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

is?”
    â€œWhat do you mean by ‘like he is’?” she answered, using air quotes.
    â€œKind of angry, unsociable, taciturn? . . .”
    â€œOh, that? Yes, always. He’s had a fucking awful character since he was born.”
    â€œNice. I feel sorry for your parents.”
    â€œDidn’t Abby tell you anything? They were the ones who brought us up—Abby and Jack. Our mother died giving birth to me; Edward was six years old. Our father didn’t want to take care of us, so he sent us to our aunt and uncle.”
    â€œI’m really sorry . . .”
    â€œDon’t be. I had wonderful parents and wanted for nothing. You’ll never hear me call myself an orphan.”
    â€œYou never lived with your father?”
    â€œWe did spend a few days with him, when he deigned to come out of his office, but it was hellish. Because of Edward.”
    â€œEdward wasn’t happy to see him?”
    â€œNo. He thinks our parents abandoned us. He holds a grudge against the whole world. In spite of all the admiration he had for dad, as soon as they were in the same room, they’d start fighting.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œEdward is exactly like him. So there have always been sparks between them. They spent all their time shouting at each other.”
    â€œWhat about you? Were you caught in the middle?”
    â€œYes. You can imagine the atmosphere.”
    â€œAnd are things as confrontational as ever?”
    â€œDad died.”
    â€œOh . . .”
    â€œYeah, we’ve had some hard times.”
    She gave a little laugh, lit a cigarette, and stared out into space for a few seconds before continuing.
    â€œThey fought right up to the end, but Edward stayed with dad throughout his whole illness. He spent hours at his bedside. I think they made their peace. I never found out what they said to each other. Edward won’t talk about it; he just assured me that dad died peacefully.”
    â€œHow old were you?”
    â€œI was sixteen and Edward was twenty-two. He immediately decreed that he was now head of the family and had to provide for me. Abby and Jack couldn’t do anything about it. He came and got me and took me to live with him.”
    â€œHow did he manage everything?”
    â€œNo idea. He was going to college, working, and taking care of me. As he got older, he created a shell around him to protect himself from everything and everyone.”
    â€œDoesn’t he have any friends?”
    â€œA few, hand-picked. It’s almost impossible for him to trust anyone. He’s convinced he’ll either be betrayed or abandoned. He taught me to get along by myself and not to count on anyone. He always protected me and never hesitated to get into a fight to defend me from guys he thought were coming on to me too much.”
    â€œIs he violent?”
    â€œNot really; he fights when people really annoy him, you know, when he gets pushed too far.”
    â€œI think that’s exactly what I did,” I mumbled.
    She looked at me, screwing up her eyes.
    â€œYou’re not afraid of him though, are you?”
    â€œI don’t know. He was really nasty to me.”
    She burst out laughing.
    â€œWell, you coming here must have really pissed him off, but don’t worry: he has high principles. Amongst them, never to raise a hand to a woman. He’d more likely be the kind of guy to help a damsel in distress.”
    â€œI’m having trouble imaging that the person you’re describing is my neighbor.”
    Judith was going back to Dublin the next day. She met me on my daily walk along the beach with Postman Pat. We were sitting on the sand. She was trying to find out some information about me again.
    â€œYou’re hiding something. What are you doing here? I can’t believe that neither Abby or I have been able to worm anything out of you.”
    â€œThere’s nothing to tell. My life isn’t interesting, I