“You planned this to get rid of your wife.”

              He starts the car. “Ahhhh, this car. A car is not like a woman. No love to think about. A ride is just a ride! I love my wife like this car. In my country I am dentist, a joker. I do teeth of politicians, and laugh at them. She is painter who wants to trade pictures for teeth, is usual in my country. She paints politicians like little toy dolls. Very funny, but she doesn’t laugh, so is very dangerous. Communists hate to see truths if you don’t laugh. So I marry her to make her laugh, it keeps her safe. Then Capitalism comes. Capitalists hate truths if you laugh or don’t. We must leave. But West is worse than East and East is changed worser yet. We live to cheat. We cheat everybody. She hates it.”

              “You married her to save her. And you’re tired of saving her?”

              “She is tired of my saving. I say to her, Paint! Paint me something! Even one flower, a rose! She can’t to paint. I waste both our lives. I think I will swish-side. You think I joke? I am atheist, to me swish-side is not sin only mess on the rug. But how would she live? Then I see you, pretty young American. I take you to her. You fuck her. I want you to. I hate you to. It’s stupid to be a husband. So I will quit. I don’t love her. She don’t love me. We are friends. It’s nothing. Or everything else, except love. So I go – if you love her. You love her?”

              “I love her.”

              “She loves you?”

              “She painted the war memorial on a pizza box, she puts stories of dead troops in it.”

              He starts the car. He strokes the dashboard. He drives off. I guess I knew he would. But that’s not what I wanted – to make him leave us.

34

  

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