in Bordeaux and maybe start dating again. He always wanted to get married and have a family. While at work one day, one of his colleagues suggested he take a wine tasting tour. After all, he was now living in Bordeaux, France! John thought “why not, I love wine and I might even meet someone special.” So one Saturday afternoon he took the wine tasting tour with his friend from work. He was pleased that the tour was sold out and there were quite a few women on the bus. They toured a few vineyards, tasted many different kinds of wine and the tour ended with an early dinner. It was a warm, sunny day and the vineyards were just beautiful. John was having a wonderful time getting to know Louis, his new friend from work. When it was finally time to eat, Louis and John, were seated at a table with six other people. The woman seated directly across from John was particularly friendly and her laughter really touched John’s heart. Her name was Emile. She was also with a friend from work and the four of them had a good time eating and, of course, drinking wine. The funny thing is that they talked about everything but wine! When they were finished with their meal, they said their goodbyes and they all went home.

It was over a week since John went on that wine tour and he could not get Emile off his mind. It was driving him absolutely crazy! He was so mad at himself for not asking for her number. He asked his friend Louis if he knew anybody who might know Emile since Louis lived in the area his entire life. Louis said he would check around but made it clear he could not promise anything since Bordeaux is a pretty big city. Louis always teased John about being from such a small town and would often say "this is not small town Pennsylvania!" John asked Louis so many times if he found any information about Emile that Louis was becoming annoyed. John quit asking and practically gave up all hope of ever finding Emile. Then finally one day Louis came into John’s office and he had a bit of a smug look on his face. After a few minutes of chatting...Louis announced “I found Emile and I got you her number!” John almost fell off his chair he was so happy. For the rest of the day he looked at the tiny piece of paper Louis gave him with Emile’s number while trying to muster up enough nerve to call her. Finally, two days later, John called the number and he heard Emile’s voice “Bonjour” she said. John was so nervous but he identified himself as the man from dinner during the Saturday wine tasting tour. He held his breath as he asked Emile “Do you remember me, my name is John and I was sitting across the table from you?” I do remember you, Emile responded, we had a nice time that day. Boy, was John relieved! He then invited Emile to dinner and she happily accepted. They agreed to meet at a local restaurant on Friday night.

John made the reservations but he wanted to do something special for their first date. He really liked Emile and he thought she might actually be “the one”. He wished he knew her favorite wine but they were drinking from different bottles the day of the wine tasting tour. Then it hit him...the bottle that Emile and her friend had on the table had a blackbird on it. John was obviously pretty intelligent knowing so many languages and he remembered the tour guide explaining that Merlot actually means "blackbird" or "merle" in French. Her favorite wine is most likely Merlot, John thought, so he arrived at the restaurant early and ordered two glasses of Merlot and some appetizers. Emile arrived right on time and when she took a sip of the wine she exclaimed “How did you know Merlot is my favorite wine?” John said “Well, a little blackbird told me” and went on to explain seeing the blackbird on the bottle of wine that she was drinking with her friend the day they met but he said he was hoping it wasn’t her friend that chose the wine that day. Emile laughed out loud and said she actually picked the wine that day because her friend prefers Cabernet! John just loved the sound of Emile’s laughter. That first date went great and it was just the first of many. John even took Emile home to Pennsylvania to meet his family. Everyone loved Emile as much as John did and although he stilled missed his family terribly, he loved being with Emile and he also enjoyed his job. Emile and John dated for only about six months when John asked Emile to marry him. He was right, she was definitely “the one” as he suspected months before. Emile said yes to his proposal and they were married three months later at one of the vineyards they visited on that very first wine tasting tour. Guess what wine the bride and groom served at their wedding??? MERLOT of course!