For Sure (12 page)

Le Petit Étienne was getting the hang of the test and his replies now came without hesitation. Even Zablonski had become more spontaneous in his choice of words.

“White.”

“Of course! The word
bonbon
is white. And yet, bonbons are all sorts of colours, are they not?”

Le Petit Étienne nodded then added:

“My favourite's de green an' red bubblegum.”

“Yes. Everyone has their favourites, of course.”

In her novel
1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold
, Acadian author France Daigle does not mention the fact that the pedopsychoanalyst Françoise Dolto draws a parallel between her book of essays
Solitude
and the Adagio of Schubert's “String Quintet in C major, opus 163.” And yet, the parallel is an essential structural element of
1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold
, a novel which also includes a number of citations from
Solitude
. Possibly the least useful detail of all.

Various equations involving both 7 and 12:

a) 3 × 4 = 12

12 × 12 × 12 = 1,728 fragments

1,728 ÷ 2 = 864, which is the halfway point in the book from a structural point of view

b) 3 + 4 = 7

7 × 7 × 7 = 343, indivisible number, with no apparent link to 1,728

And yet,

c) 1,728 – 343 = 1,385

1,385 – 864 = 521

864 – 343 = 521

The cross-stitch is part of the larger family of counted-thread embroidery. The name signifies both the technique and one stitch pattern among others employing the technique, of which the simplest is the running stitch, also referred to as the straightforward stitch or line stitch, which happens to be the most basic stitch in hand-sewing. The cross stitch technique can be found throughout the world. It is used both in figurative and abstract patterns.

Étienne did not see why he should have to wait.

“I told you, dey's goin' to change our room, see.”

“But why?”

Étienne could see nothing wrong with the room they'd put them in. But Carmen did not waste time with explanations to the children when her patience was at an end and she'd already clearly stated her position.

“Because.”

Étienne would not let it go:

“It's awful hot. I want to go swimmin'.”

Terry took up the baton:

“We'll be goin' real soon. We're just waitin' for de fellow to take us over to de udder room.”

“We've already been waitin' . . .”

It was true that that the fellow in question was taking his time. Étienne threw himself onto the bed.

“I like dis room, doh.”

. . .

“I'm hot.”

. . .

“I want to go swimmin'.”

Terry summoned up his courage:

“Étienne, cut it out!”

“But why do we gotta change room?”

Terry, who happened to agree the room was fine, sighed:

“On account of women want wot's written down on de paper.”

Carmen cast a dark glance Terry's way, prompting him to reformulate his message.

“I mean that, when she pays fer sometin', that's wot a lady wants. 'Tis only right, i'nt it.”

And with that, they heard a knocking on the door.

The Adagio of Schubert's “String Quintet in C major, opus 163” also enfolds Alain Corneau's film
Nocturne indien
(
Indian Nocturn
), based on the novel by Antonio Tabucchi. Extensions are sometimes more useful or interesting than details.

Various new equations in which 7 and 12 come together:

a) 3 × 4 = 12

12 × 12 = 144

144 × 144 = 20,736

20,736 ÷ 2 = 10,368, more or less insignificant number

b) 3 + 4 = 7

7 × 7 = 49

49 × 49 = 2,401, the number of titles included in
La Bibliothèque idéale
6

c) 20,736 – 2,401 = 18,335

18,335 – 10,368 = 7,967

10,368 – 7,967 = 2,401, the number of titles included in
La Bibliothèque idéale.

From Wikipedia, the Free Online Encyclopedia that anyone can edit: Pau (French pronunciation: [po]) is a commune on the northern edge of the Pyrénées, capital of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Département in France . . . It forms the communauté d'agglomération of Pau-Pyrénées with 13 neighbouring communes to carry out local tasks together. The Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, founded in 1972, means there is a high student population. The Boulevard des Pyrénées is 1.8 km from the Château de Pau to the Parc Beaumont, with views of the mountains . . . In the centre of Pau is a large castle, the Château de Pau, that dominates that quarter of the city. It is famous for being the birthplace of the sixteenth century king of France Henry IV and was once used by Napoleon as a holiday home during his period in power. It has a small garden that was tended by Marie Antoinette when she spent her summers in the city. The château is now considered a French historical monument and contains a collection of tapestries . . . Pau is the home of the French military's
é
cole des troupes aéroportées, which trains and certifies military paratroops.

When he found the word
rouf
in the dictionary, Terry saw that the sole definition of the term corresponded perfectly with the description provided by Daudet, whose phrase the dictionary actually quoted as an example. The word comes from the Dutch
roef
and means the same thing. Terry then looked up
roof
in an English dictionary, and discovered that it too is derived from the Dutch
roef
, which refers to a small shelter on the bridge of a boat, but which the English also use to refer to the roof of a house, the palate of a mouth, and a mountain summit. Terry felt as though he too had attained a kind of summit:

“Acadians tink der French is bad when dey say
rouf
. Dey tink dey're saying
roof
wid a French accent.”

. . .

“An' de sentence de dictionary uses as an example is de very same one dat got me lookin' in de dictionary in de first place! Dat's got to be de first time dat ever happened to me!”

Gobelin blue derives its name from the famous French family of textile dyers based on the shores of the Bièvre river since the fifteenth century. It was also the name the French monarchy assigned to its national manufacturer of tapestries, which were mainly hung in edifices of the State. The Gobelin National Manufacturer workshops producing high-warp tapestries used to be situated near Les Gobelins metro station, in Paris' thirteenth arrondissement. The low-warp workshops were not far from Beauvais. In Chaillot, the Savonnerie produced carpets with designs that were original or copied from the Orient.

