"Passing Summer" "So, what's the word?" " It's all set." "Six months." "Basic monthly salary 2.4 million..." "Lira." "With a view of the Colosseum?" " No." "It's on the outskirts of Rome." "Starting when?" " First of July or August." "You could've moved into my apartment, for the six months at least." "It's much too expensive." "Maybe I should cancel the lease." " Aren't you coming back?" "Probably." "Of course I'm coming back." "Unless something happens." "A coffee and..." "Have you eaten?" " I had some cake." "No, I want ice cream." "Do you have raspberry?" "We have whatever's on the menu." "These cranky waiters annoy me." "What did I do to him?" "I'm thinking of having a farewell party." "In my parents' backyard." "My mother's going to France next week, so the house will be empty." "Are your parents still together?" " No." "My father moved out." "Crazy, huh?" "Your father, he's a case." "I'd never have expected that." "What, that he'd move out?" " Yeah." "He wanted Sonja to go on cleaning for him at his new place, but of course my mother didn't approve at all." "Now she's a mess, because she likes my father much better than my mother." "He always spoke a bit of Polish with her, and she liked that." "I thought Sonja was Russian." " No, she's Polish." "What makes you think she's Russian?" " I asked her." "She's Russian." "But why does he speak Polish with her?" " Maybe she understands Polish." "You think she's Russian?" " I'm pretty sure." "Ask her, then you'II know." "No, no, I believe you." "I can't ask her now not after she's been cleaning for my parents for ten years." "Russian." "That puts her in a different light." " How come?" "Well, it's different if you think someone's from Poland or Russia." "Russia's much bigger." "Maybe she's from Siberia and her husband's a heavy drinker, or a Chechen rebel or whatever." "She's married?" " I always thought she was." "You really could ask her that." " Lf she's still there." "Maybe she'll pull herself together, stop cleaning for my mother and go to my father's." "Then she'II be gone." "Will you be around next week?" " Yes." "I'll be here all summer." "You're not going away?" " No." "How big is your room?" " Big." "Well, big enough anyway." "I wanted to work, but maybe I won't do anything." "I'm thinking of getting my piano here." "It's been at my father's for years, and no one ever plays it." "Of course, if you think you'll stay there." "I don't know how long I'II stay." "But I never do know." "I never thought I'd go away either." " But you've been meaning to for ages." "Yes, but I never thought I'd do it." "I don't know anyone there." "But six months will go by quickly." "And then you'll be proud of yourself." "I don't know if I'll be proud." "Something special would have to happen." "Maybe nothing will happen." "What if they only let me do paperwork?" "I don't know if I could do something all on my own." "For two and a half thousand, they'll let you do something." "I thinking about taking all my German reference books with me." "Otherwise I wouldn't be able to look anything up." "Take them if it makes you feel better." " But they're so heavy..." "It does scare me." "I'll probably be glad to come back after six months." "It's no big deal." " It is, though." "It'd be nice to stay for good, you know?" "Goodbye Germany ten years later, no accent anymore, and bilingual children." "Married to a doctor..." " Yeah, that would be great." "My past would be a secret..." "Interesting and mysterious..." "Do you think I'll come back?" "No, maybe you won't come back!" " And you?" "Falling in love soon?" "Sure." "I'll fall in love." "He's already waiting for me, somewhere, thinking:" "Where is she?" "I wonder who I should invite, if I do have a party." "I think I know all your friends." "You don't know Gregor." "But he's too short." "Gregor, he has this shop with clothes from England and stuff but he's a photographer, really, and a not designer, but..." "what's the word..." "Stylist." "That's it." "But he's tiny." " How tiny?" "Maybe five feet." "At the most." " That really is tiny." "Even smaller, I think." "And he's wiry." " Wiry?" "No." "It's nice here in summer." "Are you hungry?" " No." "Are you writing a letter to Josef?" " Yes." "Are you writing that