Last evening I got a phone call from this dear friend of mine, at one time in my life I should say a real partner in crime. She called me to say she became mother for the third time. After two sweet little girls she gave birth to a cute baby boy. Everything went well, and both mother and son are in perfect health. It was something else that caught my attention like a fly does to a frog, which was exactly how I felt at that moment. I wanted to roll out that tongue of mine and catch the fly. The fly being Fréderique, an old acquaintance of both Mary and me. More of a sweetheart to me than to Mary, but she never held that against me. No, she has always been very understanding and caring.
Anyway, as we were speaking I heard a voice in the background constantly shouting. I know she married a mute, so I knew it couldn’t be her husband, so I asked what was going on. She told me Fréderique was there. He had been depressed and had been hospitalised after several suicide attempts, and when he was released from the asylum he phoned her to ask if he could stay awhile until he found himself a place of his own. That was six months earlier, and by then she was pregnant and could use a pair of extra hands around the house. Perhaps you need to know she and her family live in the country in a beautiful farmhouse with lots of small animals, which also implies there is a lot of work. So she gladly welcomed Fréderique. It gave her the opportunity to interact with someone in a normal way, not with sign language, and not on some childish level with her children. She also told me Fréderique has been recovering in a wonderful way, and he was practically the guy we knew years ago. I was glad to hear that. And I was dying to see Fred, like I used to call him.
There was only one other thing, and that kind of gave me shivers in places I never thought I was able to get shivers. Her little baby boy is called Noah. And I freaked. In my mind, not on the phone. Why you ask? Well I tell you.
Long ago, when I was discovering all things wonderful I was very much in love, with this Jewish guy called Noah. Mary also thought Noah was top of the bill, but Noah chose me, not Mary. She was furious with envy and tried to sabotage every single date. It was the only time in our lives we didn’t speak to each other for over two years. Anyway, me and Noah had to break up because his family thought I was a prostitute. Which in a way I was, but if his father hadn’t visited this brothel I was working, they would never have found out. So we ended our relationship and I was totally fucked up. I cried for days and days, and nothing could comfort me. Well almost nothing. First of all Mary came back, apologized and did everything within her powers to restore my old self. I’m still ever so grateful to her for that. And then came Fréderique. I met him while I was working as a neighbourhood girl. He also worked the streets for money and one cold evening, when no cars drove by, we ended up talking and eventually in my bed. We stayed together for years but always behind closed doors. Only Mary knew. Fréderique had a very jealous boyfriend, and he was afraid he would find out. My relation with Fred ended when one day, for no reason at all, he disappeared. And now he seemed to be back.
So I am leaving for the country. I have no real commitments here right now, so I’m going to visit Mary, Noah and Fred right now. I’ll be back some time next week.
