— Uw zwemvest bevindt zich onder uw stoel.
— Dit zwemvest kan dienen voor een bewusteloos persoon. And how goes the bewusteloos persoon?
— Fine.
— So, you’ve recovered your senses. Gut-gut. Well, we meet again. We can continue to meet again you know Liebes, here and there in Amsterdam Paris London und so weiter weiter gehen, immer geradeaus, if you let me know your schedules in advance I can always arrange a trip. Just think what fun we’ll have.
— We have played those games mein Lieb.
— I meant, of course, as friends.
Silences differ more than hotel rooms or menus going all the way to the moment when I must go I really must. Bye-bye for now or as they say in Turkey güle-güle auf Wiedersehen bye-bye, Frau, welgohome.
The bottle of Eau d’Evian stands on the kitchen window-sill above the sink near the packet of OMO — le plus fort contre la saleté. Coupage du lait des biberons. Cure de diurèse et de désintoxication. Affections rénales — Lithiases urinaires — Goutte — Arthritisme — Obésité—Régime sans sel. Evian — l’eau essentielle, l’eau “vraie”.
The hands lie quite still on the late Empire desk against the blue and green striped wall, holding the letter from Rome rooted out of the mess of papers in the niche answered-already-kept-for-reference Madame. I have pleasure to inform you that the Vicariatus Urbis has acknowledged the nullity of your marriage because of “mulieris simulationis contra bona indissolubilitatis et prolis” on April 17 based on half-truths and vital mysteries lost in antiquated sophistries. Dated heavens two years ago. You will appreciate that according to our conversation when you gave your testimony in Rome two years past, the Defensor Vinculi has now to appeal against this judgment at a Second Hearing. If he wins the Second judgment you may then appeal with a Third Hearing just like a tennis match mein Lieb final and decisive whichever way it goes. I can’t think why you bother. Even in religious matters ladies and gentlemen they have quietly had to shift their ground into convenient dogmas which even lose their convenience as times change. I shall with pleasure continue to represent you when I hear from you that I hated all that interrogation Liebes why, quite like the end of the war trying to get a job and a Persil-Schein certificate denazifying us whiter than white, witness I ask you what had I witnessed but the snatching away of meine Liebe under my very nose thinking all right then he will hurt her and I’ll bide my time and gather up the broken bits with a remittance for Lire 800,000 as follows: Printing Costs 50,000, Taxes Vicariatus Urbis Tribunal, 150,000, Second Judgment 100,000, Honorarium (nominal) 500,000. These charges as you see agree with the charges for the First Judgment. Cordially. Every solution creates new problems not one of which deserves a flow of rash enthusiasm which looked up in the dictionary on the late Empire desk once long ago meant how long possessed by the gods.
If we wish to avert famine in the developing countries, industrialised nations must concentrate on the words that flow into the earphones worn like a diadem through the neutralised transmitter in the brain way up behind the closed eyelids and down into the mouthpiece in simultaneous German to provide more technical and scientific help for the proper utilisation of these countries’ own resources of proteins. Mesdames messieurs vous allez écouter aujourd’hui plusieurs discours by eminent specialists on methods of increasing the output of edible protein and translating time speed height into locality and channel and descent into new matter where the light unrounds the corners of the cupboard the dressing-table the stool under which you will find your life-jacket for anche una persona priva de conoscenza. No body occupies the empty bed thank goodness nor will use l’essuie-main not für Rasierklingen. No one comes in offering anything not ordered.
No one does anything at all. Assemblies meet and talk and even this Council can do no more than pass a resolution asking governments to initiate urgent measures for closing the protein gap. But governments must act. We can do no more than give them the technical information required. And the poorer countries must themselves give far more attention to oil seed production and fish-protein concentrates which still remain the world’s cheapest sources of protein.
Between the dawn and the unrounding night the fingers fondle the medal of St. Christopher on the body stretching forth its hundred and forty ribs or so towards the brain beyond the yellow curtain that divides the poorer from the richer and no doubt behind a little door. But the biggest difficulty lies not so much in obtaining the additional protein as in making it palatable to the people who so desperately need it.
The members of the assembly sit quite still in a passion of charity concern interest unless perhaps alarm. Sandra works with her eyes ears voice and un amour de soutien-gorge but no hands as she watches the speaker through the glass-booth pouring the oilseed and fish-concentrates into the mouthpiece in simultaneous English. Between the cold statistics and the stark bare facts of hunger lies an immense period called indifference. Nous avons perfectionné des techniques expérimentales for texturing vegetable proteins by spinning to yield products which, when properly flavoured and coloured, closely simulate common foods such as bacon, chicken, beef and fish. Did you want it for eating love?
The menu goes all the way to 00147 Roma on account of mulieris simulationis contra bona indissolubilitatis et prolis. The bottle of Spa Monopole stands on the dressing-table. L’eau qui pétille — L’eau minérale la moins chargée en sels. Het mineraal spuitwater mit het laagste zoutgehalte. On the bedside-table lies the postcard from Venice out of the envelope addressed to Hotel Gallia Milano forwarded to Paris Headquarters and on to Bruges with the words Je sais que vous venez à Milan. J’habite maintenant Venise, belle ville d’amour et d’art splendide d’amour et crossed out without sufficient conviction. Si vous en avez le loisir venez voir cette merveille. Vous donneriez une incomparable joie à un vieil ami qui vous admire toujours, qui n’oublie pas la gentildonna “che fa tremar dì claritate l’âre” (comme l’a si bien dit ce grand poète Italien Cavalcanti: le connaissez-vous? Sûrement. Vous savez tout). Signed B.C.
B.C.? Or could it represent H.C.? H.O. or even E.C.? F.S.? S.O.? One letter scrawled over the other like an incomprehensible ideogram. Je m’appelle Boris Carlov. May I introduce Prince Battista di Cualcosa. You never remember anybody’s surnames Liebes or smoke them to the end. Bruce Chum glad to know you. My card Bong Ching, attaché culturel thank you. Señor Boniface Calderón. Encantada. Le plaisir de vous présenter le professeur Blaise Chose-Truc qui va vous parler de l’humanité la justice l’épidémie. Lirrechur eh? My parents had a lirre-rary turn of mind they called me Brutus Caesar. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow will do to wander about the canals of Bruges and think of cette belle ville d’amour et d’art splendide che fa tremar dì claritate l’âre. And of where when how to whose air did one do that.