Chapter 37 Chapter Thirty-Seven

In early 1965, while preparing for his college graduation exams, Gaspar Murray wrote letters to every major broadcasting network in the United States where he could find an address. The major broadcast and television networks received the same letter.He encloses reports of Evie dating Hank, an interview with Martin Luther King Jr., and an assassination special, hoping to get a job.As long as he can work in a TV station, Gaspar is willing to do anything. Gaspar had never been so dedicated to anything.TV news is much better than news in newspapers and magazines—faster, deeper, more realistic—American television is better than British.Gaspar knew he would do well in television.All he needs is a start.His desire was so desperate that it hurt God.

Because posting the letter cost a lot of money, Gaspar asked his sister Anna to treat him to lunch.They went to the Hungarian restaurant Gay, a favorite hangout of left-wing writers and politicians. "What will you do if you can't find a job in America?" Anna asked Gaspar after ordering. The uncertainty of the future frustrates Gaspar. "I really don't know. If I were in the UK, I would write some small reports on circuses or civil servant funerals in local newspapers, but I don't think I will be willing to do such things." Ana had the restaurant's special cold cherry sweet soup, and Gaspar had fried mushrooms with tartar sauce.Anna said, "Listen, I owe you an apology."

"Yes," Gaspar said, "you do owe me an apology." "But Hank and Evie aren't engaged at all, let alone married." "But you know they're a couple." "Yeah, I shouldn't have slept with him." "But you're still on." "Don't be so sanctimonious, I don't do this kind of thing very often, but you often do it." Gaspar didn't argue because it was true.He often slept with women who were engaged or even married.He put aside the subject and asked, "Does Mom know?" "Yes, she was mad. Daisy Williams was her old friend for over thirty years, and she took you into their house again, and was very kind to you - and now I'm hurting her daughter. Daisy Did I say something to you?"

"She was very angry at the pain you caused her daughter. But she also said that she was married when she and Lloyd Williams fell in love, so she didn't feel the need to put This matter has been elevated to a moral level.” "Anyway, I feel sorry for you." "Forget it, it's okay." "But I don't really regret it." "How do you say that?" "I slept with Hank because I fell in love with him. I've been with him almost every night since the first time. He's the most perfect man I've ever met and if he could put his heart in Hitch, I think I'll marry him."

"As your younger brother, I want to ask you, what does he like about you?" "Are you trying to say that it's nothing more than my big breasts?" Anna smiled. "Not only are you unremarkable in appearance, you are also a few years older than him. You know, with a snap of your fingers, he can get countless unmarried girls into his bed!" She nodded. "He slept with me for two reasons. First, he was smart but uneducated. I was his mentor to the inner world: I took him to the wide world of art, theatre, politics, and literature. He would love to be with Condescends to whoever he talks about it with."

Gaspar wasn't surprised. "He used to love talking about that with Daisy and Lloyd. What's the other point?" "He is my second lover, you should know that, right?" Gaspar nodded.Girls are reluctant to talk about this kind of thing, but Ana and Gasper know their love history inside and out. Anna said: "I lived with Sebastian for almost four years and in that time I learned a lot. Hank didn't know much about sex, he didn't date a girl for a long time, he didn't establish had real intimacy. Evie was the one he'd been with the longest, but Evie was too young to discipline a man."

"I see." Gaspar had never thought about the relationship between men and women from this angle, but Anna's words did sound reasonable.Gaspar is somewhat similar to Hank.He wondered if women thought he was too tender in bed, he wondered. "Hank learned a lot from a singer named Mickey McPhee, but they only slept together twice." "Really? Dave Williams fucked her backstage in the dressing room." "Did Dave tell you?" "I think he told everyone it was his first time." "Micky McPhee is casual." "So you should be considered Hank's love mentor."

"He learns quickly and grows up quickly. He won't do what he did to Ivie in the future." Gaspar didn't think so, but he didn't tell Anna what he thought. In February 1965, Dmitka Dvorkin and a delegation including Natalia Smotrov, including many foreign ministry officials and aides, went to Vietnam. This was Demika's first overseas trip, but he was even more excited to be with Natalya.He didn't know what was going to happen, but he was filled with the joy of being liberated, and he thought Natalya felt the same way.They were far from Moscow, out of the reach of his wife and Natalya's husband.Anything can happen.

