"The bigger the heart, the quicker it fills, Paquito." " Give me a beer." " Right." "Son of a bitch." " It falls faster than ever." " Maybe because I mopped." "No, man." "Look at that bird." "If she's a lesbo," "I'll kill her." "Know what we call them?" "Mumps." "God is such a god!" "The great designer." "You've seen a greyhound." "What was it designed for?" "Running." "Just look at her." " What about her?" " What was she designed for?" "Why would the Lord give her that mouth?" "To sing Ave Marias?" "Actually, as I've gotten older, I seem to confuse women with food." "Paquito the gourmet!" "My memories are right here." "Our senses remember, not our hearts." "The heart thing was made up by alley poets" " like yourself." " Fuck off." "Memories are odors... tastes... saliva... fluid." "There's plenty right here!" "We're a people of great verse." "Of course we're handy with our tongues." "Even the bidet is an Argentine invention." "You didn't know?" "Dulce de lecheis ours." "But aren't bidets French?" "The porcelain fixture is French." "But the notion of an inverted shower to wash the extremeties is as Argentine as dulce de leche!" "Paquito, you're a true poet." "That sounds so poetic." ""Why don't you go and wash your extremeties"." "I'm going to use it!" "This conversation has aroused my appetite." "Excuse me." "I don't care if a woman has breasts like magnolias or like dried-out prunes." "Or skin like a peach or like sandpaper." "I could care less if in the morning her breath is like an aphrodisiac or if it's like an insecticide." "I'd be more than willing to accept a nose that would win first prize at a carrot show." "But there's one thing." "I'm very strict about this." "I will not permit, under any circumstances, a woman who can't fly." "If the bird can't fly, she's wasting my time." "I can't fly." "I'm an amphibian." "Stop, stop!" "I caught the sheet in my ass." "You filthy beast." "What's that in your mouth?" "Let's go for a stroll tomorrow." "Along the Delta." "It's Sunday." "We'll get some sun." "We can..." "My parents have a house out there." "We'll have lunch together." "I know they'll be crazy about you." "It's possible." " Are you comfy?" " Yes." "The sheet is half..." "Here, stretch out." " That better?" " Yes." "Here goes." "Why?" "Don't you like the Delta?" "It's nothing personal." "I'll keep looking." "The river's full of mosquitos anyway." "And I confess:" "I hate... mosquitos." "I'm defenseless." "I feel vulnerable." "I'm not in love." "Such force of gravity in this city, and I'm loveless!" "What's the world coming to?" "THE DARK SIDE OF THE DARK2" "The day I was born, God was ill." "Gravely." "Who are you?" "Who am I or what's my name?" "My name is..." "So-and-so." "So-and-so?" "Then my name's Whoever." "What's up?" "On my way for a drink." " The usual." " Thanks, Paco." "You come here often?" "Next question:" ""Do you study or do you work?"" "I work and I study." "Physics." "I study physics." "Physics?" "Fantastic." "Come over here." "We've plenty to talk about." " Like what?" " The earth's gravitational force." "It's my obsession." "9 point 8." "The speed at which bodies fall thanks to gravity." "A man from a 10th story window, or a pencil from my hand." "Am I right?" "Am I?" "No." "That's the acceleration of the Earth's gravity." "The velocity varies across the planet." "In some places it's greater." "I knew that, you know." "From living here." "What is it about gravity that worries you?" "Are you Newton's reincarnation?" "Because I can't fly." "Gravity makes everything fall." "Downward." "I prefer another type of gravity, which I refer to as "horizontal gravity"." "And what's that?" "With the Earth's gravity, bodies fall." "While horizontal gravity causes them to age." "They're pulled forward by time towards deterioration... and towards death." "There might be something even better than flying." "What?" "To ascend." "To a place that is neither above nor below." "What are you doing?" "You can't say all that and just leave." "I have class at seven." "Nice having met you, Whoever." "Oliverio." "My name is Oliverio." "Miranda." "Paco!" " Who is that bird?" " Her?" " She's the Worm." " What?" " They call her the Glow-worm." " Why?" "Because when she heats up, she conducts electricity." "I heard she can light a bulb in her hand when you kiss her." "I never tried a wine better than my own blood." "I told you, I don't want my various personalities going through my things." "The birds are messing you up." "One could move in any time." ""You're alone, I'm alone." "This is our bond." "Solitude unites us in a single flame"." "That's