The Happy Marriage

They suddenly flashed past his eyes simultaneously. He could see them without being seen himself. Some were dressed in black, others in white, but all were in mourning. But he wasn’t dead yet. Could they have misinterpreted that mysterious invitation for a ceremony of goodbyes?

Only Criss was dressed in a variety of colors. She had almond-shaped eyes and a vivacious face, and her arms were burdened with presents. She was looking for him but hadn’t managed to find him. When she turned around, she saw the other women walking toward the horizon without speaking to one another. She thought it wasn’t a dream, but it wasn’t hers, it belonged to the man whom she loved, although she’d never lived with him.

It had been a story like no other. They had suddenly fallen in love, and then just as brutally fallen out of it. She’d fulfilled a fantasy, or even a wish, because she’d loved the artist before she’d even met the man behind that artist. Their love had been strong, then she’d gotten up one morning and said, “It’s over!” He’d looked at her, made a gesture to indicate this was against his wishes. But she’d been serious, her face had changed, and even her way of moving. She’d become unrecognizable and, over the course of a single night, had transformed into a woman who was too busy for him. She’d confessed that she was afraid of men and that he’d confirmed those fears, thanking him as though he’d been a plumber or an electrician who’d just repaired something in her house.

Before shutting the door behind him, she’d said: “I’ll always be your friend, we just won’t be having sex anymore. I love solitude, and sometimes I betray that solitude by spending time with men who are much like you, artists who are famous, but not too tall. Then I go back to my solitary life and my work, which I’m very passionate about and which gives me a great deal of satisfaction. When I get horny, I pleasure myself and occasionally use a vibrator to orgasm. There we have it, darling. Know that we had something very beautiful and very intense. Goodbye!”

He’d lingered there a moment, rooted in his spot. Seeing someone change from one kind of person to another in the space of a single season had left a big impression on him. Criss hadn’t had a sense of humor and had been immature when it came to her dealings with men. Maybe she preferred women but didn’t want to admit it? Nevertheless, she’d said that she’d loved sleeping with him. He didn’t argue: he’d torn up the photos they’d taken on a few trips they’d taken together and he’d decided to turn over a new leaf.

Then it was Zina’s turn. She was the first woman he’d ever fallen in love with. He’d nursed the memory of her throughout his life without ever having laid eyes on her again. He’d never stopped looking for her in other people’s faces: a brunette with dark skin and a body sculpted by desire and sensuality. Their affair had come to a dramatic end and it had been responsible for the greatest frustration he’d endured in his sentimental life. He’d never actually made love to Zina, or at least not fully, since they’d decided to wait for the wedding night that never took place for a series of complicated reasons. It was a time when virginity wasn’t something that a woman could compromise, and when they’d been happy just to touch each other, their bodies rubbing against one another until they orgasmed, wiping up the mess with handkerchiefs that she washed in her sink after she got back home. They’d flirted with one other in the dark alleys of the city, or in cemeteries, right up until the day when they were chased out by the groundskeeper who threw stones at them. She’d been struck on the head by one of them, which had left a little gash on her temple. She’d had to cover herself with a veil until the scar had faded. They used to meet at the house of a friend whose parents had left to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. They’d loved that time of their life, when they’d felt safe and away from prying eyes, but they still hadn’t had sex. That time of clandestine rendezvous had left a deep impression on him. Then one day he’d seen her walking down the street hand in hand with an older man. It had all come to an end, and it had been worse than a disappointment, it had been a disaster. Looking back on it, the painter smiled because the jealousy had made him do ridiculous things.

And there she was again thirty years later, walking through the white space while the painter took stock of his love life. She was wearing a veil and fingering a string of prayer beads. She’d become a believer and was said to frequent the circles of Sufi mystics.