"A restoration" "THE GATES OF NIGHT" "February 1945... towards sundown on a winter day." "A hard winter that followed the magnificent summer of the liberation of Paris." "The war wasn't yet over but north of the city, normal life resumed its course with its simple joys, its huge difficulties its great miseries, and its terrible secrets." "Are you getting off at the next stop?" "Yes." "I'm getting off." "I'm also getting off at the next stop." "The Liberation Lamp!" "How much is it?" "It's wonderful." "Push on this button, and you get light." "With the rechargable battery, it's 85 francs." "If you want croissants, go across the street, to the pastry hawker." "She's my daughter." "A love song of liberated Paris!" "The partisans' chant, as the years rebel." "You Were the Most Beautiful." "Father of a large family, wins a prize in the Lépine competition." "You don't have to buy, but if you fall... on the stairs, coming home... you can't complain." "You asked for it." "Ask The Liberation Lamp, French manufacture on the American model." "And finally, the latest thing:" ""Children Who Fall in Love."" "Even here at Barbès, tonight." "Children who fall in love kiss on their feet... against the gates of the night." "Am I the reason you come every day?" "Yes." "Does that bother you?" "No." "Are you from around here?" " I'm from Aubervilliers." " That's not far." "No." "It's very close." "And it's only their shadow... that trembles in the night... angering the passersby." "What do you do?" "Do you work?" "Yes." "A crummy job." "You want a croissant?" "Children that fall in love aren't there for anyone." "They're somewhere else." "Farther than the night higher than the day in the dazzling light of their first love." "Madame Lécuyer?" "Across the street on the third floor." "How expensive it is!" "Don't make things difficult." "That wood dates back to Louis XVI." "It was pricey enough during the Occupation." "Corks!" "We're going to find some!" "Mama, there's a gentleman here." "Wait for me, guys!" "Madame Lécuyer?" "That's me, sir." "What can I do for you?" "Be so kind as to come in." "Excuse me." "It's a mess here with all these kids." "Excuse me." "I'm a friend of your husband." "Yes." "A friend of Raymond's." "I would have come sooner, but..." "It's nice here." "We got a little coal." "That's so rare." "Yes." "Like the good days." "Excuse me, Madam, if my approach..." "What's the good of beating around the bush?" "I have some bad news." "Some bad news?" "Yes." "About Raymond." "Has something happened to him?" "Yes." "Is it serious?" "An accident?" "But that's not possible, answer me." "He's not..." "Yes." "When a cat has kittens, you must put a necklace of corks on her so her milk doesn't go bad?" "That's right." "Go play, Cricket." "You see?" "What happened?" "Killed at Romainville Fort, at the end of June." "At the end of June?" "At Romainville?" "Of course, I should have come sooner but I don't know, you should come right out and said it." "I never could." "At the end of June?" "At the end of June?" "At the end of June?" "I'm sorry, it's too much for me." "June!" "I predicted an accident." "Nobody's got it bad in here!" "Why, it's incredible!" "Raymond?" "Diego!" "My Diego!" "And I thought you were dead." "Claire, it's Diego." "You know, island men, like Tarzan." "Yes, it's him." "What's the matter?" "Nothing." "I'm so happy." "She's happy and she cries." "What a circus!" "It's beautiful, the circus." "I thought you were dead." "I came to announce the good news." "You can't understand." "I'm not sentimental, but when they're taken away when they cry out:" ""Goodbye, camarades" and that they sing..." "You can't explain it." "How is it you've come back to me without a scratch on you?" "I was lucky." "The Krauts took us away." "The price: 12 francs a head." "When suddenly, a miracle." "Angels from above." "Inspecter Constantini and his retinue." "Additional information." "The bastards!" "They told me: "You're not polished." "If you can't make it, you're dead." "So hello the beautiful life!" " Avenue Henri Martin?" " All the comforts!" "Facial massage, hydrotherapy, manicure." "Put your hand to the wheel." "All the same, they knew me." "Yes." "Raymond Lécuyer, called Pierrot, called Little Blum.." "Chief of Maneouvers in the Railroad Association," "Rue des Petites Feuilles, Communist, saboteur..." "You've been given up by someone who knows you well." "It's good to have friends." "I wanted to tell you." "I couldn't, but I was there when it happened." "Do you know who it was?" "No." "I didn't see it, but I heard it." "I was in the bathroom and he was in the office." "And he laughed." "Me, my head under water, I heard bells." "But when I put my head out to breathe, I could hear." "A filthy little voice like on Radio Paris." "When they took him away, I said to myself:" ""I'll never forget that voice or that laugh"." "You're making me thirsty." "Bravo, Claire." "You could have offered us something." "There isn't anything." "It's obvious." "I'll take you to dinner." "You know of a restaurant around here?" "There's Germaine's, but it's expensive." "That doesn't matter." " So I should get dressed?" " Yes." "We'll have a cocktail." "We'll meet you at the tobacco store." "Papa, Old Man Sénéchal said we can't go through his