I waited for Léonard by the car, leaning on the hood. If he was so intelligent, he could easily find me. He eventually came out of emergency and headed straight for me as if nothing had happened, walking in that slightly awkward way of his. He ran his hand through his hair. He could probably feel the stitches.
“I won both games,” he said, coming level with me.
“Get in.”
I drove out of the parking lot, my teeth clenched. And they stayed clenched until we were beyond the beltway and surrounded by traffic.
“Listen carefully, because I’m not going to repeat this. The first thing is that you don’t have to play soccer. Nobody’s forcing you. I’m not going to throw you out of the house or stop feeding you if you don’t play. Play because you want to, and for no other reason. And I don’t care if you don’t look at me, but at least make a sign that you’ve understood.”
There was a moment’s silence in the car, then Léonard made a slight movement with his chin.
“The second thing is that you have a gift. Why or how doesn’t matter. But it’s a fact.”
What followed was what I absolutely needed him to understand. I took my time choosing my words.
“The third thing is the most important. If you want to go back on the field, I have no objections, but there’s one condition. You have to accept the rules of the group. You can’t behave the way you did this afternoon. You don’t talk like that to another player. You don’t lecture him because you think you’re better than him.”
“I was trying to help him—”
“Shut up and listen. You weren’t trying to help him, you just wanted to show him how much you know. You thought you were the teacher, but you’re not. Just because you watch videos doesn’t mean you’re a good player. I want to see you move your chin.”
“I don’t have to, I can speak.”
“Then speak.”
“I understand what you’re saying.”
“That’s fine, then.”
We didn’t exchange another word until we got home, and as soon as the door was open, Léonard went straight to his room. At dinnertime I suggested he eat, and he replied that he wasn’t hungry. I didn’t insist. If he felt peckish during the night, he knew where the refrigerator was. I advised him to take a shower and not go to bed too late. I didn’t see him for the rest of the evening.
I liked being alone in my kitchen. I watched the news channel. A storm had ravaged the coast of Chile. Boston had beaten Miami at basketball. Unemployment had increased by two percentage points in the eurozone. I let the images drift by, but my mind started to wander. I thought about Catherine Vandrecken smoking her cigarette, her legs crossed, in the cafeteria of the hospital. Suddenly, my phone started vibrating. I’d forgotten my sister was supposed to call. This time the number was withheld. She’d changed phones again.
“Vincent, it’s me. Can you hear me?”
“Very well.”
“I couldn’t call you before, the days are really busy, and we have homework to do in the evening. Luckily, Patrice is helping me out, I don’t know how I’d manage without—”
“Who’s Patrice?”
“I told you about him. He’s the guy who’s putting me up.”
“Now he’s putting you up.”
“Don’t you ever listen? I told you—”
“I thought it was for one night.”
“We get on really well, we’re staying together. He’s going to open a bar in Châteauroux. He has these great ideas for ensuring customer loyalty. He wants to invite creative people, celebrities, you should see the contacts he has. And don’t go crazy, but he’d like me to be in on it with him!”
“You mean he wants money from you.”
“Vincent, that’s not funny. It’s a terrific proposition. He doesn’t need my money, he’s rolling in it. It’s because we both have a feel for these things. He doesn’t just want me to work for him as a waitress. He wants us to be partners, don’t you see?”
“And what exactly is he asking you for?”
“Twenty thousand, I mean, come on, that’s nothing at all for a deal like this.”
“Luckily, you don’t have it.”
“What? I can’t quite hear you.”
“I said, luckily you don’t have it.”
“Well, listen to this. I talked to my bank about consumer credit.”
“I thought you were in the red.”
“That’s just it, it’ll pay off the overdraft and still leave me fifteen thousand! We only have the paperwork to do, and I’ll have the money next week. Then all I’ll need is five thousand. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. It’d only be for a few weeks. As soon as the business is launched . . . ”
I felt the need to sit down. Even though I knew her, she could still amaze me. I was torn between wanting to laugh, hang up, or scream, but I knew I absolutely mustn’t let my emotions get the better of me. I had to keep my eyes wide open when she was doing one of her conjuring tricks. I had to ask the right questions.
“So now you’re asking me for five thousand, is that right?”
“I’ll pay it back with interest, if you like.”
“That’s not the point. You’ve known this guy for a couple of days. Don’t you think you should wait a while and see—”
“Vincent, you don’t get it. This is my big break!”
“We can talk about it when I see you. You’re still coming for your son a week from Sunday, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t you want to speak to him?”
“Oh, you know, he never says anything on the phone, it freaks him out more than anything.”
“It’s up to you.”
“Are you having any problems with him?”
I couldn’t see myself explaining over the phone what had led to that incident on the field, let alone mentioning the conversation with Catherine Vandrecken. I needed to have her in front of me to talk about that.
“Everything’s fine.”
“This soccer thing, is it for real?”
“He tried anyway. Whether he’ll continue is another matter.”
“I still can’t believe it.”