The Story of Jane
For New Year's Eve they dressed up. he was wearing a black silk shirt, and Jane, a long, dark red velvet dress she had found in a Soho open market for almost nothing. "Nice," he said after she asked how he liked it. He had bought blinis, smoked salmon, sour cream, and French champagne - everything she liked. She put a white tablecloth on the fake country antique table. She found two candlesticks with white candles. Billie Holiday singing. They sat in front of each other, chewing smoked salmon and blinis.
"I'm happy I got the Norwegian salmon," Eric said. "I hesitated because it was on sale and I wondered why. But it's excellent, no?"
She nodded. With Francisco, she could say everything passing through her mind. Why were things so simple with a friend and so complicated with a husband? Any word would sound like a criticism. Maybe it would be a criticism. Maybe women were angry with men. Some kind of primary anger.
"Eric?"
He looked up, his mouth full of blinis and smoked salmon.
"What?" An impatient note in his voice.
Many words rushed to her mind. None sounded right. One wrong word and she would upset him. he was already irritated. She was spoiling the evening. Why couldn't she just enjoy the dry Veuve Clicquot with fine bubbles and the Norwegian salmon? She looked down at the pale pink salmon on her plate: the best quality. Why was it on sale, then? She couldn't eat anymore. Her stomach was tense and blocked. She heard his jaws masticating. She took her glass and brought it to her lips. Drank a little more. Put it back on the white tablecloth. She started moving the glass on the table, her eyes fixated on it, bouncing it from side to side. Stronger and stronger. The silence was now very tense. Eric was eating, ignoring her. The only action taking place in the room, filling the space and the silence, was her bouncing the glass from side to side, farther and farther. It fell and broke. She reached for it. Blood immediately appeared on her index finger.
"I won't go through this," Eric said coldly.
He got up and left the dining room. She heard the door of the study room close - not slam. 
This was a complete random pick. I was at the bookstore and they were going to throw this away so I picked it up. I read it all in one day but in the end I found it bleh and not interesting. |