yard." " He said that we're bad." " He said that we steal." "Well, we'll talk to him." " Is he an ogre?" " He's the landlord." "He thinks we lost the war because of paid holidays." " Are these al yours?" " No." "I only had one." "Him." " And the others?" "They're my friends." "It's the Quinquina family." "Fine." "Go play, Quinquina family!" "The parents really take the prize." "The Cognacq Prize for large families." "They live upstairs, two cold rooms." "They've got nothing to complain about." "They eat like four." "But there are 15 of them." "Speaking of the devil." "How is it going, Mr..." " Quinquina." "It's not going well." " Business, is it cracking?" "No." "It's very quiet." "It looks like it'll end very soon, this conflagration of the world." "You were on the front lines." "We saw you on the barricades." "On the barricades!" "I was looking for the kids." "They want to see." "Like Gavroche." "One, fine, but a dozen..." "That's not all." "Have you seen Etiennette?" "I'm looking for her, I had to stop work to do it." "It's not that I'm worried, but her mother!" "You can imagine." "Ever since the eldest was caught in 1939 with a bargeman." "Etiennette is slippery." "In the Metro, she hands me the croissants." ""I'll be right back"." "Then off!" "Gone!" "A gorgeous kid, huh?" "She's got beautiful eyes." "A will o' the wisp." "She's the picture of her father." "When I was 20..." "Because then..." "I was a funny ladies' man." "Not one, do you understand, not one!" "I only had to look at them." "Then one day, I saw my wife." "And we got married and we've been happy ever since." "With lots of kids." "Living with her mother." "A real fairy tale." "Forward, march!" "My bad troops." "Come wash your hands." "What for?" " We're eating in the city." " Where's that?" "At the black market." "Hurry up." "Maybe they'll have some oranges." "Before the war they did." "And it doesn't change." "It grows, it cries, and it gallops!" "A genuine stampede!" "A stampede." "That's the word." "With their wooden shoes!" "It's scandalous!" "Perhaps I should get them slippers." "In goat skin, maybe!" "I pass to the injurious inscriptions that concern me because it's serious." "Several times, your children have been seen in my yard." " That's not true!" " And down there there was some wood that disappeared." "This same wood that I sell in the neighborhood as a service." "I bow to you." "It's philanthropy." "This kind of attitude is all over the streets." "It's true that's where you spend most of your time." "For the moment." "For as soon as the war is over, foreigners will return, tourists." "I'm going to set myself up like Cicero." "I'll make visits." "I'm going to specialize in slums, that's how I'll work at home." "So when you talk of a stampede..." "Mr. Sénéchal..." "After all, I could also work for tourists." "Certain people haven't waited to do business with tourists, even if they're dressed in green." "I won't allow..." "Perfect!" "By truck they're arriving, the tourists!" "To pick up some antiques." "As for the rest, no one knew what this was." "It's not for nothing that here you're called "Our Friend Fritz"." "Madam, I'll suggest the order that you should be quiet." "The order?" "The new order, perhaps?" "Is it for no reason they took you to Drancy after Liberation?" "Keep her quiet, otherwise I'll sue for defamation of character." "Bravo!" "Well said." "Make yourself respected." "If your son was here, they wouldn't yell so." "His son is a hero." "You hear?" "A hero!" "A hero?" "So what?" "These days the streets are full of heroes." "If the son's a hero, you don't have to carry the father in triumph." "Nice attitude!" "Yes." "What an age we live in!" "There's nothing left, neither morals nor ideals." "Ah!" "You won't have the last word." "I'll show you..." "From such wood, I'll keep warm." "Come on!" "Soup's on!" "Quickly, kids!" "Where's Etiennette?" " Etiennette?" " Yes." "She was there a moment ago." "Go get her." "She can't be far if she was just here." "Come back when you find her and not before!" "That isn't funny, all of that?" "What do you mean, all of that?" "I don't know." "The whole thing." "You can spit in the water, but you can't tell where it will land." ""Ah, Fatalitas", as says Chéri-Bibi." "Everyone has his lot in life." " His destiny." "Destiny!" "Who said anything about Destiny?" "I have to find my little girl." "I like her a lot." "I wouldn't want anything to happen to her." "Rest easy." "It won't be anything serious." " What?" " Anyway, tonight she's happy." "How would you know?" "You don't know her." "Very happy." "So that's it!" "You're pulling my leg." "I know this song." "Where does he get off?" "He's completely nuts." " Why are you laughing?" " I'm not laughing." "Your eyes are." "Because I'm content." "You're pretty." "When I think of it, I dare not tell you." "Me neither, but now, we know each other." "What kind of boat is that?" "A cargo ship." "Rest easy, Cricket." "He's bugging you." "I'm not bugging him." "He's my friend." "Bosom buddies!" " An island, with coconut trees." " There he goes again!" "He kills us with his islands." "Even in jail he talked about Polynesia." "He said: "Down there, you love them and leave them"." "And then what?" "Do you change islands?" "Don't listen to him." "Down