Still With Me

“Oh, please,” Pierre said wearily.

“Pierre, it’s the truth. It’s like the last time, six years ago, and the time before that, eight years ago, and…”

“And like all the other times,” Pierre thundered.

Jeremy started. What was Pierre getting at? Had he had other relapses that he couldn’t remember?

“You use this as an excuse every time you do something stupid. The last time, it was to get out of going to your mother-in-law’s birthday party. And the time before that, to avoid the consequences of your extramarital affairs…It’s total bullshit, Jeremy.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. You think I’m faking?”

“What do you take me for? An idiot? I’m going to tell you something, Jeremy, because you’re my friend: stop making it all about you, thinking you can toy with other people. We’re not idiots, you know. You’re becoming more and more impossible to deal with. You’re wearing me out, Jeremy.” Pierre’s voice was getting louder and angrier.

Jeremy needed to think about what Pierre was saying. But he had to say something, form some kind of argument. Jeremy felt powerless. He didn’t say a word.

Pierre must have taken his silence for a confession and started talking again. “Okay, I gotta go. As for Victoria, play dead until tomorrow. And talk to her honestly. I’m sorry to have been a little hard on you, but I think you needed a wake-up call. Okay, bye.”

Overwhelmed, Jeremy put down the phone.

So that’s who I am. A manipulator, unfaithful, disrespectful…That’s why Victoria left. It’s a nightmare.

Looking for clues to his past, Jeremy remembered the photo albums. He found them on a shelf in the office. The first three he already knew. The fourth was dedicated to Simon. Jeremy appeared less and less frequently in the photos. He flipped rapidly through the pages and was surprised to discover a shot with his father and mother posing proudly, grandchildren on their laps. His mother had aged since their reconciliation. She was a little more stooped, paler, more fragile. But it was his father’s physique that stopped his heart. What happened to the impressive man he knew? Where was the superhero who, in Jeremy’s childhood dreams, saved his little family from the most frightening monsters? He was thinner. His chest seemed to drag under the weight of fatigue. The rests he’d never taken must have caught up with him, claiming his health in the process.

Did the photo mean he and his father reconciled? Had they seen each other again? Did his father forgive him for his unacceptable, unworthy behavior? The image suggested it might be true. But Jeremy wasn’t in the photo.

Or maybe I’m the one behind the camera, Jeremy reassured himself. He didn’t want to go any further with this train of thought. Their relationship had gotten better. The photo proved it. That was enough.

Jeremy found another photo. Pierre and Clotilde were seated on a restaurant patio. Pierre held Thomas and Simon on his knees. Thomas was laughing. Pierre was making a funny face. Clotilde, she looked away. What a weird girl. Does she ever look happy?

Jeremy closed the album and looked at his desk. It was tidy, clean. He opened the first drawer and found his bank statements, pay slips, his most recent tax return. He’d become a sales manager. He made a good living. His checkbooks revealed he was a spender and took care of himself: suits, shoes, haircuts, restaurants.

The last drawer was locked, doubling his curiosity. The information he’d gathered so far hadn’t shed any light on his current situation. But if he was careful to hide documents or items in his desk, they must be important. He looked for the key on the desk and then throughout the room. He opened the closet, looked under piles of sweaters and shirts, searched the pockets on every jacket, all in vain.

Then he noticed a small box placed on a stand near the door. He went up to it, picked up the box, and tried opening it. The container, made of metal and composite materials, seemed almost hermetically sealed. An area slightly darker than the rest resembled a fingerprint. He ran his finger over it. He heard a click, and the door opened. The box held a keychain and a card holder containing American Express and Visa cards, both in his name, as well as a wad of cash. He took the keys, went to the desk, and opened the drawer.

Several objects were arranged inside. He discovered a framed black-and-white photo, and emotion overwhelmed him. It was one of the rare photos from his childhood. He stood between his parents. Their expressions betrayed their pride and shyness about posing as a family. Jeremy was six years old at the time.

Why would he hide it there? It deserved a place in his living room or on his desk.

Jeremy also recognized the silver case containing the Book of Psalms that Victoria had given him. He picked it up apprehensively. The last time he’d held it in his hands, he had gone to sleep battling horrific sensations and strange visions. He opened the tarnished box, removed the book, and noticed that several pages had been brutally torn out. He checked the numbers of the miss

ing psalms: thirty, seventy-seven, and ninety. Was he the one who had committed this act? He knew it wasn’t possible. Even if he’d never really observed religious law, he had a certain respect for sacred objects. And even if his attempt at suicide went against the essential laws of the religion he was born into, he was a believer, in his own way.

Jeremy also found a packet of letters tied with red ribbon. He took it off and slid the sheets of paper between his hands. They were written by Victoria. The first dated to May 14, 2001, a few days after his suicide attempt:

Jeremy,

My letter probably surprises you. After all, we spend a lot of time together, and I talk to you all the time (too much?). But faced with your silence, I only know how to be silly or discuss uninteresting topics. The situation is not trivial. I find myself watching over a man who wanted to die for me and who now won’t even speak to me. You only talk in your sleep. You say strange things. You talk passionately with invisible beings.

The doctors say you experienced a major psychological shock that you’ll come out of gradually.

So I wait.

Because you mean that much to me.

With you, I shared my first laughter, my first dreams. We were kids, and you accepted my ramblings, my princess fantasies. If we had known how to kiss, how to embrace, we would’ve done it. But at the time, it was enough just to pretend to be in love and hold hands. We were pure and true. And then I grew up. I wanted to find a new audience, more of a challenge. I distanced myself from you. I gave you a bit part. I knew you were in love with me, and that made me happy because I was thoughtless and only wanted to be wanted by others. I forgot about you. You were part of my childhood, and I didn’t want to be a child anymore. I wanted to be a woman who makes her own decisions about joy, love, and life. Because I loved life, Jeremy.

Madly.