Demika is generally optimistic about the current situation in the Soviet Union.After Khrushchev's fall, his boss was Kosygin, who believed that the Soviet Union was likely to lose the Cold War because of its economic disadvantages.The industry in the Soviet Union was very underdeveloped, and the Soviet people were even poorer.Kosygin's job was to increase Soviet productivity.The Soviet Union had to learn to make goods that citizens of other countries wanted to buy.Not just in tanks and missiles, but also in the level of prosperity of the people's lives to compete with the United States.Only in this way can the Soviet Union bring more countries on the road to socialism.Kosygin's ideas of governing inspired Demeka a lot.Although General Secretary Brezhnev was a die-hard conservative, Kosygin might be able to carry out socialist reforms.

A large part of the Soviet Union's economic problems stemmed from the excessive use of military spending.In order to balance the deformed economy, Khrushchev put forward the principle of peaceful coexistence, hoping to coexist peacefully with capitalist countries on the premise of not fighting.Khrushchev didn't do much about it—his ruckus in Berlin and Cuba further increased military spending.But the reformers in the Kremlin still hope to realize the principle of peaceful coexistence with capitalist countries. Vietnam will be a tough test. Walking out of the hatch, a burst of hot and humid air that he had never experienced hit Demika head-on.Vietnam is more crowded and colorful than anywhere Demika has been.

Vietnam was also divided into two parts. Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh defeated France in the anti-colonial struggle in the 1950s.But Ho Chi Minh was a communist who rejected democracy, and the United States did not recognize his rule.U.S. President Eisenhower installed a puppet regime in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam.The unelected regime was tyrannical, unpopular and crushed by resistance from the Viet Cong. In 1965, the strength of the South Vietnamese government army under the South Vietnamese puppet regime was very weak, relying on the support of 23,000 American soldiers to barely maintain a little combat effectiveness. Just as the Soviets pretended that East Germany was a country, the Americans pretended that South Vietnam was a country.Although Demika would not have the guts to say that, Vietnam was in fact a mirror of Germany. While the ministers were having a dinner with the North Vietnamese leader, there was an informal dinner between the Soviet assistant ministers and the Vietnamese assistant ministers—all of whom spoke Russian and some had been to Moscow.The food is mostly vegetables and rice with a small amount of fish and meat, but all very tasty.There were no women among the assistants in Vietnam, and they seemed very surprised to see Natalya and two other female assistants. Demika sat next to a sullen middle-aged assistant named Peng An.Natalya, who sat across from them, asked Peng An what Vietnam wanted from the negotiations between the two countries. Peng An answered. "We need aircraft, artillery, radar, high-altitude defense systems, small arms, ammunition and medical supplies," he said. This is exactly the topic the Soviets wanted to avoid.Natalya said: "Now that the war is almost over, you shouldn't need these!" "When it comes time to finally defeat the imperialists, our needs will be different." “Naturally we would hope for a landslide victory against the South Vietnamese forces,” Natalya said, “but there are all kinds of other possibilities.” She tried to develop the idea of ​​peaceful coexistence. "The only possibility is victory." Peng An said dismissively. Demika was disappointed.Peng An stubbornly refused to discuss the issues brought by the Soviets.He may feel ashamed to discuss the meeting with a woman.Demeka hoped that was the only reason he was so stubborn.If the Vietnamese refused to talk about an alternative to war, they would be defeating the purpose of their visit. Natalya is obsessed with reaching her goals."Military victory is certainly not the only possible outcome," she said. Demika is very proud of Natalya's courageous persistence. "Are you trying to say that we will fail?" Peng An