За разломом орла

           Shereachedacrossthetableandtookmyhand,asshehaddoneatbreakfast. Thistimeshecontinuedtoholdit. 

           "Youreallyfeelwrong,don’tyou?" 

           "Kolding’sgamesaren’thelping,that’sforsure." Thewaiterbroughtourwine,settingitdown,thebottlechinkingagainsthisdelicatelyarticulatedglassfingers. ThemannequinpouredtwoglassesandIsampledmine. "MaybeifIhadsomeoneelsefrommycrewtobitchaboutitallwith,Iwouldn’tfeelsobad. Iknowyousaidweshouldn’twakeSuzyandRay, butthatwasbeforeaone-daystopoverturnedintoaweek." 

           Gretashrugged. "Ifyouwanttowakethem,noone’sgoingtostopyou. Butdon’tthinkaboutshipbusinessnow. Let’snotspoilaperfectevening." 

           Ilookedupatthestarscape. Itwasheightened,withthemadshimmeringintensityofaVanGoghnightscape. 

           Itmadeonefeeldrunkandecstaticjusttolookatit. 

           "Whatcouldpossiblyspoilit?"Iasked. 

           *** 

           WhathappenedISthatIdranktoomuchwineandendedupsleepingwithGreta. I’mnotsurehowmuchofapartthewineplayedinitforher.IfherrelationshipwithMarcelwasinasmuchtroubleasshe’dmadeout,thenobviouslyshehadlesstolosethanIdid.Yes,thatmadeitallright,didn’tit? Shetheseductress,herownmarriageawreck,methehaplessvictim. I’dlapsed,yes,butitwasn’treallymyfault. I’dbeenalone,farfromhome,emotionallyfragile,andshehadexploitedme.