Isobel and Emile (15 page)

She waits.

She sits on the top step. She draws on her cigarette. She exhales. It is early in the morning. The light is sharp the way that it sometimes is this early in the morning.

She finishes her cigarette. She takes another one out. She puts it between her lips. She lights it.

Isobel hears the front door of the shop open. Mr. Koch is here. She does not turn around.

Mr. Koch walks through the grocery store. He came in the front door. He is walking through the store to the back.

He comes out the back door. He sees Isobel sitting at the top of the steps.

Mr. Koch says: ‘Good morning, Isobel.'

Isobel says: ‘Good morning, Mr. Koch.'

Mr. Koch goes back into the store. He goes into his office. He takes off his hat and his scarf and his overcoat. He starts his coffee-making machine.

He hums a tune to himself. It is the tune that he hums to himself every morning.

The coffee-making machine finishes making the coffee. Mr. Koch goes out to where Isobel is sitting. He is carrying two cups of coffee.

Isobel is sitting on the steps.

She is still smoking her cigarette. She smokes and she looks down the alley.

Mr. Koch chuckles. He says: ‘Waiting for him will not make him come faster.'

He hands a cup of coffee to Isobel.

Isobel looks up at Mr. Koch. She smiles. She takes the cup of coffee.

Mr. Koch stands behind her. He reaches into one of the pockets of his waistcoat. He takes out a pack of cigarettes.

He puts a cigarette to his mouth. He takes a lighter out of another pocket of his waistcoat.

He lights the cigarette. He draws deeply on it. He blows smoke out into the air.

He makes a contented sound. It comes from deep in his throat. He drinks from his cup of coffee. Isobel is still looking down the alley. Mr. Koch looks at Isobel, then he looks down the alley with her.

They are waiting for Oskar to come with his truck.

Mr. Koch says: ‘Are you all ready?' He is still looking down the alley.

Isobel does not say anything. If she said something she would have to turn around. She is looking down the alley.

She nods her head.

Mr. Koch and Isobel drink from their cups of coffee. They do not say anything more.

Mr. Koch finishes his cigarette. He flicks the butt of it away.

Mr. Koch says: ‘Well.'

He says: ‘I had best get to work.'

He is holding his cup of coffee. He drinks from it one last time.

Mr. Koch says: ‘Come get me when Oskar comes.'

Isobel nods her head again.

Mr. Koch goes back into the grocery store. He goes into his office.

Isobel is still sitting on the steps behind the store. She finishes her cigarette. She takes out another cigarette. She puts it between her lips. She lights it.

She waits for Oskar to come.

Oskar's truck turns into the alley.

Isobel is still sitting on the steps. She is holding her cup of coffee in one hand.

She puts her cup down on the step beside her. It is empty. She stands up. She stretches her arms up over her head. Oskar sees her. He honks the horn on his truck.

He stops his truck. He stops it so that the back of it is beside the steps going up into the store. He turns the engine off.

He gets out of his truck. He is standing by the steps that go into the grocery store.

Isobel is waiting for him there.

Oskar says: ‘Good morning, Isobel.'

Isobel says: ‘Good morning, Oskar.'

Oskar opens the back of the truck. There are crates in the back of the truck.

Oskar gets into the back of the truck. He puts his work gloves on. Isobel goes into the back of the store.

She says: ‘Mr. Koch!' Mr. Koch comes out of his office.

Mr. Koch says: ‘Is he here?'

Isobel says: ‘Yes.'

Mr Koch says: ‘Good, good.'

Mr. Koch and Isobel go out into the alley. Oskar is in the back of the truck.

Oskar says: ‘Good morning, Mr. Koch.'

Mr. Koch says: ‘Good morning, Oskar.' He says: ‘And how are you today?'

Oskar says: ‘I am well.' He says: ‘How are you?'

Mr. Koch says: ‘I am well enough.'He says: ‘Come, let us get to it.'

They go out of the store. They go to Oskar's truck. Oskar is in the back of the truck.He hands a crate to Mr. Koch. He hands a crate to Isobel.

Isobel and Mr. Koch go into the store carrying the crates. Oskar follows them. He is also carrying a crate.

They put the crates they are carrying by the door and then they go back out into the alley. Oskar gets into the back of the truck. He hands a crate to Mr. Koch and he hands a crate to Isobel.

They go back into the store carrying the crates. Oskar follows them. He is also carrying a crate.

They put the crates by the door. They go back out into the alley. They get more crates from Oskar's truck. They bring the crates into the store.

They do this until there are no more crates in the back of Oskar's truck.

When there are no more crates Oskar closes the back of the truck. He takes off his work gloves. He turns to Mr. Koch.

Oskar says: ‘Goodbye, Mr. Koch.'

Mr. Koch says: ‘Goodbye, Oskar.' He says: ‘I will see you tomorrow.'

Oskar says: ‘Goodbye, Isobel.'

Oskar turns to get into the truck.

Isobel says: ‘Wait.'

Oskar stops. He does not get into the truck. He turns around. He looks at Isobel. He puts his hands in his pockets. He says: ‘Yes?'

