"ONE DEADLY SUMMER" "I'll try the whole cause... and condemn you to death." "Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland" "The first time I saw her was in April" "When her parents moved here." "They left their village because of the new dam." "Her name was Eliane." "But everyone called her 'That Girl'" "Her father fell from a ladder pruning trees." "wrecked his spine or something." "Her mother's German." "They met in the war where he did forced labour." "They called her Eva Braun." "Can you beat that?" "Get to work." "You never heard of Eva Braun." "As a fireman" "I'm on duty at Saturday movies." "That's where I'd see her." "She acted the star." "She'd won a beauty contest the Summer before." "Miss Camping Site." "It went to her head." "Sure I found her OK Everyone did." "But I didn't lose any sleep." "She'd sit in the front row, 'to be left alone', she really needed glasses, any further back, she couldn't have seen." "'Night, Mrs. Loubet" "Hey, Projectionist!" "What's the hurry?" "Don't waste my time." "Bye." "You know small towns." "when the film ends," "It's lights out, and everyone's gone." "With Mrs. Loubet, there was no time for sweet talk." "We did it in the centre aisle because it was carpeted." "This place needs a paint job." "I usually went home in my brother Mickey's truck." "But I drove." "He's not safe." "We gave lifts to a lot of kids with their bikes." "The truck was their sleeping car." "They're all asleep in the back." "Oh, good." "I quit." "A fireman's got to be fit." "He can't smoke like a chimney." "Take anyone home?" "Eva Braun's daughter." "Yeah?" "Balled her yet?" "Her Ma was along tonight." "Merde." "And other nights?" "Twice, last two Saturdays." "Where?" "In the back of the truck." "Well?" "Her Ass..." "That's some Ass..." "Too cold to undress her." "I just lifted her skirt." "That Ass!" "It's been fun talking to you." "Aren't they adorable?" "'Night, Pin Pon." "Don't call me that." "Where are we?" "What's going on?" "I'll catch pneumonia." "Weren't you in a hurry?" "So I'll die... but not alone!" "My brother Mickey delivers wood weekdays." "Sundays, he bike-races." "He's dumb, but easy to talk to." "We don't say much." "We don't need to." "Now there's no water." "Mother!" "My brother Bou-Bou is the baby." "Dad died before he was born." "He's the brain of the family, finishing high school." "Dad would have called him 'Professor'" "Our dad was something." "Walked here from Italy." "He wanted to go to America, like all Guineas." "Never had the price of a ticket, so he stayed here, married my mother, a local girl who did ironing." "Then they took in her sister." "She went deaf in the 1944 air raids." "We all call her 'Cognata' Sister-in-law, except Mother." "Nina." "Oh, Nina." "What do you want with the veal?" "What did she say?" "She wants peas like every Sunday." "Ace, Two, Three, like every Sunday." "My Aunt's bet." "She says complications scare off luck." "The family's only won twice." "Both because of Cognata" "Look" "Thank You." "Good." "Thank You." "Oh, Felix." "Same again." "I'd love to go at her." "You're not equipped." "She's not so hard to get." "The druggist had her, so did my nephew's buddy, a tourist, and even one of the Portuguese masons." "Quit dreaming." "Can't I take a breath?" "If your eyes were a blowtorch, she couldn't sit down." "Henry's my boss." "We call him Henry IV." "Best Bowls player I know." "I was at school with his wife." "We'd walk miles uphill every day." "What can I bring your Mom?" "Steaks." "Four regulars, and a big one for Bou-Bou." "Tell the butcher it's for us." "Why?" "You know steaks like he knows cars." "I have a vintage car with leather seats that I swapped for an old truck." "But I've wasted my nights, and Henry's power" "It still won't run 300 yards to go!" "60 more than last time." "The head gasket" "I changed it." "You saw me." "I'ts allergic to head gaskets." "No, it's the oil flow." "Can't find parts." "It's allergic to oil, gas, everything." "Let's get it home." "Poor Pin-Pon." "Don't call me that." "Old Ma ballbreaker." "I'll go see the Mayor." "You're polluting our town." "Listen to her." "Hey, Mickey," "You know Eva Braun's kid?" "Hello, Good-bye, Why?" "No reason." "She fools around too much." "Stay clear of her." "I didn't ask for advice." "She's easy to meet..." "At the Bing Bang dancing every Sunday." "At 30, I'm too old for that place." "Just come." "I'll do the rest." "I'm as good as you are at picking up girls." "No." "Because I don't care about her." "The Bing Bang dance hall changes villages every Sunday." "Kids follow it around." "I danced with Mickey's girl." "She works at the Post Office." "You know Moune?" "Hello Moune." "Where's Mickey going?" "To play Bowls." "Come on." "I'll be the guy." "Dance?" "What else?" "Climb trees?" "Her first words hit me like a club, and I hate people with damp hands." "But I loved her damp hand, it was sweet line a baby's... a child's." "Thirsty?" "Measure it." "You look like a goldfish." "You dye your hair?" "Sure, costs me $20 a month, and wrecks my scalp." "I know a restaurant outside of town." "Shall we go some night?" "It's great." "Swimming pool, candles, real silver." "OK." "But cool it." "taking me to eat, won't get you into my pants." "That's a warning." "Let's not stand around all day." "Sunday's my dance day." "I can't go back, I have to leave." "Ah, Bon." "Who are you playing?" "Local guys" "We lost the first game." "George Massione stinks." "Screw him." "Let's go to the Thorame Fair with Georgette and Moune," "Moune's worth laying..." "No?" "Cards with Gognata tonight?" "A