?
“An’ then the almond tree flowered.”
Étienne’s face lit up:
“That’s well said, eh Mum?”
1476.41.6
Lives of the Saints
OK
Red Riding Hood
with neither axe nor wolf
Granny’s better, rises, dresses
sometimes
1477.80.5
Cinquains
“I’m afraid people’ll take me fer a dumb blond.”
“Dat’s weird. Yer not even blond.”
. . .
“An’ everybody knows you knows ’ow smart you is.”
“Only I’m talkin’ ’bout dose dat doesn’t know me.”
“An’ who cares wot dey’re tinkin’, I’d like to know?”
“I do.”
1478.137.8
Fears
“Wot difference is it gonna make?”
“I know it makes no sense, that’s why it’s a fear, right?”
The real makes fiction necessary.
1479.107.7
Necessities
“I tink I’s gaining weight.”
Carmen looked Terry over to see if it was true.
“I don’t think so.”
“Dis mornin’ I had all kinds o’ trouble gettin’ me hand all de way down to de bottom o’ me pocket. I ’ad to suck me belly in.”
1480.23.10
Potatoes
As he said this, Terry studied his stomach, drawing it in and letting it out.
“We’s gonna cut back on de potatoes fer a bit.”
Not to mention diagnostic errors.
1481.70.12
Errors
“Seems to me tings was a whole lot denser before.”
“What do you mean by dense?”
“Thicker. It’s as though I’s seein’ right troo everytin’.”
“You mean you have the impression you see more clearly?”
“Mm yes . . . an’ no. Der’s sometin’ missin’.”
“Colour?”
“Colour would help, sure.”
“Maybe you’ve got cataracts.”
1482.133.11
The Future
black bird
lace in her beak
she’s going her own way
modern method of construction
as if
1483.80.6
Cinquains
“Alright, go half ’n half. One day you invent a game, an’ de next time you play a game you already know.”
“Only wot happens when we forgets?”
“When you forget wot?”
“When we can’t remember wot game we’s playin’ de time before?”
Zed found these children’s problems comical, but that didn’t stop him from trying to come up with solutions:
“Well, den you do heads or tails.”
He was careful to say the French phrase, “pile ou face”; he’d been making an effort to include more French in his vocabulary now that he had Chico.
“Wot’s dat?”
Zed took a coin from his pocket:
“You take a coin, one of you says heads or tails, an’ you flips de penny, an it falls . . .”
“Awh! Head or tail! I know dat.”
. . .
“Only we doesn’t always ’ave money do we.”
Zed dug into his pocket, found two more pennies, and offered them to Chico.
“You can hide dem different places outside, places only de two of yous’ll know where to find dem.”
Chico thought that was a good idea.
“Can I go an’ hide dem right away?”
“If you like.”
Chico took the coins and ran off.
1484.135.7
Zed and Chico
The Basque language, spoken by less than a million people in southwest France and northeast Spain, is one of those confounding linguistic exceptions referred to as language isolates. Basque is special in that it has existed without interruption since the second millenium before the Common Era, and because it has no kinship with the romance languages that surround it, nor with any other Indo-European language. And yet, Basque includes a sizable number of dialects, including Bizkaian, Gipuzkoan, Upper Navarrese, Navarrese-Lapurdian, and Zuberoan.
1485.112.4
Languages
Josse did not look happy.
“I just met Solange an’ Bob in town. Dey was askin’ me if ’twas true de Babar’s closin’.”
“That’s bizarre! Last week someone thought the bookstore was all set to close.”
“Is dat so! Wonder who’s startin’ all dese rumours.”
Carmen figured it must be a misunderstanding, but Josse seemed to be speaking from experience.
“You wouldn’t believe wot folks’ll do just to be causin’ harm.”
“You think? That someone would do that on purpose? Fer wot possible reason?”
Josse wasn’t sure, but:
“Still, ’tis a terrible strange coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
“Maybe, only it doesn’t worry me all that much. Der’s always stories goin’ round that aren’t true. It’s as though people thrive on it.”
“Still. I doesn’t like de feelin’. Wot’s de sayin’ again, when der’s smoke an’ no fire?”
1486.98.3
Expressions
Even Zed was intrigued: maybe Carmen was considering the pros and cons of aesthetic surgery? But to have what done? Lift up her breasts? Fill out her buttocks? Liposuction her tummy? The inside of her thighs?
1487.87.9
The Body
“Me mum likes Saint Francis on account of he walked barefoot in Nitaly.”
Chico liked to listen to Étienne, especially at this moment when, each one armed with a magnifying glass, they were both concentrating on burning a circle into a piece of wood.
“An’ because ee spoke to the birds an’ de trees.”
“Wot was ee sayin’ to de trees?”
. . .
“Eh, wot was ee sayin’ to the trees, den?”
“Do you eat almonds?”
“Sometimes.”