said angrily—at least pretending to be angry. "No," Natalya said calmly, "but war is not the only way to achieve victory. Negotiation is also a reasonable option." "We have negotiated with the French many times," Peng An said angrily, "every time a treaty is signed, it is a tool for them to buy time for further aggression. The Vietnamese people have long come to this point in the struggle against imperialism." We took that experience to heart.” Demika had read the history of Vietnam and knew that Pang An was justified in being angry.France is as perfidious as other old colonialist countries.But you cannot give up just because the negotiations collapsed. Natalya has every reason to insist, because this is the message Kosygin wants to pass on to Ho Chi Minh. "We all know that imperialists are brutal. But revolutionaries can also use negotiations. Lenin also negotiated over the territory of Brest-Litovsk. After the fullness, I took back the land I gave up." Vietnamese aides parroted the national policy formulated by Ho Chi Minh. "Until there is no neutral government in Saigon, including the Vietnamese National Liberation Front, we are not considering negotiations." "Please be reasonable," Natalya said mildly. "Putting the main demand as a prerequisite is just a means to avoid negotiations. You should also consider the possibility of concessions." Peng An asked angrily: "Did you give in when Germany invaded the Soviet Union and marched under the city of Moscow?" He slammed the table down with his fist. This action surprised Demika, who always felt that the Orientals were reserved. "Let's not negotiate, let's not make concessions - let alone the Americans!" Dinner was over quickly. Demika and Natalya returned to the hotel where they lived.Demika accompanied Natalya to her room.When walking to the door, Natalya simply said "Come in". This will be their third sleepover together.The first two times were on four-poster beds in dusty Kremlin storerooms.But to some extent, being lovers for many years, being in the same room has become very natural for them. They kiss, take off their shoes, kiss again, brush their teeth, kiss again.Instead of indulging in lust, they want to have sex in a more relaxed way. "Do whatever you want tonight." Demica thought it was the sexiest thing he'd ever heard. They made love, then ate some vodka and caviar that Natalya had brought, and made love again. After making love, they lie under the rumpled quilt and watch the fan slowly spinning on the ceiling."I guess someone is listening to us," Natalya said. "I think there should be," Demika said. "We spent a lot of money and sent a team from the KGB to teach them how to monitor hotels." "Perhaps Peng An is eavesdropping on our room." After saying this, Natalya giggled. "If it's true, I hope he likes it more than dinner." "Well, that was a disaster." "They have to change their minds about getting weapons from us. Even Brezhnev didn't want to be involved in a large-scale war in Southeast Asia." "If the Vietnamese are denied arms, they may fall into the arms of the Chinese." "They don't like the Chinese." "I know. But..." "That's it." Demika and Natalya fell asleep slowly, but were soon awakened by the ringing of the phone.Natalya picked up the microphone and announced her name.After listening to the other party for a while, Natalya cursed "Damn".After a while, she hung up the phone. "News from South Vietnam," she said, "that the Viet Cong attacked an American base last night." "Last night? Just a few hours after Kosygin arrived in Hanoi? Surely it can't be a coincidence. Where is that American base?" "At a place called Porégo. Eight American soldiers were killed and a hundred or so were injured. The attackers destroyed ten fighter jets on the ground." "How many Viet Cong died?" "They left only one dead body on a military base in the United States." Demika shook his head in disbelief. "You should really mention this to the Vietnamese, they are a terrible bunch of fighters." "The Viet Cong did. The South Vietnamese government army was much worse by comparison, so they needed American troops to help them fight the war." Demika frowned: "Is there any important person in the United States who happens to be in South Vietnam?" "National Security Adviser