drink with Henry VI when we return his car?" "They'll be at each other all night." "No?" "I'll lose the game and be back." "I reminded myself she's not the only girl." "She's too cheap to run after." "Anyone here?" "I've got a flat..." "Mind moving back a bit?" "If you fix cars, you can fix a bike." "That's fun." "You'll get dirty." "Mais No." "Woo!" "What's she want?" "Her bike's broken." "Get her bike and her ass out!" "I don't want her around!" "Your tire's wrecked." "There's a huge hole..." "How did it happen?" "..." "Come back tomorrow." "I've got some tires at home." "When do you get off?" "In an hour." "Maybe more." "I'll wait outside." "I never saw anyone sit still so long." "She was like a cast-off doll." "Our mother hates anything in a skirt, even a Scotsman in a kilt." "I have to fix a bike." "Your brother gave me hell yesterday." "Mickey?" "No." "Bou-Bou." "No Kidding?" "He said, "What did you do to my brother?"" "I said, "Nothing"." "He got snooty and said," ""Why did he leave in a huff?"" "What a fuss." "Why did you leave like that?" "I felt guilty?" "Because of George Massigne." "Hey, I'm nobody's property." "I don't see him now." "Is there a player piano in your barn?" "Who told you that?" "Bou-Bou." "Later we made up." "That's all our father left." "These four walls and his piano." "Does it work?" "Even by itself." "If a mouse gets caught in it, we're serenaded." "But it only plays one song." "You cut your tire?" "To come see me?" "With pruning shears." "Pin-Pon's not a name." "What's your real name?" "Fiorimondo." "That is Fiorimondo." "I was born during the war, when the Italians were enemies." "That name didn't help in town." "There." "Still on for the dinner?" "anytime.." "How about right now?" "You know what he'll do." "Who?" "You!" "He'll go around back and chose her dress." "She'll show them at the window." "OK?" "It was a happy time." "One of the best." "I wish I could relive it." "Hurry." "Bou-Bou's belt." "Voila." "Why is he dressing up?" "No one ever tells me anything." "To see a customer." "To see a customer." "What's her name?" "No one knows." "If the firehouse calls," "I'm at the deux-points restaurant." "It's in the phone book." "OK." "Hurry up." "All right?" "Great." "Super." "Listen, Mom" "I may be really late." "Don't worry." "Don't come home too late, you hear?" "How is she?" "You're Zorro." "Drive Fast." "So the whole town can't ogle me." "Don't worry about your car." "Pin-Pon drives well." "Me worried?" "He'll never have it again." "OK?" "Not car sick?" "You know about girls." "I'd spend my life in a car." "But my dumb father never could afford one." "What did he do?" "Watchman." "Roadwork." "He had a stroke." "Forget it." "I have a Delahaye car." "I hear it doesn't run." "I'll make it run, You'll see." "If I can get the parts." "I'll bet we'll take a trip in it someday." "Yeah?" "Where?" "Anywhere" "OK, Nice?" "or Paris?" "So you can hump me in some fleabag, right!" "Admit it asshole!" "You just want to hump me." "I can't believe it." "What did I say?" "You bite your nails?" "Don't look" "They're all fake?" "If you tell anyone," "I'll tell about you and Mr. Loubet's wife." "Who told you?" "Everyone knows." "Then it won't matter if you tell." "I promise not to say a word." "We're near the restaurant." "But I'll take you home if you want." "You crazy?" "It's like Hollywood." "You come often?" "No." "I once came to fix a car." "OK." "Laugh." "But I swore I'd come back, with a girl as stunning as the dollies I saw that day." "As a kid, I ate in a restaurant, after being taken to an eye doctor." "But it had oil cloth and flypaper." "A dump." "A dump." "Your eyes weak?" "I can't see my own feet." "Why not wear glasses" "Who needs feet?" "The Waiter." "Ready to order?" "Melon without Port, any strawberries." "Got any?" "And Monsieur?" "Grilled bass with fennel..." "Asparagus to start." "and the wine?" "I don't drink." "If I drink I can't stop crying." "Tonight's special." "Champagne." "Which one?" "We've come here for three years." "The usual." "Quite." "I remember." "Piper Heidsick, Right?" "Is the label gold?" "Gold?" "I think so." "That'll be fine." "At school I never listened." "I was kept back three times." "But they gave up and promoted me." "You're not eating." "Si." "But I was the prettiest." "It's true!" "Everyone said so!" "At 13, I was fully developed." "It's true!" "The teacher Mrs Dieu, was crazy for me." "If I'd said crawl, she would have." "And I'm not dumb." "Take arithmetic." "No one can add as fast as me." "I can beat the supermarket register." "Give me... any two numbers." "Go on!" "Go on!" "Uh...3,547 and 8,764." "12,315" "Check it out." "12,315." "Wow." "Again." "No, I believe you." "as a kid," "I'd play that for hours with my father." "He'd say..." ""You add faster than anyone on earth"." "Anyone!" "Anyone." "No more." "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "I noticed it in the car." "Ignore it." "Usually guys... don't go to so much trouble..." "You didn't understand me." "What do you mean?" "The druggist?" "That tourist last year?" "The Portuguese mason?" "Lies." "Were you there?" "OK They lied to me." "Georges Massignee told you?" "I said, "They"" "Screw "They!"" "I meant..." "I meant, if you really want me you need not go to such trouble." "You can have me right here on the table in front of everybody!" "Something to follow?" "Beat it, We're talking!" "Come on." "It's OK." "9,322 and 7,825." "17,147." "Two things she'd said were true." "She could add like Einstein and when she cried you couldn't stop her." "Good night." "See you again