“Will you shut your mouth and get us out of here?” Guy said. The lady
had placed another arm around his neck. “Tell him he is mine,” she said.
I told him.
“Will you get us out of here?”
“You are quarrelling,” the lady said. “You do not love one another.”
“We are Germans,” I said proudly, “old South Germans.”
“Tell him he is a beautiful boy,” the lady said. Guy is thirty-eight and
takes some pride in the fact that he is taken for a travelling salesman
in France. “You are a beautiful boy,” I said.
“Who says so?” Guy asked, “you or her?”
“She does. I’m just your interpreter. Isn’t that what you got me in on
this trip for?”
“I’m glad it’s her,” said Guy. “I didn’t want to have to leave you here
too.”
“I don’t know. Spezia’s a lovely place.”
“Spezia,” the lady said. “You are talking about Spezia.”
“Lovely place,” I said.
“It is my country,” she said. “Spezia is my home and Italy is my
country.”
“She says that Italy is her country.”
“Tell her it looks like her country,” Guy said.
“What have you for dessert?” I asked.
“Fruit,” she said. “We have bananas.”
“Bananas are all right,” Guy said. “They’ve got skins on.”
“Oh, he takes bananas,” the lady said. She embraced Guy.
“What does she say?” he asked, keeping his face out of the way.
“She is pleased because you take bananas.”
“Tell her I don’t take bananas.”
“The Signor does not take bananas.”
“Ah,” said the lady, crestfallen, “he doesn’t take bananas.”
“Tell her I take a cold bath every morning,” Guy said.
“The Signor takes a cold bath every morning.”
“No understand,” the lady said.
Across from us, the property sailor had not moved. No one in the place
paid any attention to him.
“We want the bill,” I said.
“Oh, no. You must stay.”
“Listen,” the clean-cut young man said from the table where he was
writing, “let them go. These two are worth nothing.”
The lady took my hand. “You won’t stay? You won’t ask him to stay?”
“We have to go,” I said. “We have to get to Pisa, or if possible,
Firenze, to-night. We can amuse ourselves in those cities at the end of
the day. It is now the day. In the day we must cover distance.”
“To stay a little while is nice.”
“To travel is necessary during the light of day.”
“Listen,” the clean-cut young man said. “Don’t bother to talk with these
two. I tell you they are worth nothing and I know.”
“Bring us the bill,” I said. She brought the bill from the old woman and
went back and sat at the table. Another girl came in from the kitchen.
She walked the length of the room and stood in the doorway.
“Don’t bother with these two,” the clean-cut young man said in a wearied
voice. “Come and eat. They are worth nothing.”
We paid the bill and stood up. All the girls, the old woman, and the
clean-cut young man sat down at table together. The property sailor sat
with his head in his hands. No one had spoken to him all the time we
were at lunch. The girl brought us our change that the old woman counted
out for her and went back to her place at the table. We left a tip on
the table and went out. When we were seated in the car ready to start,
the girl came out and stood in the door. We started and I waved to her.
She did not wave, but stood there looking after us.