So, I got to work in the cold month
of December in her apartment. I spent two days in total scraping off
the old layers, filling up the numerous holes. A professional
painter would tell you that this was the most tedious work of painting, but I
did it because Japanese would honor their promises. It was becoming
evident that Mme. Landlord did not see me as her equal, but that was
natural. France was her land and she had priority here over
me. I was never invited, I came to France on my will to learn her
culture. It would be audacious, even unpractical to expect a
red-carpet reception. Thus, it would have been sufficient to me if
Mme. Landlord only realized that I was too useful to mistreat…to lose
I had underestimated her avarice,
financial or any forms. She even lied to me that her heater was not
working. She made me work in the unheated apartment during the
winter to save her money, but I would not doubt her words. I did not
even touch her heater. Mme. Landlord had taught many Japanese
students and spoke fondly of their politeness, but what she really appreciated
was their obedience. She knew I would complete any hard task, once I
took it upon. She hated the black wall paper Jupiter had left
behind. Instead of paying a professional a lot of money to remove
it, she opted to make me paint several layers over it. I could see
it was going to be an impossible task, compounded by the cheap semi-transparent
paint she had purchased for me to work with. However, a decedent of
Samurai warrior would keep his or her promises. It was going to be
the last favor I would ever do for Mme. Landlord, and misjudging her
personality was not going to be the excuse to break my promise.
So, I found a way to peel off the
black wallpaper. Unfortunately, it did not make my work easier
because there were still many glues stuck on the wall and it was hell removing
it a strip by strip. I spent three whole days removing the glues,
but Mme. Landlord was not satisfied by the result. She insisted that
since I removed the wall paper without her agreement, I had the responsibility
to make the wall smooth and void of any glues. She wrote an email to
me so there would be no misunderstanding. She wrote to me how her
son and her family were appalled that Mme. Landlord was left to finish my lousy
job. If they had come, why did they not help their own
mother? Unfortunately, their mother had raised them with the ideas
that migrants were the source of free labor.
Just in case you were thinking that
I might have really done a lousy job, then let me tell you about this professional
painter who was sent by the insurance company of the Syndic to paint the
ceiling of Mme. Landlord. There had been a leek on her
roof. The painter did a good job, but Mme. Landlord said it was NOT,
pointing at the one tiny , oh, so tiny spot left near the
window. She refused to pay unless the painter did more extra works
for her. It turned ugly that the boss was summoned. After
the heated argument, the painters left fuming. One of them insisted
on shaking hands with me, but not with Mme. Landlord. He told me
that ‘That is a nasty woman there’ indicating that other French women were
nicer. I was much relieved to hear that. I much prefer
Mme. Le Pen for her honest acknowledgement of discrimination over the hypocrisy of Mme.
Landlord who acted as a defender of the weak, the gay and the migrants while
actually exploiting them.
To be continued.
にほんブログ村
