For Sure (42 page)

“Dis 'ere looks someting like a potato, only it's not is it. Dis 'ere's called a
topinambour.
”

Étienne could not restrain a smile.

“
Topinambour
. A right funny word, eh? Dey's awful good to eat raw. I'm tinkin' we should buy some all of youse can taste 'em.”

Étienne nodded vigourously. Then, suddenly Terry cried out:

“Hey! Dat lady over der's wanderin' off wid our cart! Run an' fetch it!”

Étienne did as he was told, explaining to the woman. Terry liked to see his son wasn't timid with strangers.

For golf, a five, seven, and nine iron, a five wood, a wedge, a light bag and balls, since it seems that's all the equipment a beginner requires.

Carmen felt that there had to be limits, and Josse agreed with her.

“If Pierre an' Antoine 'ave a mind to get married, I got no problem wid dat. Only are we gonna be havin' a ceremony every time somebody's wantin' to make some ting or udder official.”

“Exactly!”

Terry tried to explain:

“'Twould only be fer dem dat live in de buildin'. I mean, 'tisn't like we don't know dem all.”

“Tell de truth, I can't say I know dem all dat well.”

Josse's support for Carmen was steadfast:

“An' you don't want to be mixin' up all dem families togedder. Next ting, you'll be havin' a raising bee?”

Terry gave it one last try:

“If it were Josse an' Bernie gettin' married, wot would you be sayin' den?”

Carmen and Josse looked at each other. This was not the time to retreat. Josse quickly shot back:

“Only we's not about to be married, you can take me word on dat!”

“Alright, alright, den. I was only sayin'. De tawt just crossed me mind is all.”

Étienne had liked the white and yellow colours of the word
roil
, meaning to disturb or stir up.

“Don't know if dis 'ere would count as one . . . only . . . when I finds a bit o' money on de ground, dat pleases me someting fierce. Even when 'tis nuttin' more dan a brown penny.”

“That's sweet, but, no, I wouldn't call it an obsession.”

“Even if der's times I set meself up? Like, say I's goin' out de door an' I tinks to meself, awh, I wouldn't mind findin' a bit o' money today . . . seems like it's been a long while since I did. An' believe it or don't, it works. One time I found me a dollar an' seventy-seven cents in loose change!”

“All in the same place?”

“Naw, but all in de same day.”

“Do you dream about it at night? Is it something that's always in your mind?”

Possible consequences of love, labial herpes, sometimes referred to as fever blister, bever blister, cold sore, coldslaw, or cankerblossom.

“Just as you say to somebody you pass in front of an' might be disturbin'.”

Terry maneuvered Carmen and Étienne so that they stood face to face.

“Alright den, talk . . .”

Étienne gazed uncomprehending at his mother. Carmen began the pretend conversation:

“Well, hallo der, Étienne! How you gettin' on, boy? Been a dog's age since I seen ya!”

Now Étienne understood they were playing a kind of game, but wondered if he should reply or not. Carmen continued:

“Are you still takin' those classes in . . .”

Suddenly Terry stepped between Carmen and Étienne to fetch a glass in the cupboard.

“See dat, how I got in between de two of you, an' it like disturbed yer conversation? Carmen was gettin' ready to ask you someting an' woops, I show up and bust it up. Well, when I do someting like dat, I ought to be apologizin'.”

Étienne seemed to understand.

“De best ting would 'ave been fer me to step 'round youse, so's not to break up yer conversation. Only when you got no choice but to go troo between two people, or even in front of just one person, de polite ting to do is to say ‘excuse me' afore you pass, like to give 'em a
look out
.”

Carmen glared at Terry, who'd used the English word. Terry corrected himself:

“. . . to let dem know in advance* dat yer 'bout to disturb dem.”

Basic tasks: fabric preparation (washing, ironing, cutting, masking the edges, checking the balance, marking the centre) and mounting on a suitable frame (check the straight grain).

In addition to being a world champion, the Scot Tommy Armour (1894–1968) became a renowned golf instructor. His book
How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time
sold 400,000 copies in its first printing — unsurpassed at the time — and is still considered one of the best golf instruction manuals. Perhaps it deserves to be inducted into
La Bibliothèque idéale.

It was decided that the collective ceremony would take place at the end of August.

“Lionel and I would like you to do it at our place in Shediac. The grounds are big, especially with the beach. And we could end the evening with a campfire.”

Zed liked the idea.

“Dat's awful nice of you, but it would mean a whole lot of folks trampin' around yer place, don't ya tink?”

“Not at all! We've done this sort of reception before, and it worked very nicely.”

Zed knew that by offering to host it, Lionel and Sylvia were intending to cover a large portion of the cost of the party.

“Honest to god, youse already done so much fer us . . . We could never repay you.”

Sylvia burst out laughing.

“Wot are you saying?! You're already repaying us!”

As she spoke, Sylvia raised her arms as though to encompass the whole neighbourhood.

polar bear bathing

tongue blackened with oil and soot

rotten film or pole

“Does we really have to start from scratch? Can't we just go out an' buy a kit?

A metal chinois, or China cap, is a fine strainer used in cooking. It is so called because its conical shape is reminiscent of the Asian hat popular in China's countryside. The name implies it could be made of a material other than metal.

“Étienne, say yer sorry.”

“Only I didn't do it on purpose.”

“Doesn't matter, you ought to be sayin' yer sorry just de same.”