“Me too. Almonds grow on trees.”
“Luh! Der’s smoke!”
1488.139.2
Étienne and Chico
surprise!
a naked man
ha ha ha Saint Francis
the almond-shaped eyes of children
Mueslix
1489.80.9
Cinquains
“Well, I doesn’t agree wid dat.”
“Wot do you mean, you doesn’t agree? Der’s no agreein’ or disagreein’ wid a fact.”
“Still. I tink de needle belongs absolutely in de category of simple machines. Wot could be simpler dan dat?”
“Neverdeless, she’s not on me list.”
1490.89.8
Irritants
“Yer list?”
“De Wikipedia list for Chris’ sake. Does you tink I’s invented it meself dis minute?!”
In the domain of excuses, the alibi, the subterfuge and the pardon are considered borderline experiences.
1491.86.3
Apologies
“It bodders me just a wee bit to tink yer hidin’ something from me.”
“Well, it is a surprise, isn’t it!”
. . .
. . .
“An’ a surprise’s supposed to be something good, right?”
“Mostly, yes.”
“So I oughtn’t to be worryin’, right?”
“Normally, no.”
But Terry was not entirely reassured. He was really worried because he was going to have to find a way to transform into a pleasant surprise for Carmen the fact that he was playing — he reminded himself not to use the word playing — the stock market.
“My surprise may not be as excitin’ as yers.”
“A surprise is always a wee bit exciting all the same.”
“’Tis more excitin’ when you doesn’t know it’s comin’. You don’t have de time to get ideas.”
“That’s true.”
. . .
. . .
“Well, why’d ya go an’ tell me you’s doin’ sometin’ you couldn’t be tellin’ me in de first place?”
“I don’t know. It just came out.”
. . .
“Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know. I find it hard keeping it to myself.”
Terry’s anxiety only grew because he could see how happy and excited Carmen became whenever she mentioned the surprise she was preparing.
“Anyhow, to look at ya, I’s pretty sure my surprise won’t be half as excitin’ as yers. I mean, I wouldn’t want you to get yer hopes up . . .”
Carmen assumed Terry was simply trying to lower her expectations, so that the surprise — the party! — would be all that much more satisfying. And yet, he did seem awfully serious, not to say worried.
“To tell the truth, I think I know your secret.”
“Dat would surprise me.”
Terry’s reply was perfunctory, but Carmen saw this as more pretense.
“If we don’t stop talking about it, we’ll ruin everything.”
Carmen was right, Terry could see that. He searched for an amusing way to conclude.
1492.94.5
Terry and Carmen
“Give me one guess . . . Yer pregnant!”
“No!”
A superstition gains strength when it comes time.
1493.60.12
Superstitions
“Thanks fer givin’ Étienne ’is bath.”
Normally Terry and Carmen’s day off included a reduction in domestic and parental responsibilities, but this particular day Carmen had forgone that privilege.
“It’s nothing. I enjoy it, an’ I don’t get the chance to do it all that often.”
Carmen spread the blanket over Terry and cuddled closer on the sofa.
“So den, ’twasn’t just a strategy . . .”
“Wot do you mean?”
“Well, a way to be softenin’ me up fer . . . you knows . . .”
“To make you talk, you mean? Never in me whole life would I do such a thing!”
Carmen’s exaggerated tone made Terry laugh, but it did not appease his curiosity.
“We ought to be givin’ ourselves a time limit.”
Carmen played innocent:
“A time limit for what?”
Terry played along:
“To be tellin’ each udder wot we’s not tellin’ each udder.”
The movie was about to begin. Carmen pretended she didn’t want to miss anything. And, now that she was convinced Terry was preparing a surprise party, she thought she might keep her own secret a little while longer. But not without teasing Terry a wee bit more:
1494.94.6
Terry and Carmen
“You’re a big boy. When yer ready to tell me what you’ve got to tell, I guess you’ll do it.”
A reply that seemed to place the ball squarely in Terry’s court.
Luck.
1495.107.8
Necessities
“Does it ’ave anyting to do wid . . .”
But Carmen stopped him right there.
“No, you already had your question, now we change the subject.”
“Alright den, alright . . .”
Not to leave it at that, Carmen took the lead:
“What do you tink, den, about the Queen havin’ to apologize for the deportation?”
Terry burst out laughing. For a diversion, this was a hell of a big one.
“Well, what?! Dat’s about all anyone’s talkin’ about at the bar!”
Terry acquiesced:
“Well, fer one ting, de whole story’s gettin’ a wee bit old, an’ fer anudder, ’tisn’t really Élizabeth II’s fault it happened, now is it?”
1496.94.7
Terry and Carmen
“Only that doesn’t matter. It’s still her role to be apologizin’.”
“I knows dat, only . . .”
“Shh, it’s starting.”
German proverb: he who grows onions does not notice their odour.
