'Puzzled'

Episode 37 – ‘First date’

Episode 37 – ‘First date’Yacht ‘Rosalinda’, Saint-Tropez, France, 29 December

Monsieur Moreau nods, gets up and says:

'Well, in this case, mon cher ami, I can offer you a sweet.'

'What sweet?' I stare at him, baffled.

'I’m afraid, quite an ordinary one, something like an ice cream,' he winks and heads to the stairs, leading to the lower deck.

'Monsieur Moreau, wait! You've got me wrong!' I cry out.

But he doesn’t stop, just smiles and walks down. Bewildered, I try to figure out how to correct this misunderstanding but nothing ingenious springs to mind. In a minute, Monsieur Moreau returns, holding two small bowls with scoops of chocolate ice cream in them. 

'Monsieur Moreau ... ' I say, picking up his cigar case from the table.

'My dear Luke,' he interrupts me, 'I understand you perfectly. I'll say more, to smoke the first-ever cigar is very much like to have the first-ever date.'

'But what does ice cream have to do with it all?'

'Everything! You shouldn't smoke cigars on an empty stomach. Your head will spin.'

He puts the bowls with our ice cream on the table then comes to the shelve, where the photograph of maman stands, and, opening a mahogany humidor, peers in.  Following his advice, I start on my ice cream.

'Since it's your first one, I think the best would be to start with Cohiba Siglo I,[1]’ he says, taking a cigar out of the humidor.

‘Yeah,' I nod, fishing out the last scoop of ice cream from my bowl.

He comes to me and hands me the chosen cigar. I take it. Its shape reminds me of a torpedo, a pointy tip of which is encircled by the black and yellow paper ring.

'Why is there a profile of an Indian on here?' I ask, intrigued by the image on the ring.

'Well, that's because the brand name of this cigar is Cohiba - the word, which the Taino Indians of the Caribbean used to call the tobacco leaf. But despite its name, Cohiba is a relatively young Cuban brand. Officially, the production of these cigars started in 1966. Besides Fidel Castro himself, the only people who could taste Cohiba were heads of foreign states. They used to receive these cigars as an exclusive gift.'

'I see,’ I mumble, not quite knowing what to do with this exclusive gift.

Seeing my hesitation, Monsieur Moreau pushes his crystal ashtray to me, takes a cigar lighter out and says: 'To properly light up a cigar is an art in itself, which I'm sure you will master later, but right now to aid the process, I’ll do it for you.'

He strikes the flame and brings my cigar to it. Meeting it, the tight layers of tobacco leaves redden and quickly form a perfect glowing ring.

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[1] Cohiba Siglo I - The smallest of the Siglos, an authentic appetizer. Episode 37 – ‘First date’