you love him?" "I'm writing that I'm at the lake with you." "Can I wear your jacket?" " Not over your wet bathing suit." "Have you known Marie long?" " No, I hardly knew her before." "I asked around if anyone needed a roommate, and I got her number." "From Karl, you know Karl?" " No." "He also lives in the building." "Does he wear a hat?" " A hat?" "No." "There's a guy with a hat." " A straw hat?" " Yes." "I know who you mean." "But that's not Karl." "Did you hurt yourself?" " Yeah." "Scalded myself." "It looks yucky, so I covered it." "Yucky?" " Not pretty, at any rate." "How did it happen?" " I was making coffee." "Just poured boiling water on myself, no idea how it happened." "Are you having a nice chat?" "I just need to find the phone, then we can go." "Will the little one stay alone when you go?" "Yeah, she'll be OK." "I don't like to do that, though." "And you're comfortable in your new room?" " Yes, very." "I used to live there too, once." "I found it pretty hot in the summer." "Yeah, I underestimated that." "I don't do so well in the heat." "Yeah, heat is torturous, at least indoors." " Yeah." "I don't really go in the sun anymore." "I used to as a kid, but not anymore." "When did you live here?" " Last year, during the divorce." "I'm divorced, you know?" " No, I didn't know." "Marie's lived here a long time, hasn't she?" " Yeah, ages." "I don't think she'II ever leave." "She became a mother here and she'll probably become a grandmother here too." " A grandmother!" "Why not?" " I don't really know her." "Do you have brothers or sisters?" " I have a brother." "Here?" " No, back home." "Where's that?" " In southern Germany." "He has a firm which make sails, together with a friend." "He lives near where we grew up." " So that means he sails too?" "Yes, he sails." "He's younger than me." "He's twenty-seven." "What do you want to do?" "Listen to music." "And I want you to dance to it." "What music?" " The Erlk^nig." "You can't dance to that." " Why not?" "Did you ask that patient about the house?" "Yes, I gave him your number." "I don't think he can afford it, though." "Did you tell him how much?" " No, I said he should call you." "It's almost sold." "He should do it soon." "Then forget it, he's not really a friend of mine." "Wasn't it here where they did those pancakes?" "Are you eating anything?" " No, not me." "Is that the villa you were talking about?" " Yes." "Who's buying it?" " A lawyer from Cologne." "Been looking for ages." "Funny thing is I still knew him from university." "That is funny." "Congratulations." "Thanks." "On what?" " Your commission." "My brother thinks real estate agents are one step below weapons dealers." "By the way, we're going on vacation this year, to Sardinia." "Thomas knows the place, we used to go there when we were kids." "The people in the village have known us for thirty years but they've kind of lost touch with Thomas." "They probably wouldn't even recognize you." "I don't know why you don't go there anymore." "Anyway, we're going and taking Clara for the first time." "We haven't been there since Clara is nine now... ten years ago." "I remember I was pregnant." "So do I. You puked in the ocean." " Yeah, on the ferry!" "Are you flying?" " I don't know, are we flying?" "Yes, it's better isn't it?" "And where is the house?" " It's way up north." "A two-hour drive from Olbia." "By the way, we can have Marcus' car." "He'll pick us up, and then we can keep it." "He'd have been pretty insulted if we'd gotten a rental." "What kind of a car is it?" " A Renault, I think." "Not too small." "It'll be alright." "You'll be here the whole time?" " Yes." "Should I forward your mail?" "No." "It's just good to know that someone will be there." "I don't like to leave the place alone." "Marie gets attached to her dwellings." " Yes, but that's not why." "I just prefer it if someone's there." " So how long will you be gone?" "Four weeks, isn't it?" "Are we boring her?" "Don't know." "Don't think so." "What does she do, anyway?" " She's studying architecture." "Well, she's almost finished." "Why don't you come to Sardinia with us, if you haven't been for so long?" "I'm serious." "You could bring Louis." "No, I don't want to go on vacation." " He never does." "Me neither." "When