Nobody had got back to him about the film he had been trying to get off the ground for three years. It was the story of a woman in the Swiss canton of Aargau who had stood in for a sick priest at Mass, a lay preacher who had also officiated at weddings for several years, bringing worshippers back to the little church. In a religion where women weren’t even allowed to be altar servers, the Bishop of Basel was furious, especially as the lay preacher advocated freedom of choice, including in sexual matters. It didn’t help that the lay preacher made the parishioners happy and encouraged others to find their vocation. The story was made more interesting because all record of it had mysteriously disappeared from the internet, so the two scriptwriters had had a hell of a job working on it. Certain subjects and people inexplicably vanish from the internet. The problem was that his usual partners weren’t interested in the project, and nor were the banks or television channels. They had accused him of wanting to produce a film just so Lise could play the lead role. After all, Lise was the same age as the woman, Rita. The people who thought that were not wrong. Franck was upset that Lise was no longer acting or being offered roles. Lise, on the other hand, said she was relieved not to have to please or convince others any more, especially as, after the age of fifty, an actress only ever plays women who have been cheated on or abandoned, women who are damaged in one way or another. But her no longer working created an imbalance. Sometimes in childless couples, the one who is out of work is considered vulnerable and fragile, in need of protection. Lise was his wife, but she was also a little like his child as well, the child who didn’t achieve the career she wanted at the outset and had diminishing chances of success. Even though Lise was perfectly happy meditating, doing yoga and finally taking advantage of her four years at the École des Beaux-Arts to rediscover her first passion, painting, Franck would have done anything to see her acting again. Even if it meant ruffling the feathers of his partners and inventing money that he didn’t have, and even though Lise claimed she no longer had any ambition. He was sure that, really, she missed acting, though she wouldn’t admit it to herself. Actors are fragile because they are dependent on the desires of others. If they don’t want you any more, you don’t work any more; if you don’t work any more, they don’t want you any more. It’s a profession that can drive you mad.