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PARTISAN REVIEW
her cigarette case, she remarked that her mother was in Hong Kong,
too.
"Oh, does she live here?"
"No--just over on business."
The senora de Vidal said: "But she's not thirty, she is only
eighteen-and she's been married almost a year now, not just this
morning. And I'm quite,
quite
sure she has only one navel ..."
She paused- to bite off an involuntary smile; then begged him
please to continue.
Pepe Monson disconsolately cleared his throat.
The senora was in furs too; she was belted up
III
a white fur
jacket and wore a polka-dotted scarf round her neck and gold coins
on her ears. She was smaller than her daughter, more neatly a piece
-as though scissored entire from a style page-and managed to
look relaxed although vexed. She had refused the seat by the table–
remained standing at the window, watching the ferry-boats (it was
later in the afternoon and the fog had lifted) while she listened
to his account of her daughter's visit that noon. The account, as
he went on with it, began to sound more and more weird to him–
and to her too, evidently, in spite of her vexation. She kept biting
off smiles; kept glancing at him round the corner of an eye. Un–
doubtedly, she was laughing at him for having been taken in so
easily and probably supposed him to have been charmed out of
his wits. Actually, she was laughing because this pompous, pompous
(and rather shabby) young man tickled her nostalgic bone. His
bespectacled scrutiny reduced her to child size: repaired her skin;
returned her into a schoolgirl's frock; and restored her old pigtails ...
Guessing only the laughter, he privately fumed . Quick to smell
the weather, she was instantly all formality. She deplored the misuse
of his time but promised to see to it that a proper fee-
"But do you usually let your daughter run around telling inde-
cent lies like that?" he cut in coldly.
"I don't let her run around, I'm not her husband-"
She stopped short, aware that she had almost snapped.
The pause snottily informed them that, childishly, they were
venting their vexation with her daughter at each other. They both
suddenly laughed- then smiled at each other for having laughed.
