Read Online Isobel and Emile by Alan Reed - Free Book Online

holds her hands in front of her. Her hands move like she is rubbing them together. It is like she is impatient.
    She is looking up at Isobel.
    Isobel says: ‘No.’ She says: ‘That’s not it.’ She pauses. Then she says: ‘I have something to say. I’m not going to say it.’
    It is like the girl is speaking now. She is not speaking. She is only a puppet. She cannot speak. Isobel is speaking. The puppet moves like she is the one speaking.
    Isobel says: ‘I don’t want to say it.’
    The girl’s face is pale. She looks away, like she is struggling to find the right words.
    Isobel says: ‘I won’t.’
    The girl is wearing a black dress. It is made from a tattered old cloth Emile found. It is belted with a piece of string. Under the dress her legs are bare.
    Isobel says: ‘I woke up this morning.’ The girl is still looking away. It is like she is afraid of what she is saying.
    She says: ‘I woke up this morning and I was happy. It’s not much, to say that I was happy. It’s not enough. But what I have to say does not make me happy.’
    She is not afraid of what she is saying. She is looking away because it is hard to say it. She has to concentrate.
    She says: ‘I woke up this morning. You were already downstairs. You were having coffee with Mr. Koch and waiting for the delivery truck to come.’
    Her voice changes. She is speaking differently. It is like it is not hard anymore.
    She says: ‘I wasn’t ready to get up when you got up. I felt you get out of the bed and I pulled the blanket closer to me.’
    She settles into what she is saying. It is like she is drifting away into it. She is still looking away. It is a different kind of looking away.
    She says: ‘And then I woke up. I sat up in the bed. I pulled my hands through my hair.’
    She says: ‘It didn’t do much. But I like the feel of my hands in my hair. I like how it feels when I pull it.’
    She reaches her hand up to touch her hair. Her fingers touch it lightly. It is like she does not realize that she is touching her hair.
    She says: ‘I got out of bed. I walked over to the sink. I filled it with water.’
    She says: ‘I washed my face.’
    She says: ‘I washed my face and then I emptied the sink. I watched the water carry my sleep away.’
    She says: ‘And I stood there.’
    She realizes that she is touching her hair. She drops her hand. Her arms are by her sides now.
    She says: ‘I could see the door in the mirror.’
    She says: ‘I was standing there. I was naked.’
    The girl is not looking away. She is not looking at anything. She is standing straight and tall.
    She says: ‘I wanted to see you come into the room. I wanted to see my face when I saw you.’
    It is like she is being drawn up into what she is saying.
    She says: ‘I was happy.’
    The film ends.
    The theatre is dark. Everyone claps their hands in the dark. The next film starts. The clapping stops.
    Emile does not want to be sitting beside people he does not know. He stands up. His hands are trembling slightly. He does not want his hands to be trembling. He tries to hold them still. He says: ‘Excuse me.’
    He leaves the theatre.
    Nicolas is working at the bar.
    He is wearing a white shirt. He is not wearing a tie. His shirt is open at the collar. It is that kind of a bar. He is wearing his apron around his waist. He is pouring a pint of beer for a woman standing at the bar.
    She is wearing a dress and the jacket she wore to the place where she works. She is wearing glasses.
    She looks tired.
    Someone comes into the bar. Nicolas looks up from pouring the beer. He sees Emile. Emile is walking towards the bar. He is undoing the buttons on his jacket.
    Nicolas and Emile nod to each other. Emile takes his cap off. It is cold outside. Nicolas finishes pouring the beer. He puts the glass on the bar.
    The woman puts some money on