there, it's like here." "It's always the same." "A smile says hello, a handkerchief says goodbye." "Good evening, Mr. Guy." "Madam." "Them again!" "It's crazy." "They deny themselves nothing." "They also go to the black market." "The slaves of hunger." "Madam." "Hello, Raymond." ""Hello, Guy!"" "I'm not asking for news." "I think that will come later." "But to see you here is strange." "It's understandable." "I'm open-minded." "But you and your ideas!" " Excuse me, I find that a little..." " A little?" "Contradictory." "What do you want?" "No one is perfect." "But tell no one." "I'm here incognito." "On Moscow money!" "But understand, Mr. Sénéchal tomorrow, we'll be penniless." "Come on." "I'm joking." "Luckily." "What?" "Luckily." "It's agreeable, to joke." "So I'll joke as well." "Yes, that's fine." "Everyone jokes." "It's perfect." "Perfect?" " Then he's the son, the hero!" " Yes." "What did he do?" "I don't know, but then maybe he doesn't know either." "It's strange." "It seems like..." "I get the feeling I've seen him somewhere before." "Could we play some music?" "You don't think it's noisy enough?" "I wasn't talking about noise, I was talking about music." "Happiness, of course, but we won't sleep together." " Are you trying to make me cry?" " That's the sum of things." "Don't sulk." "I've got an important date." "Of course." "People I haven't seen in a long time." "Spooks." "I don't like that word, "spook"." "You don't seem the type, but you're a funny guy." "You are the champion of good news." "It's a good thing I'm not superstitious." "You made her bust out laughing." "What did you tell her?" "Not much." "I told her that she would die tonight." "And she believed you?" "No, but all the same, it's true." "If she passes by the canal." "Just in time!" "You bring good tidings." "She won't suffer." "She'll die without knowing it." "Alcohol fumes, a no-no." "She'll make a lovely cadaver." "Yes." "Not everyone dies lucky." "Look!" "Him again!" "Who is it?" " The gestapo." " God forbid!" "You know that song?" "No." "Me neither." "And when it comes to songs, I know them all." "I know I've heard it, but where and when?" "And the sea erases from the sand..." "It's strange." "Love songs are always so sad." "Love is not pretty." "That's because people don't know how to love each other or how to pretend to." " Why did you draw a Chinaman?" " You're the funny Chinaman." "It's true." "A Chinaman." "A Chinaman?" "It's crazy, I remember where I heard it before!" "In 1938, in San Francisco, in Chinatown." "Is it nice?" "It's a nice port." "I almost died there." "A stupid fight like all the other ones." "Destiny!" "Destiny, destiny, that's me." "You don't say!" "And I'm Napoleon." "Why not?" "He was a man like the others." "He was born, he ate, and he died." "On St. Helena." "It was necessary." "If he hadn't died on St. Helena, maybe he couldn't have been born in Ajaccio." "One thing leads to another." "Nothing is extraordinary." "Or more likely this:" "Everything is extraordinary, and Man adapts." "For example, the sun." "The sun finds all that natural." "Nothing surprises him." "But if you showed him a calf with two heads, that would disturb him." "And yet, a calf a simple calf, with one head, such as yours or mine..." "It's very strange, in fact inexplicable, when you think about it." "When I say "a calf", I could as easily say a tree or an egg." "What a mystery, the chicken or the egg!" "I've known people that when they heard the cry of the cock they trembled with fear." "It gave them goose bumps." "What a story!" "What a story!" "What a story!" "What a story!" "What a story!" "And yet, everyone has his own." "And like everyone else, you don't know how yours will end." "It's a surprise." "Yes, it's a surprise." "Do you know why you came here this evening?" "Would you like to eat?" "No." "Give me champagne with water." "You never know." "Perhaps you were wrong to come here." "Oh, he insisted." "I came here because I had a date." "And not later than tonight." "With who?" "A beautiful girl... the beautiful girl in the world." "You hear?" "Why not?" "Good." "I wouldn't want to miss the Metro." "What time is it?" "11:10 exactly." "The clock speaks." "Really, you should get going." "You haven't a minute to lose." "You are very nice, but tiresome." "What do you want?" "I want nothing." "I am Destiny." "What a world!" "The world is what it is." "Don't ask for the key, I'm not the concierge and I'm not the jailer." "I am Destiny." "I come and I go." "That's all." "Good evening." "Hello." "Don't rush, the last Metro is already gone." "Oh really!" "Just like that, we win!" "I'm going to go for a little jog." "To Vaugirard?" "If you want, I'll go with you." "I came to find Etiennette." "I haven't found her." "There's no hurry to get home." "Come home with us." "You can sleep with Cricket." "Ah yes!" "He's my pal." "I'll sleep with him." "I'm putting you out." "Are you joking?" "Let's go." "I start work at 3:00." "I can't sleep long." "Excuse me." "I'll join you for a little while." "You can keep me company." "There's nothing more depressing than these stupid little quarrels." "People who are in love." "I don't love you anymore." "You're dazzling, Malou, like every night." "I don't love you anymore, and yet..." "For all of