Mike George Bundy, one of the most notorious capitalist imperialists." "He may already be calling President Johnson by now." "Yes," said Natalya, "I'd love to know what he'd say." Later in the day, Natalya knew the answer to this question. Fighters from the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Wanderer bombed the barracks at Dong Hoi on the North Vietnamese border.This was the first time the U.S. military had bombed North Vietnam, thus opening a new phase in the conflict between North and South Vietnam. Demika watched with despair as Kosygin's position retreated little by little during the day. The U.S. bombing of North Vietnam was widely condemned in communist countries and by non-aligned nations throughout the world. The countries of the third world all hope that Moscow will come forward to assist Vietnam, a communist country invaded by US imperialism. Kosygin did not want the Vietnam War to escalate, and the Kremlin could not afford massive military aid to Ho Chi Minh, but that was exactly what they were doing. But the money has to come out.If it stands still, China will replace the Soviet Union as the closest partner of the small communist countries.The status of the Soviet Union as the defender of world communism was at stake.Everyone recognizes this. All conversations about peaceful coexistence are being pushed aside. Like the entire Soviet delegation, Dmitka and Natalya were very dismayed by this change.The negotiating position with the Vietnamese has undergone a 360-degree change.Kosygin could do nothing - he had to agree to all the conditions put forward by Ho Chi Minh. The Soviets remained in Hanoi for another three days.Demika and Natalya have sex all night long.But during the day, they could only record Peng An's requests in detail one by one.The day before their departure, surface-to-air missiles aided by the Soviet Union to North Vietnam were already on their way. On the return flight, Demika sat with Natalya.Demika dozed off, dreaming of four wet nights with Natalya under the lazily spinning fan. "What are you laughing at?" Natalya asked him. Demeka opened his eyes. "You should be very clear." Natalya smiled. "Apart from……" "what?" "When you look back on our journey, don't you feel..." "Aren't we designed and tricked by the Vietnamese? Yes, I felt it from day one." "In fact, Ho Chi Minh cleverly manipulated the two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, to get everything he wanted." "Yes," Demica said, "I feel the same way." Tanya went to the airport with a suitcase containing Vasily's reactionary manuscripts, she was terrified. Tanya had done other dangerous things before.She published a seditious and reactionary newspaper; she was arrested on Mayakovsky Square and locked in the basement of the notorious Lubyanka prison; she also ventured into contact with a Siberian dissident .But this time she was terrified. Fornication with the West is a higher crime.She took Vasily's manuscript to Leipzig, hoping to entrust it to a Western publisher. The newspapers printed by Tanya and Vasily circulated only within the Soviet Union.The authorities would surely be even more annoyed if such dissident material spread to the West.Those who commit such crimes are considered not only reactionaries, but also traitors. Sitting in the back seat of the taxi, Tanya could not help feeling sick with terror at the thought of the risk she was taking.She covered her mouth with her hand in panic, and didn't let it go until the nausea subsided. When she got to the airport, she almost told the driver to turn around and take her home.Then she thought of Vasily in Siberia, who was cold and hungry.She worked up her courage and walked into the terminal with her handbag. The trip to Siberia changed her completely.Previously, she had felt that Soviet Communism was a well-intentioned but failed social experiment that had to be dismantled.But now she sees the essence of Soviet communism.Whenever she thought of Vasily, Tanya was filled with hatred for the people who had brought him to this point.She doesn't even want to talk to her twin brother Demika now, who feels that Soviet communism should be improved, not abolished altogether.She loves Demika, but he closes his eyes, unwilling to face reality.She