Ernest Hemingway

“ Catherine said. "He's always that. That's just like his martinis or how he swims or skis or flew probably. I never saw him with a plane. Everyone says he was marvelous. It's like acrobats really I suppose and just as dull. I wasn't asking about that."
"You were very good to let us spend a day together, Catherine," Marita said.
"You can spend the rest of your lives together," Catherine said. "If you don't bore each other. I have no further need of either of you."
David was watching her in the mirror and she looked calm, handsome and normal. He could see Marita looking at her very sadly. ”

“ David Bourne woke when it was light and put on shorts and a shirt and went outside. The breeze had died. The sea was calm and the day smelled of the dew and the pines. He walked bare footed across the flagstones of the terrace to the room at the far end of the long house and went in and sat down at the table where he worked. ”

“ He had no love for the elephant yet. He must remember that. He had only a sorrow that had come from his own tiredness that had brought an understanding of age. Though being too young, he had learned how it must be to be too old. He was lonesome for Kibo and thinking of Juma killing the elephant's friend had turned him against Juma and made the elephant his brother. He knew then how much it meant to him to have seen the elephant in the moonlight and for him to have followed him with Kibo and come close to him in the clearing so that he had seen both of the great tusks. ”

“ David said. "I'm glad you're reasonable about it," Catherine said. "You couldn't know how worthless they were, David. I had to show you. "You couldn't have kept the Kibo one that you liked?" "I told you I tried to find it. But if you want to rewrite it I can tell it to you word for word." "That will be fun." "It will be really. You'll see. Do you want me to tell it to you now? We could if you want." "No," David said. "Not just now. Would you write it though?" "I can't write things, David. You know that. But I can tell it to you anytime you want. You don't really care about the others do you? ”

“ David watched her and it seemed as though she were holding her breath. "Are you tired?" David asked. "I think so." "Have a glass of this," the Colonel said. "Would it be all right if I had an absinthe?" "Of course," David said. "I'll have one too." "Not for me," the Colonel said to the bartender. "This bottle's lost its freshness. Put it back to chill and bring me a glass from a cold bottle." "Do you like the real Pernod?" he asked Catherine. "Yes," she said. "I'm shy with people and it helps." "It's an excellent drink," he said. "I'd join you but I have work I must do after lunch." ”

“ I am tired," Catherine said. "Have you plenty to read, Marita?" "I have two books still," the girl said. "Later I'll borrow some if I may. "May I come in to see you later?" "If you want," the girl said. David did not look at the girl and she did not look at him. "I won't disturb you?" Catherine said. "Nothing that I do is important," the girl said.
Catherine and David lay side by side on the bed in their room with the wind blowing its last day outside and it was not like siesta in the old days. ”

“ Catherine went on. "They'll probably keep me quite busy."
"What was all the guff about another woman?"
He felt Marita kick him and he put his foot on hers to acknowledge.
"That's not guff," Catherine said. "I want to have one more try to see if I've missed anything. I might have."
"All of us are fallible," David said and Marita kicked him again.
"I want to see," Catherine said. "I know enough about that now so I should be able to tell. Don't worry about your dark girl. She's not my type at all. She's yours. She's what you like and very nice it is but not for me. ”

“ They drove up the road and around the promontory through the forest and left the car in the broken shade of the pine woods and carried the lunch basket and the beach gear down the trail to the cove. There was a little breeze from the east and the sea was dark and blue as they came down through the stone pines. The rocks were red and the sand of the cove was yellow and wrinkled and the water, as they came to it, clean and now amber clear over the sand. They put the basket and the rucksack in the shade of the biggest rock and undressed and David climbed the tall rock to dive. ”

“ Marita said. "I know what I got into." "Sure," said David. "We both know. Do you want another drink?" "If you do," Marita said and then, "I didn't know it was a battle when I came." "Neither did I." "With you it's really only you against time. "Not the time that's Catherine's." "Only because her time is different. She's panicked by it. You said tonight that all of today was only hurry. ”