soon." "I warned you." "I'm drunk." "I'll take you home." "No, don't." "I want to be with you." "Don't have to wake the holy family." "We'll go in the barn." "The way she looked at me made me say it..." "Dumbest thing I ever said..." "All right?" "Where are you?" "Up here." "I'm a dumb bitch." "If I wasn't so comical," "I'd kill myself." "All he wants, is to get her damn panties off." "She hopes he'll succeed, and not get stuck in her zipper." "Then forget a while" "He's the son of his scum of a father." "With a straight face I say," "What are they doing to you Eliane?" "Just so she gets her kicks and it's over." "Now I must be patient." "I'll find them all." "I'll make them pay, them and their families." "Shit!" "Goddamn it!" "I'm not criticizing you." "Say were you were." "You know where." "Do something," "Goddamn it!" "What do I have to do to make you whack me?" "At least once!" "Don't you understand?" "I want you to hit me." "I want it." "Can't you see?" "But the dumb cow never understands." "Just wonders who I am, and what happened to us." "I can't tell her about the player piano." "I must keep quiet." "Go it alone, or she'll try and stop me." "Come..." "Be nice," "Come." "Mama." "You about through in there?" "You bunch of half-wits!" "Really!" "The whole town can hear her." "Just you wait." "If I come down..." "God sure made a lot of jerks." "They were just teasing." "Well, come on." "Hi." "Sit there." "What's with you?" "and you?" "what did she take?" "Nothing." "Just my panties." "I never wear them twice." "I'm shocked in my own house!" "Leave her alone, Mom." "She's staying here?" "Yes." "She is." "I'm going to live with his family." "She's leaving?" "Good riddance." "Bye-bye Madam..." "I love you best." "No... you don't." "Certainly not." "I won't be far." "You know where." "Going back to Pin-Pons was a treat." "The whole town stared at us." "They're so bored at home." "They're always out." "Brochard is the dumbest." "His wife is a close second." "You're moving?" "You guessed it." "You're moving?" "Ask your husband" "Why?" "what's it got to do with you?" "In this town, you can listen to garbage without turning on TV." "Crummy, Huh?" "It's clean." "Got to go to work." "Can I put up my poster and my photos?" "It's your home." "You won't get mad if I say this?" "Don't bother." "I know." "I had no time to put panties on." "I'll do it right away." "When he smiles" "I feel like dropping the whole plan." "The room's small." "It was my tub as a child." "Good thing our water is free." "She's going to wash in front of us?" "I have to admit..." "What?" "I've got my own." "So what?" "I do the laundry." "Your mother's nice, but she didn't work you very hard." "Look at your hands." "She did her best." "But she never nagged me." "Why did you let your son bring me here?" "You won't stay long." "Hey, tin ear!" "Before I go she'll pay for my wedding dress." "A fancy one, with lace all over." "Sorry." "I don't hear well." "Lace all over." "She'll wash it with her tears." "I'm taking some eggs to your mother." "Any message?" "Ma Iceberg's room has a bed hard as rock." "And hubby's picture," "I feel like spitting at it." "You look like a monkey when you eat." "I should have played a diamond." "People your age are such gluttons." "And ugly." "I hope I die at 30. lets say 40." "Play your ace, dummy." "Pity." "You counted my run?" "Screw you." "You're a good girl." "The monkey and I are pals." "Why am I so soft on old people?" "Watch it!" "Ma Misery!" "I pass." "Never mind." "All trumps." "You left these behind." "I wondered why you seem to smell." "Everything you look at." "I'm going to change." "No details of her visit to my mother." "Who cares?" "Mom can rat on me." "Not to worry." "Here, dry the salad." "I don't know how." "Have you always had that player piano?" "My poor husband brought it from Italy on foot, If you please." "On foot?" "That piano was his living." "Why do you care?" "I thought I'd seen one like it!" "In Arrame, where I grew up..." "That's far away." "He never got that far." "The last time it left here, you weren't even born." "Her stare frightens me." "It's as if she knew everything." "What's the matter?" "Nothing." "I'm OK..." "You're bleeding." "It's nothing." "Damn it." "A dizzy spell." "It's going away." "Don't tell anyone." "You swear?" "Yes" "Who did that to you?" "Who did that to you?" "Your Aunt with the cheese grater." "Why did you do that to her?" "Why?" "What is he saying?" "That's not true!" "Tell him the truth." "Slut!" "Don't call her a slut." "Take it easy." "Butt out OK?" "No it's not OK" "What's wrong?" "Can I say something?" "I was only joking." "Can you see your Aunt coming at me with a grater?" "What did she say?" "Nothing..." "Aren't you ashamed?" "That poor old thing chasing me with a grater?" "There!" "never fails!" "I felt sick this afternoon." "I fell." "Sick how?" "What do you mean?" "Where?" "In the barn." "Bou-Bou helped me up." "That happen often?" "Never." "You spend all day reading cruddy magazines, no wonder you're sick." "That's not why I'm sick." "I let two weeks go by." "It seemed like a century." "I was nice to everyone." "I know how." "Can't you rest a little?" "You're treated like a servant." "While Pin-Pon works, I play solitaire, change clothes." "Reglue my false nails, polish them... or think about the other jerk." "I suddenly stop, and come out of my trance an hour later." "My darling won again." "Again!" "When I come to an hour later," "I have to get out of the house." "Sundays, Mickey competes in bike races." "Each week he says.." "I'll win, damn it!" "When he