Le jour du travail

Story

Aujourd'hui, Marc va au bureau de monsieur Dubois. Il a besoin d'un nouveau travail. Marc est jeune et il sort de l'ecole. Il n'a pas beaucoup d'argent, et le travail de monsieur Dubois est une chance pour lui.

Today, Marc is going to Mr Dubois's office. He needs a new job. Marc is young and he has just left school. He does not have much money, and Mr Dubois's job is a chance for him.

A la bonne heure, il entre dans le bureau. Monsieur Dubois est un homme assez vieux. Il a les yeux fatigues et la tete entre les mains. Marc dit bonjour. Le monsieur lui dit de prendre une place.

At the right time, he enters the office. Mr Dubois is a fairly old man. He has tired eyes and his head in his hands. Marc says hello. The man tells him to take a seat.

"Bon, Marc, parlez-moi de vous. Pourquoi cherchez-vous ce travail?" Marc parle de son ecole, de ses idees, de l'equipe qu'il aime aider. Il essaie de donner les bons mots. Mais monsieur Dubois ne semble pas vraiment ecouter. Il regarde la porte. Il regarde sa main.

"Right, Marc, tell me about yourself. Why are you looking for this job?" Marc talks about his school, his ideas, the team he likes to help. He tries to give the right words. But Mr Dubois does not really seem to be listening. He looks at the door. He looks at his hand.

Et puis le telephone se met a sonner. Monsieur Dubois prend l'appel. Marc le regarde changer. Sa tete tombe un peu. Ses yeux ne sont plus les memes. Il dit "oui" trois fois, puis il dit "j'arrive". Il laisse le telephone sur le bureau. Il ne dit plus un mot.

And then the phone starts to ring. Mr Dubois takes the call. Marc watches him change. His head drops a little. His eyes are no longer the same. He says "yes" three times, then he says "I'm coming". He leaves the phone on the desk. He does not say a single word more.

Marc attend une minute. Deux minutes. Enfin il demande: "Monsieur, est-ce que ca va?" Le monsieur le regarde comme s'il ne le connaissait pas. "Ma fille," dit-il. "Ma fille est chez le docteur. La police a appele. Elle est tombee chez elle. Je dois partir tout de suite." Mais il ne fait pas un pas. Il a peur.

Marc waits a minute. Two minutes. Finally he asks: "Sir, are you all right?" The man looks at him as if he did not know him. "My daughter," he says. "My daughter is at the doctor's. The police called. She fell at home. I have to leave right away." But he does not take a step. He is afraid.

Marc pense vite. "Monsieur, vous n'etes pas en etat de prendre la voiture seul. Je peux vous y aider. J'ai ma voiture en bas." Monsieur Dubois le regarde. "Mais le travail," dit-il. "Le travail peut attendre," dit Marc. "Votre fille, non."

Marc thinks quickly. "Sir, you are not in a state to take the car alone. I can help you with this. I have my car downstairs." Mr Dubois looks at him. "But the job," he says. "The job can wait," Marc says. "Your daughter cannot."

Ils sortent ensemble. Marc prend la voiture et il va doucement. Le monsieur ne parle pas. Il regarde dehors. Chez le docteur, ils trouvent la fille dans une chambre. Elle a mal, mais elle va bien. Elle est heureuse de voir son pere. Monsieur Dubois la prend pres de lui pendant un moment. Marc reste pres de la porte. Il ne sait pas trop quoi faire.

They leave together. Marc takes the car and drives slowly. The man does not speak. He looks outside. At the doctor's, they find the daughter in a room. She is hurt, but she is fine. She is happy to see her father. Mr Dubois holds her close to him for a while. Marc stays near the door. He does not really know what to do.

Apres une heure, monsieur Dubois sort de la chambre. Il regarde Marc dans les yeux. "Marc, je ne sais pas comment dire merci. Vous avez le travail. Vraiment, vous l'avez. Pas a cause de vos mots ce matin. A cause de ce que vous avez fait apres."

After an hour, Mr Dubois comes out of the room. He looks Marc in the eye. "Marc, I do not know how to say thank you. You have the job. Really, you have it. Not because of your words this morning. Because of what you did afterwards."

Marc est heureux. Ce n'etait pas l'idee qu'il avait du travail. Mais c'est peut-etre la meilleure fin. Il rentre chez lui. Il a un travail, oui. Mais surtout, il a vu quelque chose de vrai aujourd'hui. Et cela, c'est mieux que tous les bons mots du monde.

Marc is happy. It was not the idea he had of the job. But it might be the best ending. He goes back home. He has a job, yes. But above all, he saw something true today. And that is better than all the good words in the world.