Paris Nights and Other Impressions of Places and People: A Collection of Stories
Шрифт:
Our ice-cream man seemed to choke with indignation. Of course he had such an ice cream! Every ice cream was a part of his soul, but there was one he had created for himself.
And here, it became clear to our kind, dear Santa what I was trying to tell him. My God! If he could turn people into ice creams, what if he made it a backward process, and found his desired delicacy in female form?
The idea filled him with such enthusiasm that he nearly ran outside to Paris at night in search of “the one”. Of course, such ardency could be caused by the cognac, whose aroma was felt by all of us as soon as Santa crossed the threshold of the hostel; but the direction was right by all means.
The next day, Santa left us, having already packed his things; and said goodbye with a sly wink. Surely, we knew where we could find our ice-cream man, not to lose sight of him forever. But something prompted me that day that he would be presenting his new collection “Parisian Hostel” in the company of his second half, so similar to his best diamond work.
Chapter 4. The Golden Woman
Have you ever thought about the meaning of habitual and (at the same time) modified expressions? For example, if someone could perfectly craft, repair, sew, and create something by himself, people would say that he has golden hands. If a person was kind, sincerely helped everyone and responded to any requests, he was called a golden man…
Now, typically unremarkable youngsters whose vital values are very doubtful are often called “golden boys”; although it seems to me that such “gold” is fake. And it’s not even very shiny… Naturally gifted people shall enter the epic battle for a place in the sun against those whose parents have already bought it. And if there is no way to “book a place in the sun” immediately, then at least get the opportunity to take it over by means of knowledge and skills.
As for me, once, not so long ago, I heard whispering behind my back: I was a “reach kid” and “golden boy”, just because my not-very-rich mother has done all her best to provide me with a wonderful education. In the current interpretation, I would not consider myself a “golden boy”, not at all. Probably, I would even consider this an insult, given that I have already achieved a lot by myself. However, we’re not talking about me.
This strange woman appeared in our Paris hostel about three days ago. And if the rest of its inhabitants fit in very well with the space and our communication style, sharing stories and experiences with each other during our gatherings by the fireplace, this lady looked like a real Monomakh’s Cap on the table of children’s handmade items in the kindergarten.
I would like to make it quite clear (yet again, probably) that this hostel did not stay some poor devils who preferred not to stay in the ordinary flophouse because of fear of catching some kind of infection, not at all. Here lived quite respectable and well-off people, even “reach” people, who could afford many things, if not absolutely everything. Of course, we also had wonderful guys – students-hitchhikers who were just starting their way of life, frugal old people, and those who just wanted a more informal environment instead of the glossy ethics of an expensive premium hotel.
But this lady was definitely informal. Her expensive clothes were selected in profoundly poor taste: gaudy colors, incompatible elements, a style fantastically unsuitable for her figure, and… gold. She was decorated more than a Christmas tree, if you know what I mean.
But worst of all were her eyes. My God, how she looked at us as she passed by the fireplace hall! “Beggars” is perhaps the most moderate definition of us that could be read in her eyes. I have never met anyone with so much arrogance and sense of self-importance. By her appearance, she seemed to show us: “I’m not one of you; I’m better than all of you taken together!”
Well, we all came to Paris for various reasons, but they certainly did not include convincing the Golden Woman of something or proving our solvency to her. So we unanimously ignored her contemptuous glances at us; and what was really interesting was that two days later, we completely stopped noticing her.
Therefore, it was a real shock to us when the lady, smelling of vintage Guy Laroche perfume, like a perfume shop, sashayed into our fireplace hall. I don’t even remember what kind of a story I recorded then; I was that surprised by this visit. And she, with her jewels tinkling, darted to an empty chair. As she passed right by me, thanks to my subtle sense of smell, I caught a faint aroma of alcohol. Apparently, Madame drank one or two glasses of wine, which allowed her to lower the bar for a society “worthy of her”.
Graciously nodding to the narrator, she muttered: “Go on, do not pay any attention to me!” But frankly speaking, not to pay attention to the one who is very keen to draw attention was extremely difficult.
Since there were courteous French among us, they immediately encompassed her with care and attention, offering a glass of red wine, which we had been testing that night. The Golden Woman first feigned righteous anger and disgust – how could anyone have thought that she would drink at all; and that she would drink that dubious wine, which is certainly cheaper than three thousand francs per bottle? But ultimately, she gave up and, having taken a few sips of wine, seemed to be satisfied.
All of us somehow tried to get her to talk. But she skillfully evaded our attempts while not forgetting to show her expensive rings with precious stones and diamond earrings. Little by little, we abandoned our attempts and quietly returned to the conversation inside our circle, allowing the “newcomer” to just sit nearby.
What was surprising was that she took literally all the stories with skepticism. Time and again, she sardonically raised her left eyebrow; and a distrustful smile screwed her lips. We spent four nights with her. Not once during this time did the Golden Woman become warmer, more attentive, or more open. Probably, she would have left so, having arrogantly taken a look at us.
But on the fifth night, a little Charlotte, who knew how to “conjure”, approached her, boldly touched her ringed hand, and asked: “Probably, anyone hurt you much?”
To convey what happened afterward is a really difficult task. It was full of outrage and emotional explosion, wherein the woman yelled at the top of her lungs that she was richer than all of us put together, that her clothes were more expensive than all our luggage, that her gold and jewelry would be enough to buy this “smelly hostel” right now and drive us all out of there.
Well, as always, such an outburst was followed by a logical denouement. Tears gushed from her eyes. I remember that people were offering her handkerchiefs, and she was quietly complaining about her waterproof mascara, which was not sufficiently resistant to her tears. As soon as Charlotte has blown up this emotional dam; as soon as the lady, having cried and calmed down, took in her hands a cup of strong coffee; as soon as her haughty and arrogant expression faded from her eyes, she was ready to talk to us.