Free Happy People Read and Drink Coffee by Agnès Martin-Lugand

laughing.
    She kept smiling as she continued walking toward me.
    â€œHi, Diane,” she said, before giving me a hug.
    â€œHello,” I replied, taken aback.
    â€œI found out you were taking care of him and I came to see if he wasn’t giving you too much of a hard time.”
    â€œNo, I’m doing fine, except for now.”
    â€œOh, don’t worry; I can’t count the number of times I wound up with my ass in the sand running after him. He only listens to Edward. Though who would dare try anything else with my brother?”
    She burst out laughing, but she talked so incredibly fast I wasn’t sure I’d understood everything.
    â€œEdward’s your brother?”
    â€œYes. Oh, sorry, I haven’t introduced myself: I’m Judith, his younger sister.”
    â€œAnd I’m Diane, but you know that already.”
    â€œGood, so now you’ll offer me something to drink at your place?”
    She linked arms with me, turned us around and headed towards the cottage. This young woman wasn’t Edward’s sister; their parents couldn’t possibly have given birth to two such different children. The only thing they had in common was the color of their eyes; Judith’s were exactly the same greenish-blue as Edward’s.
    I showed her in and she immediately collapsed on the sofa and put her feet on the coffee table.
    â€œWould you like coffee, tea?”
    â€œYou’re French, right, so you must have a good bottle of wine. It’s time for a drink.”
    Five minutes later, we were clinking glasses.
    â€œDiane, I can’t believe you’re as antisocial as my brother. Why are you living here? It’s a beautiful place, that’s true, but what were you thinking?”
    â€œIt’s an experience like any other, living all alone by the sea. But what about you? Where do you live?”
    â€œAbove a pub in Dublin. You have to come.”
    â€œMaybe one day.”
    â€œHow long are you here for? Aren’t you working?”
    â€œNot for the moment. And you?”
    â€œI’m having a few days off, but I’m doing some work at the port. I’m managing the schedules for the containers; it’s not very exciting but it pays the rent and bills.”
    She continued jabbering, a real chatterbox. Then she suddenly shot up, as if she’d been stung by a bee.
    â€œI’m off; Abby and Jack are expecting me.”
    She was already on her way out the door.
    â€œWait, you’ve left your ciggies.”
    â€œKeep them; they’re contraband. I have a little arrangement with the dockers,” she said, winking at me.
    â€œYou’re walking home? It’s dark out. Do you want me to drive you back?”
    â€œAre you kidding? It’ll be some exercise for my thighs. See you tomorrow!”
    Judith came back the next day as she said. Then the day after. Three days in a row she’d invaded my personal space. Yet, paradoxically, her presence didn’t suffocate me. She made me laugh. She was a born flirt. She knew how to show off her figure—she could have been an Italian actress—and swore like a trooper every time she opened her mouth. Dynamite. She bombarded me with cock-and-bull stories about her love life. Even though she was very confident and didn’t fear a thing, any good-looking guy who came along could take advantage of her. She couldn’t resist any bad boy who tried to pick her up.
    That night, she stayed to have dinner with me. She ate enough for four people and could hold her liquor like a man.
    â€œIt’s just us,” she said, unbuttoning her jeans, “Do you mind?”
    I went and opened the door for the dog who was asking for his nighttime walk.
    â€œWhy did my brother leave you his mutt?”
    â€œI owed him a favor.”
    She looked at me suspiciously. Without reacting, I sat down on the couch and tucked my legs underneath me.
    â€œHas Edward always been like he