“ Catherine was sitting at breakfast on the terrace. There was a red-and-white checked cloth on the table. She wore her old Grau du Roi striped shirt fresh-washed and shrunk now and much faded, new gray flannel slacks, and espadrilles. "Hello," she said. "I couldn't sleep late." "You look lovely." "Thank you. I feel lovely." "Where did you get those slacks?" "I had them made in Nice. By a good tailor. Are they all right?" "They're very well cut. They just look new. Are you going to wear them into town?" "Not town. Cannes in the off season. Everybody will next year. ”

“ You know that." "They are new all the time," Marita said. "There are new ones every day. No one can ever be sufficiently warned. You most of all." "I love you," David said, "and you're my partner too. But take it easy. Just be with me. "I'm with you." "I know it and I love to look at you and know you're here and that we'll sleep together and be happy."
In the dark, Marita lay against him and he felt her breasts against his chest and her arm behind his head and her hand touching him and lips against his. ”

“ He found his wristwatch in the rucksack to check the time when he should wake her. There was a cold bottle of white wine wrapped in a newspaper and with their towels around it. He uncorked it without removing the paper or the towels and took a cool draught from the awkward bundle. Then he sat down to watch the girl and to look out to sea.
This sea was always colder than it looked, he thought. It did not really warm until the middle of summer except on the shallow beaches. This beach dropped off quite suddenly and the water had been sharply cold until the swimming warmed him. ”

“ In the story he had tried to make the elephant come alive again as he and Kibo had seen him in the night when the moon had risen. Maybe I can, David thought, maybe I can. But as he locked up the day's work and went out of the room and shut the door he told himself, No, you can't do it. The elephant was old and if it had not been your father it would have been someone else. There is nothing you can do except try to write it the way that it was. So you must write each day better than you possibly can and use the sorrow that you have now to make you know how the early sorrow came. ”

“ He lay there and felt something and then her hand holding him and searching lower and he helped with his hands and then lay back in the dark and did not think at all and only felt the weight and the strangeness inside and she said, "Now you can't tell who is who can you?"
"You are changing," she said. "Oh you are. You are. Yes you are and you're my girl Catherine. Will you change and be my girl and let me take you?"
"You're Catherine."
"No. I'm Peter. You're my wonderful Catherine. You're my beautiful lovely Catherine. You were so good to change. Oh thank you, Catherine, so much. ”

“ Monsieur Jean said. "You must tell me."
"As fair as my pearls," Catherine said. "You've seen them plenty of times."
David had come over and was watching Monsieur Jean stir a large glassful of the shampoo with a wooden spoon. "I have the shampoos made up with castile soap," the coiffeur said. "It's warm. Please come over here to the basin. Sit forward," he said to Catherine, "and put this cloth across your forehead."
"But it isn't even really a boy's haircut," Catherine said. "I wanted it the way we planned. Everything's going wrong.
"It couldn't be more a boy's haircut. You must believe me. ”

“ Marita there with no damned jealousy of the work and have her know what you were reaching for and how far you went. She really knows and it's not faked. I do love her and you make a note of it, whiskey, and you witness it for me, Perrier old boy old Perrier, I have been faithful to you, Perrier, in my fucking fashion. It feels very good when you feel so good. It's a stupid feeling but it fits on this day so put it on. "Come on girl," he said to Marita at the door of her room. "What's holding you up besides your beautiful legs?" "I'm ready, David," she said. ”

“ In that way they really were friends, understanding in their basic disagreement, trusting in their complete distrust and enjoying one another's company. He enjoyed their company too but tonight he'd had enough of it.
Tomorrow he must go back into his own country, the one that Catherine was jealous of and that Marita loved and respected. He had been happy in the country of the story and knew that it was too good to last and now he was back from what he cared about into the overpopulated vacancy of madness that had taken, now the new turn of exaggerated practicality. ”

“ Catherine said. "She's not only beautiful and rich and healthy and affectionate. She can make jokes. Aren't you pleased with what I brought you?" "I'd rather be a dark present than a dark future," the girl said. "She did it again," Catherine said. "Give her a kiss David and make her a fair present." David put his arm around the girl and kissed her and she started to kiss him and turned her head away. Then she was crying with her head down and both hands holding the bar. "Make a good joke now," David said to Catherine. ”

