Allure

He caught up with me at Pyati Ougliv Square* and said, out of breath from running: “I crossed the street all because of you.”

“That’s most touching, but just what do you want?”

“I kind of like your way of walking, your allure. You know what I mean?”

“Sure. I know Russian really quite well.”

“Well, do you get what I’m driving at?”

“Just what, may I ask?”

I continued going along the road which I took every day to and from the editorial board of Aurora. He kept up with me. His appearance was that of an artist, a man of about thirty, of medium height with a soft voice.

“Do you have a lover?” he asked.

“Why, are you declaring yourself a candidate for the post?” I asked laughing a bit.

“It’s far more complicated. If you have a guy, we could, you know, sort of do it together.”

“But if I already have someone, what do I need you for?”

“It’s a lot more interesting in that way, you know.”

“For whom?”

“For me, for you. But you’re still not getting the point.”

“Hm.”

“My wife’s been doing it for a long time…”

“How intriguing!”

“Right now, damn it all, she’s making a guest appearance in China.”

“Tough.”

By now, I would have ordinarily turned my back on the guy, yet he hadn’t simply made any real passes nor said anything terribly offensive. Anyone seeing us might simply have thought that we were discussing the latest advances in technology. My new-found companion continued to bemoan his fate.

“You probably consider her a nymphomaniac. But she’s a real princess. A Queen of Sheba. She’s ten years older than me yet I’m not sorry that we got married. She pretty much knows what’s what and she gets a hell of a lot out of life. She’s taught me a thing or two, and, let me tell you, some of it’s not bad either. Some sex is pretty low level stuff, you know, not much more than getting a quick lay in the bushes, the stuff we call “village love”. She knows damned well what she wants and she ‘s no novice in love making. She’s pretty much into French things… like perfumes, sharp clothes, theater, and well, even French minet.”*

“And what, may I ask, made you decide that I could help out in some way?”

“I guess there’s just something about you… a certain allure. You know what I mean?”




1* - In St. Petersburg.
2* - Cunnilingus or oral sex.