Je ne savais vraiment plus quoi faire! J\u2019\u00e9tais toujours sans nouvelles du mari qui devait s\u2019\u00eatre rendu \u00e0 Cologne pour tenter d\u2019y trouver du travail. L\u2019ami Thanassis qui l\u2019accompagnait \u00e9tait rentr\u00e9 depuis quelques jours, mais aucune trace du mari. Au d\u00e9sespoir, je d\u00e9cidai donc de retourner \u00e0 la petite biblioth\u00e8que du village parce que j\u2019avais dr\u00f4lement besoin de parler \u00e0 quelqu\u2019un qui ne connaissait rien de ma vie.<\/p>\n
Toc, toc. La femme m\u2019ouvrit la porte et me reconnut imm\u00e9diatement.
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Que puis-je faire pour toi, jeune fille? Tu me parlais de Cologne l\u2019autre jour. As-tu appris la grande nouvelle?\u00a0\u00bb
\nUn frisson me secoua. Apeur\u00e9e, j\u2019eus soudainement la larme \u00e0 l\u2019\u0153il. Serait-il arriv\u00e9 quelque chose au mari? Y avait-il une histoire sordide que j\u2019ignorais? Je r\u00e9ussis \u00e0 articuler\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Est-il arriv\u00e9 quelque chose \u00e0 un \u00e9tranger?\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0HENRICH\u00a0B\u00d6LL n\u2019est pas un \u00e9tranger! Natif de Cologne en 1917, il est consid\u00e9r\u00e9 comme l\u2019un des plus grands auteurs allemands de la p\u00e9riode de l\u2019apr\u00e8s-guerre. Il habite toujours Cologne, cette fameuse ville dont tu cherchais la d\u00e9mographie il y a quelques semaines.
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Pourquoi me parlez-vous de lui aujourd\u2019hui?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Petite demoiselle, parce qu\u2019il vient tout juste de recevoir le prix Nobel de litt\u00e9rature! J\u2019ai d\u2019ailleurs deux ou trois livres de B\u00d6LL traduits en anglais que je pourrais te pr\u00eater.
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Merci, mais je ne lis qu\u2019en fran\u00e7ais pour le moment.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014 \u00ab\u00a0Mais tu parles tr\u00e8s bien le grec!\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Je suis une Canadienne francophone, de Montr\u00e9al. Je parle grec parce que j\u2019y ai \u00e9pous\u00e9 un Grec originaire du village de Krya Vrysi.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Et vous \u00eates ici en vacances?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0La v\u00e9rit\u00e9? Mon mari est revenu dans son village suppos\u00e9ment pour toujours, mais depuis presque six mois, il n\u2019a rien trouv\u00e9 qui lui convenait pour gagner notre vie.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0A-t-il essay\u00e9 quoi que ce soit?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0\u00c0 notre arriv\u00e9e, il a voulu exporter des flokatis, mais il a vite chang\u00e9 d\u2019id\u00e9e. Fain\u00e9ant comme tout, il pr\u00e9f\u00e8re f\u00eater et n\u2019aime pas travailler.
