21 Days in October by Magali Favre Read Free Book Online Page B

aren’t extremists.”
    â€œEither way, it’s because of the stupid FLQ bums that the army is everywhere.”
    Gaétan sighs. There’s no point arguing with his mother.
    â€œYou got two cents, Ma? I want to make a call.”
    â€œWho to?” she asks, smiling.
    â€œSomeone’s curious!”
    She tosses him a coin, laughing.
    â€œA mother can try! At your age, you should be paying more attention to girls than to your father’s crazy ideas.”
    Gaétan slips on his coat and runs to the phone booth on the corner. Bell cut off their phone service two months ago because of late payments. With his next paycheque, the family might get the phone line back.
    It rings several times. No answer. But Louise had told him that she’d be there this morning. He walks back home a bit disappointed. He’ll call back later.
    Instead of going into the house to listen to his mother grumble, Gaétan decides to pass by Luc’s to see if someone is still in the apartment. He hasn’t been there since Tuesday.
    As usual, he takes the back lane, which looks forlorn at this time of year with its empty clotheslines. Gaétan likes to see all the colourful clothes flapping in the wind. It makes the neighbourhood seem festive. He sneaks around some children who are playing street hockey. Two large cardboard boxes serve as goals. Each Saturday morning, the lanes are alive with the shrieks of children pretending to be Jean Béliveau or Yvan Cournoyer. Tonight, they’ll all be sitting in front of their televisions to watch the Canadiens play the Philadelphia Flyers.
    When he gets to Luc’s balcony, Gaétan notices that the door pane has been replaced. He looks through the window. Everything is in order. Is Paul still living here? He goes in and walks around the apartment. There isn’t a trace of him anywhere. He’s disappeared.
    Although he has no news of her son, he heads over to see Luc’s mother and tell her that Paul is no longer in the apartment.
    â€œI heard on the radio that the people who were arrested without warrants are beginning to be released,” he tells her. “Luc should be getting out soon.”
    â€œI dunno. There are new raids and new arrests every day.”
    Gaétan doesn’t reply. He doesn’t tell her about the drawing of the
Patriote
he saw lying on the counter or that Paul is supposed to be in Abitibi. He doesn’t want to worry her.
    â€œYou staying to eat? I made a
tourtière
.”
    Gaétan doesn’t dare say no—and anyway, there’s no turning down Mme Maheu’s
tourtière
. She gets out a jar of homemade pickles. He bites into a tangy pickle, all crunchy and delicious.
    In Mme Maheu’s house, as in all the other neighbourhood houses, the radio is constantly crackling in the background. When they hear the theme song to the news, both listen attentively.
    â€œThe Montréal police have just announced that a message from the FLQ has been found. Its authors demand the immediate release of union leader Michel Chartrand, lawyer Robert Lemieux, and Patriotes Pierre Vallières and Charles Gagnon, or Montréal will pay.”
    The woman and the young man look at each other, bewildered. The announcer adds that the police are questioning the document’s authenticity.
    â€œAnd with the elections tomorrow,” Gaétan sighs. “It’s not looking good!”

    * Free translation:
“His trousers a bloody shame/ It’s where he got his name/ Bozo-in-Britches/ Never learned to hold a pen/ Could hardly count to ten/ Bozo-in-Britches/ In English he’d jabber away/ Worked all night and slept all day/ Bozo-in-Britches/ Though he barely went to school/ He knew that English was a handy tool/ Bozo-in-Britches.”

11
Sunday, October 25
    L ouise still isn’t answering her telephone. There’s been no sign of her since Friday. Gaétan walks around in circles in the empty