that, you've loved me." "No doubt, since I married you." "Perhaps it's better to wreck everything." "Of course." "Before I met you, I was happy, no complications." "And I loved life." "You don't love it anymore?" "Yes, but not my own." "Admit it." "That's no reason to act like this." "Tonight you suddenly left the table, right in the middle of dinner." "You knew this dinner was important." "If I'd stayed, I would have bust out crying." "There are moments when I'm suffocating." "You took me here for a bit of fresh air?" "It's sinister, deserted..." "I spent my childhood in this neighborhood." "I knew it would be miserable, but I had to see it again." "And I love it as it is." "Of course, this is too easy for you, a little girl growing up." "But what do you want?" "I want to leave you." "Here you go again." "You talk of nothing else." "We live so far away from each other." "And in London, everyone contributed to the war effort." "Me too." "But when you knew we were going back to Paris, you seemed happy." "How couldn't I be?" "You're disappointed." "Obviously I'm not wildly happy." "And then there's the war." "We can do nothing." "Only end it." "I know what you're thinking." "You're wrong." "Don't forget that money is the life's blood of the war." "If I earn money, me too, I win the war in my own way." "The war is very pretty..." "But I wasn't waiting to profit from it." "Because in my family, fortune is hereditary." "Kind of a contagious illness." "It gets money, it spends it." "Isn't that right, Malou?" "You disgust me." "What?" "But I didn't want to hurt you." "I made my own living in New York before I married you." "I worked." "I was free." "You're in love with someone." "Did you meet him in London or somewhere else?" "Not at all." "Malou, to keep you, I would do anything." "If you left me, what would happen to you?" "I wouldn't be so cruel." "We've been happy together." "Together?" "Never." "Malou." "Let me go." "It's over." "If I didn't feel sorry for you..." "Sorry for me?" "I would say some things." "Things so painful to a man that you would blush." "Malou!" "Malou!" "Come on, Malou." "Malou!" "Don't be afraid." "Malou!" "Malou." "Someone was following you." "I thought I did the right thing." "Thank you." "Are you lost?" "No." "I used to live here." "You can get lost in the most familiar of places." "It's funny." "It seems..." "I don't know..." "Yes." "A memory." "From many years ago." "Little girls dancing and laughing round a musician... who plays at the corner of Rue Germain Nouveau and Rue des Petites Feuilles." "Why do you say that?" "Who are you?" "What do you want?" "Nothing." "You never forget it, even if you've only heard it once the pitiful music of the poorest musician on earth." "Do I frighten you?" "No." "Does I bother you, perhaps?" "I don't know." "I'm cold." "Let's walk a little." "What could be more simple when someone is lost, in the dark walking as you listen to your footsteps being guided by your memories." "Madam?" "Don't you recognize me?" "No." "I must say I don't." "Malou." "Malou!" "My little girl!" "God knows if I was expecting you!" "It's by chance." "By chance, that's the word, but come in!" "I'm so amazed." "What I'm feeling, you can understand." "To see you here after so many years." "And at this hour." "It's late." "Forgive me." "She asks to be forgiven." "I should ask to be forgiven when I think..." "I haven't asked you to sit down." "I'm not tired." "How beautiful you are!" "You think so, sir?" "Oh!" "Are you going to be so formal with your old Papa?" "You'll do me the pleasure of not calling me "sir", my dear." "And your mother, what's happened to her?" "Mama died in 1939, in New York." "Died?" "Died in 1939, in New York?" "So I was a widower and I didn't even know it." "My poor little girl!" "How it must have troubled you!" "Yes." "I loved her very much." "Of course." "It's unbelievable!" "We haven't even kissed." "It's true." "We haven't even kissed." "All the same, you're still my little girl." "And we stand next to each other, like strangers." "You'd think it was a family tradition." "A tradition?" "Your mother and me, we also lived like strangers." ""We don't speak the same language", she'd say." "I think so too." "She was born in Prague, in Bohemia." "With Bohemia, that would take some doing!" "Listen." "Of course." "I'm not going to complain, but what do you want?" "I've always been French to the core." "So regarding your mother..." " Please." "Never fear." "I could even say that she was a saint." "Then you beat a saint." "Did you come here to talk to me this way?" "No." "I must say I wasn't even thinking of seeing you again." "I came here in spite of myself." "In spite of yourself?" "I understand." "It's very painful." "I understand." "It's terrible when a family gets separated!" "And what an example!" "The mother takes the daughter, and the father is left with the son." "How is Guy?" "And the war?" "Has he come back safe and sound?" "Yes, safe and sound." "And yet, he showed exceptional courage." "That's the word." "However!" "I thought, little Malou, with this overdue visit..." "Perhaps you're having some problems?" "Everyone does." "Don't forget that in spite of everything, I'm your father." "You can count on me, except if money's concerned." "I don't