old, quit fucking around." "You see the one I met today?" " The Glow-worm." "She's a physicist." " For our sake, quit chasing birds around!" " Take that off." " We really thought..." "We were making progress!" "We're 40 years old." "Look at this place!" "We could die tomorrow, empty-handed." " No car, no apartment..." " What do I care if I'm dead?" "Can't you see through all that bullshit?" "When she heats up she conducts electricity!" "Can you imagine that?" "We'll never be the same." ""I'll help you come if you come, and not to come if you don't"." ""I should warn you." "I'm incapable of forgetting"." ""Cage me in your heart like an obedient lamb." "I will do all that is within my reach"." "I've just been killed, not reborn." "And so I leave unborn." "Asshole of the world, hello?" ""Whoever dares fly higher than the birds must know of one thing:" "Falling." "Paciently..." "Resting in gravity"." ""Death is that small vase with hand-painted flowers found in every home, but which nobody stops to look at." "Death is... that friend who shows up in family photos, discreetly, in a corner," "who nobody ever recognizes"." ""Death is..."" "Anyway..." ""...that stain on the wall we noticed one afternoon, without realizing, but somewhat terrified"." "I want to see you." "But not in a pizzeria." "Invite me for tea this time." "I want you to meet someone." " Where is she?" " Who?" "The bird you wanted me to meet." "What bird?" "Sit down." "I hadn't had my balls busted for some time." "I thought you'd forgotten me." "Did you think you'd won?" "I'm working for a laboratory." "I've no time for poetry." "And who am I going" " to meet?" " A friend." "You've been stood up." "No, don't worry." "He always shows up." "Shall we dance?" "You dance now?" "Not boleros." "But tangos, yes." "There he is." "Who is he?" "He is Time." "He'll be after you." "Monday, September 23rd, 1962." " Wednesday, July 2nd, 1973." " Why's he saying that?" "They're dates." "Some may have been important to you." "Others may not have." "Thursday, April 2nd," " 1995." " It could be when your first hair fell out." "Or the death of someone dear." "Or the day you cried for the very first time." "Or one of the times you've been in love." "He keeps count." " The day of my death." " No, no." "Not in the future." "He doesn't know." "Only the past." "To him, the future is the present." "That question..." "Why don't you ask me?" "When will I die?" "When you least expect it." ""First you must learn to suffer." "Then to love." "Then to move on." "And finally to think no more"." "I like tango." ""I would never make myself as I am." "To do so would be my undoing"." "Oli." "What?" "You have to find a job." "Do you want to live with me?" "What if the electricity runs out?" "It will never run out." "But our money will." "I don't make enough to support us." "I don't think you want to be dependent." "No, of course not." "Don't worry." "I'll fix it tomorrow." "How did it go again?" ""Triste, you are less triste." "Stay triste"." "Thank you." ""My ancestors can still feel my pain"." "Thank you very much." "Come on, Oli." "We've got rent to pay." "What do you say, slacker?" "I have good news, Oli." "What's wrong?" "Everything is changing." "I should learn to juggle, or eat fire." "Got any lighter fluid?" "I spoke to a friend who runs an ad agency." "I told him about you." "You could work in the creativity dept." "This again?" " You write..." " I'm a poet." "Right, a poet." "It's in all the classifieds:" ""Lmportant company seeks poet"." "Now ask me when I'm going to grow up." "What?" ""When I die" "I will not have seen it... for the first time"." ""Neither above nor below." "Ascend"." "You know what she means?" "A job promotion, to sales manager... ascend to a bigger house, ascend to a new car..." "Ascend to the heavens, she gets it all." "Listen, slacker." "Her concept of ascension isn't poetic or metaphysical like you thought, you dumbshit." "She thinks the same as any personnel manager." "Or any wife." "Same thing, plus bed." "Oli." "How long since we flew?" "The last time was with Ana." "Admit it." "Ana." " Where could she be?" " Giving flight lessons to someone else." " Fuck off." " Right, she's waiting for you." "After 10 years." "Let's go to Spain, Oli." "We're aging too fast here." "I won't do it." "I can't." "I can't." "Leave it to me." "What do I do now?" " Pack." " Pack." " It's okay, I have time." " I'm going to the third floor." " Me, too." " No." "You go straight to heaven." "Hi, Conchi." "Come in, get comfortable." "Pilar just went down a minute ago." "You look like you've come a long way." "Come