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Pauvre petite, les paresseux du genre sont tous les m\u00eames! Nous, les vieilles, nous les connaissons comme si nous les avions tricot\u00e9s. Je n\u2019ai jamais eu de b\u00e9b\u00e9, mais dans ma longue vie, j\u2019en ai vu d\u00e9filer des maris qui ont ramen\u00e9 de l\u2019\u00e9tranger de bonnes mamans avec deux ou trois b\u00e9b\u00e9s dans leurs bras. Oui, beaucoup de vaillants Grecs r\u00e9ussissent tr\u00e8s bien en Am\u00e9rique, mais tous les fain\u00e9ants du monde, sous pr\u00e9texte d\u2019avoir le mal du pays, retournent pleurer dans le tablier de leur m\u00e8re. N\u2019est-ce pas ainsi que \u00e7a se passe pour toi? Combien d\u2019enfants as-tu? Les informations au sujet de Cologne, c\u2019\u00e9tait pour ton mari?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Devant cette vieille femme philosophe, je remplis mon tablier de larmes. J\u2019oubliai Cologne, Berlin, Hambourg et Munich. Jamais je n\u2019apprendrais \u00e0 parler l\u2019allemand. Jamais je ne visiterais l\u2019\u00c9glise\u00a0Notre-Dame de Dresde, jamais je ne go\u00fbterais un \u00ab\u00a0apfelstrudel\u00a0\u00bb (un strudel aux pommes). Plus jamais je ne laisserais le mari me toucher! Je le jurai.<\/p>\n
De retour chez la belle-m\u00e8re, la paire de souliers du mari me sauta aux yeux en premier. Je n\u2019allais surtout pas y toucher, m\u00eame s\u2019ils \u00e9taient bariol\u00e9s de boue s\u00e9ch\u00e9e et que j\u2019aurais d\u00fb les nettoyer. En entrant dans la cuisine, la belle-m\u00e8re me chuchota que l\u2019homme dormait \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tage. Il \u00e9tait enfin rentr\u00e9 de son p\u00e9riple et, vingt jours apr\u00e8s son d\u00e9part, je n\u2019avais plus du tout envie de le questionner. Qu\u2019il aille au diable! Mes petits se trouvaient chez la voisine avec leur tante Despina. J\u2019avais vraiment envie de grimper sur le toit de la maison et de me jeter dans le vide, mais j\u2019ai h\u00e9sit\u00e9. J\u2019aimais mes b\u00e9b\u00e9s et je courus les chercher tellement j\u2019avais besoin d\u2019affection.<\/p>\n
Je les trouvai tous \u00e9tendus sur le vieux flokati. Ils criaient, jouaient. Le tout petit b\u00e2illait de fatigue, mais il ne pleurait pas. Sur la table de la cuisine, un plateau de galaktoboureko (g\u00e2teau feuillet\u00e9 \u00e0 la semoule avec sirop aromatis\u00e9) et une carafe de th\u00e9 attir\u00e8rent mon regard. Je n\u2019avais presque rien mang\u00e9 depuis deux jours et je d\u00e9vorai le g\u00e2teau qu\u2019elle m\u2019offrit.<\/p>\n
\u00c0 la maison, l\u2019homme dormait toujours comme un ours et, malgr\u00e9 ma tr\u00e8s grande curiosit\u00e9, je n\u2019avais aucune envie de le r\u00e9veiller. Je courus plut\u00f4t chez l\u2019ami Thanassis et, Dieu merci, il s\u2019y trouvait. Il n\u2019avait pas grand-chose \u00e0 me raconter puisque le mari et lui s\u2019\u00e9taient disput\u00e9s la troisi\u00e8me soir\u00e9e apr\u00e8s leur arriv\u00e9e \u00e0 Cologne. J\u2019imaginais facilement pourquoi. Thanassis avait vite constat\u00e9 que l\u2019homme dormait jusqu\u2019\u00e0 midi chaque jour. Puis il se levait, se douchait, s\u2019habillait et buvait quatre \u00e0 cinq caf\u00e9s pour ensuite trouver un comptoir pour avaler un souvlaki vers 15\u00a0h. \u00ab\u00a0Avec lui, la journ\u00e9e d\u00e9bute vers trois ou quatre heures de l\u2019apr\u00e8s-midi!\u00a0\u00bb, s\u2019exclama Thanassis.<\/p>\n
Ce qu\u2019il me dit ne me surprit absolument pas. J\u2019avais pourtant espoir que, dans sa terre natale, le mari se d\u00e9gourdirait enfin.
