Southern California--which claims to have no regional accent.

Yeah, yeah, they all say that. And they're wrong. It just doesn't sound like one to them themselves, that's all.

Sounds like your Zildian lady friend and hubby just misheard you, but. We're so damned used to Yanklian accents that it seems unlikely that any form of USn, no matter how badly swallowed, would be misinterpreted by a Zilder to that extent.