l27

The Star 53

Bertha had decided what I was to wear: a dark jacket, trousers a shade
(er, and a conservative tic. That's the kind of thing she learned at home.
l datboarding fromthenuns.
school Alsowhattoofferguests:
whento
966 I; thecognac, whenthe
and howto
vermouth, com
dessert.
arrange It is
wrungto havea wifewhoknowsall about
suchthings.
0 she
But Berthawas tensetoo: as put her handson my shoulders,
they
"dz chad my neck, and I felt her thumbs damp and cold againstit.
0 Its goingto be all right, shesaid.Youll getthecontract.
69,!
728 Christ, I said, it means 20,000 marksto me, and you know how W4?
1, at the money. . .
need
One shouldnever, she saidgently.mennon Christsnamein con-
19113] with money!"
57 Marion
,1 A dark car drew up in front of our house,a make I didnt recognize,bl
2: I, Italian.
looked Take it Bertha
easy, wait
whispered, till theyve rung,
standtherefor a
letdiam of thenwall:
couple seconds, to thedoor
slowly
3i; open it.
and
I watchedMr. and Mrs. Zumpen come up the steps:he is slenderand
anywith graying temples, the kind of man who fifty yearsago would have
known
been as a ladies man; Mrs. Zumpen is one of thosethin dark
59 womenwho alwaysmake me think of lemons.I could tell from Zumpcn5
thatit wasa Frightfulborefor him to havedinnerwithus.
face
I! Then rang,andI waited
thedoorbell onesecond, walked
twoseconds,
to the door and opened it.
Slowly
Well, I said, how nice of you to come!
Cognacglassesin hand, we went from room to room in our apartment:
'Ple; theZumpens
which wantedto see.Berthastayed
in thekitchento squeeze
Ce somemayonnaiseout of a tube onto the appetizers;she does this veryr
if! hearts,
nicely: TheZumpens
loops,little houses. usonour
complimented
lt' smileswhentheysawthe big deskin mystudy,
theyexchanged
apartment;
led atthatmomentit seemeda bit too big evento me.
admireda smallrocococabinet,
Zumpen a wedding frommy
present
t and a Madonna in our bedroom.
I
grandmother, baroque
a-
Bythetime we got backto the dining room,Berthahaddinneron the
shehaddone this very nicely too, it wasall so attractiveyet sonatural,
cable;
anddinnerwas pleasantand relaxed. We talked about moviesand books,
the recent elections, and Zumpen praisedthe assortmentof cheeses,
about

ISO-0
i-r
1ndMrs.Zumpen praised the coffee and the pastries.Then we showedthe
Zumpens our honeymoonpictures:photographsof the Bretoncoast,Spam
andstreetscenesfrom Casablanca.
islldonkeys,
Afterthat we had somemore cognac,and whenI stoodup to getthe
box
withthephotosof the timewhenwewereengaged, Berthagavemea
andI didnt get the box.For two minutestherewasabsolute
Sign, silence,
wehadnothingmoreto talkabout,andweall thought
because aboutthe
I thoughtof the 20,000marks,andit struckmethatI couldde~
00tract;
duct
thebottleof cognacfrommyincometax.Zumpen lookedathiswatch