11. LORAINE
1809 Words
Someone is ringing at my door, yet I’m not expecting anyone tonight. I just got home an hour ago from work, took a shower and was about to eat a frozen pizza with a beer, in front of the television. Nothing very glamorous, but for me, it’s the definition of an okay evening. How surprised I am to find Father Boyle at my house.
After a moment of astonishment, I regain my good manners and invite him in.
“Good evening Loraine. You must be wondering what I’m doing at your house when it’s dark?”
I have no idea, but I’m willing to bet it’s not to offer me something indecent.
“Um, yes.”
I motion for him to sit on the sofa. I note that he examines my interior. I know what he sees: the faded paint, the kitchen that has seen better days. My house needs some renovations. I’m well aware of that, and if it were up to me, it would already be done. But when I bought it two years ago, I thought Papi Gus would live here with me for a few more years. Now that he’s in a retirement home, his meagre pension goes entirely to financing it, and I supplement it myself with my salary each month. He doesn’t know about that. I lied to him because I wanted him to stay in Locron. I could have found somewhere cheaper, but it wouldn’t have been ten minutes from my house, and especially not under these conditions. He also has several friends who are in the same place as him. It was important for me that he could live with people he appreciates. But, I find it difficult to save money to finance my plans. I have no complaints, I have a good job and I live well. I’m just going to have to be a little more patient to do whatever I want to do.
“You want something to drink uh… Father?”
“Oh, please. None of that between us. Call me Ethan. We’re not at church, no one will be shocked if you call me by my first name.”
“As you wish,” I answer, all the same uncomfortable. “What would you like? Some water? A herbal tea? Fruit juice?”
What is a drink offered to a pastor who visits you at home?”
“What are you drinking?” he replies.
“Well…”
I glance at my beer that I had just taken out of the fridge.
“If you have another one, it wouldn’t be a refusal,” he said.
“Certainly, yes.”
I take another bottle and uncap it before placing it in front of him. I sit on the chair facing him. I dare not move, I wait for him to explain to me the reason for his presence. He doesn’t seem in a hurry. He takes a sip, and I watch the indecent spectacle of the sexy movement of his Adam’s apple. My God! No sooner had this idea crossed my mind than an unexpected burst of Catholic guilt screamed at me to look away. Which I do immediately, before bringing my bottle to my lips, just to give myself some composure.
“Loraine, I’m going to get right to the point. Your grandfather is very worried about you, and I promised to visit you.”
I smile tenderly.
“I know, Papi always tends to worry about me. But I’m a big girl, I’m fine.”
Ethan smiles at me.
“That’s what I told him. You seem to me to be a tough woman.”
Then, no doubt realising that his words may be offensive, given my stature, he recovers:
“I mean independent, strong. You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I think.”
He takes a sip of the beer, and I do the same.
“But it’s true that he would be more reassured if you weren’t living alone. Well, at least if you had someone you could rely on in the event of a hardship.”
“I… well… it’s not entirely a choice on my part. I hope that one day, I’ll eventually find someone that fits, as they say.”
I punctuate my sentence with a nervous little laugh. The last thing I want is to talk to a priest about my love life, or its non-existence.
“In the meantime, I’m lucky to have wonderful friends.”
“That is important.”
“Yes.”
We are silent for a few moments.
“Anyway, Loraine, you know you can come to see me whenever you want. My door will always be open for you.”
If another man or the same one who hadn’t taken a vow of chastity had made such a proposal to me, I would have jumped for joy.
“To tell the truth, I’m considering placing an ad to find a roommate.”
I don’t know why I’m suddenly talking to him about this, especially since I haven’t thought about it since Romy’s suggestion.
“Ah! But that’s a great idea! Did you advertise?”
“Uh..., not yet, I was waiting…”
I wasn’t waiting for anything at all. I just have to make the decision.
“I could take care of it. You know, I have a very active parish group. I could talk to them about it.”
