21 Days in October Read Online Free PDF

you know if Luc has a girlfriend?”
    â€œI don’t think so.”
    Gaétan can sense the concern in his friend’s mother’s voice, but he also detects a bit of curiosity. Mme Maheu had a difficult time accepting her son’s departure and is always eager to learn more about his life away from her. But the more questions she asks, the less he answers.
    All the same, all this talk of unknown visitors intrigues Gaétan.
    â€œI’ll pass by tonight to see if there’s still someone there.”
    â€œYou’re real helpful, thank you. You never know, maybe it’s just some rubby crashing in an empty apartment. In any case, I’ll be waiting to hear from you. I’m going to the Laviolette Baths, do you want to walk partway with me?”
    â€œOk.”
    Since Luc moved out and left Mme Maheu alone, she has a hard time filling up her days. When she has company, she doesn’t let it go easily. She recounts her life story, explaining how she raised her son all on her own. It’s her greatest source of pride.
    Because he knows all of her stories by heart, Luc can’t stand listening to her go on and on. But this is all new to Gaétan. He listens attentively, thinking she has a gift for storytelling, and she enjoys it.
    â€œYou know, Gaétan, I can’t believe that Luc’s done anything wrong. He was always a good boy. I brought him up right, even if he never knew his father. Poor man, there was an accident unloading a ship—a crate fell on ’im, killed ’im. I didn’t even know I was pregnant. We were to get married in the spring.”
    Gaétan has known this for a while, but he lets her continue.
    â€œWe didn’t have it easy at the end of each month. But even when I didn’t have a cent to my name, I had my tricks. Luc never lacked anything. When a shipment of molasses arrived at the port, I used to get up early and go down Notre-Dame to the reservoirs. I lived on Panet back then, but now it’s all been demolished. It was a long walk to Frontenac. I’d bring lotsa small containers, we all did. You had to come at the right time and sneak through the fence to the dock. When they were finished unloading, the crane operator would drop a barrel, like it was an accident. All us women would rush to fill our containers. You had to do it quickly, because they kept an eye on those docks. We weren’t supposed to be there. Sometimes we returned empty-handed ’cause the operator had forgotten us. Or maybe he was being watched. We never found out who it was, but that man put a smile on so many young faces in the neighbourhood.”
    They arrive in front of the Laviolette Baths on De Lorimier, where Mme Maheu comes once a week to wash since she doesn’t have a bathroom. The boy leaves her, promising to return with a full report the next day.

    But Gaétan wants to get to the bottom of it right away. He goes directly to Luc’s and rings the doorbell. No answer. He looks through the door pane: everything is quiet.
    He decides to go through the back lane. He carefully peeks through the kitchen windows. The apartment is empty. He enters.
    The remnants of a breakfast are lying on the kitchen counter. The bed is unmade. Yet he had cleaned up before leaving on Friday. The furnace is on. He leaves without touching anything. Mme Maheu wasn’t making it up. Someone has definitely spent the night here, and it appears that whoever it is will return. Gaétan decides to come back in the evening to find out more.

    A few hours later, he’s back. An icy drizzle makes him shiver. It’s dark. “What a terrible night to play James Bond,
”
he mutters to himself.
    From down in the lane, he can see a light coming from Luc’s apartment. He climbs furtively up the spiral staircase and sneaks onto the porch. He’s stunned by what he sees inside.
    A tall redhead is cooking: it’s Paul, Luc’s friend from the union.