Page 73 - Van Que | Nature Woman / Feme Nature

même, jamais divorcé, que j’occupais la place was already the “Grande M”. In Les Pennes-
de “première épouse”, qu’il était un bon père de
famille qui ne fuyait pas ses responsabilités. Des
compromis, donc, mais que je n’ai jamais regrettés.
Pendant ce temps, nos filles grandissaient, passaient
leur bac, faisaient des études. Notre aînée à Paris,
aux Arts Déco, la cadette à Aix-en-Provence, pour
devenir Ingénieur en Informatique.
Quand toutes les deux entamaient une belle
carrière, le moment était venu, pour Qué et moi,
de nous interroger sur notre avenir. Nous avons
décidé de reprendre notre liberté, en divorçant -
en toute amitié. Jamais un divorce n’a aussi peu
rempli les poches d’un avocat!
Aujourd’hui, je vis avec un ami de longue date,
dans une relation stimulante et heureuse. Dans la
vie de Qué, il y a Michelle, qui le seconde avec
un amour et un dévouement admirable - et qui est
devenue aussi mon amie. Nos petits-enfants, trois
garçons, enrichissent notre vie avec leur vivacité,
leur fantaisie. Y en auraient-il un qui reprendra
le flambeau artistique de leur grand-père, et leur
arrière grand-oncle, déjà perpétué par notre fille
aînée?
Juillet 2007, Ingrid
Martine and Que 1998
Mirabeau, Qué continued with J; then it was M,
who accompanied him for 20 years.
Why did I accept that? Firstly, I was fairly open-
minded, I understood Qué’s needs, his appetite
for life, his desire to seduce, his deep need for
variety, freedom, flights of fancy, which could
not be satisfied by conventional family life and
his work at the CNRS.
And it must be said outright, my “substitutes”
lightened my load. During the first years of
our marriage, I supported my husband, helped
him, but there were now our children, my own
professional ambitions. I finally gave in and
abandoned the field to my “rivals”, all the more
so, as I knew that Qué would never have divorced
of his own accord, that I filled the position of
“first wife”, that he was a good father who did not
shirk his responsibilities. In a word, compromise,
which, even so, I have never regretted.
In the meantime our daughters were growing up,
passing their advanced examinations at school,
studying. Our elder daughter in Paris at l’Ecole
des Arts Déco, the younger one in Aix-en-
Provence, to become a computing engineer.
When they both embarked upon promising
careers, the time had come for Qué and me to
consider our future. We decided to recover our
freedom by divorcing on friendly terms. Never
has a divorce brought a lawyer so little reward!
Today, I am living with a long-standing friend,
in a stimulating and happy relationship. In Qué’s
life there is Michelle, who supports him with love
and admirable devotion, and who has also become
my friend. Our grandchildren, 3 boys, enrich our
lives with their vivacity, their imagination. Will
there be one to take up the artistic torch of their
grandfather or their great- great uncle, as our
elder daughter has already done?
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