Drawn or cut-thread embroidery, which is also called needlepoint lace, first appeared in the sixteenth century in Italy, the product of the
punto in aria
or “lace in air.” Hardanger embroidery, which it resembles, originated in Asia and spread throughout Persia to Italy and then Scandinavia. Straight stitch, overcast stitch, single row, or straight hemstitching.

Only the
y
remained. Zablonski searched for a common noun containing this letter, and finally came up with
lys
. But did the little one know what a
lys
was? Le Grand Étienne was no longer sure it was important whether he knew or not, but he thought it best to tell him because, in the end, he did not like to think he'd left the child in the dark.

“Lys. It's a flower. A lily. You often see it in the supermarkets at Easter.”

The boy nodded, thinking Easter must also be a place one could go to.

“Red.”

Taken aback, Zablonski thought of another word with a
y
.

“How about
myth
?”

Le Petit Étienne felt pretty clever:

“Red as well.”

“Yes, that's what I see, too.”

In truth, Zablonski saw the
y
as wine red, but since it really sounded the same as the
i
it could very well be red too.

“And do you know what a myth is?”

Le Petit Étienne shook his head no, laughing.

“A myth is a story everyone believes, even if it's not actually true. It's a necessary story, if you like.”

The little one looked at Zablonski with raised eyebrows. No, he'd certainly never heard of such a thing.

A principle, a law, a statement. The principle: desires, when rejected by a mind that acts as an authority (and supported by culture) plunge into the subcontinent of the unconscious to achieve their ends. The law: repressed desires emerge in our dreams. The statement: the psyche is governed by rigourous mechanisms that cannot prevent traces of the unconscious from emerging everywhere.

“Chubby chin, silver lips, knave's nose, boiled cheek, roasted cheek, tiny eye, big eye, eyebrow, eye browsy, and . . . knock on the noggin!”

“Hihihihihi . . .”

“Again?”

. . .

“Go on, say it: ‘yes, again.'”

“G'in.”

“‘Yes, again' . . .”

“Yeth 'gin.”

“Chubby chin, silver lips, knave's nose, boiled cheek, roasted cheek, tiny eye, big eye, eyebrow, eye browsy, and . . . knock on the noggin!”

“Hihihihihi . . .”

. . .

“. . . hihihihi!”

“Wasn't dere supposed to be a forked tongue in der somewhere?”

“Forked tongue? We never said dat.”

“Chubby chin, forked tongue, silver lips, knave's nose, boiled cheek . . .”

“Hihihi . . .”

“No?”

The Bièvre, which originates in Saint-Cyr in the Department of Yvelines, traverses the communes of Jouy-en-Josas, Bièvres, Villejuif, and Gentilly, before disappearing into the sewers of Paris. As for Dieppe, that dormitory town in New Brunswick on its way to becoming a real city, it began to expand during the 1950s, when Acadians from rural areas came to live there with the hope of finding work in nearby Moncton. Dieppe lies along the shores of the Petitcodiac river, which eventually empties into the Bay of Fundy.

The titles — accompanied by a brief description of each work — suggested by
La Bibliothèque idéale
captured Élizabeth's imagination. Élie Faure, author of
Histoire de l'art
(
A History of Art
) in five volumes, was a doctor, like her! Ha!

pic pac pic pac pic
driftwood lay on Cap-Pelé
drift drift drift of time

“Still!”

Josse was astonished that all the residents of the lofts who had participated in the Babar's small spontaneous survey on the colours of vowels saw the
a
as yellow and the
i
as red. The discovery had encouraged her to keep it going.

“And what, I'd like to know, does ya want me to do wid dis?”

“It's only a wee survey I'd like fer you to fill out. Won't take you long. I'll come by an' pick 'er up in a bit.”

“Wha? To find out if yer customers is satisfied with yer service is it? Well, you ladies 'ave gone shocking corporate . . .”

But Josse had already turned to the next table:

“Can I get ya anytin' else over 'ere?”

One of the methods of divination of the Yi Jing
7
requires casting 50 yarrow or bamboo stalks. One of the stalks, however, is set aside at the beginning of the procedure and plays the role of Observer or Witness:

a) 50 – 1 = 49

49 = 7 × 7

7 = 3 + 4

b) 49 = 48 + 1

48 = 4 × 12

12 = 3 × 4

Before continuing, Zablonski thought he'd better explain something of the alphabet to Le Petit Étienne.

“The sounds
a
,
e
,
i
,
o
, and
u
are vowels. They're important letters. You need at least one in every word. But there are also other letters. We call these consonants. They make sounds like
b(e)
,
p(e)
,
t(e)
,
m(m)
,
n(n)
. . . Understand?”

Zablonski laughed inwardly: here he was, teaching the alphabet to Terry and Carmen's son.

“Now I'd like to find out if these letters have colours for you.”

Le Petit Étienne was all ears. He felt things had suddenly become much more serious. He remembered Souricette.

“Take the
b(e)
. Do you see it in colour?”

The boy was intent on doing his best:

“Black.”

“Agreed. Black. And if I say
b(a)
, instead, is it still black?”

Étienne thought hard:

“Mm… yes. Only, der's a bit of yellow too.”

Zablonski looked down at his sheet, found the yellow beside the
a
. His hypothesis still held.