A Sketch by Jean-Pierre Martinez
A homeless person is there, begging. A man and a woman arrive. They carefully avoid him.
Her – There are many more homeless people in this neighbourhood now, aren’t there?
Him – That’s true, when we used to live here, there weren’t so many people on the streets.
They stop and look at the façade of a building on the side of the street.
Him – Do you remember?
Her – Yes.
Him – It was on the sixth floor, wasn’t it?
Her – The seventh.
Him – Oh yes, that’s right.
Her – It feels so far away…
Him – We hardly had any furniture.
Her – We didn’t have a dishwasher.
Him – We didn’t even have high-speed internet.
Her – Bohemian life…
Him – We didn’t have much, but we were happy.
Her – Are we really happier now?
Him – Money doesn’t buy happiness, as they say.
Her – We were content with what we had, and we weren’t any less happy.
Him – We were young. We loved each other.
Her – We’re still young, aren’t we? And we still love each other?
Him – That’s true, it’s only been six months.
Her – Six months! Feels like ten years to me.
Him – Same here. I’ve almost forgotten our life before. Are you sure this is the right number, at least?
Her – Oh yes, indeed. Number 13. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that too. The complementary number!
They look at the façade for a moment in silence, with a blissful smile on their faces.
Him – 60 million, can you believe it?
Her – It changes life, for sure.
Him – Already, we’re no longer forced to live on the seventh floor of a building.
Her – Well, I quite liked that apartment. It had a beautiful view of the Seine quays.
Him – Yes. But it wasn’t very spacious.
Her – Three hundred square meters for the two of us was already quite good.
Him – Still. On the seventh floor.
Her – With an elevator…
Him – Remember when it broke down? For a week, the maid had to climb seven floors with our packs of mineral water.
Her – Poor thing…
Him – For sure, she’s much happier now that we live in a one-story villa in Neuilly.
Her – The quays are central, but very noisy.
Him – That’s why we chose that duplex on the top floor.
Her – Oh yes, that’s true… It was a duplex…
Him – That’s why I couldn’t remember if it was the sixth or seventh.
Her – You’re right. Actually, we had both floors.
A new emotional silence.
Him – Come on, let’s go. We won’t fall into nostalgia.
Her – And the driver is waiting for us.
Him – He’s paid for that, isn’t he?
Her – So, how many millions do we have now?
Him – We already had 10 from my family.
Her – Plus 20 from mine.
Him – With the 60 million from the lottery…
Her – That should be around 80, then.
Him – If I may, I’d say closer to 90…
Her – Me and numbers, you know… I’ve never been good at counting.
Him – You’re not a money person. That’s why I married you.
They leave, carefully avoiding the homeless person.
Her – Maybe we could give him something…
Him – Forget it. I only have big bills…
Black.
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A sketch from the collection Sidewalk Chronicles
Link to the collection for free download (PDF)
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