We Drink the Wine in France Summary

This short story is told in eight sections. The story switches back and forth between Harriet and the professor and their thoughts and actions, all told in the voice of an outsider narrator. Harriet is a young girl attending the professor's French class. The professor is a thin, balding man, a different nationality than she.

The first segment finds Harriet and her French professor together, as he bends to help her as she is sitting at her desk during her French lesson. There is a moment when their eyes meet that the French professor is aware of her and she of him on a physical level. He is startled and immediately backs away. Harriet briefly feels snubbed because of his actions. The professor returns to his own desk and surveys the classroom. He...