Alex gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder.
‘I can’t wait until tomorrow.’
He raised his chin. Just thinking about it made him happy. We looked down the street. The old guy who lives next door to us went out with his little dog. He lives with another guy who looks just like him, with very short white hair and a very long moustache.
‘My dad doesn’t like those guys.’
‘Does he know them?’
‘No.’
‘Then why doesn’t he like them?’
‘Just doesn’t.’
‘They’re brothers.’
‘How do you know?’
‘That’s what my dad told me.’
‘Has he ever arrested them?’
‘My dad hasn’t arrested anyone in a long time . . .’
Alex didn’t look at me. That’s the advantage of a kid with no mum. He doesn’t want anyone asking him questions so he doesn’t ask any either. The old guy disappeared around the corner. It was beginning to get dark.
‘Hey, show me again!’
I rewound. We saw Julie open the door. It was incredible how you could see her breast when she bent down. Alex was especially interested in her nipples.
‘Why didn’t you zoom?’
If I didn’t zoom it was because I liked seeing the whole breast better.
‘What are you two still doing out?’
Even Alex jumped when he saw my dad standing in front of us. I never knew I could switch my new video camera off so fast.
‘What sort of nice things have you been filming?’
We didn’t move. Alex turned to look at me, and I nodded. We must just keep quiet. After a while my dad understood he wasn’t going to see anything. He turned towards our apartment.
‘Is Mum home yet?’
‘No, Dad, I haven’t seen her.’
He looked around, worried. He rubbed his chin. You could tell he was wondering where she was. Then he started walking towards our door. He looked sad.
‘Don’t be long, the Christmas tree is waiting . . .’
‘Coming, Dad.’
I got up and turned to Alex.
‘See you tomorrow.’
He looked at my video camera. I could read his lips.
‘Don’t forget to bring it tomorrow . . .’
I winked at him and followed my dad. But I didn’t leave Alex just because my dad was looking sad. Truth is, I love burning the Christmas tree. When I was little I would watch him do it. I had to wait till I was eight before he let me put the branches into the fire. They catch fire quickly, so it’s true that it can be dangerous. It’s really beautiful when the flame suddenly surrounds the dry needles. But the best thing of all is the sound. I never get tired of hearing that sharp crackling. Once the tree has burned and the decorations have been put away in the basement my mum serves the galette des Rois, the Kings’ Cake. She’s the one who started the tradition in our family. She found out about it during a trip to France when she was younger and went there to study. Nowadays she makes the best galettes on earth. I love her almond filling. She puts in extra because she knows I love it. Then there’s the bean. The one who gets it is the king or the queen. When you’re king you get to choose your queen and if you’re queen you choose your king. So every year my mum has been the queen.
‘Where’s Mum?’
‘Out with friends.’
‘Aren’t you going too?’
‘No, they’re her friends.’
‘What’s she doing?’
‘She had some things to take care of. She won’t be long.’
My mum had things to take care of on galette day, the night before we go back to school? I didn’t believe it for a second. I knew my dad was lying. There was something wrong with the situation. He noticed that I’d gone all thoughtful. I could feel his arm go round me, his hand on my shoulder. We stayed like that for a moment. Then we took turns putting tree branches into the fireplace.
‘We make a good pair, don’t we?’
‘Dad, can I take my video camera to school tomorrow?’
‘Out of the question! That’s the ideal place to get it stolen.’
He looked at his watch and at the same time squeezed my shoulder even harder. He was worried.
Slam!
Mum was home at last. She was out of breath. My dad leaped up as if he’d been caught red-handed with his arm around me. In Mum’s hand was a flat white cardboard box.
‘I didn’t have time to make the galette. I stopped to get one at Première Moisson; they’re the best in town. Smell that!’
I leaned over and sniffed the box. I should have said something like, Mum, yours are the best in town!
But I was angry at her for not making one.
‘You’re right, it does smell good.’
She seemed disappointed for a second. She smelled the box.
‘Right. I’ll heat it up.’
My dad followed her into the kitchen. I stayed by the fireplace. There were always a few branches that were still green, that had dodged the flames. I held them right up against the embers, one by one, mercilessly, so that none would survive.
‘I’m not really in the mood to play the queen this evening!’
‘It’s not for us, it’s for him.’
Gosh, my parents couldn’t even be bothered to keep their voices down. I could hear everything.
‘You’re right.’
‘And your apartment?’ he asked.
‘It’s no good.’
‘What do you mean, it’s no good?’
‘They’re keeping it another month. The work on their new house isn’t finished.’
‘Where will you go?’
‘Well, there’s the cottage .
