"Good day." "I'll see you next week." "Don't read and eat." "Is it good?" "Yes, it is." "I used less water than last time, so it tastes better." "You're not eating much." "You look unwell." "Won't you have some fruit?" "We got a letter from Aunt Fernande in Canada." "I'll read it to you." "Dear Jeanne, dear Sylvain." "Forgive me for not responding sooner." "I often think of you and Belgium." "But school has started and I'm busy." "Time just flies." "Suddenly it's winter again." "There's a lot of snow and I don't go out much." "The kids couldn't go to school because the roads were blocked." "I'm home all the time." "Without a car you just sink in the snow." "Jack's teaching me to drive." "I need to learn, because of the great distances." "He says I should adopt the norms of this country." "All women here can drive, but I'm afraid I'll never learn." "But now the cars are all covered in snow." "The kids are very tough." "They're real Canadians." "Jane is almost too tall, but otherwise she's fine." "I hope you'll see them this summer." "We have a guest room and Sylvain can stay with his nephew." "You might even meet a man." "Jack thinks you should remarry." "You're too pretty to be alone." "George has been dead six years now." "You're very tough." "You only say you want to be alone because you don't want to complain." "I often cry when I think about you." "Jack's coming soon and I need to set the table." "Many kisses to both of you." "Your loving sister and aunt, Fernande." "PS:" "Last month I sent Jeanne a present by boat." "What could that present be?" "Do you want to go?" "The Enemy by Charles Baudelaire." "my youth consisted of dark thunder storms interrupted at times by a radiant sun the thunder and rain were so tempestuous that scarcely any fruit could ripen in my yard now I'm in the autumn of my years and I have a need for... and I have a need for a rake and spade" "to once more gather the earth in which the water digs deep tombs" "Once more." "The Enemy by Charles Baudelaire." "my youth consisted of dark thunder storms interrupted at times by a radiant sun" "the thunder..." "thunder and rain were so tempestuous that scarcely any fruit could ripen in my yard now I'm in the autumn of my years and I have need for a rake and spade to once more gather the earth in which the water digs deep tombs" "You've developed an accent." "Yes." "I can almost pronounce the R the way Jan does." "They no longer make fun of me at school." "Perhaps, but nobody forced you to go to the Flemish school." "Yes... your friend." "Can you pronounce the R like I do?" "Come here." "You like it long, don't you?" "I'm almost out of wool." "Is today Tuesday?" "Always reading." "Just like your dad." "You always say that." "How did you meet my father?" "Why ask me that now?" "It says 'miracle' here." "Aunt Fernande always said it was a miracle that she met Jack." "Yes, he came to liberate us in 1944." "He gave us gum and chocolate and we gave him flowers." "I met your dad after the Americans left." "I lived with my aunts." "My parents were dead." "One Saturday, I went to the woods with a friend." "I don't remember the weather." "My friend knew him." "You've seen her in pictures." "After that we got together." "I was a billing clerk." "I didn't earn much and the aunts were no fun." "I didn't know if I wanted to marry, but that's what people did." "That was just what you did." "The aunts said:" "He's decent and he has money." "He'll make you happy." "But I still had doubts." "I really wanted a place of my own and a child." "Suddenly his business went under and then we married." "That could happen after the war." "My aunts then said a pretty girl like me could do better." "I could get a man who would give me a good life." "They said he was ugly and so on, but I didn't listen." "Did you still want to sleep with him if he was ugly?" "Ugly or not, that doesn't matter." "And sleeping with him was just a detail." "And I had you." "He wasn't that ugly." "Would you like to remarry?" "No, getting used to someone else again..." "With someone you love." "Well..." "If I were a woman I wouldn't be able to sleep with someone I didn't love." "You don't know, you're not a woman." "Lights out?" "Yes, alright." "Sleep tight." "END OF FIRST DAY" "Did you wash your hands?" "Can I have some more today?" "Here you go." "Thank you." "Thank you, madam." "Thank you, sir." "Hello, madam." "Are you well?" "Yes." "Can you have these shoes ready by tomorrow?" "My son's wearing the other pair now." "His old ones have holes in them." "I'll have a look." "The heels too, right?" "Tomorrow at four." "Is that alright?" "Is your son doing well?" "Yes, fine." "You're pleased with him, right?" "Does he listen?" "That's good." "I'd be lost without him." "You can collect them at four." "I haven't seen you in a while." "Good day." "Will you come for coffee this afternoon?" "Not this afternoon." "Maybe next week." "See you