realized that everywhere there was brutal oppression—in the American South, in Northern Ireland, in East Germany—there were many people who, like her family, were unwilling to face the terrible reality.Tanya didn't want to be one of them.She wants to fight to the last moment. no matter how risky it is. At the customs checkpoint, she handed over her papers to the border inspector and put her suitcase on the scale.If she was a Christian, she would definitely pray. The border inspectors who exit the customs are all members of the KGB.Tanya was examined by a bearded man in his thirties.She sometimes evaluates a person by imagining how they would be interviewed.By observation, the person should be very aggressive, responding hostilely to interviewer questions without apparent tendencies, double-checking questions for implied or implied criticism. The border inspector carefully looked at Tanya's face and compared it with the photo in the passport several times.She tried not to look nervous.Don't worry, she told herself, there was no Soviet citizen who didn't show fear when they met the KGB. The border inspector put Tanya's passport on the table and said to her, "Open the box." Border inspectors can check the luggage of citizens going abroad at will.They may think you are suspicious, they may have nothing to do, or they may want to check women's underwear.Border inspectors are not required to give reasons. Tanya opened her suitcase, her heart beating fast. The border inspector got down on his knees and rummaged through Tanya's belongings.He soon found Vasily's manuscript.He took out the manuscript and looked at the title page: "Prisoner of War Camps—Stories of Nazi Concentration Camps, by Klaus Hornstein." The title of the novel, like the table of contents, foreword, and prologue that follows, are all Tanya's disguises. The border inspector asked, "What is this?" "Part of a translation of an East German novel. I'm going to the Leipzig Book Fair." "Has this book been reviewed?" "Of course it was reviewed in East Germany, otherwise it would not have been published." "And in the Soviet Union?" "Not reviewed. Untranslated novels will naturally not be submitted for review." As the border inspector flipped through the pages, Tanya struggled to keep her breathing steady. "Here are some Soviet names," said the border inspector. "You should know that there were many Soviets in the concentration camps of the Nazis," Tanya said. Tanya knew that her story would be quickly discredited if the border inspectors tried to verify it.If the border inspector took the time to read what follows, he would quickly discover that the novel does not take place in a Nazi concentration camp, but in a Gulag labor camp.Then the KGB would spend hours discovering that no publishing house in East Germany had published the novel, and Tanya would be sent to the basement of the Lubyanka prison again. The border inspector idly flipped through the manuscript, still undecided whether to make things difficult for her.At this moment, there was a commotion at the border checkpoint next door-a passenger who was about to board the plane protested that the icon was confiscated.The border inspector returned the documents in the suitcase and the boarding pass to Tanya, waved her through, and hurried to the next checkpoint to help his colleagues. Tanya's legs gave way, and she felt that she might not be able to go any further. She quickly regained her strength and completed the subsequent boarding procedures.She took a Tu-104 airliner for civilians. There are six seats in each row, which is a bit crowded.The flight to Leipzig is a thousand miles and takes more than three hours. After receiving the suitcase at the baggage claim at Leipzig Airport, Tanya checked the suitcase carefully, but found no signs of opening it.But she couldn't quite let her mind go.Tanya carried the suitcase carefully to customs and immigration as if it were a radioactive item. She remembered hearing that the East German government was more brutal than the Soviet government, and that the Stasi was more ubiquitous than the KGB. Tanya showed her passport.A policeman scrutinized her passport and waved her out rudely. Tanya walked towards the exit of the terminal building, not daring to