TWO PROSTITUTES
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"We must find a taxi," said the older sister, as if she were
coming away from a fashionable private party.
They walked down to the nearby square, but there was no
taxi in sight.
"Where is this home of yours, anyhow?" Giacomo asked gaily.
He was walking between them, arm in arm, and letting them lead him
along.
"Remember the sanctity of the home!" said the younger sister
with a giggle.
The older one named a street some distance off, in the out–
skirts of the city.
"We'll have to take a bus," said Giacomo, "and make con–
nections with a tram at the end of the line."
There was really nothing else they could do. Fortunately the
bus came soon and they got in. Giacomo paid the three fares and
they sat down, the older one occupying a seat to herself and the other
two sharing one behind her.
"You'd have found a hotel more convenient," the younger sister
said in a loud voice as the bus started. "You'll have a long walk
coming home. But the hotels here are so fussy. I know one in
Milan where they ask no questions and don't even require a deposit on
the room...."
Some of the people in the half-empty bus turned around to
look at Giacomo and his companion, but the hour was late and they
were apparently too tired to smile. The bus hurtled recklessly through
the narrow streets of the central part of the city with beetling
palaces on either side. The older woman turned around and said
to Giacomo emphatically :
"How long do you plan to stay? Your wife must miss you. She
doesn't see much of you, does she, with all these long trips?"
"Wife? Do you know his wife? ... Are you really married?"
"Yes, married to you," Giacomo said, laughing and taking her
hand. But she pulled it away and whispered with mock severity :
eyes.
"Watch out.... My sister's looking."
"Hurrah for the sanctity of the home!" Giacomo said.
"Yes, three cheers for the sanctity of the home!"
More of the passengers looked at them with curiosity
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