you're a kid, it's normal, you never even think about it." "Everyone went away on vacation, it would have been strange not to." "So I thought it was something you just had to do and for years I went by myself, once I moved away from home." "But it was always stressful, somehow." "I was always proud of every day I made it through." "I was always happier afterwards than during the vacation." "Then I hardly travelled at all." "But I'm still glad I went." "At least I have a few stories to tell." "And something always happens, something funny, or exciting." "Or you put yourself in danger and then you're relieved." "Thank God not everyone's like me." " Why?" "That's fine." " I know." "I think it depends on what else you do." "Sure." "And how you live." " Do you live well?" "What?" " Do you think you live well?" "Now, at this moment, it's fine." " You mean, here and now." "Yes." "It's fine." " You're an idiot." "Why's that?" " Leave her alone." "Thomas doesn't go on vacation because he can't have fun." "He's not interested in having fun." "He's one of those people, who keep investigating around who keep wanting to expose other people." "When we were kids, he was the only one who never laughed at Laurel and Hardy." "I didn't understand it, back then." "I do laugh now." "Who do you like better, Laurel or Hardy?" " Laurel." "Are they still alive?" " Don't know." "Dead, I think." "Dead, huh?" "You look a fright." "Did you fall asleep?" "Did I?" "I don't know." "You know what the neighbors are saying?" "The flats are going to be sold." "That means we could buy this place." "Then you could really nest here." "Curl up like a hedgehog." "Yes." "I love hedgehogs." "They're cute." "Shall we sleep together?" "Yes." "Right here is best." "How should we do it?" "Maybe standing up first and then we'll see." " OK." "Can I ask you something?" "You're the brother of the woman whose kid Maria looks after, aren't you?" "She said you were a photographer." " Why?" "I went to school with Maria, and now I'm starting at university but I want to be a photographer, really." "I just need someone who can tell me if I'm talented enough." "It would have to be someone who knows something about it." "I have photos of soldiers." " Of soldiers?" " Yes, portraits." "I took them before they left on a mission." "My cousin was one of them." "I think one can see something..." " Like what?" "What they want to hide." "And some of them look beautiful." "Would you look at them?" " Sure, why not." "When?" " Come with Maria sometime, and I'll try to be there too." "Okay, but when?" "I'll give you my number, and you can just call me." "I have time next week." " Just call me." "Okay." "I can read this." "So I'll call." "Thanks a lot." "What's your name?" " Johanna." "See you!" "What are you doing here?" "Not a soul in sight and then you show up!" "Where are you going?" "To the museum." "How are you?" " Okay." "What's wrong?" " Nothing." "It's too hot, and I don't know where to go." "I've got people in my apartment who just won't leave." "It's my sister... she married an African, and at the wedding in Nairobi, she fainted because of the heat, and maybe because she didn't even want to marry him and then she suddenly calls and says she feels like shit and could I maybe pick her up at the airport." "Stupid as I am, of course I went not knowing she'd show up with this guy and no idea where to stay because she doesn't have a flat, having spent the last six months bumming around on this African island." "But she didn't seem ill at all..." "So?" "Go on." "Simone's the type to run on the beach naked and not be bothered on this terrible island, where there are no cars, just donkeys and mangos, and unemployed islanders hanging around smoking dope..." "And one of them is now cooking couscous in my kitchen and keeps giving me ivory keychains because he's having such a great time." "My head hurts and I don't want to use my own toilet anymore I have to work, I want to work." "I want to be alone." "And you two?" "I saw you at the cinema the other day, but you didn't see me." "I keep going to the cinema on my own now, otherwise I'll go crazy." "I've even gone out to eat on my own." "Why don't you just throw them out?" "That's not it." "The problem is that