look at the faces of the policemen who were watching the passengers passing through. A policeman came up to her: "Are you Tanya Dworkin?" Tanya nearly shed tears of guilt. "Yes, it's me." The customs officer said to her in German: "Please follow me." It's over, my life is over, Tanya thought. Tanya followed the police through a side door.To her surprise, the side door led to a car park. "The curator of the book fair sent you a car," said the policeman. The driver was waiting for her in the car.The driver introduced himself to Tanya and put the incriminating suitcase into the back of the white and green Wartburg 311. Tanya fell into the back of the car, limp and helpless as if drunk. She gradually recovered when the car was almost in the city center.Leipzig was an important town extending in all directions a long time ago, and there was a market in the Middle Ages.Leipzig railway station is the largest railway station in Europe.Tanya will mention Leipzig's strong communist atmosphere in her reports for TASS, and mention Leipzig's resistance to the Nazis that lasted until the 1940s, but will not include the current perception.In her opinion, Leipzig's ornate nineteenth-century buildings looked far more elegant than the rough Soviet-era buildings nearby. The driver took her to the book fair site.In a warehouse-like hall, booksellers from Germany and around the world set up display racks to display their books.The curator showed her around.The curator told him that the purpose of the book fair is not the buying and selling of physical books, but the licensing of these books for distribution and translation abroad. Towards evening, Tanya managed to get away from the curator and walked up and down the exhibition hall by herself. She was overwhelmed by the volume and variety of books.Exhibited are car maintenance and owner's manuals, scientific magazines, various yearbooks, children's books, scriptures, art books, atlases, dictionaries, textbooks and the complete works of Marx and Lenin in all major European languages. Tanya wanted to find a publisher who wanted to translate Soviet literature and publish it in the West. She began browsing the shelves of translations of Russian novels. The Latin alphabet used in Western countries is completely different from the Russian alphabet, but Tanya has studied German and English in middle school and German in college, so she can roughly guess the names of these Russian writers and the titles of translated novels. She talked to several publishers, who she said she was a reporter for TASS, and asked what kind of benefits they got from the book fair.She found some useful citations for her story, but nothing about a Russian novel that was up for publication. At the booth of a London publisher called Raleigh, Tanya came across an English translation of Alexander Fadeyev's The Young Guard, which was very popular in the Soviet Union.Tanya was familiar with the novel and tried to read the first paragraph of the translated novel.After reading this passage, a young woman who was about her age interrupted her reading. The woman asked her in German: "Is there anything I can do for you?" Tanya made a self-introduction and asked the other party's impression of this trade fair.Tanya soon discovered that the Raleigh editor spoke better Russian than she did English, and the two switched to Russian.Tanya asked about English translations of Soviet novels. "I would like to bring more Soviet novels to the UK so that more people can read them," the editor said in reply, "but most Soviet literature—including the one you're holding— The traces of promoting communism are too strong." Tanya feigned anger. "Are you trying to publish that kind of anti-Communist novel?" "No," said the editor with a smile, "of course writers love their government. Our house has published many books describing the glory of the British Empire and the achievements of the Empire. But a writer who is unaware of the shortcomings of the society around him cannot be a A good writer. Even for the sake of credibility, they should have a little critical voice in their work." Tanya liked the woman in front of her very much. "Can we meet again?" The editor hesitated. "Is there anything you want to discuss with me?" Tanya did not answer