Terry saw Étienne's expression of disbelief:

“Sometimes we don't do it on purpose, but just to be nice, we say we're sorry just de same.”

“Only I didn't do anythin' wrong . . .”

Marianne, who was conscious of her role in the affair, redoubled her crying. Terry could see she was laying it on, but he wanted to deal with Étienne first.

“You tink she's screechin' fer nuttin' den?”

Étienne could feel the noose tightening:

“Well, I only wanted 'er to move over on account of de blocks sometimes fallin'.”

“An' you didn't make dem fall wid yer foot?”

Even as she continued to cry, Marianne was banging on Étienne's shoe with a wood block.

“Maybe my foot did touch 'em, only 'twas Marianne was in de way.”

Marianne had stopped crying and was hammering Étienne's foot with increasing force, as though she'd found a new game to play. Terry called her back to order:

“Marianne, don't be doin' dat.”

Étienne pulled his foot out of the way. Marianne went back to crying. Terry put his book down and picked up the child.

“I'm tinkin' wee Marianne's all worn out, eh?
She's riding on her donkey, oh my little miss Marianne . . .”

The tune lightened the mood. Étienne had escaped having to say he was sorry.

Because the real is the Other.

Terry nodded his head up and down as he read the sheet of paper Carmen had given him, until he came up short:

“Wot's dis ting 'ere, de ‘spiritual presentation'? Are ya talkin' 'bout sometin' religious for our parents an' dem?”

“Well, not only for them, for us as well. Something beautiful, that makes a body tink.”

. . .

“Nothing complicated, mind you, just sometin' dat shows we love each udder an' dat we know what we're doin'.”

. . .

“You know how dey say in good times an' in bad, until death do us part. I'm thinkin' somethin' like that, only in our own words. We'd each be makin' our wee declaration.”

Terry took a moment to think about it, imagined himself singing “
Is it possible you only need appear
. . .” but he quickly realized something like that would draw far too much attention on him, and rejected the idea.

“Alright den, I'll tink o' someting.”

Although all words are fundamentally utilitarian, some are doubly so, and enter into the category of tools more easily than others. The French word
brelan
, which belongs in the lexicon of playing cards, is such a word. It is so much more economical than the expression “
trois du même
(three of a kind),” which also leaves some ambiguity about whether the three cards are of the same colour or same value. The
brelan
, on the other hand, specifically refers to three cards of the same value. In English, serious poker players will refer to “three of a kind” as “trips.”

Étienne could not understand why his dad was making such a fuss over this particular field of strawberries.

“On account of der a whole lot better fer yer healt' is why. Dey don't spray dese wid chemicals to kill de insects.”

“Why do dey want to kill de insects?”

“So dat dey don't eat de strawberries.”

Étienne imagined a tiny brown ant trying to eat its way through a big red strawberry, and figured it was ridiculous to want to kill the ant since, clearly, it could never manage it.

“All dose chemicals, dey're no good fer us. Imagine if Carmen was pourin' a capful o' Mister Clean into de whipped cream fer de strawberries.”

. . .

“You know, dat stuff we use to wash de toilet?”

“But, Dad! Mum would never do dat!”

“Course not, I know it. I only mean to say dat it's pretty much de same ting when dey spray dem chemicals on de strawberries. Wid dese 'ere, we'll be eatin pure strawberries, wid a whole pile of tick cream on dem. Mmmm. Feels good just tinkin' 'bout it.”

“Is it still far?”

“Not so far.”

Does this mean that the ego is not part of the real? Simplified answer: the ego is to the real what clothing is to the body: appearance, surface. The ego covers over, protects, conceals, and the language of the ego does the same.

Under a radiant sun, the strawberries literally dropped into their hands, while a warm gentle breeze blew softly over everything and even up into the short sleeves of their T-shirts.

“Dad, would you be dyin' if you swallowed a capful of Mister Clean?”

“Ha! Well, 'twouldn't be all dat good for me I suppose, but I don't tink I'd die from it.”

“How 'bout two capfuls den?”

“Not two capfuls neider, I wouldn't tink. Only, I'd have a terrible tummy ache for sure, an' most likely I'd be trowin' up.”

. . .

. . .

“An' a whole glass full?”

“A whole glass?! Well, dat's not likely to happen is it? Why would I be swallowin' dat, I'd like to know. Unless somebody was makin' me, wantin' to poison me or some such ting.”

. . .

“Why? You're not tinkin' of poisoning yer dad wid Mister Clean, I hope?”

Le Petit Étienne protested, laughing.

Language hides more than it reveals. Which is what makes confession difficult, and objectivity impossible.

Zed explained to Chico that he could say a few words during the adoption ceremony, if he felt like it:

“I meself'll most likely be sayin' someting like . . . tanks to me mudder an' me dad — even de one I never knowed — on account of I'm right glad to be alive after doin' dis ting 'ere today, an' I suppose I'd not be 'ere if it weren't fer dem.”

Chico was all ears and eyes.

“An' tanks to yer dad Shawn, puttin' 'is trust in me, an' to Granny Lauzia an' her man Médric, who I never knowed, an' to yer mudder, even doh I don't know her, on account of widout all of dem Chico wouldn't be 'ere neider, right?”

This last twist made Chico smile.

“Tanks to Lionel an' Sylvia an' me aunty Annette, an' all de folks who believed in me, an' Terry an' Carmen, me
role model
parents . . . don't know how to say
role model
in French . . .”

As a matter of fact, Chico had noticed that the French language was often a subject of conversation in his new environment.