I'm noticing what I'm like and I don't want to be like that, I'd rather be cheerful." "Of course I'll throw them out." "Just a few days more, and then I'll tell them to go." "Have you by any chance heard of a flat?" "Or a room maybe that'd be fine for now, since they don't have any money." "But they are having a great time." "Simone has always been the easy-going type." "That makes me feel like a jerk." "Totally alone, that's how I feel, with a family like that." "And now this guy is my brother-in-law!" "He says the only thing he misses here is the way the sun rises and sets." "I mean, what do you say to that?" " You have nice shoes." "Thanks." "They're forty percent off at Theresa's, but you have to ask." "I had a guy like that living in my flat too, once." "First he didn't pay the rent, and then I even helped him move," "I was so happy he was leaving." " Yes, a real pain in the neck." "But that's not it." "That's not the way life works." "All those egoists, and you the biggest of the lot." "I don't know." "Oh come on." " It's easy for you." "With kids, you start knowing what you have to do, don't you?" "I'd like to have kids too." "I'd really like a different life." "Are you coming?" " In a minute." "Do you have a washing machine?" " Yes, you want to do the laundry?" "If it's okay..." "Sure, if that's all it is." " When?" "Tell me, I don't care." "Tomorrow?" "In the evening." "You don't have plans?" " Not in the evening." "Good, then I'll come." "I met him." "He had time, but he didn't say anything." "His wife handed me the interviews." "It seemed like a joke, because she knew I knew them all." "He says there's nothing to say because he's completed his work." "I don't get it." " That's how it is." "Let me hear it." "There's nothing to say." "I can't tell you anything." "There's nothing to say." "Nothing." "What's with the birds?" " Birds?" "There was a tree in front of his window." "Must've been full of birds." "There wasn't a bird to be seen, but an incredible racket." "At the place where he lives?" " Yeah, right in front of his flat." "Did you bring me the syrup?" "You know you can get it here too." " Yeah, but not this brand." "So it rained, huh?" " Yep." "Did you bring us anything?" " Yes, happy tidings." "It's still a secret." "I'm pregnant again." " Congratulations!" "Where are the toilets?" " Over there." "What's wrong?" " I just told you." "Weren't we supposed to know?" " Nonsense." "Doesn't she feel well?" "I'm buying a newspaper." "Isn't Marie back yet?" " No, I don't know when she's coming." "You still don't have any pictures on the walls." "I don't have any." "Do you want one of mine?" " Yes." "Do you want to choose one, or shall I paint one for you?" "Whatever you want." " Whatever you want." "Then paint me something." " Okay, but not now." "Do you want a cup of tea?" "Where's the game board?" "I think there's still some left." " No, I'll make a fresh pot." "Do you want children too?" "No." " You've never considered it?" "How old are you?" " Twenty-one." "Are you playing with us?" "Marie said you're getting married." " Yes." "So will you still come here?" " Why not?" "It's unusual isn't it?" "Getting married at twenty-one?" "I'd rather do it now." "If you put it off, you'll never get round to it." "I want to get married young, not at thirty or forty." "And how old is your boyfriend?" " Twenty-five." "He's a writer." "Yeah, he writes stories." " How long have you been together?" "Almost a year." "They wanted to know that at the registry office too." "So what do your parents think?" " Hello!" "Where's my angel?" "What are you doing?" " Can't you see?" "You want to play too?" "You can have the red." "So?" "How was soccer?" " Good!" "Come with me." "How was your day?" " Okay." "You can finish your tea." " No, I'll go." "I'll come tomorrow, okay?" " I don't know yet." "I'll call you." "Bye!" "Can I get you something?" "Why don't you lie down?" "You don't what it's like, do you?" "You've never done it." " No" "It's from your brother." "Your father's very ill." "Excuse me, that newspaper you were reading..." "Sorry, I threw it away." " Doesn't matter." "I think he wants to get up." " I'll be right there." "I'm afraid he'll fall out!" " In a minute." "Did you cry in there, too?" "He