Девять рассказов
De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period
Inonemonthalone,accordingtomydiaryfor1939,Icompletedeighteenoilpaintings.Noteworthilyenough,seventeenofthemwereself-portraits.Sometimes,however,possiblywhenmyMusewasbeingcapricious,Isetasidemypaintsanddrewcartoons.OneofthemIstillhave.Itshowsacavernousviewofthemouthofamanbeingattendedbyhisdentist.Theman’stongueisasimple,U.S.Treasuryhundreddollarbill,andthedentistissaying,sadly,inFrench,"Ithinkwecansavethemolar,butI’mafraidthattonguewillhavetocomeout."Itwasanenormousfavoriteofmine.
Asroommates,BobbyandIwereneithermorenorlesscompatiblethanwouldbe,say,anexceptionallylive-and-let-liveHarvardsenior,andanexceptionallyunpleasantCambridgenewsboy.Andwhen,astheweekswentby,wegraduallydiscoveredthatwewerebothinlovewiththesamedeceasedwoman,itwasnohelpatall.Infact,aghastlylittleafter-you-Alphonserelationshipgrewoutofthediscovery.Webegantoexchangevivacioussmileswhenwebumpedintoeachotheronthethresholdofthebathroom.
OneweekinMayof1939,abouttenmonthsafterBobbyandIcheckedintotheRitz,IsawinaQuebecnewspaper(oneofsixteenFrench-languagenewspapersandperiodicalsIhadblownmyselfasubscriptionto)aquarter-columnadvertisementthathadbeenplacedbythedirectionofaMontrealcorrespondenceartschool.