want for anything." "I would have helped you, understand." "However my means are extremely modest." "Nothing more." "Modest, that's the word." "You must have suffered these past few years." "Like so many others." "And at my age, it's hard." "Everything has become so expensive." "When I think I've only got a miserable robe." "Hey!" "Jazz!" "Always Jazz." "Too bad!" "What are you looking at?" "The yard." "Ah!" "The yard!" "You were up to a lot down there when you were little." "Is there still a night watchman?" "I liked him." "No." "I fired him, he was stealing my wood." "Excuse me, but it's late." "I should go." "Is someone expecting you?" "Yes." "Are you married?" "Yes." "So much the better." "I'm happy for you." "So much the better." "I'm delighted." "Delighted, that's the world." "Where are you going?" "Ssh!" "If you want I'll show you, because you're my friend, but don't tell." "It's a secret." "Put your head down." " "Put your head down"." "My word!" "The mysteries of Paris!" "What?" "The Quinquinas." "You really scared them." "Is it far?" "No." "We're almost there." "It's where the light is." "You see, this is where we live." "It's nice here." "It's tranquil." "Nobody bothers us." "A king in his castle." "Come." "Come see." "This is our cat." "She's beautiful." "Three kittens, all alive." "Somebody threw her in the water." "But we fished her out." "We didn't let her die." "Everyone does their part." "Where did you get that?" "At the restaurant?" "She too eats at the black market." "Today's a holiday!" "You'll see, when the Quinquinas come, the party doesn't end." "You're sleepy." "No." " No, you want to sleep." " A little." "Come on, let's go." "The Sandman's coming." "Who's that?" "I'll tell you on the way." "Come on." "On your feet." "Come on, Cricket, you're not going to sleep here?" "How beautiful is a sleeping child." "Yes." "Also a man who daydreams." "What do you think?" "Because I must be dreaming." "It's impossible." "You must have parachuted in." "How did you get here?" "It's very simple." "Nothing out of the ordinary." "The yard belongs to my father." "Strange hour to visit." "Maybe." "But what are you doing here?" "Me?" "I'm the night watchman." "Everyone watches here." "The old cat her kittens, the child the cat, and I watch him." "He's yours?" "No." "I stole him, kidnapped for a ransom." "He's a prince." "The son of the king of railroads." "Oh!" "I was sleeping." "Not enough." "Go to bed." "Good." "I wouldn't want to put you out." "You've got a beautiful smile." "A little sad, but beautiful." "I know that you smoke." "Thank you." "How did you know?" "You were smoking that other time." "You saw me?" "When?" "It wasn't long ago." "It's an entire story that I've invented." "The most beautiful girl in the world." "When you tell a story, it ends up coming true." "Why did you come here tonight?" "By accident, perhaps?" "Why not?" "You believe this is a night like the others?" "No." "Because my life has changed tonight." "That's all." "Mine has too." "Of course, I say that without thinking." "All the same, it's true." "It's funny, two strangers walking in the dark." "There are people with whom you live for years who remain so removed hostile secret." "It's funny all the same that you know the islands." "I'm sure you don't know the most curious of them." "Easter Island." "Do you know it?" "Few people have been there, haven't they?" "A deserted island with strange statues in stone." "Like here." "Yes." "Like here." "No one remains on this island." "It's too beautiful for the tourists." "Yes." "They leave after having scrawled their name..." "At the feet of the statues." "Did you?" "Yes." "I remember I was very sad that day." "What are you looking for?" "As a child, I also wrote my name on this lion's mane." "The poor lion!" "You've tatooed him." ""Françoise, Margot, Dédé."" ""Pierrot, Gisèle "Cricket"." ""Lucienne, Paulo always. "" ""Malou"." "That's you?" "Have you guessed?" "No." "I've guessed nothing, but one night I was on Easter Island." "Yes." "I lived there." "A crazy story." "I raised sheep." "They all died of an illness." "It was lamentable." "That night, I was walking on the island." "I stopped before a statue and I looked at it." "I saw in the light a scrawled name." "This name struck me." "Why tell me this?" "Struck like a stone, and I wrote my name next to the other one." "And suddenly, I became very calm content." "As if something very lucky was going to happen to me." "The next day..." "The next day?" "The next day, I christened my boat." "Look." "The name is very small." "You can hardly see it." "The day the picture was taken, the paint was still fresh." "And this name shone alone in the sun." "I'm sure of it." "I'm sure I saw this boat." "You hear that?" "The dead leaves scooped up with a shovel..." "You see, I haven't forgotten." "The north wind takes us away... in the night of oblivion." "How do you know this song?" "I've known it for a long time." "A long time?" "Yes." "When I was little, before the fence of this yard a strolling musician sometimes came to play this waltz." "With the other little girls of the neighborhood I learned to dance." "Here, in this yard?" "Yes, here." "In this yard I danced for the first time." "You could also, if you want... dance here tonight, for