The Address Book


Anne E.

THURSDAY
7.00-8.00 p.m.

She lives with Charles C. Like Charles, she tells me that Pierre stops by their apartment when he comes to see his father, who lives on the second floor.

“He’s an odd character. Full of possibilities that never get realized. He has lots of ideas on all kinds of subjects. He asks people’s opinions about them because he seems constantly in need of advice, and then he doesn’t follow through.”

She adds,

“He’s a little boy.”

Anne recalls when Pierre spent several days at Gordes with them. During the night, she and Charles heard a disturbing noise. They woke Pierre to ask if he had noticed anything strange. He was very angry about being awakened in the middle of the night. He was absolutely furious, even offensive. No, Anne does not know whether he was wearing pajamas or not, but she was sure he did not sleep in the nude, despite the heat.

Other impressions of Pierre?

“He loves food. He always finishes everything on his plate. It’s not a question of hunger—just a quirk of behavior. Another thing that is typical Pierre: If he meets with you or has dinner with you, he calls you the next day to thank you, to say how nice it was. When he arrives at someone’s home, he behaves apologetically. For the first thirty seconds, you feel he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He performs an almost obsequious little ritual: ‘Excuse me, are you sure I’m not disturbing you?’ When he leaves a message on your answering machine, it’s always very confused. He’s not good at condensing ideas. He has to call back several times.”

I ask Anne if there are any objects belonging to Pierre in her home. No. For ten years, a painting he had done hung on their wall. It was very abstract, in brown and russet tones; he had lent it to them, and they returned it. Recently, Pierre left a fancy ballpoint pen, but he has since picked it up. He had also made some coffee liqueur for them, but they finished it. Before I leave, Anne and Charles show me the windows of Pierre’s father’s apartment, which you can see from their terrace. The metal shutter is closed; he is in the country. In the entryway of the building, I slide my hand into the mailbox and note that the mail is piling up.


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