on in, wait inside." "Come in!" "This way, in back." " Where are you from?" " Buenos Aires." "Buenos Aires!" "Home to the women with the nicest asses around." "They're really spectacular." "And they're so damn nonchalant about it." "Take a look around the world and women's asses are... merely ending points." "Shapes that suggest that when God got to that part, He said:" ""Right, and now what?" "I have to finish you, because you need to crap somehow"." "And so He made those sorry asses you see out there, clearly created with a basic physiological need in mind." "Women's asses in Argentina, on the other hand, are designed with the sublime in mind." "Asses... that will keep you in Argentina!" "What are you doing here?" "Actually, looking for a piece of ass." "A friend!" "Joaquín." "I'm comfortable." "Anything you need, let me know." "If you're free tonight, we're having a party." " A birthday party?" " No, Saint Irene's." "We draw names of saints from a hat every week." "Then we celebrate the winner." "A different saint every week?" "Well, it keeps me in line with both God and the devil." "You never know..." " Are you going to stay with Pilar?" " Lf there's room." "I'd offer, but you wouldn't be comfortable here." "This is my home and office, it's a mess." "Who is that?" "An artist I represent." "Stay away from her." "For your own good!" "Thanks, Joaquín." "Have you anywhere else to go?" "Right, of course..." "That piece of ass you're after must be worth staying for." "I can tell." "Look, there's Pilar..." "Ciao!" "Just a little further!" "If I don't encourage them they leave me on the second floor." "Let me catch my breath." "You need a room?" "3,500 a night, one week in advance." "You're tired, eh?" "I'd never seen an otter who liked clams so much." "Come on, Captain..." ""Oh, Captain, my Captain!"" "Fuck it." "Ana!" "Ana!" "Oliverio's here!" ""My strategy is that some day..." "I don't know how or under what pretext you will finally need me"." "Oli!" " Where did your hair go?" " The law of gravity." "Oli, the key's in the bag." "Well, now!" "Who's he?" "My daughter, María José." "You see?" "I told you." "My name is" "Oliverio." "I'm a friend of your mother's from back in Montevideo." "I'm going out with Juanjo." "Okay." "I won't be back tonight." "Knock yourself out." "María!" " Bye!" " Bye." "Is she studying to be a nun?" "Will we ever fly again?" "Do you still keep books by Benedetti in pots?" "No." "I left that habit back in Montevideo." "I've missed you." "Me, too." "I've missed you so much." "I didn't ask you to leave." "I know." "I couldn't go backwards." "What about things here?" "Things are fine." "It was hard at first." "For a while it seemed the only work available was..." "As a whore, I presume." "Thought of giving flight lessons?" "You filthy bastard." "It wasn't easy." "I was desperate to become a "normal" person." "As common as possible." "When I got the job in the shop it was such a relief, a prize, even." "I was finally successful." "I'd be just another woman." "You wanted that?" "Yes, I wanted a husband, and to be the lady of the house..." "To lose myself in the silence of the most routine of routines so as not a single trace of the past might leak from my heart." "Not a single memory." "Now things are fine." "I'll be promoted to Section Chief at the end of the year." "María José is going to be a biologist." "A biologist, like her father." "No." "He was a sociologist." "Why didn't you marry?" "I never fooled anybody." "Stay the night." "What have you done?" "I used to fly with Ana." "You went backwards." "The past offers only memories." "What did you expect?" "What happened to all my love for her?" "Who else could it be of use to?" "What business are you in?" "I work for a brand of shoes called "One Way"!" ""We're never present when we die permanently..." "Only when we die every day"." "Oliverio?" "What?" "Rest home or insane asylum?" "Insane asylum." " Evening, Pilar." " Good evening." "There you are..." "The birds are out tonight!" "Do you have plans?" "Come over and have a drink." " Which saint tonight?" " St. Lawrence, the martyr." " That's perfect." " Come on then." "I represent everyone here." "Very good people." "Some more talented than others, but they're all good people." "I didn't find work for all of them..." "Something more important:" "Love." "That's right!" "Many of them met at these parties" " and ended up married." " You're a pimp!" "No, I prefer to think of myself as... a messenger of love." "Nice ring to it!" ""Joaquín the Messenger of Love"." "If you want to be like me," "I could be your personal trainer." "When