Humble Pie at the Pâtisserie

You don’t have to be a math whiz or even particularly fluent in French… to feel like a dummy at a French cash register! Read on…

 

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At a bustling bakery along rue Gambetta, not far from the lonely stone lavoir and close enough to the village square to keep an eye on my kids as they run circles around the fountain, I order a “string”, “a boat”, and a “restaurant”: French bread classification according to shape (like a string or boat) and size (big enough to feed clients at a quaint bistro!).

While la boulangère calculates the total out loud, I empty my coin purse into my free hand, fishing out the smallest coins, trying to get rid of as many of the pièces jaunes as I can get away with, dignified look and all. When I go to hand the collection over to the caissière, she shakes her head. Next, she repeats (a little louder this time!) the amount due. That’s when I realize I’ve miscalculated!

The line of people behind me grows and I fluster, eventually choosing the easy way out. I offer my hand once again and, with pleading eyes, motion to the remaining coins in the palm of my main. With nimble fingers, the cashier pecks out the correct somme due. I stand obedient, watching the baker, my face as red as a raspberry tart.

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French Vocabulary

le lavoir = old washing-place

la boulangère (le boulanger) = baker

la pièce jaune = yellow coin (golden-colored “small” change)
la caissière (le caissier) = cashier

la main = hand
la somme due = amount due

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