Read Online The Man Who Risked It All by Laurent Gounelle - Free Book Online
Authors: Laurent Gounelle
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both cases, you’re dealing with someone who’s there to sell you something. It’s the same. I don’t see what the problem is.”
“Of course you do! Don’t play the fool!”
“The main difference is located in the head.”
“But I’ve never set foot in a big jeweler’s. I’m not used to that sort of place.”
“You have to start someday. There’s a first time for everything.”
“The place will make me feel awkward before I even open my mouth. Your dice are loaded …”
“What’s troubling you, exactly?” he said, an amused smile on his lips.
“I don’t know. Those people aren’t used to dealing with people like me. I won’t know how to behave.”
“There’s no special code. It’s a shop like any other, except that it’s more expensive. That gives you the right to be harder to please!”
The Mercedes stopped at the top of the Champs-Élysées. Vladi turned on the hazard warning lights. I stared straight in front of me, guessing that my scaffold was on my right, just over there, within eyeshot. I plucked up my courage and slowly turned my head to the right. The stone building was imposing, with an immense shop window more than two stories tall. Above it, in gold letters, was the name of my executioner: Cartier.
“Imagine,” Dubreuil said, “what your life will be like when there is no longer any situation in the world that can make you feel awkward.”
“Great. But as things stand, I’m a long way away from that.”
“The only way to get there is to rub up against reality—to go and face the object of your fears until the fear disappears, not hide somewhere, which only heightens your fear of the unknown.”
“Perhaps,” I replied. But I wasn’t convinced.
“Come on, tell yourself that the people who are going to serve you are people just like you—wage-earners who probably can’t afford to buy jewelry at Cartier’s either.”
“What do I have to do exactly? What’s my mission?”
“You’re going to ask to be shown watches. You must try on a good dozen or so, ask lots of questions, and then leave without buying anything.”
My stress went up a notch.
“And there’s something else.”
He took his cell phone, dialed a number, and a discrete ringing went off in his inside pocket. He got out a small, flesh-colored device, pressed it, and the ringing stopped.
“Put this in your ear. That way, I can listen to your amazing feats, and you can hear me if I have things to say to you.”
I was dumbstruck.
“What’s all this about!”
“One last thing …”
“ What? ”
“Have fun. It’s the best piece of advice I can give you. If you manage to do that, it’s in the bag. Stop taking everything seriously. Step back and see this test as a game. That’s what it is, isn’t it? A game. There’s nothing to lose, just things to find out.”
“Hmm.”
“You know, one can see life as a series of pitfalls to be avoided, or as a vast playground that offers enriching experiments at every street corner.”
I didn’t answer but opened the car door and got out. The traffic noise hit me, and a warm wind woke up my dulled brain.
I took a few steps, lit a cigarette and smoked it, taking my time. With a bit of luck, the police would come and tell the Mercedes to move on.
Dubreuil had spoken of a test. He wanted, he said, to test my progress. That probably meant he would set other unpleasant tasks for the weeks ahead. To free myself, I absolutely had to pluck up my courage and manage a satisfactory performance. I had no choice, in any case. He wouldn’t let go; I was sure of that.
I tossed my cigarette on the sidewalk and vigorously ground it out, turning my foot from side to side longer than necessary. As I looked up at the glass window of this temple of luxury, a shiver ran down my spine. Come on, chin up, I told myself.
6
S WALLOWING HARD , I pushed the revolving door. An image of my mother exhausting herself in the laundry flashed across my mind. Three young men
“Of course you do! Don’t play the fool!”
“The main difference is located in the head.”
“But I’ve never set foot in a big jeweler’s. I’m not used to that sort of place.”
“You have to start someday. There’s a first time for everything.”
“The place will make me feel awkward before I even open my mouth. Your dice are loaded …”
“What’s troubling you, exactly?” he said, an amused smile on his lips.
“I don’t know. Those people aren’t used to dealing with people like me. I won’t know how to behave.”
“There’s no special code. It’s a shop like any other, except that it’s more expensive. That gives you the right to be harder to please!”
The Mercedes stopped at the top of the Champs-Élysées. Vladi turned on the hazard warning lights. I stared straight in front of me, guessing that my scaffold was on my right, just over there, within eyeshot. I plucked up my courage and slowly turned my head to the right. The stone building was imposing, with an immense shop window more than two stories tall. Above it, in gold letters, was the name of my executioner: Cartier.
“Imagine,” Dubreuil said, “what your life will be like when there is no longer any situation in the world that can make you feel awkward.”
“Great. But as things stand, I’m a long way away from that.”
“The only way to get there is to rub up against reality—to go and face the object of your fears until the fear disappears, not hide somewhere, which only heightens your fear of the unknown.”
“Perhaps,” I replied. But I wasn’t convinced.
“Come on, tell yourself that the people who are going to serve you are people just like you—wage-earners who probably can’t afford to buy jewelry at Cartier’s either.”
“What do I have to do exactly? What’s my mission?”
“You’re going to ask to be shown watches. You must try on a good dozen or so, ask lots of questions, and then leave without buying anything.”
My stress went up a notch.
“And there’s something else.”
He took his cell phone, dialed a number, and a discrete ringing went off in his inside pocket. He got out a small, flesh-colored device, pressed it, and the ringing stopped.
“Put this in your ear. That way, I can listen to your amazing feats, and you can hear me if I have things to say to you.”
I was dumbstruck.
“What’s all this about!”
“One last thing …”
“ What? ”
“Have fun. It’s the best piece of advice I can give you. If you manage to do that, it’s in the bag. Stop taking everything seriously. Step back and see this test as a game. That’s what it is, isn’t it? A game. There’s nothing to lose, just things to find out.”
“Hmm.”
“You know, one can see life as a series of pitfalls to be avoided, or as a vast playground that offers enriching experiments at every street corner.”
I didn’t answer but opened the car door and got out. The traffic noise hit me, and a warm wind woke up my dulled brain.
I took a few steps, lit a cigarette and smoked it, taking my time. With a bit of luck, the police would come and tell the Mercedes to move on.
Dubreuil had spoken of a test. He wanted, he said, to test my progress. That probably meant he would set other unpleasant tasks for the weeks ahead. To free myself, I absolutely had to pluck up my courage and manage a satisfactory performance. I had no choice, in any case. He wouldn’t let go; I was sure of that.
I tossed my cigarette on the sidewalk and vigorously ground it out, turning my foot from side to side longer than necessary. As I looked up at the glass window of this temple of luxury, a shiver ran down my spine. Come on, chin up, I told myself.
6
S WALLOWING HARD , I pushed the revolving door. An image of my mother exhausting herself in the laundry flashed across my mind. Three young men
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