do we start?" " Oliverio." " Socrates." " What do you do?" " I'm a porn actor." " A porn actor?" " Yes." " Shall we dance?" " Yes." "Excuse me." "THE ART OF FLYING" "Don't even dream of it, Oliverio." "Is she married?" "No, it's not that." "You could get hurt." "There are plenty of others." "Where is she?" "Touring the coast with a circus." "In Sitges, I think." "Oliverio, you're obviously sad about something." "Come and meet Daphne and Cloe." "Come on." "They look like twins, right?" "Wrong." "It's a trick." "Daphne is a magician I represent." "Guess what?" "I've never figured out which is the magician and which is the trick." "But I don't care." "They're both so affectionate." "You see?" "I'm the Messenger of Love." "Look at that huge penis!" "God outdid himself." "Too bad he's not in the mood." "He looks sad, eh?" "I bet he's grumpy because he misses his usual meal." "Are you married?" "Sometimes they fall into a routine." " Come on, honey." "Stiffen up!" " Ladies, please!" "The show's over." "Show some respect for the dead." "Hey, take it easy!" "You're more than just an erection." "Give yourself credit." "Come on, it'll be more fun than you can imagine." "If he wants to miss the party, let him." "Okay, listen." "I've just had a flash of inspiration." "I'm going to write a poem that begins like this:" ""This has never happened before"." "Good night." "That's it, Oliverio." "I bring you to Europe... to parties people back home would die for." "And look how you react." "What's wrong with you?" "Come on, old friend!" "You old starving otter!" "Look what you've made of us!" "Little fella!" "It's like playing pool with a rope." "What will become of us?" "Oliverio!" "Will you ever fuck again?" "Let's get a coffee." "I want to talk." "Today is still always..." "Can't I make" " a deal with you?" " A deal?" "Can we erase certain years of my life?" "Talk to Death, she's a friend of mine." "You'd be born again?" "No, I ask much less." "Just to be thirty again." "I was a bull at that age." " Can you be beaten?" " Beaten?" "You want to be immortal?" "Is that it?" "No." "Just make it less painful." "Make what less painful?" "The deterioration, old age..." "Leaving the party." "It's so damn short." "I need a ride" " somewhere." " When?" "Right now." "Now..." "Always..." "Never." "Great!" "You know your adverbs of time!" "Where." "Ask me where." "Where depends on when." "When?" "Right now." "Now?" "Where?" "To the circus." "Ladies and gentlemen, those were the "Sandys"!" "And now, ladies and gentlemen, flying as genuine art... with our sensational tightrope walker, "Miss Alejandra"!" "Yes?" ""I come from a forgotten country, always grey"." "Excuse me, I have to get ready for the next show." ""The rebellion consists of regarding a rose until our eyes are pulverized"." "Are you capable?" ""Would you trade those hands for sight?" "Would you trade those eyes for sound?"" "Who are you?" "A friend ofJoaquín's." "Oliverio." "Poet, slacker and misunderstood." "You want a drink?" "And you?" "I have another show." ""The night drank wine and danced naked among the bones of the fog"." "Just something silly I wrote." "You write?" " Show me some more." " No, please." "What I just read is poetry." "It could be a fluke." "Well..." "You asked for it." "Read what's on the back of that shirt." ""The dead emit no signs of luck." "Only misfortune and patience, as life is but a lapse in the musical training of silence"." "And why, if I may ask discreetly, don't you write on paper like the rest of us?" "That's for writers." "To me, poetry is life." "I don't see why we confine it to a piece of paper." "It should be written directly on life itself." "It never means what we want anyway." "Everything that can be said is a lie." "The rest is only silence." "But silence doesn't exist." "No." ""Words don't make love." "They make absence." "Do I drink if I say water?" "Do I eat if I say bread?" "The soul simply can't be seen." "The spirit simply can't be seen." "Why this conspiracy of invisibility?" "No word is visible"." ""I want to see you but not see you." "Talk to you, but not talk to you." "Find you alone, and not find you"." ""Being with you or not being with you is how I measure time"." "Born in all places I gaze upon..." "Your head raised, your hair in the wind..." "You're more beautiful than a mountain colt's whinny." "Than a ship's mermaid who releases her soul." "Than a light in the fog searching for someone to save." "You're more beautiful than a swallow combed by the wind." "Nothing compares to the legend of seeds left by your presence." "Your voice creates an empire