I can imagine myself already living with a nice granny with ashy hair, who knits while reading the Bible. Not my original idea, if I even had one. Seeing my uncertainty in the back of my eyes, Father Boyle reassures me:
“I wasn’t suggesting that you live with one of them. Although they are adorable, I wouldn’t take them under my roof myself, unless I have no alternative. But they might know someone suitable looking for accommodation. Someone who would be the same age as you.”
“Ah, uh yes… that could be a good idea,” I answer politely.
“A roommate can turn out to be a very pleasant experience. Myself, when I was in seminary…”
He seems lost in his thoughts, and I wonder what made him take orders. But we don’t know each other well enough for me to ask him the question. He leans on the armrests of the chair and gets up suddenly.
“I won’t bother you any longer. I’ll write the ad, and keep you posted if any candidates come forward.”
The next day, I go to my basketball game, happy to spend some energy. But hardly had I entered the gymnasium when I find myself face to face with… Mark. Well, it’s not just him. He’s right in the middle of a small group of men that I pretty much all know and who, given their outfits, are here for the same thing as me. There’s Jameson, the owner of Verne Estate, his cellar master and friend of my friend Leona: Manon. But also Leo, Cora’s boyfriend, Logan, and Anthony.
“Ah! Here’s the star of the Locron team!” exclaims Logan.
I smile nervously while waving my hand.
“Hi, guys!”
What the hell is Mark doing here? Logan gives me an answer when he specifies:
“There are several players who are sick at the Verne Estate, so Leo and Mark will replace them.”
“Uh… isn’t that against the rules?”
Logan laughs as he slaps me on the shoulder:
“There's my Loraine with her cop mind! The rules are the rules. Look, we’re not going to make a big deal out of this. If we don’t accept Leo and Mark, they’re forced to forfeit. We’re here primarily to play, right?”
“And then, technically, Leo and Mark have links with the estate,” argues Jameson. “Mark is one of our resellers since he offers our wines on his menu. And Leo is one of our suppliers, he’s the one who drew up the plans for our new warehouse.”
They all look at me like the final decision is mine. Logan is right, I’m here to play first and foremost. I’ll not dwell on the details of the regulations.
“Okay, see you on the court.”
Half an hour later, the game is still in its early stages, but we already have the advantage, thanks in particular to the two three-pointers that I scored. It must be said that the defence deployed by Mark isn’t very effective when I put myself into action. It’s like he’s scared to approach me. Still, it seems to me that he didn’t play too badly. My references certainly date from high school, but all the same... In addition, I have the impression that he’s not as reserved when it’s one of my male teammates that he has to mark. But I’m not going to complain if he makes it easy for me! On the other hand, when once again he could have blocked me quite easily and he misses his opportunity, Jameson gets angry.
“f**k, Mark! Don’t be afraid of contact! She’s not sugar-coated, she isn’t going to break!”
The chef of the Café de la Place gives me a look, then turns to his captain. I then understand what he said silently to him: Yes, but she’s a girl!
I am indeed the only one this evening. This isn’t the first time that this has happened. Even if in theory we’re entitled to mixed teams, in practice, they are often 100% male. I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t want preferential treatment. But a tiny part of me is still happy that he noticed this detail. Yes, I’m tall, I’m able to open a can of beer without a bottle opener, I can certainly carry weights heavier than half of them, and I can whistle with my fingers, but I'm not any less a woman.
The game resumes, it’s time to widen the gap so that it’s impossible for them to catch up. The passes, the dribbles are linked. The Verne Estate team is in good shape, but we’re not being fooled. Logan retrieves the ball, he crosses the court. I move quickly to be available. His eye catches mine, he throws the ball at me. With a flexible gesture accompanied by a slight jump to avoid an opponent, I catch it. I turn around, ready to run towards the basket. My body is already in motion, my eyes aren’t yet on target, but that’s okay, it’s instincts that count. Well… maybe a line of sight would have been useful to me because the next second I hit something solid that’s in my way. Unbalanced, I fall back, my head hits the ground.
It’s suddenly dark.
- Writer