gets back.." "I lost, damn it." "You don't say?" "It's your fault." "You handle my equipment." "In the sprints.." "Sure, I didn't shine." "My lousy bike weighs a ton." "I finish ahead of it." "Where's Mom?" "Outside." "Now listen to me." "Your bike doesn't drink and smoke." "Three butts." "And your bike doesn't screw every night." "You can't win like that.." "Rummy!" "Is this the largest?" "Read the label." "I can't read." "97.50 Francs." "You sure can count." "That and my ass-- all God gave me!" "What are you knitting?" "What do you think?" "Stop." "How do you know?" "I went to the doctor today." "He said it's too early, but I know." "You can believe her on this." "She's trapped you now." "Poor guy." "Be quiet." "Nobody's trapped anyone." "That's life." "I'm sick of all this gossip, too." "It's my fault." "I'll fix things." "End of episode." "Soon I'll sign my name" "Eliane Montecciari." "Come see." "I have work for you." "Henry IV's wife gave it to me." "It's hers." "I prayed in church for it." "It's beautiful." "It must have cost a lot." "Make it so tight I can't breathe, with lace and frills, like Marilyn Monroe." "The Montecciari boy has a kind face." "Tighter." "He's very serious." "A hard worker." "Good-looking, too." "Yeah." "Wops aren't bad.." "What was yours like?" "What do you mean?" "Tall..." "Dark..." "Black moustache." "What else?" "Tell me." "But I've already told you everything a hundred times..." "When you bombarded me with questions." "It was in November 1955..." "A Saturday." "They came around noon." "There were three of them." "One was Italian." "There was a fork in the road near Arrame" "Some drivers went wrong." "Otherwise, nobody came our way." "We took the wrong road." "Is Arrame far?" "Go back to the fork and follow the river." "That's a nice rabbit.." "It's quiet here.." "Well, so long." "Thanks." "I was alone in the house," "Gabriel was visiting his sister." "She refused to know me." "I was shy, worse than now." "But not really afraid." "I used up my fear at the end of the war." "But I sensed trouble all that day.." "Somehow I knew they'd be back." "When they came, I thought," ""It can't be true, No"." "But I knew it was true." "It was my fate." "If you scream," "I'll break your nose, and all of your teeth." "Go on, drink!" "Here's your laundry." "Carrots or squash with the pork?" "My sister's a fool" "A good woman, but still a fool." "She knows I'm deaf, but she keeps shouting." "The girl talks softly, slowly, and I understand." "What was your sister's husband like?" "Poor Lello?" "Weak." "Weak, but good-hearted." "A real Italian." "She gets along with Mickey and especially Bou-Bou." "The sweater Bou-Bou wore last Sunday..." "I'm sure she gave it to him without telling the others." "I notice these things." "I'll win, damn it!" "Only my sister dislikes her." "Thinks she's tricky and sassy." "That girl is two-faced." "Sassy." "The truth is, she's unhappy." "She hasn't had much of a life." "But that's easier to hide than her behind." "You were stuck-up at 18." "Know what she calls you?" "Yes, I know," "Tin Ear." "She told me." "Did she ask who delivered the piano after Lello pawned it?" "I can't hear." "Did she ask who brought the piano back after Lello pawned it?" "I can't hear." "I know who delivered it," "Leballech and his brother in law." "You weren't here that night." "Old Massigne had been run over by his tractor." "You went to his wake." "Leballech and his mother in law." "That was..." "Let's see... in '55 or '56." "No. '55..." "November." "They drank and joked the way men do." "here in the kitchen." "Florimond was a little boy." "Always underfoot." "I knew Leballech by sight." "He drove a truck for the company Mickey works for now." "I'd never seen the other one." "He said he was married to Leballech's sister." "I was worried because it was midnight and Florimond wasn't in bed." "It's funny." "I remember 20 years ago, but I'm losing my pre-war memories of my husband." "The summer we rented a house at the seashore..." "The garden was abloom with Oleander." "We played records." "My favourite was "A Barge Went By"." "As we drift downstream life is like a dream..." "I've forgotten the singer's name." "I know, it was Lys Gauty." "But the record company..." "There was a dog on the label." "It's on the tip of my tongue." "God!" "I've forgotten the name." "His Master's Voice." "The pooch is His Master's Voice." "Everyone knows that..." "You're going Ga-Ga, old girl." "And you're mean." "Yes, very mean." "I love you best of all." "But you're losing your memory." "Going Ga-Ga." "Don't let them see that your memory's going." "Ask me." "I'm not mean." "I'm going Ga-Ga, too." "Understand?" "That afternoon she took the bus to get her Birth Certificate." "She came back a changed person." "She'd cried away her mascara." "She was sad." "Worse than that..." "You got the certificate?" "May I see it?" "What's it to you, old fool?" "Coming to swim?" "Be nice." "Let me see." "She was born on July 10, 1956." "She'll be 20 in a few days." "Her full name is Eliane Manuela Hertha Wieck." "Her mother is Paula Manuela Wieck." "NATURALIZED CITIZEN" "FATHER UNKNOWN" "You use your Mom's name?" "Bother you?" "No, but tell me why." "No." "Don't go." "I'm on your side." "I waited three days until we were alone again." "Waiting is even more maddening when you're old." "I want to talk to you." "She was going to see her old teacher, Miss Dieu." "She had to catch the bus." "She said, "Leave my hair alone it took forever to fix it"." "I won't muss it." "OK, so you won't." "What do you want to say?" "You asked who