the first time, with me." "Are you getting dizzy?" "Yes, a little." "Rest." "Can you hear the stove snoring?" "All the same, it's out." "It's the cat purring that makes you think there's still a fire." "You know when I first heard that song?" "One Christmas night." "I remember it well." "You often remember Christmas nights." "They're beautiful and sad." "This was in 1938 in San Francisco, in Chinatown." "Where were you on that night?" "New York." "New York?" "Yes." "I sang on the radio." "That was you?" "I remember." "I was sad, distraught alone in the city." "But I told myself:" "You mustn't give up hope." "And I remembered my childhood when I dreamed of the time when I would be happy." "I sang that song." "In concert?" "Yes." "Then suddenly I had the feeling that someone was listening that I was singing for someone who enjoyed it." "And then..." "And then?" "And then everyone surrounded me." "It was a success." "I was offered champagne." "I drank a lot of champagne." "And then I forgot everything." "Me too." "That same night, I was sad and alone." "All the same there were some beautiful girls around." "Everyone else drank, danced, and laughed." "I did the same." "But when I heard this song, I wanted them to be quiet." "They yelled and then..." "And then?" "I got cracked on the head with a bottle and I forgot everything too." "Ah!" "There you are!" "Sénéchal, here I am!" "You could have spared me this foolish joking." "It's not a joke, it's humor." "Oh!" "You're not happy to see me after two months?" "Yes, of course I am!" "Make the most of it because I'm leaving." "You're leaving?" "At dawn." "Where are you going?" "Spain." "I have some good friends down there." "The carrots are cooked." "The carrots are cooked?" "It would take too long to explain." "I've seen some well-informed people." "They've given me a friendly warning." "My goose is cooked, Papa." "And when your goose is cooked, in the jar it goes." "So now it happens!" "Relax." "Around here, I'm irreproachable." "Nothing to fear." "But under other skies, it's not the same thing." " My poor child, I..." " Oh no." "No." "Please don't." "It's not worth it to play the grieving father." "You'd give me up." "You only think of yourself." "What are you accused of, exactly?" "Exactly?" "Clandestine attacks, behind the back, no less." "What?" "Yes." "I'm accused of taking part in interrogations that were a little troublesome." "And after that, what happens next?" "You only did your duty." "You acted according to your ideas." "Which were also yours at the time." "Yes, but why beat your head against the wall... when the world has changed?" "You're better off changing with it." "I understand." "I understand that you're a little...demoralized." "Demoralized?" "You know Papa, when it comes down to it... 12 bullets in your hide, that's not what kills a man." "What I don't want is that others get me, that they interrogate... that they judge me, that they treat me like scum, even if it's true." "You hear?" "Even if it's true!" "I couldn't bear it." "Anything else, but not that." "But is it my fault?" "I didn't ask to be born." "I haven't asked for permission." "I was born for nothing." "For nothing!" "Until I die, I've chosen nothing." "Not everyone gets a happy death." "Somebody spoke." "Somebody spoke." "Who spoke?" "There's someone on the landing." "Who's there?" "Oh, please." "You're frozen there, at attention." "You'd think you were a waxwork." "You detest me." "Yes and you feel the same about me." "Where that's concerned, the family has lost nothing." "Dollars!" "One would think you'd predicted the sad end of the poor voyager." "Leave it!" "It's your sister's!" "My sister, that's it!" "Yes." "She's been having a bad time." "Of course." "It's a bundle I put aside for her." "Fine, Papa." "Fine." "Where are you going?" " To the garage." " Give me that money!" "It's not so much for the money, but for the principle." "You'll profit from it." "I don't have any." "Not counting..." " You don't spend it." "What have all of you got to do with my money?" "You forget that I am a modest entrepreneur of demolition." "The war is also an enterprise in demolition." "That pays!" "Don't say otherwise, Our Friend Fritz!" "Villainous little man!" "A villain who tries to blackmail his father." "Perhaps!" "But don't forget that I got you out of Drancy." "The most beautiful girl in the world!" "She can only give what she has." "Watch your mouth!" "I'm going to tell you what I think." "You're a miser, a coward a lamentable individual." " It's Guy." "I know that laugh." "The funny thing, it's the face you'd make if I threw you in." "Before leaving." "You'd do that?" "You'd turn me in?" "I've turned others in." "Well, look at who's good to know!" "What?" "You!" "What are you doing in my house at such an hour?" "So that's how, just to pass the time the hero would report people." "And Raymond Lécuyer, you reported him too?" "Heroically?" "That's not true." "Stop it." "I was there when you turned him in." "Avenue Henri Martin to be precise." "And you laughed." "I don't understand." "Avenue Henri Martin, doesn't that ring a bell?" "It was a misunderstanding." "My son!" "What an accusation!" "He's a brave kid, my son." "Of course." "Congratulations." "You've raised him well, your kid." "I'm