Behind the Clouds Page #3

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but 300,000 words.

Hand-written,

on the most beautiful paper.

Justlike then.

Next Saturday, 8 o'clock?

Was it my fate to run into you again

after all those years?

I don't know.

I only know that it happened.

And that the same has happened

to me as back then, many years ago.

I didn't know it was still possible,

nor do I know where it will take us.

I only know that I want to see you.

Mom?

I'm coming.

Hello, sweetheart.

It looks like you have plans.

- What brings you here?

What happened?

I thought I'd keep my mother company

for a litte while, but if I'm not welcome...

Of course you are.

Do I have to call frst nowadays?

- Jacky.

I thought we'd toast to loneliness.

- Oh, come here.

Where are you going?

- Dancing.

I thought you didn't want to.

- I've changed my mind.

Mom, I'm so happy to hear that.

You know what, I'll give you a ride.

Why?

- Come, get your coat and let's go.

Well, have fun.

You can go home now.

- Don't worry, I won't go in with you.

I'll pick you up at eleven, okay?

Dance?

- I can't dance.

Then I'll teach you.

How do you do. Arnold.

- Emma.

Your frst time here?

You don't need to feel embarrassed.

We're like one big family

here at the Parasol.

Have you recenty lost someone?

That's how we all ended up here.

Looking for support.

My horoscope was right.

It said I'd meet someone today...

who was going to change my life.

I have to go.

It has nothing to do with you,

nor with your horoscope.

I'm just not much of a dancer.

- You dance very well.

My daughter made me come here.

But you've really helped me.

This time I really couldn't help it.

I'm terribly sorry.

Thank you.

Thanks.

To what has been,

or to what is still to come.

Of what has been we're sure.

What's that?

Take a look.

An opal?

- It stimulates one's dreams.

Not my words, the jeweller's.

You're moving very fast, I must say.

- What choice do you have after 70?

I can't accept it.

- Why not? It's a present.

I don't want it.

Shouldn't you be chasing

younger women?

Why?

- Because you're a man.

So what?

Aren't men always looking for women

about half their own age?

What men are you talking about?

- Al men.

Not about me.

Half plus one, Frederik always said.

- Did he really?

Utterly tactess.

A complete lack of decency.

Men get better with age.

Like a botte of good wine.

But women wrinkle,

like old pieces of fruit.

What's this? International Women's Day?

- Am I wrong?

Just put it on.

- No, I don't want it.

You mean I went through

all this trouble for nothing?

Stop it, okay?

Yes.

- Listen, Jacky...

I don't want to hear it, Werner.

I'm fed up. More than fed up.

Sweetheart, her mother is ill.

I can't tell her now, can I?

But I promise...

- You're always making promises.

But you never live up to them.

Then your daughter has her communion,

then exams, then your wife has her period.

Jacky, listen, I...

- No, I have a right to know where I stand.

Otherwise I'll go crazy.

- Shall I come by?

Shall I come by?

- Leave me alone.

I'm out with my mother.

I'll call you tomorrow. Maybe.

Sweetie...

I know, the cofee is terrible here.

But you get a plate full of biscuits,

and if you're lucky, priests' hats.

Good for your cholesterol.

- You have to die of something.

Who wants to die, you or me?

- No, they're for you.

I like them when they're slighty old

and the sugar coating has crystallised.

Priests' hats and...

What did they use to call them again?

Nun's asses.

- Priests' hats and nun's asses.

You devil.

- Thank you.

Jacky dropped me of at a dancing.

- A dancing?

Yes, she was going

to pick me up there.

So you lied to her about our date.

- Don't make it any harder than it is.

Yes, I'm sorry.

- What should I do?

Send her a text message.

- What shall I say? You're the writer.

'Dancing sucked. Twisted my ankle.

I'm at the hospital. See you tomorrow.'

I don't talk like that. Besides, it's too long.

- No...

'Met an incredibly handsome man.

Staying at his place. YOLO, smiley.'

Not very credible.

Don't worry, took a taxi

home already.

I don't feel like going home.

I'm always so cold there.

As if all the doors

and windows are open.

Thanks for the lovely evening.

No one says we have to go home.

Wouldn't it be very imprudent

with a total stranger?

There are certain risks involved,

I must admit.

Will it lead to sex?

- Excuse me?

Will it lead to sex?

Watch out, sex with an old sweetheart

you haven't seen in 50 years...

There's a name for that.

- Really?

I read it in some magazine.

It's called 'retro sex'.

Retro sex?

Are you sure it wasn't something else?

- Very sure.

Making love to an old sweetheart.

- Good God, retro sex.

I know a nice litte hotel

just around the corner.

Is that an invitation?

Not that I planned it beforehand,

and I'll completely understand if...

Good evening.

We'd like a room for one night.

- Of course.

One night, you say?

- We know it's late, but we thought...

I have the Norwegian

or the Greek room for you.

You want to go to Norway or to Greece?

- I love Greece.

Shall I bring your luggage up?

We don't have any.

What do you say?

Why not?

Have you ever been to Greece?

- No, it's never come to that.

My frst wife didn't like to travel.

- And the second?

She didn't like to travel with me.

Are you okay?

Are you going to strip for me?

- Why?

No one's ever done so.

- Strip?

While I sing the tatiki.

- Yes, you sing the tatiki.

Or what's it called?

- The sirtaki.

Right, tatiki is that cucumber dip.

Is that all?

- No, it's only just begun.

But before we continue,

I think it's time for the reality check.

I'm not so young anymore, you see.

And the last thing I want is

for you to be left disenchanted.

Or for me to leave the battlefield

with an injury.

I'm listening.

- Of course I don't know your intentions.

I want steaming hot sex.

I want to be taken really hard.

Just what I was afraid of.

That's a problem, because...

Real hard with me isn't really

all that hard anymore since I...

What?

- Since I take pills for my diabetes.

I still remember what my doctor said.

He always talks in the frst person plural.

'We won't notice much diference, sir,

except for our erections.

I'm afraid they won't be

what they used to be.'

But alright, time for the reality check.

Maybe I should start at the bottom.

My ankles.

I have lumps on my ankles.

I should have had them surgically

removed years ago, but I never dared to.

I'm afraid of the pain.

- I understand.

Then my knees. I have one

botched knee. Meniscus.

It doesn't bother me all that much,

but if I sit on my knees for too long...

We can never be cautious enough.

- I agree.

Then my prostrate.

It complains a litte, but still functions.

And orgasms?

I have them. Sometimes too soon,

sometimes too late, but I have them.

Well, I think that's about all.

I can live with that.

And you? Are there things

I ought to know about you?

I have a bad character.

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