delivered the player piano... in November '55, eight months before you were born." "I'm not as dumb as you think." "I've thought about it." "Go ahead." "Ask me." "Ask what?" "Who brought that god damn piano?" "I don't care." "You asked my sister." "She wasn't there." "But I was." "Only I can tell you." "Never mind." "I just want to marry Pin-Pon." "That's all." "Dumbell!" "Eliane!" "I know you're there." "His name is Leballech." "He was with his brother-in-law." "You hear me?" "Leballech." "He drove a truck for Ferraldo." "Like Mickey." "Tell Pin-Pon not to worry." "I'm having dinner with my teacher." "I'll tell him." "Anyone want to get slugged?" "Let's see Leballech left us..." "He bought a sawmill... on the Coustelet road." "and his in-law?" "His name's Touret." "He's a realtor in Carpentras." "Your father sent you?" "He can't walk." "He knew them?" "It's funny." "My future Mother-in-law's family knows him, too." "He once delivered their player piano." "Remember?" "November, 1955..." "Here it is." "Saturday, November 19, 1955." "Leballech." ""Lumber for Bonnet..." "Fence railings for Poncett..." "Player piano for Montecciani"" "Now look down here." ""Truck out all night." "Leballech Warned"." "Every car in Carpentras got in my way." "I had a hellish headache." "May I help you?" "Mr. Touret?" "He's out with a client." "He won't be long." "Can I help?" "I'm a teacher, just transferred here." "I need a small furnished place... cheap." "I have just the thing." "Hubac street, 4th floor." "Ah, Mr. Touret." "This lady needs a one-room..." "Fine, Suzy." "Miss..." "I want to see this guy dead." "Just what I want..." "But the rent is a bit steep for me." "My sob story in a movie." "They'd run out of Kleenex." "I'm sorry." "I'll have to think it over." "I'll let you know." "Very well." "Phone me when you're decided." "That way, we'll meet again, right?" "Mr. Laballech." "Please." "He's in his office." "Thank you." "Go on..." "Split your sides while you can." "Miss?" "Mr. Leballech?" "Excuse me." "I may rent a place from Mr. Touret." "I'm a teacher." "Go on..." "How much would a bookcase cost?" "Some shelves for my books..." "I'm not a carpenter." "I can supply the wood, that's all." "But I know someone." "Say I sent you and they won't rob you." "I'm not sure I'll take the place." "The rent's a bit high." "Know how much a teacher makes?" "Even less." "My Brother-in-law owns it." "You can bargain." "I know where that leads." "I'm no dummy." "He undresses you with his eyes." "Does this bother you?" "The less I hear from him, the better." "I'll see you out." "Thanks, anyway." "How old are you?" "20." "My name is Jeanne." "and you're a teacher?" "Come do my shelves." "You'll find out." "Be seeing you." "I hope." "Now I'll turn." "If he's still looking, he's had it." "Sure as I'm alive, I'll send him to Hell." "I had to keep my teacher waiting for ages." "Hey, Calamity!" "I swear she belongs in a bird cage." "Aren't we all dolled up?" "I waited so long, people took me for a hooker." "Did you dress up for me?" "Look at you." "Just look at you." "Come on, I'm hungry..." "How much do you make?" "Enough to buy a birthday dinner." "It's not that." "Do I look like a teacher?" "No." "Not anything like it." "Do you remember when I took some tests in Nice?" "and a lousy counselor at the desk wrote that I was cold, asocial, and perverse." "You believe that?" "You know I don't." "I wrote" "I'm not cold, and you did worse than she did on my birth certificate last week." "You wrote, "Father Unknown"" "It's easy for a teacher, who's also Mayor, to put down my father as Gabriel Devigne, No?" "No." "For me!" "You know what you are?" "A Jerk." "Yes." "Calm down." "Take your napkin." "I never smoke... except to bug people." "Anyway, It's pretty..." "There's a card in the box." "No, don't read it." ""So I can set you on fire"." "It's dumb as hell of course, but it still gets to me." "I'll kiss you better in the car later on..." "I love it when she blushes." "What are you thinking of?" "You." "What about me?" "Your bra shows through your blouse... at your place, you wouldn't have worn it." "Really now." "Give me a birthday treat." "Go take it off." "You're crazy, all these people..." "Pretty please?" "I'm warning you, I'll do it." "Ah!" "I damn well did it." "Next time, you'll have to show me your ass." "I always knew what I owe someone, more or less." "Then I'm even." "She kisses good, however." "It's unbelievable." "You angry?" "I called Miss Dieu around 7:00." "She wasn't there." "She took me out on my birthday, for eats." "She gave me a lighter." "She did all right by you." "This yours?" "It's my father's gun." "You a good hunter?" "I'm not in his class." "Would you use it, if someone tried to hurt me?" "What do you mean, "Hurt you"?" "I don't know" "You don't hear him much up there." "Maybe he sleeps all day." "Maybe he doesn't nag at me because I'm 20." "Who knows?" "Mom." "I want to ask you something." "But don't be upset." "Do I usually get upset?" "What was he like when you met in Germany?" "He was lost, hungry, like everyone else." "He ran away on the road." "What do you want me to say?" "I don't know." "What was he like?" "You could see he was French." "Looked as if he was being punished for something he didn't do." "Lower it, so the best man can take it off." "Mickey will like that." "Then what happened?" "When?" "November, '55." "When he came back and found you on the ground." "What did he do?" "I knew you were leading up to that." "I'll break up this place, windows, dishes..." "The works." "I've told you 100 times." "This will make 