My Afternoons with Margueritte Page #4

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...has called my office

about a caravan...

... that you've stopped him

from moving.

He wants it back.

- He's welcome to come himself.

- I was lead to believe

he's living here.

- Lived.

- What did he do?

- He hit my kid!

And me.

- Do you want to file

a complaint?

- I'll manage my problems

by myself.

- You haven't threatened him?

- Who? Me?

No.

- Then there's no more to it.

Au revoir.

- Au revoir.

- By the way

do you have a pitchfork?

-No...nothing like that.

- How long had you both

known each other?

About five weeks.

- Don't do anything stupid...all right?

- No.

- What about fertilizer?

- What?

- Yes, fertilizer.

- Fertilizer, fertilizer...

It can choke the soil...

...it can stop things growing.

You'll harvest next to nothing.

If you have good black

healthy soil,..

...thick and lumpy

that sticks to your hands...

it'll produce anything

you like to put in your stomach.

No need for fertilizer.

What is it?

- You're a very good man, Germain.

Thank you for all this.

But how am I going to

carry them?

- I'll carry them home for you.

Where do you live?

- At 'The Poplars'...

The retirement home

on the edge of town.

- Oh...there!

A friend of my mother's

lived there.

She spent her time

playing scrabble..

...and chewing the letters.

On day she swallowed a Z...

and died.

- I'm sorry Germain, I...

That WAS sad!

I didn't mean disrespect

to your mother's friend.

It was an unfortunate accident.

I'm very comfortable

in the retirement home.

There's a good atmosphere...

The staff are very attentive.

You know...

Old age is a nuisance

more than anything else.

But the advantage of age,

is that when you get bored...

...you know it won't last for long.

- There's a phrase in our novel

which sticks in my mind.

''To howl like a dog at

your mother's grave''.

- Are you sure?

- Yes, yes, quite sure.

''To howl like a dog at

your mother's grave''.

- Ah, yes it's here.

You're right.

''Always returning to howl

at your mother's grave...

...''like an abandoned dog.

Very impressive!

You have an excellent...

...auditory memory.

- No, no...most of all I remember

what I hear.

What about me...?

...I'd like to hear it too.

- Sorry. I'm mixed up.

Please forgive me.

'It's not good to be loved so much

so young, so early,..

..''It can lead to bad habits.

''You look, you hope,

you wait.

''Maternal love creates in

the dawn of your life...

..''a promise which

can never be kept.''

- That's the name of it.

The title.

''Dawn's Promise''.

Yes.

Because from the start...

...life makes promises

that it can't keep.

- That's exactly it.

There's maternal love,..

...and later...

''Every time a woman

holds you in her arms,..

..''and presses you to her heart,..

..''these are just

condolences, before

''always returning to howl

at your mother's grave,..

..''like a abandoned dog.''

That's it.

- Yes.

- ''Never again, never again...

..''never again...

...''adorable arms

enclosing around your neck...

''..and sweet lips

speaking to you of love.''

That was from,

Romain Gary.

He loved his mother

with a passion.

- Why?

It's not made up?

- No.

It's the story of his life.

- Ans what if it'd been the opposite?

- The opposite?

- That's right.

If he hadn't been

loved by his mother.

What would have

happened to him?

- I don't know.

If someone hadn't received

enough love in their childhood,..

..something remains

to be discovered...don't you think?

- Don't know about that.

- Don't know about that.

- Do you still have your mother?

- Sort of.

- How was she with you

as a child ?

- She didn't give a damn.

- And now?

- She still doesn't give a damn.

I'm nothing to her.

She's nobody.

- That's a terrible thing to say.

Indifference is the worst thing.

Yes.

As Jojo said,

she doesn't have what it takes.

She never had what it takes.

For her, I was just a mistake.

A 14th of July mistake.

A quick bang.

- What's your name?

- Jackie.

- Jackie.

- Ah, the leeks!

The leeks!

The leeks...

- What're you into now?

What're you doing?

- Get back in your hole!

-What are you doing

with my leeks?

-What are you doing

with my leeks?

She's really starting

to worry me.

She pulled out...

...my leeks

and threw them away.

She wanted to

repaint the cat.

- another colour.

New hairdo?

Looks better.

- Haven't changed it.

- What about a retirement home?

- Who?

- Who else?...for your mother.

- She wouldn't want to.

- Take her there by force.

- You go try it on her.

You'll see what force is!

- OK then.

- It's his mother,..

...he's only got one.

- Fortunately.

- She's not so bad.

She's gone a bit dotty.

- She's like a fish,...

...she goes rotten from the head down.

- Hey!..that's my mother you're talking about.

- I was only joking.

- OK then.

- What a bunch of idiots!

- Gracia Francine.

- I really like it

when you wait for me at the stop.

Do you like meatballs?

- You should know....

I like everything about you.

- Oh, my sweetie-pie.

- Watch out!

You going to stay the night?

- Why not.

- Could you make me

a baby boy?

Several if you like.

- No, seriously.

Who'd want me

as a father?

Didn't finish primary school...

Can't put 3 words together.

A big zero.

What can I bring you?

- Love.

- How is it with Francine?

- Give you my opinion?

She cries a lot.

- Oh, sh*t!

The thing is... Stphanie's young,

but she's boring.

Francine too,

but she's safer.

What would you do?

- I'm not in your shoes.

It's hard enough being

in my own.

In every case,

one way or the other,..

...we go back to howl

at our mother's tomb.

- That's very true.

You're right.

- That's right.

You been golfing?

- No, it's for you.

Something for me?

- Wait.

- What is it?

- There you are.

Open it.

- A dictionary.

- It's not very new.

I've used it a lot.

You don't need it.

You know everything.

- Not at all.

But I've passed the travelling age.

With a dictionary,

you can travel.

From one word to another.

You can lose yourself

in a maze.

You stop...you dream.

Do you like it?

- Yes, truly.

It seems to me that we haven't read anything since..

..''Dawn's Promise''.

- That's right.

- What would you

like to hear now?

I don't know...

An adventure story?

A crime thriller?

How about Amazon indians?

- Good!...Why?

- I used to have a comic

that showed how they lived.

They have a beautiful life.

They walk around completely naked

with just a pouch to hide their...

- Their sex.

- That's right.

They wander around doing nothing.

They play the flute

and smoke pipes.

The watch the topless girls.

A small feather on...

- I have just the thing

in my library.

A novel.

But you'll need to

come to my place.

At last at my place...

- I don't want

to be a bother.

- A bother? Not at all.

Let's say Tuesday, for tea.

- Tea?

- Yes.

- Come for tea.

- to find a word

you have to know how to write it.

Let's look up, ''labyrinthe''.

L, A..

Labyrinthe...

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