in space." "Your hand when raised could hang the sun in the sky." "Your gaze writes worlds in infinity." "And your head turns to hear whispers in eternity." "Your foot is a celebration of all the linked paths." "And that kiss which bursts the prow of your lips..." "That smile like a standard in the vanguard of your life..." "That secret that drives the tides of your breast..." "Asleep in the shade of your bosom." "If you were to die, the stars, despite their shining light, would lose their way." "What would become of the universe?" "I need to ask a favor." "I was trying to write and I realized I'd run out of words." "I ran out of them when I met you." "The libraries are all closed, it's too early to open the cabarets..." "I thought you might lend me some and I'll return them tomorrow." "Have you eaten?" "What about you?" "Just passing through?" "Like everyone else." "Who's that?" "My mother." "She taught me the trade." "Very pretty." "Yes, she was." "Especially when she was young." "Like her daughter." "Where is she?" "I don't know." "She died five years ago in an accident." "You live alone in this house on wheels?" "Yes." "And who is that guy in black always hanging around the circus?" " Forget him." " Is he your boyfriend?" "He is Death." "He's waiting for me to make a mistake and take me away." "He says he can't do it as long as" "I say certain words." "I think he's in love with me." ""Love of my life..." "What have you done to my life?"" ""Your eyes are the fatherland of lightning and tears"." "You know Machado's couplet?" ""Women are a sea with few shipwrecks at night." "But many at dawn"." "Wait, wait..." "It won't be that easy." "I want it to be more than an impulse." "I want you to work for it." "There's a task you must complete." "A test you must pass if you want me to be yours." "I'll do anything." "You believe in the force of gravity?" "Do I believe?" "I'm an expert." "You have to cross the line." "I'll be waiting on the other side." "If you truly love me, you'll make it." "At that time," "I'll be yours." "Oliverio!" ""My silent body opens at the delicate urgency of dew"." "Get down from there, you bald fathead!" "Absurd." "You'd do anything for a bird!" "Come on, Oli!" "We'll do anything for love!" "A lonely heart isn't a heart." "Slowly." "Don't look down." "Concentrate on my mouth." "Think of it as a target." "My mouth, Oliverio." "Nobody has ever kissed you the way I'm going to." "I'll make it!" "I swear I will." "And then you know what." "If they saw us back home..." "What a disgrace!" "It's okay, Oli." "She's just as fascinated by the attempt." "I've stopped loving you." "You told me to say" "that I'd stopped loving you." "And though I am far away from you," "you are always present." "Without you," "I cannot live." "Waiting for her to slip, eh?" "You're a fake." "You want to screw her and you made up the whole "Death" thing." "I'm on to you!" "It's embarrassing how in love with her you are." "You want her?" "I can help." "Why did you warn me about Alejandra?" "Because you'll fall" " in love with her." " Too late." "So what?" "2 suicide attempts..." "She's depressed." "She's a wounded" " animal." " I know, she's an adorable creature." "Seen her poetry?" "Even better than her tightrope act." "Though she's still bent against publishing." "The truth is, it takes a huge pair of balls to chase a bird like that." ""Flee from sorrowful love, prudish love, love without danger nor adventure that expects safety from love, because in love insanity is sane"." "Whatever you say." "But one of these days she'll empty a bottle of pills and you'll be left feeling to blame." "You'd know?" "Did she tell you" " about her mother?" " Died in an accident." "She fell and cracked her head open." "Her husband had just run off with the horse trainer." "20 years younger." "No safety net?" "She'd had it removed." "Those who really want death find it." "I think she's playing." "With everything." "Also with death." "In any case, all that really matters in life is passion." "We live in search of excitement." "I know." "No, they're in one place one day, and another the next." "No." "One moment..." "What day is it today?" "Right, then they're here in Castell de Fels." "Right, near where you are." "I thought she'd tell you." ""Without you... the sun is abandoned in death"." "Let me come in." "Come in." "Who's stopping you?" " Come on in." " We can try it." "You want to?" "Hey, guys!" "You down there?" "You could each hold a side." "Never here when you need them." "What shitty personalities!" "Come on." "Come on." "My love!" "I'd never got this far." "Stay