not a kid." "And I've proved it." " What are you saying!" " What am I saying!" "Don't move!" "Don't move." "I told you." "Is that you, Diego?" "It's Raymond." "What happened?" "Not much really." "Open up." "It's a friend." "A tenant." "Sorry." "He's a good little kid." "He's the one who gave you up." "There's no proof!" "I'm covered." "You can say what you want." "I suspected that you gave me over to the good... but to such a point?" "Listen." "You make me sick." "You know what they did to me down there?" "I'm thinking of something else." "Of the comrades they silenced." "You're disgusting, as disgusting as it gets." "Shut up." "Stay calm." "I've got nothing to add." "And my hand, you see what they did to my hand?" "If I hit you, it wouldn't even make me happy." "Don't knock him when he's down." "He's done wrong, but try to understand." "His ideals were different from yours." "And ideals are all the same!" "Don't play the clown, Papa." " What should we do, then?" " Be human, gentlemen." "Malou!" "Sorry!" "You were there, my little girl." "We were having a discussion with these gentlemen and your brother." "Well..." "Incredible!" "My sister!" "You were telling the truth, Papa." "She turned out well, my sister." "She's got her game, that makes me happy." "A real gold digger!" "Shut up!" "What, brother-in-law?" "Please." "But it isn't difficult." "There's two of you." "You're also two since you're a double-crosser." "Get off it." "This isn't healthy." "And then I work on the railroad." "You know that?" "Let's have a drink." "That will clear our heads." "And him?" "We can't prove it now, let's not give a bad example." "Listen, kid we're going to leave you, but don't celebrate." "You're not free to." "You're not in the race anymore." "You're done for!" "Very soon, you'll find a tiny larva in your life... that will do what you have done." "You'll see!" "The door, if you please." "Thank you." "He's still my brother." "Don't give up hope." "If the kid stays around here, prepare the invitations." "You're lucky." "Lucky!" "That's the word." "What are you doing/saying?" "Ask me what I want to do." "Guy, my child." "That would be agreeable." "What tranquility!" "You see me, Papa, lying there?" "At peace." "Washed and bleached." "Clean." "And then Papa, you will be standing there." "Yes." "Right where you are." "But not a clown." "No." "Like a sick but dignified father." "Perhaps you'd cry." "Yes." "That would give you presence." "That would keep you busy." "Don't do that!" "Not here, rest assured." "Where are you going?" "If I knew, I'd tell you." "Guy!" "I came too late." " She must have fell straight down." " I heard her cry out." "No?" "Big Marthe?" " Yes." "The gypsy." " Yes." "She told the future." "Then it really worked out for her!" "Don't make jokes." "I warned her." "Let it go." "It isn't worth it." "There's nothing to say:" "You brought her luck." "How can you know?" "Perhaps she didn't care to live." "And you think that I do?" "No." "At least you're definite about it!" "You believe..." "I don't believe anything." "But I know you won't drown." "Not even with a rock tied around my neck like a dog." "You might die like a dog, but you won't drown." "Like a run-over dog, then." "Why not?" "What happened?" "Oh, nothing." "Somebody drowned." "Drowned?" "Gentlemen." "Please, tell me... the woman who drowned..." "She was a fortune-teller from around here." "Oh?" "Are you sure?" "Absolutely." "Thank you." "You couldn't know..." " You're not going to pass out?" " You've been drinking." "It doesn't matter." "It's absurd to be so sensitive... as to imagine the most horrible things and to believe in them." "Malou drowned." "It's absurd." "Drowned because of me." "Malou?" "Did you say "Malou"?" "It doesn't matter what I said." "It's strictly personal." "You don't usually drink?" "Of course, but only a little and always with friends." "Tonight, I drank a lot and alone." "But considering the circumstances..." "So." "Do you know the street..." "Rue des Petites Feuilles?" "Is it around here?" "Yes, it's around here." "I'm looking for someone at this address." "Listen." "You should just go to bed." "You don't say." "It's preferable." "Oh, bug off!" "Is there someone you're looking for?" "Why do you ask?" "A young woman called Malou." "What?" "Malou." "Sorry if I seem indiscreet, but..." "Malou's my sister." "My big sister." "Believe me, you should just go to bed!" "Won't you leave us alone?" "Oh!" "For all I've told you." "All the same." "You warn them, but they won't listen." "And if you don't warn them... when it happens, they blame fate." "You'd think it amused them to have problems, tragedies... complications." "Certainly, it's a hard blow." "But admit it's funny to find yourself... one big happy family." "Oh, come on!" "Don't get angry." "I understand." "Me too." "Tonight I've had some problems." "In misfortune, you're all alone." "Brother-in-law." "Pardon me, but I despise vulgarity." "I said that to be nice." "And to keep nothing from you, truly, I celebrate." "You understand, tonight I've been spit in the face." "Really?" "I've been dragged through the mud." "Ridiculed." "And then..." "To meet someone who is without doubt also... ridiculed, that should make you happy." "For me it's a relief." "It's frightening to