crossword puzzle. Behind her is a picture-postcard beach. Sophie crosses the street and turns to look at the poster from a distance. The better to think.
“Affirmative,” the soldier had said. “Not really my thing, I have to say. Never been much of a traveller, but, yeah, we’ve got lots of opportunities like that. I’ve got a mate, a
sergent-chef
likeme, he’s being posted to Madagascar. In his case it kind of makes sense, his wife lives there. In general, though, there aren’t many lads who are keen to leave France! Not as many as you might think . . .”
Not as many as you might think.
*
She thinks about this all the way home. Before she reaches her door she stops at a telephone booth, delves into her bag.
“Look,” the soldier had said shyly. “This might sound bad, I mean, the thing is, I don’t really know how to go about this . . . I can’t really ask you for your number, so I’m going to give you mine. It’s my private number. I mean, you never know . . .”
By the end of their date, the soldier had lost much of the superciliousness he had had when he arrived. He no longer looked like a conquering hero.
“I know I’m not really your type . . . You need someone who’s, well, more intellectual.”
He had smiled awkwardly.
*
“Hello?”
“Hi,” Sophie said. “It’s Marianne Leblanc, I’m not disturbing you am I?”
*
In fact, the soldier is not as short as he at first seemed. He is half a head taller than Sophie, but everything about him is marked with a crippling shyness that makes him seem smaller. When Sophie walks into the café, he gets clumsily to his feet. She sees him now in a new light, but new or old, there is only one thing to be said about him: he is ugly. “Well, plain,” she tries to reassure herself only for a little voice to whisper: “No. Ugly.”
“Whatwould you like to drink?”
“I don’t know – a coffee? What about you?”
“Same. A coffee.”
They spend a while like this, smiling uncomfortably at each other.
“I’m really glad you called. Do you always tremble like that?”
“I’m just nervous.”
“I suppose that’s normal. I am too, well, I don’t want to talk about me . . . It’s really hard to know what to say, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps we’ve got nothing to say to each other.”
She regrets this immediately.
“I’m so sorry.”
“That’s a negative! I . . .”
“Please, I’m begging you, don’t say ‘negative’ and ‘affirmative’ all the time, it’s really irritating.”
She has been brutal.
“It’s just, I feel like I’m talking to a computer,” she says by way of apology.
“You’re right. Force of habit. It comes with the job. I suppose in your job you must pick up strange habits, no?”
“I work as a cleaner, so my habits are much the same as anyone else’s. Well, anyone who does their own cleaning, that is.”
“It’s weird, I didn’t mention it last time, but I’d never guess you were a cleaner. You seem really educated.”
“Well, yes . . . I did study, but that kind of thing doesn’t appeal to me anymore. Let’s talk about it some other time, if you don’t mind?”
“No, no, I don’t mind. Nothing much bothers me, I’m pretty easy-going.”
And this declaration, uttered with disarming sincerity, makesSophie think that there is nothing more annoying in life than people who are easy-going.
“Right,” Sophie says, “let’s start again from square one, shall we?”
“I’m not sure we ever got past square one!”
He is not as dumb as he seems.
Why not
? Sophie hears a small voice in her head. But first, she needs to know; right now, the fact that he could be posted abroad is his one attractive quality. This is what she needs to confirm.
*
Sophie decided they should meet in the late afternoon. They have been here for an hour. The soldier weighs his every syllable so as not to say anything that might scupper the flimsy raft on which he is afloat.
“Why don’t we get something
“Affirmative,” the soldier had said. “Not really my thing, I have to say. Never been much of a traveller, but, yeah, we’ve got lots of opportunities like that. I’ve got a mate, a
sergent-chef
likeme, he’s being posted to Madagascar. In his case it kind of makes sense, his wife lives there. In general, though, there aren’t many lads who are keen to leave France! Not as many as you might think . . .”
Not as many as you might think.
*
She thinks about this all the way home. Before she reaches her door she stops at a telephone booth, delves into her bag.
“Look,” the soldier had said shyly. “This might sound bad, I mean, the thing is, I don’t really know how to go about this . . . I can’t really ask you for your number, so I’m going to give you mine. It’s my private number. I mean, you never know . . .”
By the end of their date, the soldier had lost much of the superciliousness he had had when he arrived. He no longer looked like a conquering hero.
“I know I’m not really your type . . . You need someone who’s, well, more intellectual.”
He had smiled awkwardly.
*
“Hello?”
“Hi,” Sophie said. “It’s Marianne Leblanc, I’m not disturbing you am I?”
*
In fact, the soldier is not as short as he at first seemed. He is half a head taller than Sophie, but everything about him is marked with a crippling shyness that makes him seem smaller. When Sophie walks into the café, he gets clumsily to his feet. She sees him now in a new light, but new or old, there is only one thing to be said about him: he is ugly. “Well, plain,” she tries to reassure herself only for a little voice to whisper: “No. Ugly.”
“Whatwould you like to drink?”
“I don’t know – a coffee? What about you?”
“Same. A coffee.”
They spend a while like this, smiling uncomfortably at each other.
“I’m really glad you called. Do you always tremble like that?”
“I’m just nervous.”
“I suppose that’s normal. I am too, well, I don’t want to talk about me . . . It’s really hard to know what to say, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps we’ve got nothing to say to each other.”
She regrets this immediately.
“I’m so sorry.”
“That’s a negative! I . . .”
“Please, I’m begging you, don’t say ‘negative’ and ‘affirmative’ all the time, it’s really irritating.”
She has been brutal.
“It’s just, I feel like I’m talking to a computer,” she says by way of apology.
“You’re right. Force of habit. It comes with the job. I suppose in your job you must pick up strange habits, no?”
“I work as a cleaner, so my habits are much the same as anyone else’s. Well, anyone who does their own cleaning, that is.”
“It’s weird, I didn’t mention it last time, but I’d never guess you were a cleaner. You seem really educated.”
“Well, yes . . . I did study, but that kind of thing doesn’t appeal to me anymore. Let’s talk about it some other time, if you don’t mind?”
“No, no, I don’t mind. Nothing much bothers me, I’m pretty easy-going.”
And this declaration, uttered with disarming sincerity, makesSophie think that there is nothing more annoying in life than people who are easy-going.
“Right,” Sophie says, “let’s start again from square one, shall we?”
“I’m not sure we ever got past square one!”
He is not as dumb as he seems.
Why not
? Sophie hears a small voice in her head. But first, she needs to know; right now, the fact that he could be posted abroad is his one attractive quality. This is what she needs to confirm.
*
Sophie decided they should meet in the late afternoon. They have been here for an hour. The soldier weighs his every syllable so as not to say anything that might scupper the flimsy raft on which he is afloat.
“Why don’t we get something
Similar Books