concentrated." "Keep going." "I want you to make it." "You can do it." "Here I come, my love." "Here I..." "You want to play cards?" "Come and join us." "We'll play together." "Are you two flashing signals?" "Lucky this isn't for money." "Open." "I'll stay." "You know what's at stake?" "Win... win." "Truco!" "Card." "Rebound." "Card." "Give me four." "Card." ""The soul of stone had a dream that love was a knife being sharpened against her"." "To hell with it!" "I'm grateful you let me play." "Playing was a waste of time." "I was pleased you beat me." "It was the cards." "I'd like you to keep playing with me." "Don't consider me an enemy." "After all," "I watch over your greatest treasure:" "Your memories." "You can't defeat both me and death." "But there are a few tricks that slow us down." "Especially one." "Which?" "Thanks, you old mule." ""You smile... and I'm a tiny pink marionette with an umbrella blue as the sky"." "It's fish, Pancho." "I can't give you any." ""Dogs are like death." "They both want bones"." ""Stop looking at me." "And if you do, warn me first"." "I want to propose something different." "We'll meet half-way." "I'll come and get you." "Now." "What?" "Let go." "Trust me." ""Receive this love I ask of you." "Receive what you are inside of me"." ""Without you, I hold myself in my arms and take life" "to beg for passion"." ""Tomorrow I'll be dressed in ashes, my mouth filled with flowers." "I'll sleep in the memory of a wall, in the breath of a dreaming animal"." "Alejandra!" ""Time crawls across sleep, engulfed in hair." "Tomorrow they will eat the somber flowers of grief"." ""Which consumer products shall I make with my perpetual melancholy?"" ""Once I went months without washing my clothes." "It kept me from suicide." "What kind of poet could leave behind a suitcase full of dirty clothes?"" ""Asking is so far away, knowing it is so close..."" "There's nowhere in this world for me, Oliverio." "Let me make a world for you." ""Nothing is more dangerous than receiving help when you need it"." "It makes no sense." "The world you make would grow old... and so would we." "Death would simply be more tempted to take us." "Death won't dare if we love each other." " It's so easy for you." " Not easy." "Simple." "Have you ever seen what love does to people?" " It's as if you got..." " What?" "...a plague." "You lose lucidity to the point that certain pains can be pleasurable." "How can you avoid it?" "By crying and bitching about it." " Like a fool." " Intoxicated by the wind and you get excited about anything that moves." "Everything seems like a miracle and you end up loving anything alive, even life itself." "It's a total farce." "One of many lamentable states humans have access to." "It's such a disgrace, Oliverio... that lovers should hide in quarantine so as not to be seen with the plague." "How can you avoid the insanity?" "How can you?" "How can I keep from kissing you?" "Tell me how." "Tell me not to breathe." "How long can my body be focused on you before needing to breathe again so I can keep kissing you?" "That's life, Ale..." "It's as simple as that." "Breathing and kissing you, kissing you and breathing." "If you let me do it everyday I'd live 178 years!" "Hey, you!" "Yes, you!" "You poor excuse for death!" "Small-town morgue night watchman!" "Give me the piece." "What you offered me yesterday." "Careful, it could go off!" "What did you say?" "Is it loaded?" "Did you hear that?" ""Careful, it could go off"." "And kill me." "Not exactly what I had in mind at the moment." "You got that, sucker?" "Here." "It's now or never." "It's loaded with beautiful projectiles that leave the chamber to embark upon a voyage that takes them directly to your heart to instantly end all the suffering produced by life, love and all those things we're so afraid of losing." "Do what you want." "I won't look." "You have to choose." "Either him or me." "But not both." "Where's the net?" "She wants to practice without it." "I choose you." "I choose you." "Don't worry, my love." "I know a trick that will delay time and death." "Will you still love me the day you stop loving me?" "I'll still love you the day I stop loving you." "We'll never be alone again, Oli." "Marriage starts as a prince talking to an angel, and ends as a bald guy screaming at a fat lady." "Marriage is like a submarine." "It can float, but it's made to sink." "Joaquín." "I have a gift for you." " Something to remember me by." " Yeah?" "What is it?" "A bed." "My bed." "What good is that to me?" "Why not give it to some charity?" "No..." "This is a special bed." "I don't need it any more,"