101." "Why didn't he run for the cops?" "I wouldn't let him." "You're sure you never saw any of them before?" "No." "They weren't from around here." "Don't do anything." "Don't tell anyone." "I'm a foreigner, they'll all laugh at you." "I'll find them!" "I'll kill them myself." "I knew he wouldn't do that either." "He was scared of everything, and stingy too." "He wasn't stingy to me." "With you it was different." "The hell with this dress!" "You didn't love him, so he didn't give a damn." "You got laid on Saturdays behind his back with a bunch of sons of bitches and shits!" "I never looked at another man." "Ask him, if you don't believe me." "But you're right, I didn't love him enough to give up everything for him." "We'll find a midwife." "I'll ask my sister." "No." "I agree with the doctor." "Whoever the father is, the baby is mine." "If you want, I'll go back home." "Listen, even the one who did it doesn't know he's the father." "To us, it's as if he were dead." "Dead?" "You think I'd talk this way if he were dead?" "All three are alive and still laughing over it." "Sure, I have nothing to say," "I'm just here to pick up their shit!" "Do what you want, but I'll never call the kid mine." "Why should I?" "You shouldn't have had me." "I didn't ask to be born, and he'd be still walking." "Aren't you overdressed?" "You want me in armour like Joan of Arc?" "Then it passed as usual.." "But my head hurts." "Climb up on my back.." "I'll catch some trout for tonight." "What does Cognata say?" "Those were the days." "I won't believe it's all over," "I want things still to be like that." "We'll make you some pretty glasses, OK?" "They're great glasses." "Eliane..." "Wieck" "Devigne." "Eliane Devigne." "It's a fake name for the Health Insurance" "I'll explain to you..." "The thing is, its the war." "Because Mama is German makes no difference to us." "What's the matter?" "Understand?" "The Montecciaris" "The Leballechs" "The Tourets" "When I've finished with them," "I'll tell my Daddy, all three of them are dead now." "I musn't stay here." "Have to move." "Practical, these shoes," "I swear." "Shit!" "He was always my Daddy." "He never harmed me." "I saw evil everywhere." "Careful!" "You can lose a hand that way." "That was a big one." "Come down now." "That's enough." "You're becoming a beauty." "I'll eat you up." "What's got into you?" "Goddamn it!" "Listen!" "He thought of me as his kid," "He never said I did it." "He said he fell pruning a tree." "The doctor didn't believe him, but he stuck to his story." "I spotted you, took me a while to catch up." "I'm racing tomorrow." "time I finish, they'll all be in bed," "unless I use a motor." "A lot of mileage today?" "I'll tell my brothers 60." "The truth is I did 30, and had 3 beers." "What the hell?" "That's how it is." "Got a cigarette?" "Pin-Pon says I'm dumb as a tooth glass." "You're all alike in the family." "A crystal tooth glass?" "What are you thinking?" "There's a race I can win." "I feel it." "Where?" "Carpentras, the end of July.." "The week after your wedding." "In Carpentras?" "18 times around the city." "A bonus each lap." "What's the prize?" "My name on a hunk of tin, and a bike Pin-Pon can hock." "I hope you win." "We'll sit around like flowerpots all our lives." "I start thinking of Pin-Pon, Bou-Bou, and suddenly I'm down in the dumps." "Sunsets are depressing." "Yes." "Look what's coming!" "Go, Italy, go!" "Long Live Liberty!" "Long Live Liberty!" "Where's the best man?" "Can you believe it?" "I heard it was unmanly to kiss a brother." "It's a wonderful day." "The Sun, the music, the laughs at Henry IV's clowning, our own wine..." "It was all fine." "At one point I began laughing at myself." "I thought," "It's my wedding." "I'm married." "I had a feeling things weren't quite real, that it wasn't really the farmyard" "I'd always known." "I'll get you a refill." "It was just after that, that I looked for her... and no one knew where she was." "Have you seen Eliane?" "She was in the house just now." "Yep." "I've already lost my wife." "Eliane." "Mickey." "No!" "Stay out." "Mickey's behind every door." "Losing his next race on a girl." "Have you seen your daughter?" "Wasn't she with you?" "Is something wrong?" "Want Eliane?" "You've seen her?" "I disliked the schoolteacher at first sight." "Makes no difference why now." "Her stupidity and mine were the cause of what happened." "Hey, Oh, oh, oh." "I this a wedding or a funeral?" "Drink up." "Your bachelor days are gone." "Where's the bride?" "She's resting." "Later, I danced and pretended to have fun." "She wasn't back by 7:00." "Mickey and I went looking for her." "Seen Eliane?" "Last time was when the two of you came out of church." "You made a fine couple." "Let's go to her mother's." "Her mother's at our place." "They'd found a local nurse for old Devigne, Miss Tusseau." "I'm not to blame." "Ok. ok. what happened?" "She wanted to see her father." "He didn't want to see her." "He shouted from upstairs." "She went tearing up anyway." "Let go of me!" "Don't look at me!" "Please..." "I did nothing wrong." "I meant no harm." "Let go of me, you old tramp!" "They stayed like that for ages." "Go away." "Go fetch your mother." "I want your mother." "You'll see..." "Soon it will be the two of us like before." "I know it." "You know women." "They exaggerate everything." "Sure." "The old geyser's nuts." "Day after day alone in that room." "Sure." "Once she shacked up with you, he swore he'd never see her again." "Look at his side." "Sure." "Is that all you're gonna say?" "You going to win or lose that next race?" "She's