suffer like this." "Especially when you're not used to it." "You didn't see where she went?" "Where they went." "Yes, I've got an idea, but..." "You want some money?" "No." "Imagine that I'm completely disinterested." "Are you sure you know where she went?" "I didn't say I was "sure", I said we could always try." "Come on." "You want to?" "How do I know you're not trying to..." "To trap you?" "Are you armed?" "No." "Why?" "Here." "This way, you can rest easy." "The man with Malou is perhaps armed." "Come on." "Get in." "Hello." "It's Raymond's daughter." "Raymond knows a lot of people." "You'll see." "Here in the summer, it's beautiful like everywhere else." "In some places there are rivers." "And the canal water is so green." "This summer, we'll bathe in it." "I can't swim." "I'll teach you." "I don't have a swimsuit." "That doesn't matter." "We can go further out, where there's no one." "I should go back." "I'll go with you." "That will bother them." "At heart, you love them." "Of course." "You understand, there are so many." "Never will I forget this lamentable scene." "My brother and my father so contemptible, and so ruined." "Is that the only memory you'll have of this night?" "It's funny." "I've always wandered through life." "I never could stick anywhere." "A pity." "Why?" "Because I would have liked to." "Yes." "This would have been nice." "If every day were like today." "And the nights like this one." "You wouldn't be afraid of getting bored?" "Happiness isn't boring, because it's happiness." "Do you believe in happiness?" "Yes." "When you look at me." "But if I told you:" "We're leaving together, leave everything behind." "I've already left." "But what about you who loves your liberty?" "Tasting liberty all alone, it's not much." "You want to share it?" "Yes." "With you." "I know this man." "I also warned you, and you're still here, in this neighborhood." "Listen, let it go." "You're also here, right next to him!" "He scares me." "He amuses me." "All the same!" "Too insistent." "All the same, not bad for one night." "What are you saying?" "Few people have had a happy night." "You're going to shut up!" "You might as well shut up this train that whistles in the night!" "Everything in its time, you'll see." " Shut up!" "You dream too much to please, to make people happy." "You think that it's already happened." "Since you don't want to shut up!" "Easy." "He's touched in the head." "Too late." "It's been decided." "Stop it!" "You're going to kill him!" "Kill him!" "Come on." "Why did you hit him?" "Maybe he was right." "Malou!" "What did I tell you?" "Georges?" "Malou." "Malou!" "Wait a moment." "Make it quick." "I'll be bored without you." "It isn't possible." "Who's this man kissing you in the street?" "I won't explain, because you wouldn't understand." "Oh, but I understand everything." "You left me for him?" "And I felt sorry for you." "I'm sorry I bothered." "What an idiot I was!" "Where you grew up!" "It must have been nice, your childhood." "You're a beautiful little..." "No, Georges." "After all, what else could it be?" "This is what happens to nice people." "But I'm broad-minded and I love you." "No, I told you." "We're finished." "You are indispensable to me." "Listen, just a while ago, I thought you were dead." "And I wanted to die myself." "Die?" "You?" "That would surprise me." "And if I killed you?" "You think that would change anything?" "Farewell." "Malou!" " Don't insist, Georges." " Malou!" "I can't." "I can't!" "It isn't possible!" "It isn't possible!" "It is." "To the hospital, quickly!" "Quickly!" "Open the door!" "Get in." "You're in no condition to drive." "Malou, forgive me." "I promise, I won't insist anymore." "Shut up then." "How is she?" "She's breathing." "Her heart is beating, but only faintly." "It'll be all right, Malou." "They're going to take care of you." "Can she hear me?" "Yes." "I think so." "The good days are going to return." "The war will end." "Life will be beautiful." "And we'll be happy, happy." "You hear me, Malou?" "Can she hear me?" "Yes." "She can hear you." "And she asks why you're crying out." "It's disgusting." "Disgusting." "Well?" "We're going to tranquilize her." "Was it an accident?" "Yes." "An accident." "It isn't possible." "That would be too frightful." "She's not going to die, is she?" "It isn't possible that she'd die, eh?" "Answer me." "Say something." "It's unbearable." "Don't you understand the situation I'm in?" "She's still my wife." "And you see, I must..." "I have the right!" "I must ask what happened between you." "Please, I want to know." "How long have you known her?" "Who are you?" "Where did you meet?" "It's sad." "He seems to love her so much." "Shut up." "You're talking nonsense." "She was my wife." "Yes, she was my wife!" "And I'm the one who killed her." "But it was an accident, a lamentable accident." "I was threatened." "I thought my life was in danger." "A legitimate defense." "And I fired." "She threw herself in front of me." "It was her." "The details can come out." "It's over now." "There you are!" "Beautiful day!" "It's cold." "But I'm happy." "My little girl is back home." "A boy." "I should have known." "Love isn't a catastrophe." "After all... love settles a lot of things." "Translation by ironhills December 2010"