notices when you cry." "He's not doing well." " He's doing very badly." "He's been ill for a while, but now he's worse." "I hardly recognised him." "Well, they took out his teeth." " I figured that out." "He's an old man now." "What do we do?" "A thousand things, if we're not lucky." "How are the sails?" " The sails?" "They're fine." "And you?" "When did you move?" " In May." "That's a while ago." "Will he die?" " I think so." "I think so too." "But he recognized me, didn't he?" "Why do you think he'll die?" "I don't think his condition will change." "And then he'll die." "But the doctors said there's still a chance he'll get better." "He doesn't want to go on living like this, though." " No." "But he can't kill himself, either." " No, he can't kill himself." "I'll be sick if you keep on driving like that." "Hello." "Valerie?" " Yes." "Hello." "Has something happened?" "He had a stroke." "He's in hospital, but he's not well." "He's very ill." "He couldn't reach you anymore." "We think he's dying." "You have to pay extra, please." "Where's the damn slot?" " It says ticket here." "Did you come by car from Berlin?" "No, I flew." "I have Ben's car." "Could Ben call me, when he dies?" "Otherwise no one will tell me." " Yes, or I could." "And if my husband answers, tell him you want to speak to me." "I don't want to hear it from him." "We never talked about it." "Sometimes I think he knows but he never said anything, or asked me where I go on Mondays." "He still thinks of your father as a friend." "Every Monday, I took the train to meet your father, and he never asked." "But your father..." "I know a lot about him, and he about me." "Will you dance with me?" "But no one's dancing." "Someone is over there." "You always used to dance like Jennifer Beals." "How awful!" "You never told me." " But it's true." "You took up the whole dancefloor." "Did everyone think that, or just you?" " I don't know." "I hope it was just me." "I dance differently now." " I believe that." "Come on, dance with me." "Can you get me an ice cream?" "Which cinema are you going to?" " Uhland Street." "Let me use the phone too!" " When are you picking him up?" "I'll be at the cinema." "No, now!" " We'll call someone in a minute." "Valerie?" "Can I call you back later?" "Hello?" "Who's there?" "Louis." "I'm fine." "Who are you?" "Valerie." "Do I know her?" " Valerie, Marie's roommate." "Does she know me?" " No, Sweetie." "Give it to me." "It's me." "I'll call you later, okay?" "Are you bored?" " Why?" "Is that fun?" " Yeah, I think it is." "Are you coming to the hospital later?" " Lf I can make it." "Do you know who I see sometimes?" "Matthias Handstein." "Really?" "Does he still live here?" " He's moved back here." "Taken over his father's practice." " Thought so." "Very imaginative." "You loved him." " Yes, I loved him." "My God, did I cry over him." "I was so in love with him." "Is he married?" " Yes, with a kid." "Amazing." "Do I know his wife?" " No, she's from Ulm." "What should I do now?" "Go home." "There's nothing you can do here." "Did he say how he wanted to be buried?" "Oh, he doesn't care." "He wanted to live, not die." "I sure he doesn't care what happens to his body." "Then we should have him cremated, shouldn't we?" "I haven't thought about it." "Yeah, maybe." "We could ask him, maybe he'll give us a sign." "You know what?" "I don't want him to go on living like this." "It doesn't matter what you want." " Don't you understand?" "Yes, I understand." "Don't fall asleep." "I'll be right back." "Where are you going?" " To the toilet." "Are you coming back?" " Sure." "Is the film still on?" " Yes." "What did you do?" "I ran into Marie's husband." " By chance?" "At the travel agency in Karstadt." " Are you going away?" "No, my mother wants to come and I was asking about flights." "Can we talk about something?" " What about?" "I want to sell the house." "You hardly go there anymore neither do I, it's falling apart, and I need the money." "What do you expect to get for it?" "It's not in good enough shape!" "Because we haven't been keeping it up!" "Let's sell it, surely you can use the money too." "I'm sure your sister will take care of it, if you ask her." "I don't know if I want to." " What?" "Sell it." " Why?" "Why, why, I'm