{"id":118,"date":"2024-10-21T09:34:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T09:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/mme-el\/?p=118"},"modified":"2024-10-21T09:34:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T09:34:57","slug":"mme-el-and-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/mme-el\/mme-el-and-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Mme El and others"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I <\/span>could see that she was full of powerless, mute anger: <\/span>L\u00e9onine was there with her grandchildren, the youngest <\/span>having just got up after her siesta and L\u00e9onine saying she <\/span>was like \u2018M\u00e9m\u00e9\u2019, great-grandmother, having her siesta at the <\/span>same time. And taking the same food, implied all mashed up <\/span>for want of teeth. The little one\u2019s big sister, six years old, added <\/span>that she can\u2019t walk as fast! That\u2019s right, L\u00e9onine stressed, she <\/span>can\u2019t walk as fast. Don\u2019t the little ones take it in! <\/span>Mme El\u2019s great-grand-daughter, six-year-old Ad\u00e8le, came <\/span>in, on her toes as most of the time, in a new striking dress, <\/span>looking quite different. Mme El asked her who she was, her <\/span>name, and the little girl tiptoed around not saying anything <\/span>and then turning to me with a whisper \u2018elle perd un peu la <\/span>t\u00eate\u2019, she\u2019s losing her head a little. I said nobody is losing their <\/span>head here and what\u2019s your name? I made her repeat it, for it <\/span>wasn\u2019t clear the first time.<\/span>
While we were all out in the relative warmth of the roofed <\/span>yard, more visitors arrived: Mr and Mrs Blethen, distant <\/span>neighbours, formerly customers for milk and parish members <\/span>of long standing. L\u00e9onine took them to one side, a few steps <\/span>away, and talked about the garden, mentioning her \u2018belle-<\/span>m\u00e8re\u2019, her mother-in-law. Mme El turned to me, wondering <\/span>what had been said about her, but I hadn\u2019t been listening and <\/span>therefore didn\u2019t know. These visitors left soon after, I stayed <\/span>on for a while.<\/span>
Little Ad\u00e8le plays cat-and-mouse with great-grandmother <\/span>M\u00e9m\u00e9, she being the cat, trying to trap the bewildered old <\/span>lady by putting silly questions to her which will produce silly <\/span>answers or eating pancakes in front of her, not only one but <\/span>six for the sake of the game, knowing full well that Mme El <\/span>loves food but is not allowed any in between meals. I have to <\/span>step hard on Mme El\u2019s foot to prevent her from imploring the <\/span>child to let her have some. The wicked little thing then asks <\/span>me whether I would like a pancake, she would bring me one, <\/span>but I ignore the question. The child insists, doggedly repeating <\/span>the same question three, four, five times until eventually I tell <\/span>her to take Mme El\u2019s coffee-tray into the kitchen. She picks <\/span>up the tray, but before going demands yet again an answer <\/span>to her question. I repeat my request to take the tray into the <\/span>kitchen and she goes. When she hears me address Mme El <\/span>who to her is M\u00e9m\u00e9, she mockingly repeats my words. I once <\/span>heard Gerrer upraid the child when she was pushing past her <\/span>great-grand-mother without apologizing.<\/span>
On the afternoon following Lyn\u2019s departure I went to see <\/span>Mme El and told her about all our health troubles during <\/span>the visit. She was concerned but confident that we would <\/span>put them behind us. Then we went out under the hangar <\/span>where I washed her feet for her as requested by L\u00e9onine, the <\/span>pedicure lady being expected, Mme Lew. Her son turned up <\/span>and laughed, it looked, I understood, like the apostles having <\/span>their feet washed. Except that this is feminine, I replied. Mme <\/span>Lew appeared and I took my leave.<\/span>
Mme El\u2019s, visitors turned up while I was there. They had come <\/span>to see Gerrer and L\u00e9onine, but made a point of greeting Mme <\/span>El, too, in her room. Two elderly men, my age and more, all <\/span>bent and toothless one of them, but beaming when they saw <\/span>me \u2013 we had met before at Mme El\u2019s, I vaguely remembered <\/span>when they pointed it out to me. Mme El\u2019s memory was jerked <\/span>into activity by the visitors. She recognized the old fellow <\/span>peasants from the road to St Amans whom she had known all <\/span>her life, later she even told me their names. \u2018Bou Du!\u2019, \u2018Bon <\/span>Dieu!\u2019 she said \u2018fancy seeing you again\u2019.<\/span>
The younger of the two remembered my nationality and <\/span>asked, did I like to visit my country from time to time, but <\/span>I replied that after nine years here I considered myself an <\/span>authentic village citizen and preferred to stay here. Both <\/span>agreed that here was the best place, good air and not too <\/span>many people, very attractive to retired people \u2013 younger ones <\/span>wouldn\u2019t find any work \u2013 like the two couples from Marseille <\/span>who had bought houses in St Amans and settled down happily, <\/span>not to go back to the old city for anything. I don\u2019t blame them.<\/span>
Then he turned to Mme El, paying her compliments on her <\/span>slimmed-down silhouette. He had remembered her more like <\/span>a \u2018barrel\u2019 and he drew a generous circle with one arm around <\/span>himself for demonstration. L\u00e9onine cottoned on to that and <\/span>told him that \u2018she\u2019 would still be like a \u2018cochon\u2019, (a pig), if she <\/span>got all the food she wanted. Gerrer, standing behind L\u00e9onine <\/span>, raised his eyebrows. There are two ladies with the seniors, <\/span>valuable sopranos in the choir, who most visibly do get all the <\/span>food they want, but I haven\u2019t heard any comment on that. <\/span>Mme El will forget her desire to eat when she reads about <\/span>\u2018les morts\u2019, the dead. The obituary in the local paper will hold <\/span>her attention, even if reading is tiring. There is another option <\/span>which doesn\u2019t cost her any energy: I can put her hair brush to <\/span>use, \u2018penchena\u2019 and she accompanies my activity by \u2018aco es <\/span>bou\u2019, this is good, \u2018aco me fa be\u2019, this does me good and after <\/span>a while \u2018n\u2019 i a prou\u2019, that\u2019s enough, not for her, but for me, she<\/span>
reckons. <\/span>Mme El is feeling better, she can use her left arm again which <\/span>means that the much dreaded prospect of things medical, <\/span>like the doctor\u2019s visit and what might result from it, has gone <\/span>away. She is back on top of life, strong enough to face that <\/span>favourite column in the newspaper. Reading about all these <\/span>dead of different ages, most of them quite old, gives her the <\/span>shudders from a safe distance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I could see that she was full of powerless, mute anger: L\u00e9onine was there with her grandchildren, the youngest having just got up after her siesta and L\u00e9onine saying she was like \u2018M\u00e9m\u00e9\u2019, great-grandmother, having her siesta at the same time. And taking the same food, implied all mashed up for want of teeth. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t