the question. "Where do you live?" "Hotel Europa." The room reserved for Tanya is also at Hotel Europa.This is much more convenient. "What's your name?" "My name is Anna Murray. How about you?" "I'll talk to you again," Tanya said and walked away. Tanya wanted to trust Anna intuitively, an instinct she had acquired during her twenty-five years in the Soviet Union.Her hunch is also backed up by evidence.First of all, Anna is a real Brit, not a Soviet or East German pretender.Second, she is not a communist, nor did she deliberately feign her political beliefs in front of Tanya.Third, there are no political terms in her words.Anyone who grew up in the Soviet Union slipped into conversation the words party, class, cadre, and ideology.But Anna didn't mention any of those words. White and green Wartburg cars wait outside the exhibition hall.The driver took Tanya to Europa Hotel, and Tanya checked in.After packing up the things in the room, Tanya returned to the lobby immediately. Tanya didn't want to draw anyone's attention to her, so she avoided going to the front desk to ask Anna Murray's room number.At least one of the receptionists at the hotel was a Stasi informant, and this informant was likely to record the Soviet reporter's visit to the British editor. Fortunately, Tanya soon discovered that there were many small boxes behind the front desk with room numbers written on them, room keys and messages.Tanya sealed an empty envelope, wrote "Miss Anna Murray" on it, and silently handed it to the receptionist at the front desk.The receptionist immediately put the envelope in the box marked "Room 305". There was a key in the compartment, which meant that Anna Murray was not in the room at the moment. Tanya went into the hotel bar, but Anna wasn't there.Tanya sat for an hour drinking beer and writing a draft of the story in her notebook.Then she went into the restaurant, but there was no sign of Anna in the restaurant either.Tanya guessed that Anna might have gone to a restaurant in Leipzig with her colleagues.Tanya sat down, ordered a flavored vegetarian food from Leipzig, drank coffee while eating, and left the restaurant. When she walked through the lobby, she took another look at the wooden lattice behind the front desk, and the key to room 305 was gone. Tanya returned to her room, took out the manuscript from the suitcase, and walked to the door of Room 305. She hesitated for a moment at the door.After doing this, she is guilty.She brought anti-Soviet novels to the West, and there is no excuse for her behavior.If caught, her life would be over. She knocked on the door. Anna opened the door.She was barefoot, with a toothbrush in hand, and was clearly getting ready for bed. Tanya put a finger to her lips, motioning Anna to keep quiet.Then she handed the manuscript to Anna and said softly, "I'll be back in two hours." Then she went back to her room and sat on the bed trembling. It wouldn't be so bad if Anna just didn't accept the manuscript.If Tanya misjudged her, Ana might feel obliged to report to the authorities that someone had given her a reactionary novel.She may fear that if she keeps it a secret, she too will be charged for her involvement in the plot.Ana may feel that it is most appropriate to report Tanya's inappropriate approach to her to the authorities. But Tanya knew that most Westerners didn't think about it that way.For all Tanya's precautions, it never occurred to Ana that she would be convicted of reading a manuscript. So now the main question becomes whether Anna likes Vasily's novel.Daniel liked Vasily's novels, and so did the editors of New World, but they were all Soviet.How will foreigners react?Tanya was confident that Anna would think the novel was well written.But can she be moved?Will she be sad about it? A few minutes after eleven o'clock, Tanya went to room 305 again. Anna opened the door with the manuscript. Her face was full of tears. She whispered: "It's so outrageous, the whole world needs to know about this." One Friday night, Dave found out that Liu, the drummer of the peachy days, was gay. In the past, he thought Liu was just a little shy.Many girls wanted to have sex with the band players, and the dressing room was sometimes like a brothel, but Liu never took advantage of