A Letter from Françoise
Maman,
I miss you. I wish you weren't so busy all the time.
I had a tea party with Daddy and Elizabeth. They never played with me before. It was fun.
Elizabeth is going to marry daddy. She said she was engaged so she gets to be my friend. I don’t think she has many friends. I know how to make friends. You don’t say, “I’m going to marry your daddy. Now I’m your friend.” When she and daddy took me to the park, she didn’t want to play with me. She just wanted to sit with daddy. Sit with daddy, sit with daddy, sit with daddy. That’s all she wanted to do.
She said she wanted to be my friend. I asked her to play pretend tea party and she did. It was the very first time. And daddy played too. I had to tell him not to eat the cookies. They are just pretend. He had to go to the doctor last time.
I had to tell daddy what to do. I told him to pretend making a fire. I didn’t want him to use a lighter, like he did last time. I said I was putting baby to bed like you do. I didn’t tell Elizabeth to do anything. She is a friend, so she’s the guest. Like you say, “You don’t make guests work, Françoise.”
Then Daddy said, “Thanks”. I got an idea. I said we could pretend we’re a family. Daddy is the daddy. I’m the momma. And Elizabeth is the baby. That’s more fun than being a guest.
I got to go,
Françoise
I miss you. I wish you weren't so busy all the time.
I had a tea party with Daddy and Elizabeth. They never played with me before. It was fun.
Elizabeth is going to marry daddy. She said she was engaged so she gets to be my friend. I don’t think she has many friends. I know how to make friends. You don’t say, “I’m going to marry your daddy. Now I’m your friend.” When she and daddy took me to the park, she didn’t want to play with me. She just wanted to sit with daddy. Sit with daddy, sit with daddy, sit with daddy. That’s all she wanted to do.
She said she wanted to be my friend. I asked her to play pretend tea party and she did. It was the very first time. And daddy played too. I had to tell him not to eat the cookies. They are just pretend. He had to go to the doctor last time.
I had to tell daddy what to do. I told him to pretend making a fire. I didn’t want him to use a lighter, like he did last time. I said I was putting baby to bed like you do. I didn’t tell Elizabeth to do anything. She is a friend, so she’s the guest. Like you say, “You don’t make guests work, Françoise.”
Then Daddy said, “Thanks”. I got an idea. I said we could pretend we’re a family. Daddy is the daddy. I’m the momma. And Elizabeth is the baby. That’s more fun than being a guest.
I got to go,
Françoise
posted by howard at 10:46 PM
19 Comments:
I now suspect that Lynn is intentionally playing this as a marriage of convenience. Maybe her post-divorce self is so bitter that she really does believe marriages are best contracted between two people who do not have any passion for one another. That way, you are pretty much guaranteed to get a John/Anthony eunuch type with no real interest in sex, who will therefore not cheat. I now suspect we will not see Liz and Anthony having children together. Francie will be enough.
qnjones:
I now suspect we will not see Liz and Anthony having children together. Francie will be enough.
I've suspected that's how things would play out off and on myself. I should think that Elizabeth would justify her refusal to give Françoise a step-sibling by saying that she doesn't want her to feel inadequate or some such windy mush. Sooner or later, though, she'll realize that Sheet Shaver 2.0's treacly mush about not wanting her to think that she wasn't good enough by having a child of her own is a cover for Liz's not wanting to have Icky Sex. In tenm to fifteen year's time, we could well see her making snarky comments about a woman who wants to be the best mother ever and still die a virgin. Assuming, of course, she swallows the Pattermyth about Liz not having done the deed.
I had to tell him not to eat the cookies. They are just pretend. He had to go to the doctor last time.
I said we could pretend we’re a family. Daddy is the daddy. I’m the momma. And Elizabeth is the baby.
::snerk::
Francie's letter to her maman is made of win. Liz is the baby, indeed. :)
Daddy is the daddy. I’m the momma. And Elizabeth is the baby.
I like today's strip. With your line, this strip would have been awesome!!
Anon NYC
qnjones,
I now suspect we will not see Liz and Anthony having children together. Francie will be enough.
If Lynn actually stops the strip right at the point where the wedding is completed, then I think you are right on the mark. However, there is a part of me that thinks Liz will come back from her honeymoon pregnant and say the classic line, “I don’t know how this happened.” It’s practically a family tradition.
DreadedCandiru2,
In ten to fifteen year's time, we could well see her making snarky comments about a woman who wants to be the best mother ever and still die a virgin.
Except she won’t use the word, “virgin”. I think it will be something like, “Anthony and I are celebrating out 15-year partnership. 15 years together and we are still close friends. I am looking forward to another 15 years of friendship with this man. Also we are really proud that, thanks to my parenting, little Francie won the Nobel Peace prize this year.”
aprip_katje, Anon NYC,
During my days of playing house with my sisters or with my daughter, the baby was the primo role because you got to cry and misbehave, and roll on your back and kick your legs in the air, and person playing the mother role would pat you on the back and say, “What’s wrong, baby? Would you like a cookie?” When my daughter did that, she was so cute.
That letter would fit in with how Francoise is being written. She's the most eloquent 3-year-old I have ever seen.
James,
She's the most eloquent 3-year-old I have ever seen.
Developmentally, I think Lynn Johnston has placed her at the same age as Meredith, even though she is younger than Robin. The Christmas Dinner with the kids, showed Francie and Merrie at about the same height and capable of handling utensils at the same table as Robin, shown without utensils and shorter than both the girls.
"Liz will come back from her honeymoon pregnant and say the classic line, “I don’t know how this happened.” It’s practically a family tradition."
Heck, we would ALL be wondering how it happened; these two are uncomfortable just standing next together. But I guess if Anthony had to do it once to get Francoise, he might be able to do it once more. While Liz fantasizes about one of the guys she threw away.
They printed my Coffee Talk post as Lana L. from Des Moines today.
qnjones:
I saw it. Way to sling the reverse snark. You have a couple of people believing you were on the up-and-up!
debjyn
But I guess if Anthony had to do it once to get Francoise, he might be able to do it once more.
If he can only remember how Thérèse taught him to do it.
qnjones
Congratulations on the Coffee Talk. I will try to contain my jealousy. Is Lana L = Lana Lang?
Awesome reverse snark, "Lana"--I love it! Good on you getting that one in. :)
Are those people for real on the coffee talk blog, or is that all a put-on?
Seriously, they can't be that delusional, can they? Or maybe Lynn really is serving her target audience well.
James,
Are those people for real on the coffee talk blog, or is that all a put-on?
Before the FborFW website transformed April’s Blog to Elly’s Coffee Talk, we used to make fun of people on the Yahoo FBorFW group site for their inability to see any flaws in the story-telling. Based on the Yahoo FBorFW group, I would say these people are for real. They appear to be dedicated, if not very detail-oriented fans.
However, it should be noted that the webmaster has gone through periods where she is obviously screening the Coffee Talk inputs for only the favourable comments. However, not currently. There are quite a few anti-Liz/Anthony comments in the last several days.
Lana L. is Lana Livingston, which is the pseudonym I will use if I ever write a romance novel. It's a long story.
Thanks for the kudos--I really just stole Howard's thoughts about this really, truly being a marriage of convenience and put them into snark.
Whoa, such cynicism!
I know people like Anthony, and Liz, and Howard, and Francoise.
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