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Authors: Pascal Garnier
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door wide.
‘What on earth are you doing? Come on in!’
‘It’s fine, I—’
‘She’s opened her eyes, Gabriel! She spoke to me!’
‘What did she say?’
‘Joke.’
‘Joke?’
‘Joke, or poke, or folk, I didn’t really understand. She wasn’t quite with it but she said it three times, with her eyes wide open! The doctors were completely baffled. Come on in! You know, Gabriel, you and me. Now it’s going to be …’
José crossed his fingers; his eyes welled up with tears. He slapped Gabriel on the shoulder and pushed him inside. Where had this spontaneous generation of carefree youth who laughed, sang, told jokes and emptied glass after glass come from? All it took was a little watering for them to pop up like mushrooms from between the slats in the floorboards. What use is a miracle if there is no one there to witness it?
‘No, not beer. It’s champagne time!’ José exclaimed.‘By the way, I tried to call you at your hotel to tell you the good news but you weren’t there. The girl on reception said she’d let you know. I thought I’d invite her along. I hope you don’t mind?’
‘No, not at all. Here’s to the end of your worries, José. I’m very happy for you.’
‘You’ll see. You’re going to get on really well with Marie. Everything will be like before, but even better.’
‘I’m sure it will.’
The searing rays of sunlight which set the terrace ablaze werediffused as they struck the motionless beaded curtain, so that all that passed into the living room was speckles of light, instantly swallowed up in blue shadow. Blandine was asleep on the couch, her mouth slightly open, her brow misted with the perspiration of sleep. One arm was folded under her head and the other hung by her side, her fingers brushing the coir mat. The cats lay at her feet, breathing in sync. Somewhere in the distance, a long way away, someone played a piano. The same passage of music, over and over. A newborn baby cried, a boat came into port, a fly landed on the ceiling. The house creaked, whispering gossip. The smell of the barbecue, dried herbs, charcoal and melon skin lingered in the air. On the first floor, in a hammock that Gabriel had fitted the day before, Juliette rocked back and forth while sucking her thumb and dreaming of unexplored futures. Gabriel closed his book. Every page seemed like a closed shutter. Focusing on anything else but the sweetness of this magical moment seemed inappropriate, even rude. Yet despite his best efforts he wasn’t able to let go, to surrender to sleep, to experience the same feeling as the others: his wife, his daughter, the cats, the fly. He felt excluded from everybody’s bliss, from all the innocence. But he didn’t know why. It was as if he had committed a crime of which he had no memory. A surge of injustice mixed with guilty despair rose within him and threatened to suffocate him. He bit into his closed fist to stop himself from screaming out as tears rolled down his cheeks. He should never have taken the plane the day after.
‘Gabriel?’
Madeleine’s face appeared through a fog of cigarette smoke. She had changed her hair, which was now held back on either side with combs. It suited her, made her look younger. Just behind her stood Rita, her badly lipsticked lips stretched in a crooked, timid smile.
‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Shall we get a table? The bar’s too busy.’
Rita instinctively headed over to the same table that she had shared with Marc two days earlier. Force of habit. The three of them sat down and José served each of them a glass of champagne.
‘It’s on the house! And there’s more where that came from. Gabriel’s like a brother to me. Just tell him whatever you want and I’ll be right over.’
The women sat side by side, the curly little hairs on the back of their necks visible in the mirror behind them. Madeleine raised her glass.
‘I’m not sure what we’re celebrating, but cheers!’
They
‘What on earth are you doing? Come on in!’
‘It’s fine, I—’
‘She’s opened her eyes, Gabriel! She spoke to me!’
‘What did she say?’
‘Joke.’
‘Joke?’
‘Joke, or poke, or folk, I didn’t really understand. She wasn’t quite with it but she said it three times, with her eyes wide open! The doctors were completely baffled. Come on in! You know, Gabriel, you and me. Now it’s going to be …’
José crossed his fingers; his eyes welled up with tears. He slapped Gabriel on the shoulder and pushed him inside. Where had this spontaneous generation of carefree youth who laughed, sang, told jokes and emptied glass after glass come from? All it took was a little watering for them to pop up like mushrooms from between the slats in the floorboards. What use is a miracle if there is no one there to witness it?
‘No, not beer. It’s champagne time!’ José exclaimed.‘By the way, I tried to call you at your hotel to tell you the good news but you weren’t there. The girl on reception said she’d let you know. I thought I’d invite her along. I hope you don’t mind?’
‘No, not at all. Here’s to the end of your worries, José. I’m very happy for you.’
‘You’ll see. You’re going to get on really well with Marie. Everything will be like before, but even better.’
‘I’m sure it will.’
The searing rays of sunlight which set the terrace ablaze werediffused as they struck the motionless beaded curtain, so that all that passed into the living room was speckles of light, instantly swallowed up in blue shadow. Blandine was asleep on the couch, her mouth slightly open, her brow misted with the perspiration of sleep. One arm was folded under her head and the other hung by her side, her fingers brushing the coir mat. The cats lay at her feet, breathing in sync. Somewhere in the distance, a long way away, someone played a piano. The same passage of music, over and over. A newborn baby cried, a boat came into port, a fly landed on the ceiling. The house creaked, whispering gossip. The smell of the barbecue, dried herbs, charcoal and melon skin lingered in the air. On the first floor, in a hammock that Gabriel had fitted the day before, Juliette rocked back and forth while sucking her thumb and dreaming of unexplored futures. Gabriel closed his book. Every page seemed like a closed shutter. Focusing on anything else but the sweetness of this magical moment seemed inappropriate, even rude. Yet despite his best efforts he wasn’t able to let go, to surrender to sleep, to experience the same feeling as the others: his wife, his daughter, the cats, the fly. He felt excluded from everybody’s bliss, from all the innocence. But he didn’t know why. It was as if he had committed a crime of which he had no memory. A surge of injustice mixed with guilty despair rose within him and threatened to suffocate him. He bit into his closed fist to stop himself from screaming out as tears rolled down his cheeks. He should never have taken the plane the day after.
‘Gabriel?’
Madeleine’s face appeared through a fog of cigarette smoke. She had changed her hair, which was now held back on either side with combs. It suited her, made her look younger. Just behind her stood Rita, her badly lipsticked lips stretched in a crooked, timid smile.
‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Shall we get a table? The bar’s too busy.’
Rita instinctively headed over to the same table that she had shared with Marc two days earlier. Force of habit. The three of them sat down and José served each of them a glass of champagne.
‘It’s on the house! And there’s more where that came from. Gabriel’s like a brother to me. Just tell him whatever you want and I’ll be right over.’
The women sat side by side, the curly little hairs on the back of their necks visible in the mirror behind them. Madeleine raised her glass.
‘I’m not sure what we’re celebrating, but cheers!’
They
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