Summary

Vigipirate – The author and her husband take their eight-day trip to Paris in honor of John’s fortieth birthday. Shortly after they arrive, the author experiences a pang of deep grief over her mother, with whom she first went to Paris when she was 16. She then describes the time, when she and John were both in their mid-twenties and figuring out who they were, that they lived in Paris, having moved there shortly before the events of September 11, 2001. In the aftermath of those events, she writes, the country was in a state of “vigipirate” – literally watching for pirates, but in the current situation, watching for anyone destructive or dangerous or different. On their current visit, she says, the country is again in the state of “vigipirate,” in the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks. She then describes having their last dinner in...