attached to it." "It's left over from us, like the boy is left over from us." "And the boy's attached to it too." "A pretty expensive way to ease your conscience." "Now it's all coming into the open." " But it's true, isn't it!" "You and your sentimentality." "I need money, that's all!" "Or I'll just sell you my half." "How are you doing financially?" "And otherwise?" "Emotionally?" "Come on, think about it." "You don't care about the place anyway." "Don't try to talk me into it." "Oh, your favourite phrase now, Don't try to talk me into it." "What do you mean?" " I'm not trying to talk you into anything!" "Promise me you'll think about it, and don't take too long I'm considering something else." " And that is?" "Let's talk about it another time." " Come on now." "No, I'm going to get the kid." " But the film's not over yet." "Yes it is, in a minute." " I'll get him." "How's Marie?" " Why do you ask?" "Fine, I think." "I miss seeing her." "Your sister was something I liked about you." "Why don't you give her a call then?" "We don't have to talk if you don't want to." "Have you thought about a school for Louis?" "We don't have to decide until spring." " We can still start thinking about it." "I'm thinking of leaving Berlin." "That would be awful for me." "You know?" "Yes." "Sorry I'm late." "Sit down." "Or stand, as you wish." "I've looked at it, and... yes." "Some of them you could publish just as they are." "Several rather bright ideas..." "Rather nice, when you let yourself go when you're not trying to express too much through style alone." "For example?" "To put it plainly, whole sentences are generally better than fragments." "Too much freedom in the style and the result is only a matter of taste." "Well, age too, maybe." "But it reaches a point where this demand to be understood becomes childish." "I'm exaggerating but, reading it, you start wishing for something more normal." "Don't you?" "Yes, I do." "The point is whether you want to submit it like this whether your heart's still in it, or if the subject is finished for you." "I do want people to understand what I write." "First of all, you want people to understand you." "The subject is just a means to an end." "You mainly want to arouse interest in you, not in the subject." "What are you getting at?" "You should take it back home." "How's Sophie?" "She's still in Rome, but I haven't heard from her." "You always ask me about Sophie." "It's getting on my nerves." "Have you been away?" "No." "You have to start letting go of these father figures." "It's my daughter who is getting married today." "She's only 21 or already?" "I don't know." "She's the most wonderful thing I have in the world." "Of course, that's only important to me, but to me, it's very important." "And that's why I'm saying it." "Nothing in my life is more important than this child." "It will always be like that." "Sometimes I think I don't know much about her but you can't know everything about another person." "But if you love someone, you can try to spend a lot of time with them." "And I have spent a lot of time with her." "That is my joy." "I've been lucky." "For instance, we often went to the cinema together ever since she was small, until recently." "Now she goes to the cinema with Josef, and I sometimes go alone." "I put my jacket on the seat next to mine, as I used to do when I was waiting for her to come back with the peanuts." "Maria?" "Shall we dance together?" "The fun has only just started" "Don't say you have to go now" "Hang your jacket over the chair and finish your cigarette" "The evening's only just begun and it's been wonderful" "It's rare that everything fits together like this." "I would be really silly of you To go just now" "Tell me all the things you told me Once more" "Unlock the door Then you can go" "When you're here" "When you're here There's nobody else for me" "When you're here...." "Everything okay?" "Yes, why do you ask?" " Just asking, no reason." "Hello." "I wanted to show you my photos." "I still do." "See you." "Where are the kids?" " Outside." "Give Clara her jacket when you go?" "Look how beautiful my sister is." "You must be joking." " Not at all." "He's proud of you." "Where are you going?" " I'll be right back." "What time