When I typed in Lola Martin’s name, I got a little surprise: a beguine singer.⁴ I could hardly hope for better than a beguine singer! I immediately listened to her song ‘Ti Paule’, an ode to Martinique so evocative that I could practically smell the rum punch and the easy living. As I streamed a few of Lola Martin’s songs, I also read some of the comments about her. Pimpky 46 posted: ‘Pure sunlight in my ears! And it can’t be easy for a girl to succeed like this in such a man’s world. Respect and Love!’ How courageous this Lola was. And always smiling: the elegance of a fighter incarnate.

I looked through pages and pages of Martins to reassure myself. I don’t know why I have such an anxious relationship with names. It was the same with Madeleine Tricot. I almost have the impression that the most important thing for any character is their name. Everything else flows from that. The fact that I hadn’t chosen these characters’ names made me feel like the father of a child who’d already been named. So I’d wanted to observe a few different Martin lives, particularly those with the same first names as my characters, to assess their literary potential. Reassured by my search results, I ended up feeling very happy with my little Martin family.

1. 4. Admittedly her next-door neighbour in this web search was in charge of customer relations at the BRED cooperative bank.

14

I got home just before eleven. My laptop was open on my desk.

I was able to read the last words I’d written before giving up. A few hours prior to this, I’d felt almost physically sick of fiction and had gone outside to find a story in the street. All of this seemed crazy or at least rather odd, but what did it matter? There’s no point trying to label our intuitions. All I knew was that I now had an entire family at my disposal. Five characters whose life stories I could tell. I was already excited at the idea of seeing them again and finding out more about them. For the moment, I typed up a brief summary.

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT MY CHARACTERS (1)

Madeleine Tricot, about 80 years old (I didn’t ask her exact age). Widow. Two daughters: Valérie and Stéphanie, who lives abroad. There seems to have been a falling-out between the two sisters. Madeleine worked in fashion and has a few stories about Karl Lagerfeld (need to find out more). Mentioned a tragic first love. Can’t wait to hear about that. Has memory problems. Early stages of Alzheimer’s according to her daughter. But I didn’t notice anything amiss.

Valérie Martin, 45. Married, two children. To take the pressure off her mother, she decided I should also write about her and her family. Occupation: history and geography teacher at a secondary school in the deprived outskirts of Paris. Often goes to see her mother. Doesn’t seem very happy.

Patrick Martin. Same age as his wife. Works in insurance. Was summoned to a meeting in three days’ time by his boss Desjoyaux (check spelling). Fears he’ll be fired. Seems the pessimistic, anxious type. Distinguishing features: has a moustache (I don’t know yet whether this will prove significant but I’m noting it just in case).

Jérémie Martin, 15. Typical teenager: lazy and lethargic. Does seem to have a sense of humour though.

Lola Martin, 17. Secretive. Barely spoke during dinner. Beyond her suspicion towards me, she struck me as being miles away, lost in her own thoughts. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but she seems like the kind of person who has a secret.