hiding like a runaway kid." "She puts on a big act, but she's a kid." "Let's see if she's back." "Don't be angry." "I swear it's not her fault." "It isn't.." "My throat was dry, like when as a kid," "I'd try to fight off tears." "Let's eat anyway." "I wanted to return when you were alone." "I thought the company had all gone." "Now we'll call you ..." "Desiree." "Go fuck yourselves." "What'd you say to her?" "That I itch for my wedding night." "Everything else is crap!" "She was too free, too wild." "The more questions I asked, the more I annoyed her." "I was dumb Pin-Pon... a husband." "You going to play?" "In a way, I was right." "We got married July 17." "I lost her July 26." "Our marriage lasted nine days, including the ceremony." "But I got all the rest wrong." "First, that Wednesday," "I got home, and she was gone." "She didn't say where?" "No." "You didn't ask her?" "What'd she say?" "Give her some rein." "She's probably sunbathing." "No." "She had her red dress on, and her little bag." "Don't you know?" "Scared someone will steal your plate?" "You'll choke someday." "Going back to work?" "Put those two up there with the others." "What'll people say?" "Whatever they want." "You're not a teacher, are you?" "No." "What do you do?" "Nothing." "Why did you pick this town?" "No particular reason." "I like it here." "This time, the ape made his move." "I could feel his filthy tongue." "What kept me from puking, was knowing I'd kill both of them." "But the bastard didn't care about my moods." "Not here." "You going to rent that apartment?" "I forgot all about it." "If you want, I'll rent it." "No, don't." "Take it anyway." "I'll stop by the agency." "See you tonight." "I can't tonight.." "When?" "I have things to do in Nice." "I'll phone as soon as I'm back." "Be a sport." "I'm dying to do it, too." "Call me a cab." "Then I picked up the keys and went shopping for tarty clothes." "Come in, quick!" "I don't get it." "What's this place for?" "You mustn't be seen here." "It'd be fatal." "You asked me to come!" "Not so loud." "Listen, Calamity." "Some things I can only tell you." "Not even my mother or Pin-Pon." "Swear you won't tell a soul." "Swear!" "I swear, but" "Listen to me." "Last Summer, before we married," "I'd go up in the hills to sunbathe." "Once when I was alone, two guys..." "Grabbed me." "I was too scared to press charges." "Two days later, I saw them near my house." "Made me more scared." "So I went into the woods with them." "Voluntarily?" "You know what those bastards said to me?" "That they'd break my nose and all my teeth." "They'd tear out my mother's hair and make her eat it," "Once I got married," "I hoped they'd leave me in peace." "They showed up in town on my wedding day." "They forced me to..." "See why they got me this place?" "To bring home men." "to be a whore!" "She cried so hard," "I thought we'd both drown." "If anything happens... show this to Pin-Pon." "It's their names and addresses." "The keys will be in the mailbox." "No!" "Not you." "Only Pin-Pon must know." "Just remember that." "If you ever have to tell him, say that what upset me most was that they forced me to do on my wedding day." "Don't let it get you down." "What do you mean?" "Don't shout at me." "Ask her why she stopped knitting." "Ask her!" "Hit me, and you'll never see me again." "Where were you?" "I don't care if you hit me." "I lost a heel." "I went to town to the stores." "I missed the last bus, or I'd have been home long ago." "You didn't buy anything?" "What do I need?" "Just wanted to look around." "It's so cool here with your aunt and your mother." "Everyone can see right up you." "Let's go home." "I'm sick of this dress, too..." "I'll never wear it again." "Eat or I'll think you don't like my cooking." "You guessed it." "I prefer my mom's." "You're pregnant." "You should eat." "You haven't been knitting much." "Cat got your tongue?" "I've put on five pounds here, all on my ass, and I get hell for not eating." "What really bugged me was that she took me for what I was" " an asshole." "Here." "Your mom can use it as a shoe rag." "The baby..." "You made that up." "I'm talking to you." "Yes..." "You are." "Admit it you made it up." "I think I just told her to answer me, or said she was a bitch and needn't have lied so we'd get married." "Come on..." "It's all over." "Calm down." "You were the gentlest of my sons." "What happened to you?" "You hit all over, even her breasts!" "He lost control.." "That night I was called away to a forest fire." "There was one a week that Summer." "But this time," "I was glad to get out of the house." "I got back two days later after lunch." "I'll never be in your league." "Careful, it hurts." "How'd it go?" "It's still burning for kilometers." "We saw it on TV." "Wow!" "I'll shower and get some rest." "It's not the baby," "we can have one later on." "But I can't stand lies." "I sense you're hiding things from me." "It drives me crazy." "If I am, it's not what you think." "I love you." "You can fight fires every night." "I'll never cheat on you." "It's true." "Then what are you hiding?" "If I tell anyone, it will be you." "I swear." "Third Lap." "in the lead..." "Arabedian, Majorque," "Tarrazzi, Montecciari." "The sprint bonus is coming up." "From the sixth lap on," "Mickey won every sprint." "He bolted out from behind" "Tarrazzi, the leader, and overtook him in the last few yards." "Today we'll win!" "Then Mickey dropped behind on a hill." "I lost her in all the commotion." "Move over." "It's time we talked.." "What are you up to?" "Me?" "I ran into my old boss Ferraldo." "So