Isobel takes a breath. She says: ‘Do you go past the station?'

Oskar shrugs. He says: ‘I could.'

Isobel says: ‘Could you take me there?'

Oskar says: ‘Sure.'

Isobel says: ‘Thank you.'

She says: ‘I need to get my things.'

Oskar says: ‘Sure.' He takes his hands out of his pockets. He gets into the truck. He does not start the engine.

Isobel goes into the store. She goes up the stairs. She goes into her room.

There is the suitcase by the door. Isobel's things are in it. She picks up the suitcase. She looks at the room.

There is a bed in the room. It has plain white sheets on it. There is a blanket over the plain white sheets. There is a sink on the wall. There is a mirror over the sink and there is a window over the bed.

She looks at the room for the last time. She closes the door. She goes back down the stairs. She goes out of the store and into the alley.

Oskar's truck is there. Oskar is waiting. Mr. Koch is standing beside the truck.

Isobel goes to Mr. Koch. She puts her arms around him.

Mr. Koch smiles. He pats Isobel on the back.

Isobel says: ‘Thank you.'

Mr. Koch says: ‘Hush.' He says: ‘Off with you now.'

Isobel gets into Oskar's truck.

Oskar is already in the truck. He starts the engine. They drive down the alley and then they turn onto the street.

Oskar looks at Isobel. He says: ‘Where are you going?'

Isobel says: ‘It doesn't matter.'

She says: ‘I'm going away.'

They are sitting.

They are sitting, the two of them, on a bench on the platform of a train station.

It is early in the morning. They are waiting for a train to come.

They had been eating snacks. They had bought the snacks inside the station. There is a machine inside the station. It sells snacks. They put money into the machine and it gave them snacks.

They are not eating snacks anymore. They have eaten them. They are holding the wrappers that their snacks were in.

They want to say something.

They do not. It is too quiet. They should say something. There is nothing left to say. There is only what is going to happen.

Instead of saying something they are holding the wrappers their snacks were in.

They are sitting on a bench on the platform of a train station. They are waiting for a train to come. It is why they are here. They know that it is why they are here. They do not need to say it. They know.

It is all that there is to say. There is no need to say it.

There is nothing to say.

She says: ‘I don't want it to be like this.'

Her hands are in her lap. She is holding on to the wrapper from her snack. Her hands are twisting it. She watches her hands twist it.

He does not say anything.

She does not look at him. She looks at her hands. She looks at how the paper wrapper twists. She says: ‘I don't want it to be like this.'

He says: ‘What should we do?'

She says: ‘I don't know.'

She stops speaking. She pulls on the piece of paper in her hands. She pulls it until it rips.

She says: ‘I don't know.'

She says: ‘I want to see you again.'

She looks at her hands. Her hands are holding the pieces of the paper her snack was wrapped in.

She says: ‘Will I see you again?'

She still does not look at him. The paper wrapper in her hands is in three pieces. He looks at her hands. He does not touch her hands. He wants to but he does not.

He does not know what to do.

He looks at her.

He says: ‘I do not know.'

He is quiet. He looks at his hands. He is holding a paper wrapper in his hands. He cannot see what is written on it clearly. His eyes are wet.

He says: ‘I hope so.'

She looks at him. She says: ‘Okay.'

She smiles.

They are sitting on a bench on the platform of a train station. They are sitting beside each other.

They are waiting for a train to come.

It is almost time for the train to come. They cannot see the train. They know that the train is close but they cannot see it yet.

She says: ‘What will you do?'

He says: ‘I will go home.'

He says: ‘I will find Nicolas. I will find him and we will go home.' He says: ‘I will meet Agatha.'

He says: ‘I will give her the film.'

She says: ‘And then?'

He says: ‘Agatha will show the film.'

She says: ‘And then?'

He says: ‘I do not know.'

He is quiet for a moment.

He says: ‘I will do something.' He says: ‘I do not know what it will be.' He says: ‘I will get caught up in something.'

He says: ‘It is what happens there.'

The train has not come. They still cannot see it. It does not matter that they cannot see it. They know that it is coming.

They know what will happen.

They do not have to say anything. It will not change what will happen. They both know what will happen.

He says: ‘What will you do?'

She says: ‘I don't know.'

They are sitting on a bench. They are sitting beside each other. They are sitting close beside each other.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are people I would like to thank for their support while I was writing this book: Bryony Henderson, Michelle Horacek, Barbara Bridger, Ted Blodgett, Katharine Southworth, Leigh Gillam, Emma Hooper, Jacob Wren, Olchar Lindsann, Sharon Budnarchuk, David McDerby, Barry Corber and, most of all, Carina de Klerk.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Gilbert Bouchard (
1961–2009
). I wish you could have seen this, old friend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alan Reed is the author of a collection of poems,
For Love of the
City
. He lives in Montreal.

Typeset in Fournier

Printed and bound at the Coach House on bpNichol Lane

Edited and designed by Alana Wilcox

Cover puppet and photo by Leigh Gillam

Coach House Books

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