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Je me doutais tellement qu\u2019il allait reproduire la m\u00eame routine qu\u2019\u00e0 Montr\u00e9al! Je ne sais plus \u00e0 quel saint me vouer. Nous sommes en Gr\u00e8ce depuis pr\u00e8s de sept mois et le plus vieux est d\u00e9j\u00e0 en retard pour son ann\u00e9e scolaire\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00c0 SUIVRE\u2026<\/p>\n
Cora
\n\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Je ne savais vraiment plus quoi faire! J\u2019\u00e9tais toujours sans nouvelles du […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":51479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lettre-mme-cora"],"acf":{"img_en":"","contenu_en":"I didn\u2019t know what to do! I still hadn\u2019t heard from Husband, who was supposed to have gone to Cologne to find work. Our friend Thanassis, who was travelling with him, had come home a few days ago, but still no trace of Husband. Desperate, I decided to go back to the small village library to speak with someone who knew nothing about my life.\r\n\r\nKnock, knock. The old woman opened the door and recognized me immediately.\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cWhat can I do for you, young girl? You were inquiring about Cologne the other day. Did you hear the big news?\u201d\r\nTerrified, shivers went down my spine. My eyes teared up. Had something happened to Husband? Was there a sordid story I didn\u2019t know about? I finally uttered, \u201cDid something happen to a newcomer?\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cHENRICH\u00a0B\u00d6LL is no stranger. Born in Cologne in 1917, he\u2019s considered to be one of the greatest post-war German authors.\u201d He still lives in Cologne, the city you asked about a few weeks ago.\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cWhat about him? Why is this important?\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cYoung girl, he just won the Nobel Prize for literature! Speaking of which, I have two or three of his books, translated into English, that I could lend you.\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cThank you, but I only read in French for now.\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cBut you speak Greek very well!\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m French Canadian, from Montreal. I speak Greek because I married a Greek man who\u2019s originally from Krya Vrysi.\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cAre you here on vacation?\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cThe truth? My husband came back to his village supposedly to settle, but he hasn\u2019t found a job that suits him in the almost seven months we\u2019ve been here.\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cHas he tried everything?\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cShortly after we arrived, he wanted to export flokatis, but he quickly changed his mind. He\u2019s lazy to be frank. He prefers to live it up and doesn\u2019t like to work.\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cOh, dear. Lazy men are all the same! Old ladies like me know them like the back of our hands. Certainly, many hard-working Greeks earn a good living in America, but all the laziest ones come back to cry on their mother\u2019s shoulder, pretending to be homesick. Isn\u2019t that what\u2019s happened to you? How many kids do you have? The information about Cologne, was that for your husband?\u201d\r\n\r\nI then poured my heart out to this old wise woman. Forget Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. I\u2019d never learn to speak German. I\u2019d never visit the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), taste an authentic \u201capfelstrudel\u201d (apple strudel). I swore I\u2019d never let Husband touch me ever again!\r\n\r\nBack at my mother-in-law\u2019s house, the first thing I saw were Husband\u2019s shoes. They were filthy and covered in dry mud, but I certainly wasn\u2019t going to touch them even though I was expected to clean them. When I walked into the kitchen, my mother-in-law whispered that Husband was sleeping upstairs. He\u2019d finally come home from his journey. After 20\u00a0days without a word, I had no desire now to hear how it had gone. To hell with him! My kids were at the neighbour\u2019s with their aunt Despina. I fought the urge to go to the rooftop and throw myself off it. Instead, filled with love for the children, I ran to them in search of their affection.\r\n\r\nThey were lying on the old flokati when I got there. They were screaming and playing. The baby was sleepy but wasn\u2019t crying. I noticed a platter of galaktoboureko (a syrupy pastry filled with custard) and a large pot of tea on the kitchen table. Having barely eaten anything in two days, I devoured the sweet cake she offered me.\r\n\r\nBack at home, Husband was still sleeping like a log. I was curious but had zero intention of waking him. I ran to Thanassis\u2019 home and found him there, thank goodness. He hadn\u2019t much to tell me since he had gotten into an argument with Husband on the third night they were in Cologne. I could easily imagine why. Thanassis had quickly realized that Husband slept until noon every day. When he\u2019d finally wake up, he\u2019d shower, get dressed, drink four or five coffees and only go out at 3 p.m. in search of a souvlaki bar. \u201cHis day starts around 3 or 4\u00a0in the afternoon!\u201d exclaimed Thanassis.\r\n\r\nThe tale he told came as no surprise. I had hoped naively that, once back in his homeland, Husband would finally act like a man.\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cI was worried he\u2019d do the same thing as in Montreal! I\u2019m at a complete loss. We\u2019ve been in Greece for nearly seven months and the oldest one is already behind on his school year.\u201d\r\n\r\nTO BE CONTINUED\u2026\r\n\r\nCora\r\n\u2764\ufe0f"},"yoast_head":"\n