C1 Chapitre 1

Calypso suddenly lifted her head from her book when she heard her husband enter. She glanced at the clock which marked one in the morning. Her half-drunk husband was leaning against the doorframe staring at it rather unpleasantly. she could have been intimidated but her attitude hadn't meant anything to her for a long time. By dint of having cashed both physically and emotionally she had ended up being immune.

- Whore ! That's all you have to do, he emitted in a voice that sounded more than a cry.

calypso jumped up and stared darkly at him.

- Here, you came home, she finally said after taking a deep breath.

- And you, you prefer to read these stupid books at such a time instead of going to bed. No but, what are you waiting for to get the hell out of here?

offended, she left her seat without having had time to close her book.

- Once again, I'm going to take this tone as resulting from alcohol, she articulated in a voice that she wanted to be calm.

She went to take refuge in her room and took care to lock the door with the key. as she got dressed she ran her fingers over the wound in her hip and swore that this would be the last time he would dare lay a hand on her.

The last time...

Phineas had left the house earlier than usual. she would be more reassured knowing he was looking for a job but she was convinced that he had joined his horde in their usual bar. She found herself almost every night on his knees praying that he didn't come home drunk. And almost every time, she lost the bet.

she removed the teapot from the heat and poured the contents into a cup. She then brought it to her lips but was annoyed with the taste of this coffee. Her stomach was rumbling, she was very hungry. She walked to the dining room, thinking she would find something to make herself a breakfast. however, the refrigerator did not offer him anything satisfactory. She pursed her lip to try not to cry, then closed the refrigerator. She was forced to drink this coffee as bitter as her husband. she sat down on one of the sofas in the living room, hugging her stomach which was crying out for hunger. She grabbed the only thing that could make her forget her hunger. His book. One might, to see her read, be led to believe that she savored novels; which was not really the case. calypso didn't like reading. The multiple attempts to change her mind had turned out to be in vain. This interest in literature was born in the depths of his solitude. Alone, with her setbacks, she had no other escape than books. she very quickly learned to enter the fictitious universe created by writers.

As she took from the table the detective story she had started the day before, she accidentally dropped a book. as she bent down to put it back in place, she noticed that it was the maternity book her friend Blair had left a few days earlier. Her throat tightened when she saw an angelic smiling baby on the blanket and her bright brown eyes. she wanted so badly a child to whom she could tell stories and sing lullabies to fall asleep. Six years of marriage without having conceived. His concern had grown from year to year. and to find out, she went to a doctor for a consultation. His doubts were quickly dissipated. Repeated examinations confirmed that she was healthy. She could well bear a child.

The hardest part was persuading Phin to get checked out. he maintained that he was fine and that he did not need to see a doctor.

She had tried many times to convince him to take these exams, but it always ended in a heated argument. She had therefore stopped addressing this issue. Still, she wanted a child. Didn't she have the right to have them? Sometimes she wondered what it was like to be called "mom" and to have "her little family". Not having been able to receive the love of her parents she wanted at least to offer it. by dint of hope, she had come to believe that fate was against her development. There seemed to be an invisible wall that made it impossible to take another step!

She wiped away the tears from her cheek with the back of her hand and noisily put the book back on the table. she no longer wanted to read when she thought of the fridge, which was empty of provisions. She had to find a job if she wanted to have enough to eat. she also had to pay the rent and the water and electricity bills since her husband no longer played the role of the man of the house since he had been fired from his job: the cause of his alcoholism.

Outside, a blazing heat blanketed the city of Boston. calypso protected his head with a straw hat and trod the sidewalk in search of a job. The smell of grilled sausage made her salivate. She looked around where the smell was coming from and found a man in an apron a few yards down the street in front of a stand busy packing sausages in a khaki bag. her stomach called out at every opportunity and with a quick gesture, she removed from her bag her wallet containing the rest of her savings. She approached the vendor and ordered a hot dog soaked in tomato sauce, which she bit unceremoniously. it did her good to swallow something after that almost undrinkable coffee she had had this morning.

She gulped down the last piece of her hot dog before knocking on the glass door of a clothing store. a blonde woman with the physique of a model opened and turned her attention to the young woman. That neatly curled hair cascaded over her shoulders and her tight dress showed off the birth of her curves.

- Come in !

she crossed the threshold of the door and darted an admiring glance at the interior of the shop.

- Do you have a precise taste on your choice of clothes, Mademoiselle?

She looked up at the blonde and gave her a smile.

- Call me Calypso and no I'm not here to shop, she replied even though she was dying to buy all her luxury clothes to remake her wardrobe. She couldn't afford it and even if they were on sale she couldn't afford it. I came in regarding the ad you posted in the newspaper, she added.

- Oh ok. Have you been a salesperson once? She inquired this time in a serious tone.

- Yes, in my youth I sold sandwiches to be able to pay for my university studies.

the blonde looked disappointed. She expected a woman who had at least had the opportunity to sell clothes and not sandwiches. Besides, she was not dressed well enough. A flaw that could tarnish her image and that of her shop if she ever hired him. initially, she thought that she wanted to makeover by swapping her bohemian dress with small polka dots and her thigh high boots which had lost their colors for more refined and less classic clothes.

Calypso felt embarrassed by the way she was looking at her. what was wrong with him staring at her that way? Besides, there was nothing discreet about it.

- Sorry, but I already gave this job to another person, she blurted out.

She felt like someone was slapping her. she understood perfectly that she did not want her and had preferred to lie. Wasn't she made for this job? Selling clothes has never been so hard and she could do it. So why wouldn't she want her for this job? she narrowed her eyes and tried to smile to hide her pain.

- Okay ! Thank you, and have a good day.

She left the shop disappointed and took a road without knowing where it would lead her. she took the newspaper out of her bag and marked a cross on the post that had just been refused to her. If it continued like this, she and her husband might end up on the streets. Just thinking about it made his stomach twitch. they lived well together with no debts when Phin was working. He wasn't that cold and hateful and didn't have a problem with anyone. They were even almost swimming in happiness. She worked in a bookstore and helped with bills. you have to believe that life was bent on her, to make her existence impossible. As if it wasn't enough for her to have taken her parents away, she had to find a way to make her suffer even more. the bookstore she worked in caught fire and she found herself unemployed the next day her husband was fired. "Calypso has no right to happiness," she whispered bitterly as her phone rang. She took it out of her bag and picked it up.