For Sure (63 page)

Carmen thought that went without saying.

Terry was looking through the photocopy as he spoke:

“Dis is right smart. Gives you ideas wot to do wid dem when yer at yer wit's end an' you gotta take care o' dem all de same.”

Carmen wasn't sure that, at such times, she'd have the energy to drag out the list.

“Dey like to measure time an' follow der rhythms . . .”

. . .

“An' dat's why dey like us to be tellin' dem de same story again an' again. Dey like to think about wot's comin' up, dey like to remember, to go over de different bits in der 'eads.”

“Dat makes proper sense.”

But suddenly Terry was taken aback:

“Luh! Says 'ere dat between two an' five years old, der reaction time's up to ten seconds. So, if you ask a question, it can take up to ten seconds fer dem to answer.”

Terry put the copy down.

“Ten seconds, is a long time.”

“Seems to me, Étienne don't need as long as all dat.”

Terry counted ten seconds in his head.

“Well, 'tis good to know. Fer Marianne, anyway.”

“Yes, fer Marianne, fer sure!”

The cachalot or sperm whale is a mammal of the cetacean order that inhabits the oceans. The genus is currently listed as vulnerable. Its distinctive shape — a very large, block-shaped head, which can be one-third of the animal's length, and a lower jaw, which is very narrow and underslung — is evocative of the whale species as a whole. Adult males measure up to 20.5 metres long and weigh up to 56 tonnes. Females measure from 11 to 15 metres long and weigh between 15 and 20 tonnes. A cachalot can consume up to one ton of squid, octopus, fish, seal, and shark per day. The Internet is a fantastic tool for preliminary research.

“Are ya sure you wants to be workin' on dis project? If you do, you've got to tink o' sometin'. You keep on sayin' 'tisn't possible, and can't be done.”

. . .

“Could be dis just isn't yer ting . . .”

“To tell ya de troot', I only joined up fer de money. An' even den, I had to twist me own arm.”

“I don't tink it'll work. Yer not really convinced.”

. . .

. . .

. . .

“Why don't ya take de weekend to tink it over.”

. . .

wee girl jumps and laughs

sticky cheeks honeyed cushions

old black fly stretches

drawn to a ripe apple core

winter strains to be no more

www.galaxidion.com

MICHELET (Jules) Handbook of Modern History.

Paris, L. Hachette, 1850. 8vo, contemporary half shagreen, rubbed spine, ll, ii, 307 p., foxing. Work “recommended for the instruction of modern history in schools,” divided into three periods: I. 1453-1517. II. 1517-1648. III. 1648-1789.

This book is offered by the
Librairie
Hatchuel
.

Euro 35.00|
Order

Vladivostok =

ruler of the East

Vladikavkaz

Ordjonikidze (1932–1944)

(1954–1990)

Dzaoudjikaou (1944–1954)

North Ossetia-Alania

Étienne and Chico are playing with their mini-cars.

“Lucifer cut de tulips in front of de doctor's house to decorate Julie's cabin.”

Lucifer was seven years old and a real devil. For the most part, those who knew him liked him in spite of everything, because his mischief was mostly motivated by good intentions.

“Dey'll trow 'im to de dogs, now.”

“Are dey Julie's dogs?”

“Naw, Julie don't have no dogs.”

“Are dey mean dogs?”

“Der no dogs. You doesn't need dogs to be trown to dem.”

“Awh.”

Rumour is certainly related to fantasy, but it can also be related to tactics.

“Wot I mean is, 'ow long does a person look at de cover of a book, usually? Not all dat long.”

Bit by bit, the thread of yellow is lost.

Without wishing to upset him, Catherine believed it was important to ask Chico a few question about his past, if only just to let him know that she was aware of what he'd gone through.

“You say that Shawn sometimes ran away . . . Did he stay away for long?”

Chico thought a bit before replying.

“At night, when I's gettin' into bed, I's prayin' fer 'im to come back.”

. . .

. . .

“Was it your granny who showed you how to pray?”

Chico answered her questions readily.

“She taught me de ‘Hail Mary.'”

Catherine allowed several seconds to pass, before continuing:

“Were you missing your mum as well?”

Chico shrugged:

“Granny showed me a picture of 'er once. Den after, she's puttin' it back in de top drawer.”

Catherine guessed what Chico meant:

“You'd have liked to keep it, eh?”

Chico shrugged. Catherine concluded that it had not been easy for him to understand everything that had happened in that house.

“One night, ee shows up in a car. 'Twas near dark. I's playin' marbles in de yard. Ee'd bought me a bike, a two wheeler, brand new an' all.”

Catherine was grateful for this moment of happiness to fall back on.

“You must've been mighty pleased!”

Chico nodded.

“You knows it! She were all blue an' shiny!”

. . .

“Only ee didn't stay long dat time neider.”

the child can't stay still

Dad, look! A flying dessert!

cloud — flash flare — cherry

“I took a chance. Bought youse a coffee widout knowin' if you'd be comin' back or not.”

. . .

“'Tweren't nuttin' to it.”

“Well, tanks just de same.”

. . .

“I tawt: only tell me wot you wants me to be doin' an' I'll go right ahead an' do it.”

“G'wan, yer pullin me leg.”

. . .

“Alright den. Pick up yer guitar an' give me an
A.”

. . .

“Now an
A flat
. . .”

