How sweet...

Before dinner, there was wine and conversation. In this country, there always is.

We talked of cars, of boats, of life. I finally found the words in French to describe what I do:

"I'm an advocate; now I write, I do communications, but soon I hope to do more. I fight for nonprofits who operate like businesses, but not for money, for social impact. You understand?"

Alain smiled. "I know you come from Mouny."

"What?" I asked, alarmed by the random reference to my great-grandmother, a woman who's somehow influenced my life for as long as I can remember. Her story's been my quest for years.

"She was a humanist too," Sylvia explained. I wasn't sure how Mouny was a humanist, I wasn't sure how we were alike, but somehow it made me blush.