The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O'Neill

Author:Heather O'Neill
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781443436489
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2014-10-16T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 30

The Last Public Performance of the Tremblay Twins

I DECIDED TO GO ALONG AS A CHARACTER WITNESS for Nicolas on his court date. I put on a green dress with a fancy lace collar and brushed off all the cat hair from my long black coat. Saskia wouldn’t have a chance against us. She didn’t know how to be professionally adorable.

As we were walking to the courthouse, Nicolas and I even felt sort of cocky. We were going to be back on top of the world again. I felt happy that there was finally something that I was going to be able to do for Nicolas. It was going to be like old times. When we were together, no one could pick on us.

“You look great!” I said.

“So do you.”

“You look like one of those old-fashioned gentlemen from Les Filles de Caleb.”

“You look like you should be in Paris, seducing their president.”

Nicolas had a legal aid lawyer that he had spoken to on the phone. He met us outside the courtroom. He didn’t look as confident as we did, but I ignored that.

The judge wanted to know why Nicolas had no record of employment. Saskia’s lawyer pointed out that Nicolas didn’t even have a high school diploma. He brought up an arrest from the year before, for a petty theft that hadn’t seemed serious at the time.

Nicolas went up on the stand to defend himself. He was flustered and didn’t know what to say. He just kept shrugging and smiling, hoping that the judge would be converted to our belief that his life of petty crime was no big deal.

Nicolas suddenly seemed out of place. I saw him through everyone else’s eyes. He somehow looked more seedy in his suit than if he had just showed up in jeans and a sweater. He looked like a businessman who had just walked out of a strip club at three o’clock in the morning in a strange city and needed to find his way back to his hotel room. Why hadn’t we spent more time looking for a respectable outfit? We weren’t able to take anything seriously when we were together.

Saskia was dressed tidily in a burgundy suit and looked infinitely calm. She had a regular job as a receptionist now. She had gotten her shit together and we hadn’t.

Saskia’s lawyers brought a copy of the tabloid with the photo of Nicolas on top of the bar. To show that it was not just Saskia’s opinion that Nicolas was a fuck-up. It was actually newsworthy.

I went up on the stand to answer questions from the lawyers. I was sure to describe how Nicolas loved Pierrot and wanted to help raise and educate and set him on the proper path. I said that Nicolas was loving and funny. They all just stared at me, waiting for me to finish so that they could get on with business. I looked around the courtroom. Nobody was falling in love with me.

The judge said he didn’t see how he could grant any visitation rights to Nicolas since he didn’t have a residence or a job.

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