. . .

“An
A
minor
. . .”

. . .

“An
A
flat minor
. . .”

. . .

“An
A 7
. . .”

. . .

“
A
flat 7
. . .”

. . .

“
A
flat diminished
. . .”

“. . . which is the same thing as a
G sharp diminished
, or a
D
,
B
, or
F diminished.”

“An
A diminished
. . .”

“. . . Same thing as an
F sharp diminished
, an
E
or
G diminished
, or a plain
C diminished.”

“The
A flat augmented
. . .”

“. . . Or the
G sharp augmented
, or an
E
or
C augmented.”

“An
A augmented . . .”

“. . . There again, same thing as a
D flat augmented
,
C sharp augmented
, or a plain
F augmented
.”

“
A
9
. . .”

. . .

“
A flat 9
. . .”

. . .

“
A
major 7
. . .”

. . .

“
A flat major 7
. . .”

. . .

“
A minor 7
. . .”

. . .

“
A flat minor 7
. . . “

. . .

“
A 7
with a
diminished fifth
. . .”

. . .

“
A 7
with an
augmented fifth
. . . ”

. . .

“
A 7 diminished to 5
. . .”

. . .

“
A flat 7 diminished to 5
. . .”

. . .

“
A 6
. . .”

. . .

“
A flat 6
. . .”

. . .

“
A minor 6
. . .”

. . .

“
A flat minor 6
. . .”

. . .

“OK, good enough! That's perfect!”

. . .

. . .

“Wot, you don't want de suspended ones?”

In New Brunswick, the officials of Baker Brook are asking for the name of their village to be transformed into French. If the government agrees to their request, the village will be called Baker-Brook, with a hyphen, instead of Baker Brook, without one.

“Put yer foot on it, den haul away wid yer hands.”

Étienne did as his father instructed and the cardboard peeled off as though by magic.

“Alright, Dad! Wot do I do now?”

Wearing the carpenter's apron complete with tools that Granny and Granddad Thibodeau had made for him, Étienne was happy to be part of today's household renovations.

“Does ya see de saw someplace around der?”

“Yes, Dad. Do you want it?”

“Can't hide nuttin' from you boy . . .”

Étienne walked across the pieces of boards scattered on the floor to fetch the saw and bring it to Terry, who was stretched out on his back deep inside the closet.

“Now den, sit down where ya are an' point dat flashlight into de corner where I's sawing.”

Terry could have managed on his own, but he wanted to give his son a chance to use his Christmas present.

“At de same time, can you push on dis 'ere board wid yer feet?”

Étienne placed both feet and pushed on the board Terry was indicating.

“Not too hard, now. Push just a wee bit . . . OK, now you got it. Keep dat up until I stop sawing, alright?”

Étienne nodded. Terry slipped his pencil in his mouth and went to work.

“We's workin' hard, eh, Dad?”

“You said it, boy!”

And once the board was cut:

“Der! Now can you raise yer arms as high as yer able over yer head. Dat'll tell me 'round where to put the shelf.”

Étienne raised his arms and Terry put a mark on the wall.

“Alright. Now we's gotta saw two smaller bits of wood to hold up de big board dat goes across dis way. Can you find two pieces 'bout as long as yer arm an' wide as yer hand, and tick as. . . “

“Like dis?”

Étienne had already found a length of wood approximatley fitting Terry's specifications.

“Dat's perfect, boy. Can you find anudder like it?”

“I'll try, Dad.”

The boy finally came up with a board that a single cut would bring down to the right size. With Terry's help, he measured the desired length, drew the pencil line and sawed the board. Terry then screwed the supports into the wall, and father and son slipped the shelf into place, forcing it slightly at the end, because none of this was perfectly straight.

“Now we cleans up all around, an' den we can push de dresser back in place.”

No sooner said than done, although at the end, Étienne struggled to lift his side of the small piece of furniture. Terry advised him how to go about it:

“Put yer foot under one of de legs, it'll be a whole lot easier.”

Since Étienne didn't understand what his dad meant, Terry went over and placed the boy's foot under the leg in the right corner of the wardrobe.

“Now, when you takes a step, yer foot'll he helpin' lift de dresser. Won't be so hard on yer arms.”

Terry went back to his side of the small furniture, placed his own foot under one of the legs to serve as a model for his son.

“Are ya ready, den? One . . . two . . . tree . . . go!”

The dresser moved forward a few paces in the right direction.

“Dad! It works!”

“You knows yerself, boy! Keep 'er up!”

Once the dresser was in place, Terry wanted to compliment his son:

“Lard tunderin', I tinks we'll make a real carpenter out o' you, boy . . .”

“Awh, no. I don't tink so, Dad.”

“No? On account of?”

“Dad! I never hammer any nails!”

Romanian originally cut three letters from the traditional Latin alphabet
q
,
w
, and
y
and added five that do not appear in any of the other main latinate languages:
ă
,
â
,
î
,
ș
,
and
ț
. One should not mistake these signs for accented letters — they are actual, distinct letters.

“I don't like it when you make fun of religion.”

I had a soft spot for Sylvia.

“On account of?”

“I don't know. Doesn't seem necessary.”

“It's part of life, isn't it? Why can't it be criticized like anything else?”

“Yes, I know.”

I liked her lack of stubborness.

“I know you're more of a believer . . .”

. . .