is it?" "Almost four, why?" " Just wondering." "Your suit looks ragged." "It looks nice, but ragged somehow." "The lining's torn here." " Let me see." "You can have that repaired." " You think so?" "How long have you had it?" " Not long." "So did you have wedding rings?" " Yes, of course." "And what else?" " Everything, I guess." "Nothing was missing?" " What do you mean?" "Were you happy?" " Sure." "So tell me." " Shall we go soon?" "Whatever you want." " Well, soon." "Let's dance, Valerie." "In a minute." "Thomas was telling me about his marriage." "My marriage is over." " You see?" "Come on." "Shall we go?" " Whatever." "What's up?" "Don't you think something's strange?" " No, what?" "Alexander's been having an affair for the past year." "When did you find out?" " Yesterday." "She's married and has a child and doesn't want to get divorced." "Why did he tell you?" "Just so I'd know, I guess." "Surprised, huh?" "Or did you know about it?" "What are you thinking?" "Why did you have an abortion?" "What do you mean?" " Just why?" "I didn't want things to change." "Shall we go?" "Clara's playing somewhere, you have to get her." "Where?" "Sophie!" "Hey!" "It's you!" "Was it too cold for you in Italy?" " No, it's over." "Six months." "And?" "No regrets?" " No, why?" "Was it good?" " Yes." "And you?" "I've locked myself out." "I'm waiting for the locksmith." "Otherwise, Mia left me." "I feel like shit." "For good?" " I can't take it anymore." "She's changed totally." "Not physically, but she flips out when she sees me." "She won't even open the door." "You mean her door?" " Yeah, the door to her flat." "Last night, I rang her doorbell and said, Mia, I've locked myself out please let me in, or at least give me the locksmith's number." "I felt like a dog." "Do you know how long we were together?" "Awful." "I slept in my car." "I'm a wreck." " Do you still have the Beetle?" "No, it fell apart." "That was the other catastrophe." "Listen, you could help me." " How?" "She lives over there." "You could ring the bell and say you've come for the garbage." "She'd buzz open the door, and then I'd be in." "I thought you were waiting for the locksmith." " Half an hour, they said." "I must see her." "Even if it's just for a minute." "Where is it?" " Over there." "But garbage people are always men." " Then you're the mail." "Where did you ring?" " Here!" "Say it!" " The mail!" "Shit, who was that guy?" " andre, I have to go." "Where are you going?" " I have a date." "With who?" " With Valerie, not what you think." "See you." "I'd like another coffee." "Excuse me, may I have one of your cigarettes?" "I like them a lot, but you can't get them here." "Did you bring back a whole box?" " Yes, do you want to buy it?" "No." "But I do that too, and only when the cigarettes are gone then the trip is finally over." "It's already over for me." "Where were you?" " In Rome." "Nice." "Yes." "I'm sure I'll go there again." "Just not right away." "Any news?" "No." "No catastrophes today." "You never know if you want them or not." "Would you like the packet?" "You can have it, I have enough." "Great, thanks." "So how was it in Rome?" "Good." "I had a job there." "It was for six months." "Six months?" "That's a long time." "Somehow, the whole time I was there, I was always a bit excited and also a bit bored." "Kind of waiting for something to happen." "Maybe I should have stayed longer..." "But no, it would have just happened or I should have tried a bit harder." "And I did want to come back home." "What do you do?" " I'm a lawyer." "I mean, I've just finished my studies." "But I don't regret it, if that's what I sound like." "Not at all." "I guess I expected too much." "Silly of me." "Rome is beautiful." "And much warmer." "But not all the time." "I wanted another coffee." "Are you waiting for someone?" " Yes." "And you?" " Me?" "No, I'm not." "I actually gave a speech at the funeral, imagine that." "I said he loved women and that they loved him, and that was the important thing." "And that his illness didn't interest him his sick body held no interest for him anymore." "That's why it's good the way it is." "There weren't many people there anyway." "And he wasn't there anymore." "I had the feeling he'd been gone a long time."