Susan described the scenery there to me about three miles away from a small town, but I forgot the name of the town. They took a bus to a hotel. It was an old house by the river. The lawn extended all the way to the head of the river. Several sycamore trees ate in the shade. Many painters would come to paint in summer, but the season was not yet, so the hotel was packed by them. The hotel was famous for its food. At noon on Sunday, foreign tourists often drove to have a big meal. Besides, life here was carefree and quiet. After a good rest and a good diet, Susan gradually recovered her vitality and was accompanied by her children.
Larry is very fond of Odette and clings to him. I always have to remind him that Odette is particularly pestering him, but no matter what odette does, Larry doesn’t seem to mind that two people often make me laugh like children playing together.
What do you usually do? I asked.
Oh, there are a lot of things to do. When we often go fishing by boat, we will meet the hotel owner Citroen to go to the town. Larry is very fond of many old houses in that small town. A big square town is very quiet. Besides, a town hall and an old church were built during the period of Louis XIV. There stands a castle on the edge of the town. The famous architect Lenotre designed the garden. Every time he sat in the square cafe, it seemed that the Citroen car parked on the side of the road did not belong to this world at all.
The story of the first soldier is that Larry told Susan after a tour.
I’m curious why he told you this. I said
I’m at a loss, too. During the war, there were rows of small crosses in the cemetery of the first hospital in the town. We went for a walk, but it didn’t take long to think that so many poor young people were lying there. I felt creepy on the way home. Larry was unusually silent. He didn’t eat much when he came, but he didn’t eat a bite at dinner that night. I remember that the night was beautiful and the sky was full of stars. We sat by the river and the poplar trees were silhouetted in the dark. Larry quietly smoked his pipe and suddenly told him how his brothers in the army were. Susan took a swig of beer to save his life. He’s a real weirdo. I’ll probably never understand him. He used to read it to me during the day. When I was listening, I sewed clothes for the child. When I put the child to bed, I would read it at night.
What does he read?
Oh, I read everything. Mrs. Sevigny believed in the memoirs of St. Simon. Think about it. I didn’t read anything except newspapers. Occasionally, I heard people talk about a novel in the studio and I was treated as a fool by them. I didn’t expect to read it so much. I didn’t talk as much as people thought before.
Who would think that? I smiled.
Later, he asked me to read Racine 38 with him. We read Delbays Raines. He read male roles and I read female roles. I didn’t expect it to be so fun. She naively said that when I read sad lines, I would burst into tears. Of course, that’s because I hadn’t finished replying to them at that time. I still stayed with him, that is, now I want to read his letter from Mrs. Sevigny. His touching voice seems to come to my ears. It seems that when the river quietly passes by and the poplar trees on the other side, I can’t read it. Now I’m just white.
Susan found that she was sentimental and worried that I would laugh at her. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled and said, I’m going to tell you that I’m going to live to a certain age and no man will sleep with me, so I’ll go to church to confess my past sins, but I’ll never confess my fate with Larry.
But as you just said, I don’t see anything to confess.
I’m not finished yet. I’m telling you that I was in good health. I walked around that day, ate well and slept well, and I didn’t have any trouble. But in three or four weeks, I recovered my health. I looked good, my cheeks were red and my hair was shiny, and I was young. Larry would swim in the river early every day. I often watched him nearby. His figure was very beautiful, not my Scandinavian lover athlete, but strong and symmetrical.
When I was recuperating, he was patient and unruly, but now I have recovered, and I feel that there is no reason to keep him waiting. I hinted that he was ready once or twice, but he didn’t seem to understand what I mean. Of course, you Anglo-Saxons are eccentric, regardless of other people’s feelings and susceptibility, and they don’t know how to fall in love. It is also well known that I said to myself that maybe he is so considerate and has helped me so much, so that I can even bring my children to repay him. Before we go to bed, should I tell him that I want to go to your room tonight?
I smiled.
That’s a direct question.
Yes, I can’t ask him to come to my room because odette is here. She calmly replied that his gentle eyes looked at me with a smile and said, Are you coming? I’ll call him back. What do you say? You have such a good figure. He replied, well, come here. I’ll take off my clothes and go into his room along the corridor. He lay by the bed and watched while smoking a pipe. When he saw me coming in, he put his pipe away and left some for me.
Susan was silent for a long time. It’s not my style to ask at this time. After a while, she went on to say that Larry is a very special lover. I don’t know how to say this. Do you understand that he is very considerate, loving, gentle and masculine in bed, and not passionate at all? He seems to be a hot-blooded boy when he makes love. It’s funny but considerate. When I left, I thought I should thank him for giving me such an opportunity. Instead, he should thank me. I saw him pick it up in front of the door and read the paragraph just now.
I laughed.
It’s a pity that you can still laugh. Her tone is a little depressed, but after all, she is not a person without a sense of humor, so she giggled. I soon found that I had to wait for him to take the initiative and wait until the eternal need. He never refused. After all, he was born with those abilities, but he seems to be a person who forgot to eat. He can prepare a delicious meal and eat it with relish. Do men love me or not? I am the whitest. I am not stupid enough for Larry to love me, but he should be used to me. It is better to be a man. I will tell myself. After arriving in Paris, he and I will live together to my liking. He will definitely let me take care of the children. I hope so. I intuitively believe that it is stupid to love him. Women are poor and often become unlovable when they fall in love. I am determined not to fall in love.
Susan took a puff at her nose and sprayed smoke rings. It was getting late and the guests had almost left, but a group of people were still drinking at the bar.
One day after breakfast, I was sitting by the river mending. odette was playing with the building blocks Larry bought for her. Larry came up to me and said I came to say goodbye to you.
Are you going somewhere else? I’m surprised
He said it.
Aren’t you coming back?
You are almost in good health, and this money should be enough for you to go back to Paris after the summer.
I was in such a bad mood that I didn’t know what to say. He gave me his trademark smile.
Did I do something to make you angry? I asked him.
No, don’t think so. I’m still in the middle of something, and I’m very happy. odette came to say goodbye to my uncle.
Odette is too young to know anything. Larry picked her up and kissed her, and then she went back to the hotel as soon as she kissed me. A minute later, I heard the car go off tone. I looked at the money in my hand, totaling 12 thousand francs. It all happened so suddenly that I didn’t react. I read a sentence in my mouth. It’s disgusting. I have to thank God that it’s a good thing that I didn’t let myself love him. He was completely confused.
I can’t help laughing again.
For a while, I just told the truth, and people thought I was funny. The truth was beyond most people’s imagination. I was joking.
I don’t quite understand this couplet.
Well, of all the people I know, Larry is the only one who is so eccentric and eccentric. We can’t get used to such people. They don’t believe in the emperor but love him completely.
Susan looked me in the eye.
Poor friend, I think you have drunk too much.