ANGELA HIMSEL
685
family neighborhood. Nobody is watching out for shiksas jerking off
rabbis in parked cars.
"I must tell you the funniest thing!" Marvin says. "I was teaching this
course on the Bible and I used the word 'merism' which means - "
"I know - I remember." With his sticky semen on her hand, Victoria
feels close to Marvin but distant enough to note that only he can effort–
lessly make the transition from spilling his seed to spewing out Biblical
lore. "It means, 'encompassing everything.' Like, heaven and earth.
Totality," she says. It is a good thing she quizzes herself every now and
then .
"That's what I love about you, you know that?" he says.
Years ago, she would have swooned to hear those words.
"You really are marvelous!" he says again.
"You already told me, but I don't mind if you repeat yourself"
He kisses her hard. "Well, a student of mine came up to me and said
there's no such word as merism."
"You're kidding! "
"Wait. So I said, 'Look it up in the dictionary.' She looked it up -
and no merism!"
The story is coming alive, as always in his animated face as his big
eyes narrow then open wide and his smile travels from cheek to cheek.
He tells her the story of the mysterious merism which could not be found
in any dictionary nor in the OED. So what happened? The student wrote
to the Library of Congress asking about the word and they wrote back
that, indeed, it does exist but is so archaic that they don't have it in their
dictionary! Can you believe it? They have every word in Beowulf, but
they don't have merism!"
Victoria is mystical enough to believe that the word 'merism' holds
meaning for her personally, is connected to all of the rest of the stuff she's
been brooding about today. In her teacher's pants and in his words, she is
bringing her past and present together, the same as seals and letters bring
people from opposite parts of the world together for a moment, and there
is a Kabbalistic meaning there, too, with closing the circle, mending the
vessel, traveling through another sphere in that long journey toward God.
"What is that sigh for?" Marvin the Mender asks.
"I think I've figured out the meaning of life," Victoria says.
They both laugh.
" I've missed you so," Marvin's eyes are serious again. "I care so much
about you."
Victoria acknowledges his words with a slight smile. Marvin doesn't
know her well enough to read her eyes. Her face is shouting: The irony,
my darling, darling, heartbreaking love is that - and you will appreciate
this since you love irony as much as you love elusive merisms - at one
