Gontran Martin - v ENG - ch4a

- IV -

The come evening, my wife and I underwent the by-effect of the loss of our friend. It is him which had joined together us and I had him obviously selected like witness with our marriage. He was a solitary man of nature, orphan, but also by choice, his with anarchist side and nonconformist had been worth to him one year of delay in his studies and our age difference increased on me the feeling to have a big brother whom I never had. I took paper and I started to write a letter which I would not send inform with a non-existent family the loss of one of them. It’s sometimes easier to express these feelings by write. My soft wife did not say to me to lie down, contrary to her soft practice, preferring left me in my pages that I blackened the ones after the others. It is only late in the night that I threw these useless sheets and that I joined my tender half in our bed. The morning, when I passed in front of the door of the cabinet of my regretted fellow-member, I noticed with rage his plate had already been withdrawn. Without losing one second I knocked on the door of the director of the university with unaccustomed violence. The director opened to me quickly, surprised of such strength in a Doctor considered to be calmer. Once the explained situation the calmly explained, Director in his immense leather armchair to announce to me he would not cry for the disappearance of my friend. He never respected the regulations and if he had died that was only because it’s him faulted. These remarks badly placed reflect me in rage. I required that his plate remain on his door during one month at least, for simple respect towards his memory and his six years of service as a Doctor and Professor in psychiatry in this establishment which seems to too easily forget his members who more have, more considered and the human ones of the city as much near his pupils that of his patients contrary to some other colleagues as pleasant as a iceberg  which continues the lectures most incomplete and the meetings of psychiatry giving thousand times less result. My imposing presence, my charisma of the moment or my ardour were right on my superior who promised to me to give the plate as quickly as possible. I closed the door behind me then carried out what I had just done and with which. By looking at the ceiling, I put at smiling by hoping that my comrade is proud of me. The morning passed in a great lassitude but when I left to take my meal, I passed my finger with pleasure on the plate engraved on the close door with mine. On the way of the refectory I noticed I still had the watch in the pocket.