Alex by Lemaitre Pierre

Author:Lemaitre, Pierre [Lemaitre, Pierre]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: MacLehose Press
Published: 2013-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

30

Her body starts to come back to life, tired and battered but intact. The infections have cleared up, most of the cuts have healed, the bruises are fading.

She’s been to see Mme Guénaude to explain things: “a family emergency”. She had carefully chosen make-up that said “I might be young, but I’ve got a sense of duty”.

“I don’t know … we’ll have to see …”

All this struck Mme Guénaude as a little sudden, but Mme Guénaude knows the value of money. She used to be a shopkeeper. And since Alex was offering to pay two months’ rent cash up front, she said she understood. She even said, “Obviously if I find another tenant before that, I’ll pay you back …”

You lying cow, Alex thought, but said simply, “That’s very kind,” and smiled gratefully, careful not to overdo it – after all, the reason for her sudden departure is supposed to be grave.

She paid the rent, left a fake forwarding address. If the worst comes to the worst and Mme Guénaude does write to her, she’s hardly going to put herself out when the letter and the cheque are returned unopened; after all, it would be to her advantage.

“About the inventory.”

“Don’t worry about that,” says the landlady, knowing she’s got a good deal. “I’m sure everything’s in order.”

Alex says she will leave the keys in the mailbox.

There’s no problem about the car; she pays for the parking space on the rue des Morillons by standing order so she doesn’t have to worry about it. It’s a six-year-old Renault Clio she bought second hand.

She brought up the cardboard boxes from the basement, twelve of them, dismantled the furniture that belongs to her: the pine table, the three bookcases, the bed. She doesn’t know why she’s bothering to hang on to all this stuff – apart from the bed, she loves her bed; it’s almost sacred. When it’s all disassembled, she looks at it doubtfully; a whole life takes up less room than you might think. At least hers does. Two cubic metres. Three according to the removal man. Alex just agreed with him – she knows what removal men are like. A white van. No point sending two guys; one will be enough. She also agrees to the price of storage, and the extra charge for next-day service. When Alex decides to leave, she wants to leave straight away. Her mother is always saying: “With you, everything always has to be done yesterday – it’s no wonder it never gets done properly.” Sometimes, when she’s on particularly good form, her mother adds, “Your brother, now that’s a different matter …” These days the areas where her brother outshines her are few and far between. But for Alex’s mother, there will always be enough; it’s a matter of principle.

Despite the pain and the tiredness, within a few hours Alex has finished packing. She has even managed to throw out a lot of things. She regularly empties her bookshelves of all but a handful of classics.

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