1497.38.5
Onions
At the next commercial break:
“Was yer family one o’ dem wot was deported?”
“Really, I don’t know. Yours?”
“Don’t know fer a fact, only der’s Thibodeaus down in Louisiana. Dat probably means dey was, I suppose.”
. . .
“Me dad an’ mum was never talkin’ ’bout all dat when I’s a boy. I doesn’t tink it boddered dem all dat much. ’Tis only since folks won’t stop talkin’ ’bout Acadia dat dey’s become Acadians, seems like.”
. . .
“I mean, we was eatin’ poutines an’ chicken stew an’ all dat, only ’twasn’t on account of we’s Acadian, ’twas just dat we liked dose tings.”
“Exactly! It’s on account of you were Acadians that you liked dem. If you hadn’t eaten poutines when you were little, you’d have trouble eating it now. Look at de Québécois! An remember ’ow we had to get Étienne used to eatin’ it. At the start, ee was eatin’ nuttin but the sugar!”
Terry did not entirely agree.
“Well, we eats Madawaska ployes, an’ we was never eatin’ dat before.”
“That’s different. Buckwheat pancakes are good for real.”
1498.105.4
Reserves/Reservations
Catherine’s dream. Catherine is lying in a quiet corridor in a hospital. The lighting is slightly bluish. Her bed is raised so that she’s reading by the light of a sylized wall lamp about a half metre down from the ceiling. A childhood friend, Louise, is resting nearby, in a room in the hallway perpendicular to hers. Catherine visits her occasionally, but without leaving her bed; instead she moves the bed along on its wheels. From time to time, the two young women read together in the same bed; the bed is Catherine’s, in its assigned place in the corridor. They agree to exchange books, but this seems complicated. A nurse comes to inform Catherine that the surgery she underwent was successful. However, she will require treatment for another disease, and is to be transferred to the floor above for that purpose. Louise, on the other hand, is released.
1499.109.10
Dreams
Terry poured them more coffee, and took up the conversation:
“I’s tinkin’ ’bout dat last night . . . I enjoys meetin’ a real anglophone who’s nice and makes an effort at speakin’ French. In me head, ee’s almost not an anglophone.”
“Yes, I know what you mean.”
“So den, wot I’s wonderin’ is wot’re de English ’round ’ere gonna do? I mean, dem dat doesn’t want to understand. Dey’s de ones dat ought to be apologizin’. Or changin’ der attitude, at least.”
“Au moins.”
“Yes, Dad, you ought to say ‘au moins’ not ‘at least’.”
“Alright, alright den, au moins. Au moins, au moins . . . I tink’ I won’t be fergettin’ now.”
Carmen looked at Étienne, and winked.
“Hey, you two, are youse gangin’ up on me now, or wot?”
1500.127.8
Tactics
Visit the King Cole’s teahouse in Sussex and stri
ke up a conversation with the owners to find out where Acadian’s attachment to this particular brand comes from.
1501.56.4
Pilgrimages
“Well, if de Queen ’erself apologized, I suppose dat would get de English to tinkin’ at least. She’d ’ave provided a good example.”
Carmen nodded, and took up the argument:
“If you ask me my real opinion, I tink we’d like it at the time, only in de long term, I’m not so sure.”
“Wot does you mean?”
“Well, now, on account of she’s not apologized, we can still be sayin’ dey did dis an’ dat to us, stole our lands, burned our houses, shipped us out on boats, half of dem drownin’ . . .”
Listening to Carmen, Terry felt it was perhaps the first time he’d imagined what the Great Upheaval had actually and concretely meant.
“The fact is that something really bad happened to us. If the Queen apologizes, well, that’ll provide some comfort fer a while, an den afterwards, we’ll have to change our story, change our attitude. Things wouldn’t be the same anymore, would they?”
Terry protested:
“On account of why not? Wouldn’t be erasin’ de Deportation. Apologies doesn’t erase de fact!”
“No? When a person apologizes, aren’t we supposed to be fergettin’ the harm they did us?”
Terry was not sure of the weight of a pardon. Were apologies and a pardon the same thing? But Carmen quickly added:
“In any case, wedder it erases or not, ’twould change things all de same. Once we’ve had der apologies, we won’t be able to say, awh, all de misery we suffered, blablabla. Really, to be honest, in de end, we’d have to add: an’ then dey apologized.”
But Terry didn’t see how an apology from the British Crown would deprive Acadians of their right to complain.
“Only, an apology dat comes like two hundred and fifty years later, dat’s way too late to change anyting!”
“Exactly. Which is why der’s folks dat wants money along wid de apology. So dat sometin’ really changes. So dat we can catch up economically.”
Carmen’s reasoning reminded Terry of their first meeting on August 16th in the Parc de la Petitcodiac, when Carmen had tried to prove that the Petitcodiac River could be considered the opposite of a delta.
For Sure Page 61
