They lunch at L'olivier, and during her first glass A-- says, There was a tourist. Of course there was, D-- chides, her disgust for tourists as palpable as the crème brûlée she abuses with her spoon. Was he good in bed, at least? C-- asks. Except for the swearing, A-- says, yes. Romantic B--, who has obviously never had her heart broken, sighs, So he was an American. Of course he was American, but I courted him, not the other way around. And now he's returned to the United States and you miss him. B-- removes a cigarette from her silver case. Please don't light that, A-- says, I haven't finished my meal. All right, go on then, tell us about him. When was the affair? C-- asks. He went home two weeks ago. You didn't tell us, D-- says. I didn't think you would understand. I understand that you're my friend and should have said something. So I was right, you don't understand. I understand perfectly, you haven't finished your wine. I'm not thirsty. Thirst has nothing to do with what I'm talking about. A-- drains her glass and cuts her veal into grape-sized pieces. Lifetimes pass between swallows. D-- loses patience. Give me a cigarette, she says. But A--'s still eating, B-- says. It has never mattered before. It matters now, A-- says, it matters now to have friends who will respect me and allow me to make my own decisions. You're letting him off too easily, D-- says, they're all the same, especially Americans. Maybe I am, but he promised to write and I'm worried because he hasn't, something terrible must have happened. Why don't you call him, B-- suggests. Because I would rather he called me. You could e-mail, C-- offers. I have. Just once I hope. Yes, just once. What did you write? Only that I hoped he arrived safely. Is that all? And that I was thinking of him. You're a fool, D-- says. She's not a fool. Yes, she is. Why do you say such things? Why can't you just listen to her? I've already said it, because she is a fool, and so are they. All four gaze in the direction of D--'s upraised chin and see the same two people but differently. A-- sees a happy American couple, happy, she thinks, because they wear their joy meaty on their bones the way the rich wear jewels and the poor their humble rags. D-- sees two fat American pigs and wishes she were sitting in B--'s chair, so she wouldn't have to see them. C-- sees money, she always sees money where tourists are involved. She has a souvenir stand outside the Louvre, it was her father's before he died, a suicide, she runs the family business in his honor, his name, her memories of him that much lovelier when tourists purchase his postcards. And B--, romantic B--, she sees nothing but the love that passes between two vacationers, U-- and I--, who have come to Paris on business, competitors for the same promotion, and what's true is that there is no love lost between them. Then U-- begins to choke. Halp, halp, halp, U-- gasps between fast breaths. Din't, I-- shouts. Halp, halp. Din't tauch hem, watt jest a menit. There's no time, A--, the beautiful one, the one I-- has been admiring since entering L'olivier, says breathlessly, rushing over, heaving her fists beneath U--'s ribs. A mushroom cap launches from U--'s throat onto the floor. A-- sits beside U-- and smiles. That's better, isn't it? Are you all right? Tank you, U-- says, tank you, tank you. It was nothing, A-- says. Tank you all the same. When A-- returns to her table, two of her friends applaud. You just saved that man's life, B-- says. It was nothing. It wasn't nothing. He was going to choke and you saved him. You would have done the same, it was just that I reacted first. You're my new hero, C-- says, lips pinched white. And you, do you have nothing to say? A-- asks. Forget him, D-- whispers, staring at U--'s greasy chin and bulging cheeks, forget him the way that man has forgotten he nearly died but for your pity.
