The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles Read Online Free Page B

strings getting tangled.
    “I’ve invented environmentally friendly perpetual motion.”
    Jo watched in amazement. “It reminds me of those Chinese yo-yos,” she finally said. “Is your mother here?”
    “She’s in the kitchen, cleaning up.”
    “Aren’t you helping?”
    “She doesn’t want me to. She’d rather I invent things.” “Well, good luck with that.”
    Shirley was at the kitchen sink, rinsing plates and scraping leftovers. The big pots simmering on the stove smelled of rabbit stew and mustard. Shirley was committed to fresh, natural food. Never ate anything canned or frozen. She allowed Gary to eat one artificial ingredient a week “to immunize him against the dangers of modern nutrition,” as she put it. She hand-washed the laundry with Marseille soap, hardly ever watched TV, and every afternoon listened to the BBC, which she said was the only intelligent radio station. She was a tall, broad-shouldered woman, with thick blond hair cropped short. From behind, people sometimes mistook her for a man. “Half man, half vamp,” Shirley would say, laughing. “I knock them out, then I revive them by batting my eyelashes!” She had a black belt in jujitsu.
    Originally from Scotland, Shirley said she’d come to France to attend hotel school and never left. She made her living giving voice lessons at the Courbevoie conservatory, tutoring English, and baking cakes that she sold for 15 euros apiece to a restaurant in Neuilly. She was raising Gary on her own, and never spoke about his father. When the subject came up, she merely grunted, which said what she thought of men in general, and of that man in particular.
    “Do you know what your son is playing with, Shirley?”
    “No, what?”
    “Tampax!”
    “He’s not putting them in his mouth, I hope?”
    “No.”
    “Well, at least he won’t freak out the first time he sees a girl with one.”
    “Shirley!”
    “Joséphine, how come that shocks you? He’s fifteen years old; he’s not a child. So what’s up with you?”
    “I’ve been on a roller coaster all morning. Antoine left. I kicked him out, I mean. I told my sister and I told the girls. Oh, God, Shirley, I think I’ve made a terrible mistake!”
    “You’re not the first woman to lose her husband. And I’m going to tell you a secret: we do just fine. It’s hard being alone at first, but after a while we wouldn’t have it any other way. You’ll see. Life alone is sheer bliss! When I’m in the mood, I sometimes cook candlelit dinners, just for me.”
    “I’m not quite at that point.”
    “I can tell. But this has been coming for so long. Everyone knew except you. It was obscene.”
    “That’s what Hortense said. Can you believe it? My fourteen-year-old daughter knew more than I did! Not only was I being cheated on, but people must think I’m a moron. But none of that matters now, anyway.”
    “Do you wish I hadn’t told you?”
    Joséphine looked at her friend’s sweet face, her short and slightly upturned nose covered in tiny freckles, her honey-green eyes. She shook her head.
    “You’re the nicest person I know, Shirley. And it’s not really that woman Mylène’s fault. If Antoine had been working, he’d never have gotten involved with her. Being put out to pasture at forty, it’s just not right!”
    “Stop it! You’re giving him too much credit, and you’re not seeing straight. It happened now because it was bound to happen sometime. Come on, pull yourself together. Chin up!”
    Joséphine shook her head, unable to speak.
    “Will you look at this amazing woman? She’s about to die of fear because a man left her! Let’s have a cup of coffee and some chocolate. You’ll see, things will start to look up.”
    “I don’t think so, Shirley. I’m so scared! What’s going to become of us? I’ve never lived alone—ever! I can’t do it.”
    Shirley went over and took her by the shoulders.
    “Tell me exactly what it is that frightens you. When you’re scared, you