later then." "Here you go." "You weren't eating, were you?" "What will you have today?" "On Wednesday, I have schnitzel, peas and carrots." "I couldn't think of anything today." "I would be fine if I just had a sandwich and nothing else." "Now that I smoke, I've lost my appetite." "But the kids need meat." "So I went to buy some." "There was a queue at the butcher's." "If I'd gone earlier or later, I wouldn't have had to queue." "But now I could listen to the other orders and work out what to buy myself." "But that made it even harder." "One woman ordered pork and veal mince and I thought:" "She'll make meatloaf." "I had that yesterday, with applesauce." "Then I thought:" "No, silly." "She'll make meatballs." "But that's so corny." "When it was my turn, I still didn't know." "In the end, I ordered the same as the woman in front of me." "A kilo of veal for 300 francs." "It's enough for two days and none of us like veal." "So the kids won't eat it." "And there's no vitamins in veal." "You can't eat fish either." "It can kill you." "I wish they could eat school meals." "But my husband thinks they're bad and the kids are already too short." "But if I had my way..." "He'll be gone all week next week." "I'll miss him." "I'll be at my mum's." "The kids will have to eat at school." "They'll get used to eating with other kids." "It's better." "And my husband can't complain..." "Does your son eat school meals?" "Yes, he's not fussy." "My husband wasn't fussy either." "Neither is mine, but the kids..." "That's unavoidable though." "You get used to it." "I have to go." "Goodbye." "Bye." "Madam..." "Do you have a skein of wool in this colour, madam?" "I think that's it." "Yes, that's it." "That's it, alright." "Thank you." "Goodbye, madam." "Good day." "See you Thursday." "Madam." "A bag of potatoes." "Mum." "Your hair is tangled." "I have overcooked the potatoes." "Don't read and eat." "You'll have to wait." "I've put the meat and vegetables on a low heat." "A little longer." "I didn't make mash." "We'll have that tomorrow." "You must be hungry." "You've been swimming." "I didn't go." "Neither did Jan." "Why not?" "Jan kept me company." "I said I had a headache." "We stayed in the sick ward." "We had our swimming test today." "I don't like it when you do such things." "I must reply to Aunt Fernande." "The potatoes are probably done." "Aren't we going to switch the radio on?" "Yes." "Can't you do it?" "Is it because of the radio?" "Maybe it's because of the singer." "I don't know what to reply..." "Can we not go tonight?" "We ate rather late." "Sure." "If you want, you can bring Jan with you tomorrow." "I bet he's in love with the nurse." "He wouldn't go on the tram." "He had things to do." "When I drove past the school, he was still there." "He has a book that explains a lot." "The length of the climax, the orgasm..." "He says we're the right age for women." "He doesn't want a girl." "A man's member is sword, that he has to plunge in deep." "I say:" "A sword hurts." "He says:" "Yes." "Just like fire." "Where's the fun in that?" "You shouldn't say such things." "He told me everything when I was ten." "I asked:" "Does dad do that with mum?" "I hated dad because of it." "I wanted to die." "I thought his death was God's wrath." "I don't believe in God anymore." "He said it wasn't just to create me." "Then I pretended to have nightmares and called you, so he couldn't penetrate you." "That wasn't necessary." "It's late." "I'll switch the light off." "Alright..." "Mum..." "It's late." "Sleep tight." "END OF DAY TWO" "Did you wash your hands?" "Yes." "Your button." "Sylvain..." "Are they gone?" "Is it empty?" "Half a loaf of bread." "Have you got a bag?" "The bag?" "I'll take a new one." "Here you go. 10 francs 50." "Thanks." "Here you go." "Thanks." "Goodbye, madam." "Hello." "Bye." "Thanks." "Thanks." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "Miss?" "Do you have a button like this?" "I've already checked." "Maybe that one?" "No." "They're not the same." "Then I don't have one." "Sorry." "Goodbye then." "They're hard to find." "My sister Fernande sent them from Canada." "She sent this years ago." "Sylvain just started wearing it." "It was too big for him." "He was six when my sister stayed here for three months." "He slept in the room with me and my husband, who was still alive then and she slept on the sofa with Jonathan." "She calls him John." "John was 5, but he was bigger and stronger than Sylvain." "If I ask her for such a button, the model may be out of production." "They say Europe is five years behind America." "That's why I still had hope." "You won't find one like it." "Just change all the buttons." "Then the coat will be as new." "It's just like getting a haircut." "I've never seen such a button." "Maybe you'll find one in the square." "Madam?" "Is Gisele not here?" "She stops working at four." "Then I'll just have a coffee." "Here you go, madam."