Joe drives two miles to his favourite bar, The Blue Lounge, and buys rounds of draft beer for his drinking buddies. They tell each other the same old jokes and talk about women: the shapes and sizes they prefer. After last call, Joe is always the final one to leave. He takes the back roads home to avoid the police. So far, he’s been lucky: never once stopped by the cops.

Joe’s marriage lasted twenty years. He says the first fifteen years were terrific, then it went flat as stale beer. Now for excitement, he goes to the Casino twice a week to play the slots. He wins sometimes, fifty dollars here and there, then treats himself to filet mignon and a bottle of red Beaujolais. He went once to Las Vegas but has lost $5,242 there. Every Monday, he buys his lottery tickets at "Jean’s depanneur."

"Ten 649’s," Joe says every time. He won a thousand dollars once and this keeps him going.

Joe lives in Boucherville with his girlfriend Marguerite and her husband.

Marguerite and her husband sleep in separate bedrooms. It’s been that way for years, but they stay together for the house, the backyard and the location. Joe gets along with Marguerite’s husband. They play cards and backgammon while Joe sips his Molson. Marguerite’s husband drinks Coke. He doesn’t talk much or laugh.

"He’s dead down there," she says to Joe. "Even when I’m in my bikini, he doesn’t notice me." Joe pays rent, plus a little extra since Marguerite washes his clothes and cooks his meals. When she buys groceries, she picks up coffee yogurt and chocolate fudge cookies, his favourite treats. He often takes her out to dinner at Pizza Hut or the Chinese Garden where there is a buffet: all you can eat for $6.99.

Marguerite is in love with Joe. She accepts his smoking, drinking, gambling. "He’s so charming when he’s sober," she says to herself. They watch the six o’clock news together in the living room while her husband reads La Presse at the kitchen table. He gets up and makes himself a peanut butter sandwich and pours himself a glass of milk. He doesn’t listen to Marguerite and Joe, all he hears is the T.V.

Joe’s job doesn’t take up much of his time. He’s a salesman for automobile products and has many faithful clients. They call up, give him their orders, then he promptly delivers. He has enough customers to bring in a nice cheque every two weeks. Joe’s boss thinks Joe works harder than he really does.

Sunday nights are devoted to watching movies. Joe bought video cassettes of New York, New York and Arsenic and Old Lace. He’s seen these films at least a dozen times. A T.V. sits on a stand in his bedroom and he curls up on his single bed, his head propped up with two pillows, eating chips and puffing away at his Winston. Marguerite cleans his ashtray when it’s overflowing, butts smoked down to the filters. He neglects to wipe his eyeglasses clear of dust and grease. Marguerite takes a tissue paper and rubs them clean, sparkling. But he doesn’t notice the difference.

While Marguerite’s husband is at work, Joe comes home for lunch. She prepares fresh vegetable soup and makes two tomato and cheese sandwiches on toasted bagels for him. She irons his white shirts while he eats. After lunch, they have sex on her bed. A "quickie." Joe then naps for twenty minutes while Marguerite quietly washes the lunch dishes. When Joe wakes up, he makes a few more phone calls, opens a beer and plays solitaire.

One time Marguerite and Joe had a fight. Joe had many beers in his belly. He was feeling happy. He was flirting with a neighbour. "She’s happily married, how dare you ruin that relationship!" Marguerite shouted at him.

"I’ll do as I please. I’m leaving this bloody place. I can’t stand you!" He started throwing his shirts and pants into a large green garbage bag.

"Don’t go," Marguerite pleaded. He staggered over to the bed and fell onto it. She put his clothes back into the closet and drawers. The next day, all was forgotten.

When Joe was in his early twenties, he was handsome, slim and tall with large blue eyes. He had a good sense of humour and everyone loved him. He met his wife Patricia in an office downtown where they both worked as clerks. Patricia had had her eye on him for some time. One day Joe asked her for some money from petty cash to buy stamps. She pressed a few bills in the palm of his hand and looked into his eyes. Joe immediately asked her out to a movie called The Eiffel Tower. It was summer so he bought her a maple-flavoured ice cream cone. They saw each other every evening after work. She was crazy about him. They kissed and touched in his used Chevrolet, parked on the mountain, facing a view of the city. They married one year later.