what?" "You're Devigne's daughter from Arrame." "Last week you married a Montecciari." "It's my right." "That's not the point!" "The day that lousy piano reached your folks' place," "My brother-in-law and I weren't there..." "You didn't take that piano back to the Montecciari's?" "Yes." "I don't understand." "No!" "You'll hear me out." "It won't take long." "November, 1955 was when" "I bought my sawmill." "That day, I had to go sign the papers," "I didn't tell my boss." "Two pals drove the truck that day." "they were due back at dusk, but they didn't come till 11 PM." "Know what time it is," "You creeps?" "We got stuck on the hill... that was Panier." "He became a trucker in Avignon." "The other, Fiero, was Italian." "He ran a bar." "I lost track of him." "I only knew him by sight, a small-time hood, Rostollan..." "Beat it," "God damn it!" "Go!" "Creeps." "They didn't deliver the piano." "We'll do it." "Take us half an hour." "That's what we did." "You don't believe me?" "So I'm not a teacher, you think I'm a nitwit." "Why would I tell you this?" "How come you know the truck went to our house?" "It had nothing to deliver." "Because I've been through all this crap before!" "10 years ago, your father followed the same trail." "I told him the same things." "Who?" "Your father." "Gabriel Devigne..." "Le Garde." "Ask him." "I don't believe you, you bastard!" "I looked for her a long time." "When I finally saw her, she was like a sleepwalker." "that was my first thought." "Eliane!" "Eliane!" "What happened?" "Easy now." "Don't move." "I was afraid to talk." "She was so distant." "I didn't hear the winner's name." "Montecciari." "Leave me alone." "It's sunstroke, or something she ate." "Now what is it?" "Paula, come up here!" "Shut up, you" "We can't even talk." "Come on, let's go." "Eliane..." "Talk to me." "Please talk to me." "Your brother's right." "Leave her here tonight." "Anyway, that's about how it happened." "But does anyone really know?" "We each only see part of it." "You OK?" "Yes" "I'll be back by noon." "Drink your chocolate." "I don't want it.." "They're awful." "I never see you biting them." "I'm not that dumb." "Go do your housework." "Don't come up!" "I won't open!" "Please let me in!" "No." "I must talk to you." "You in pain?" "Let me in." "What for?" "Do you really know Leballech?" "Leballech?" "You won't get it open!" "Go away!" "Stop that." "He's not to blame." "Stop that." "Then it's true?" "You saw him?" "I'll go get an axe!" "Eliane!" "Yes.." "Yes, I saw Leballech." "Touret, too." "When?" "You were 9.." "when I tracked down the piano." "They lied to you too." "No." "I'd had dealings with Leballech before your mother was raped." "She'd have recognized him." "What do you want to find out?" "Which one of those pigs was your father?" "You're my father." "You're my father." "Why did you say that?" "You knew where they were.." "and who they were." "Why didn't you tell?" "Why?" "So I'd be guillotined?" "Eliane.." "Come closer." "Eliane..." "You remember Saturdays when I'd go visit my sister?" "That's not where I really went." "I'll be back on the 7:00 bus." "Fiero was in July in Marseilles." "Sorry we're closed..." "Just one brandy." "No, no it's too Late." "Oh, well." "Pamier, three weeks later in Avignon." "Anyone there?" "Rostollan, September in Marseilles." "You're my fare?" "Strange place you got me to come to." "Where we going?" "You can tell the police now." "I don't care." "I'm all washed up." "I did it for you." "I'd have done anything for you." "Elaine." "Yes." "In the storeroom, in the lining of my jacket.." "Go look." "Yes." "Go on." "I always thought once they were all dead, things would be like before." "but they've been long dead... and yet everything snapped." "I hear you were sick yesterday." "Better now?" "Won't you come in?" "Where you going?" "What was I doing just then?" "and this morning?" "and yesterday?" "Must be another bad dream." "I know when I'm me." "Like now." "I'm not crazy." "Pin-Pon's lost his wife again." "You haven't seen her?" "No." "Did she take the bus?" "No." ""No"" "You having fun?" "Nobody is Pin-Pon." "Don't call me that." "Is it because you had her first?" "Hey, who did the stealing?" "You crazy?" "You gone nuts?" "Stop it!" "Stop him!" "He's broken two teeth." "Call the police." "He's out of his mind!" "Pin-Pon." "They've found her." "She's in hospital." "Her teacher's on the line." "He broke two of George Massigne's teeth!" "Maybe he'll shut up now." "I can't say it over the phone." "I must see you." "You don't know what those criminals did to her." "Who?" "Explain!" "You can't see her 'till tomorrow." "She's sedated." "What's wrong with her?" "She doesn't know who she is." "She says she's called Eliane Devigne, lives in Arrame, and is 9 years old." "I'll be right there.." "Change first." "What for?" "I'll take the car." "I'll go now." "What are you going to do now?" "A visitor for you, Eliane." "He knows you." "He knows your father." "He's brought you some lovely flowers." "Thank you, Sir" "Eliane." "Is there anything I can bring you?" "I'd like my silver heart ..." "My glasses..." "What?" "He's a good friend." "He'll bring your father in his car very soon." "Oh, Yes." "I'd love that." "Oh, Yes." "That'd be something..." "You must leave now." "Good-bye, Eliane." "I warned you." "Control yourself." "She won't be like that forever." "It's not possible." "She's only twenty." "That's her best asset." "I must explain." "Your wife has been mentally disturbed for years." "A neurosis, built layer upon layer." "This neurosis... because of unbearable emotional strains..."