“ It's always here. The Prado's here," David said.
"There's nothing except through yourself," she said. "And I don't want to die and it be gone.
"You have every mile we drove. All the yellow country and the white hills and the chaff blowing and the long lines of poplars by the road. You know what you saw and what you felt and it's yours. Don't you have le Grau du Roi and Aigues Mortes and all the Camargue that we rode through on our bikes? ”

“ David said. When they were at lunch in the dining room out of the wind, David asked, "What about your friend Nina?" "She's gone away. "She was handsome," David said. "Yes. We had a very big fight and she went away. "She was a bitch," Catherine said. "But then I think almost everyone is a bitch." "Usually they are," the girl said. "I always hope not but they are. "I know plenty of women who aren't bitches," David said. "Yes. You would," the girl said.
"Was Nina happy?" Catherine asked.
"I hope she will be happy," the girl said. "Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know." ”

“ The waiter had come from the cafe and was very excited. He was talking by the young man's side saying, "Hold him. Hold him. Hold him as softly as you can. He'll have to tire. Don't let him break. Soft with him. Softly. Softly."
There was no way the young man could be softer with him except to get into the water with the fish and that did not make sense as the canal was deep. If I could only walk along the bank with him, he thought. But they had come to the very end of the jetty. More than half the pole was under water now.
"Just hold him softly," the waiter pleaded. "It's a strong trace." ”

“ If they kill him Juma will drink his share of the ivory or just buy himself another god damn wife. Why didn't you help the elephant when you could? All you had to do was not go on the second day. No, that wouldn't have stopped them. Juma would have gone on. You never should have told them. Never, never tell them. Try and remember that. Never tell anyone anything ever. Never tell anyone anything again.
His father waited for him to come up and said very gently, "He rested here. He's not travelling as he was. We'll be up on him anytime now."
"Fuck elephant hunting," David had said very quietly. ”

“ Catherine said. "But two days ago when you made passes at me it was simply dandy but today if I felt that way the slightest bit you had to act as though I was an I don't know what." "I'm sorry, Catherine," the girl said. "Another sorry sorry," Catherine said. "As though you hadn't taught me what little I know." "Should we have lunch?" David said. "It's been a hot day Devil, and you're tired." "I'm tired of everybody," Catherine said. "Please forgive me. "There's nothing to forgive," the girl said. ”

“ David had planned to send the two girls to swim and then to take the old Isotta down to Cannes to have the brakes fixed and the ignition overhauled. But Catherine had asked him to please swim with them and to do the car the next day and she seemed so happy and sound and cheerful again after her nap and Marita had said very seriously, "Will you please come?" So he had driven them to the turnout for the cove and shown them both on the way how dangerously the brakes were working.
"You'd kill yourself with this car," he told Marita. "It's a crime to drive it the way it is." ”

“ Well ahead on the ocean side was the bulk of a big hotel and a casino and on the left there were newly planted trees and Basque villas white washed and brown timbered set in their own trees and plantings. The two young people in the car rode down the boulevard slowly looking out at the magnificent beach and at the mountains of Spain that showed blue in this light as the car passed the casino and the big hotel and went on toward the end of the boulevard. ”

“ It isn't the first girl that ever was and a lot of good it did them." "How about Nina?" "That bitch," Catherine said. "She was a wolf. I suppose it should be amusing." "I didn't think it was amusing," Catherine said. "I thought it was sad." "So did I." "We'll find another cafe," she said. "They're gone now anyway." 'They were spooky." "I know," she said. "For me too. But the one girl was nice. She had beautiful eyes. Did you see?" "She was an awful blusher though." "I liked her. Didn't you?" "I suppose so." "People that can't blush are worthless." "Nina blushed once," David said. ”

“ In his and Catherine's room he took a shower, shaved, found a fresh shirt and shorts and put them on, looked around the empty bedroom, the first morning he had ever been in it with Catherine not there, and then went out to the empty kitchen and found a tin of Maquereau Vin Blanc Capitaine Cook and opened it and took it, perilous with edge-level juice, with a cold bottle of the Tuborg beer out to the bar. ”