Autumn with Audrie and Louis

This week has been hideoulsy slow in the restaurant. Although, I don't think "hideous" was quite the right word because, in some ways, it's fun to be able to spend more time with the tables and chat to people and there is nothing hideous about that unless, of course, they are one of those rare evil people who are unhappy with life and want to hide in under the argument that their pizza was too crispy or they waited 5 minutes too long. If we had been busy, I wouldn't have been able to meet Audrie and Louis. Okay, so those aren't their names but after all the time I spent with them, I didn't get their names but I believe these are appropriate names for my friends.

We have a long galley-like restuarant and I escorted Audrie and Louis to the back . She had a lovely gold kreugerand around her neck that complimented her boat-necked black sweater and he took off his overcoat to uncover a rich blue sweater over a white collar shirt. I'm picking they were in their 70's. They looked lovely and immediately wanted to know about my accent and why I was here. When I told them I was from Vermont they seemed to think that was wonderful and began talking about the turning autumn leaves here in Queenstown and how it was nothing like Vermont.

I recalled a memory I have of a Sunday morning in Vermont and the leaves of the hills being so vibrantly orange that there was an evident reflection into the blue sky. Yes, I love being here in Queenstown with that autumn feel, which I haven't had for nearly 7 years, but it is nothing like the autumns of Vermont. As I told them my life story and mentioned my marriage to a kiwi that brought me to New Zealand, I began to be quite fond of Audrie and Louis. They were on a holiday from the Gold Coast in Austrailia to attend their friend's 100th birthday party. Luckily, I wasn't busy (at all) and was able to listen to all of the details of how their friend organized the entire event. In the meantime, I had poured them each a glass of Deakin Estate Shiraz (a Aussie wine), which I dribbled a little of on the table as I am still fine tuning my wine handling techniques, and taken their order.

I did eventually move on to some other tables and let them eat their pizza and pasta which they were anticipating. Everytime I left the table, Louise put his hands together in a prayer position, bent his head, and said "Ta" which, for all those who don't know, is way to say thanks. I would glance over every so often, and they would be methodically drinking their wine, almost elegantly, as they had no doubt been doing for many many years. Sometime throughout the evening they had met Mike and he had chatted to them. The next time I went to their table I mentioned my husband (which is always odd to say for some reason) and motioned over to him. Audrie said, "Oh is he your husband? I thought so. He's fine young man." Mike was wearing this cool pink polo shirt because he thought he'd be in the bar but found himself on the floor. Audrie made mention of this and said, "Doesn't he look handsome in that colour?" Yes, he does Audrie. Yes, he does.

Once knowing that we were married, Audrie and Louis seemed comforted that this girl from Vermont had such a fine young Kiwi husband. After we cleared their dishes, I told them to relax and they stayed to finish their bottle of wine. I was at another table when they were slowly making their way out of the long line of tables. Louis stopped, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "I told your husband to give that tip to you because you are such a lovely young woman. " The table I was serving jittered a little at the old man but I thought it was wonderful. Then Audrie and Louis were gone.

I didn't think I had given them the impression that I was homesick for Vermont, because I'm not really. I haven't lived there since 1999 but it is the place that holds copious amounts of fond memories, if there was to be one place in America (although Hawaii is in close second). Yet oddly enough, the next night right after I had finished getting the restaurant open, a couple walked in. I met them at the door and the woman (who I came to know as Judy and yes that is her real name) said, "Are you the girl from Vermont?" Now, I immediatley thought that Mike (who was wandering around town) had bumped into them and told them that he had a wife from Vermont when he found out they were from Boston. This is a common happenstance with anyone from the States. I told them that yes, I was indeed from Vermont and Judy was relieved to have found me which I thought was, uh, weird. She began to then tell me that they were in town taking pictures of one of the trees that had turned yellow and a wonderful old couple came up to them and began talking about this girl from Vermont who was very homesick for it and would love to talk them as they were from Boston. I reassured them that I wasn't homesick or in some sort of desperate mental state of need and we began chatting.

They asked which part of Vermont I was from and I told them about Woodstock and they said they go there every year and asked me if I knew about this Italian place called "Pain Salute" which is how Don (the husband) said it. I told them that yes, infact, I worked their when I was a teenager at Pane e Salute (http://www.osteriapaneesalute.com). "Oh, "they said, "we go there all the time." I made sure they understood that Caleb and Deirdre are very good friends of mine and that I had actually traveled to Italy with them, just so they understood how intimately involved I was with this little place they liked to eat. I told them about the new renovations they've made, which look beautiful, and they asked me a little bit about their book and if they really made out in the back of the truck in the apple orchard in Tuscany. I said I hadn't read the book (which I really need to do) but that sounded very much like the Caleb and Deirdre I knew.

I got Mike over to meet them and give them some driving instructions. Judy mentioned that they had gotten a speeding ticketfor 120$. Mike chimed in with some of his ticket stories (I can't because I have never gotten one....hee hee) and then Judy said, "Oh, but you will never believe this!" She began to tell this experience in not so thick Boston accent but very East coast about going to the Snowy Mountains ( Uh...yes, "The man from Snowy River" same snowy) and buying a little jar of creamed honey because her husband loves creamed honey and she buys wherever they go. It was all gift wrapped and she had nearly forgotten she had it until she was escorted into Customs in Wellington, NZ. The officer asked if she had packed the bag and what was in it. At that point, because it seemed to menial, she said, " I think there's some jam from Austrailia." Knowing how paranoid one can be going through customs, especially when you don't think you have anything on you. Granted she said "jam" instead of "honey". The officer found the box and ripped it open only to say, "This is honey. That's a 200$ fine. Give me your credit card." What's going on on? She had no idea that honey was contraband and hadn't even seen the Amnesty boxes to get rid of stuff if she thought she should. So she got into a bit with the officer but found out very very quicklty that you don' get "into it" with NZ customs officers. She told him that this didn't put NZ in a very good place as she was about to traavel 2 weeks here spending all her American money and the officer's response to this..."Well then, we don't want people like you in New Zealand." Honest for true and Don heard it as well. He thought it was somewhat hilarious as his wife received a custom offense and then he received a speeding ticket all in their first 48 hours in NZ. One more strike and they're afraid they won't be able leave the country. Luckily, since then, Judy has has somewhat gotten over it, and loves NZ but still wouldn't let Don take a rock he found on the beach, just in case.

We chatted to them for a while about customs and how it's not the greatest in the States either. Although, the time Mike crossed over to the States from Mexico and they held him for questioning for over an hour because he had visas for Taiwan and they mistook them for Visas from China because it's the R.O.C....that was funny. He was coded as a terrorist. Ha. But Don and Judy mapped out the rest of their itineray, promised they would say hello to Caleb and Deirdre, and gave me their names in case they ended up being incarcerated, I mean at the rate they were going.

Once again, Judy made mention of Louis and Audie and how wonderful they were and how glad they were for popping in to meet the girl from Vermont and her fine Kiwi husband.