Tiago, O Irrepupável

Dancingiseverything,” continued the Sheep Man. “Danceintip-topform. Dancesoitallkeepsspinning. Ifyoudothat, wemightbeabletodosomethingforyou. Yougottadance. Aslongasthemusicplays.

You look down in the mouth. You all right?”
“Lost a woman. “
“You’ll have others and lose them too.

Yes, but if you drink or gamble they think it’s a put-down of their love.”
“Get one who likes to drink, gamble, and fuck.”
“Who wants a woman like that?

Manny, what are you doing working in auto parts?”
“Resting. My ambition is handicapped by laziness.

The arguments were always the same. I understood it too well now — that great lovers were always men of leisure. I fucked better as a bum than as a puncher of timeclocks.

[…] I knew she was out there, and I knew there would be somebody else. Yet I had to let it happen, I had to let events take their own course.

You married, Manny?”
“No way.”
“Women?”
“Sometimes. But it never lasts.”
“What’s the problem?”
“A woman is a full-time job. You have to choose your profession.

But didn’t you say you were satisfied with your life?”
“Word games,” I dismissed. “Every army needs a flag.

No matter how hard my mind becomes, no matter how winter closes me, it is not for me to be sleeping with her. It is the Town that wants me to sleep with her. That is how they would claim my mind.

In time your mind will not matter. It will go, and with it all sense of loss, all sorrow. Nor will love matter. Only living will remain. Undisturbed, peaceful living. You are fond of the girl and I believe she is fond of you. Expect no more.

This compact knife didn’t look like a lethal weapon, but it was obviously no dime-store toy. It was sharp enough to slice a person to pieces. The human fruit is always ripe for peeling.