any girl because of it.It's no surprise: some are passionate about it, others aren't.Valli never had anything to do with these girls, Dave would occasionally go out with a few girls he liked, and bassist Boots would always come. The Lovely Years regained the opportunity to perform live. "Alicia, I Miss You" hit the pop charts at No. 19 and counting.Dave and Valli wrote songs together, hoping to make an LP with more than just two songs on the front and back.One evening they went to the BBC on Portland Street to pre-record a program.The pay for programming for the broadcasting company was minimal, but it was a great opportunity to raise awareness of "Alicia, I Miss You."Maybe this song can climb to the top of the charts with the help of radio broadcasts.Plus, as Dave said, a little money goes a long way. They walked out of the radio building in the afterglow of the setting sun and decided to have a drink at a nearby tavern called The Golden Horn. "I don't want to drink," Liu said. "Come on," Boots said. "When did you ever say no to a drink?" "Then go to another bar." Liu said. "why?" "I don't like that one." "If you don't want to be entangled, just put on the sunglasses." They've been on TV a few times and are sometimes recognized by fans in bars and restaurants, but rarely get into real trouble.They no longer go to the coffee shop next to the school where young people gather to avoid crowds.But it's okay to go to bars that are all adults. They entered the Golden Horn Bar and walked to the bar.The bartender smiled and asked Liu: "Lucy, do you want volts or gold?" Everyone looked at Liu in surprise. Boots said: "So you are a regular visitor here!" "What are volts and gold?" Valli asked. Dave asked, "What about Lucy?" The bartender was a little nervous. "Lucy, who is your partner?" Liu looked at the other three members: "Damn, I was discovered by you." Boots asked, "Are you gay?" After being discovered, Liu simply let go. "I am obviously different from you guys. I like flowers and pink things. If you are not deaf or blind, you should have found out that I am gay more than a year ago. As long as I can not be caught, I will always be gay. Kiss and sleep with guys when you get the chance. But don't worry I'm going to get any of you: you're all fucking ugly. Now let's have a drink." Dave cheers and claps.After the initial shock, Boots and Wally cheered and clapped along. Dave was curious.He knew about homosexuality, but only in theory.So far, he doesn't have a gay friend—probably because homosexuality is illegal in the UK, and most gays, like Liu, keep their secrets.Dave's grandmother, Ms. Leikowitz, has campaigned unsuccessfully so far for the legalization of homosexuality. 戴夫支持祖母发起的运动，这主要是因为他痛恨压制祖母的那帮人：自高自大的牧师、愤世嫉俗的托利党人，还有那些退役的将军们。戴夫从来没想过法律的演变还能影响到他的朋友。 他们又喝了第二杯和第三杯。戴夫的钱快用完了，但他的兴致却特别高。《艾丽西亚，我想念你》这张唱片将在美国发售。如果主打歌能在美国打榜的话，他们的乐队就成功了。戴夫也不用再为写歌而绞尽脑汁了。 酒吧很快就挤满了人。大多数人有个共同点：走路说话显得有点浮夸。他们之间互称“宝贝”或“亲爱的”。很快，酒吧里谁是同性恋、谁不是，就很容易判断了。也许这才是他们都会来这的原因吧。酒吧里也有几对姑娘，她们留着短发，穿着长裤。戴夫觉得自己进入了一个完全不同的世界。 但他们并不排外，都很高兴让异性恋的男女进入这个酒吧。酒吧里有半数人都认识刘，乐队成员很快发现很多人都过来找他们搭话。同性恋们独特的开玩笑方式经常让戴夫发笑。一个和刘穿着相同衬衫的男人说：“哦，露西，你和我穿的是情侣衫，真是太棒了！”然后他又轻声补充了句：“你个没创意的小娘们儿。”包括刘在内的所有人都笑了。 一个高个男子走到戴夫身边轻声问：“伙计，你知道谁能卖给我一些药丸吗？” 戴夫知道对方要买毒品。许多音乐人都嗑药。飞驰夜总会这类地方一般可以买得到好几种毒品。戴夫试过几种，但都没什么感觉。 他仔细地看着眼前的这个陌生人。高个男人穿着牛仔裤和并不相配的条纹衬衫，还都是廉价品，但军人式的短发却让戴夫非常不自在。“我不知道。”简略地做了回答以后，戴夫就转身摆脱了那个人。 酒吧的角落里有个放着麦克风的小舞台。晚上九点，一个男扮女装的喜剧演员走上舞台。尽管头发和化妆完全像个女人，但戴夫还是能看出这其实是一个男人。 “大家能把注意力集中到这里来吗？”他问，“我有个重要的公告要向大家宣布。杰里·罗伯特森得了那病。” Everyone laughed.瓦利问戴夫：“那病指的是什么？” “性病，”戴夫说，“就是下面得的病。” 消停了一会儿，那个喜剧演员又说：“我之所以知道，是因为是我传给他的。” 他的话又博得一阵笑声。这时门口出现了一阵喧闹。戴夫往门口张望，看见几个穿着制服的警察走进酒吧，把挡在面前的人纷纷推向一边。 喜剧演员说：“哦，法律的护卫者来了！我喜欢他们的这身制服！你们有没有发现，这些穿制服的经常会来这？我真想知道吸引他们的是什么。” 他在拿警察开玩笑，但警察可是动真格的。他们推开挡道的人往前冲，似乎很喜欢这样费力的事。四个警察冲进男厕所。“也许他们只是来尿尿的。”演员又说。一个警官跳上舞台。“你是不是警长啊？”演员跟走到他面前的警官调情，“要不要把我浑身上下好好检查一番？” 跟上来的两个警员把演员拽下舞台。“别担心，”他大声叫道，“我会神不知鬼不觉地回来的。” 警长抓起麦克风。“你们这些肮脏的同性恋，”他说，“我得到线报，说这家店有毒品交易。如果不想受伤的话，面朝墙站着，准备接受我们的检查。” 警察仍然在蜂拥而入。戴夫四下张望，想找到一个可能的出口。但所有门都已经被警员封死了。有些顾客走到墙边，面朝墙站着，像是以前接受检查似的显得非常顺从。戴夫思考着，尽管几乎公开在卖毒品，可警察怎么从没突袭过飞驰夜总会呢？ 冲进男厕所的警察架着两个男人出来了，一个男人鼻子被打破了，满脸都是血。一个警员对警官说：“警长，他们在同一个蹲位。” “以公共场所有伤风化的罪名起诉他们。” “遵命，警长。” 戴夫的背被狠狠地打了一下，他大叫了一声。一个挥舞着警棍的警察对他说：“到墙那边去！” 戴夫说：“你怎么能打人？” 警察用警棍指着戴夫的鼻子说：“同性恋，快给我闭嘴，不然我就用这根警棍让你闭嘴！” “我不是——”说到一半戴夫就不说了。随他们怎么想吧，戴夫琢磨着。与其和警察同流合污，还不如站在同性恋这一边。他走到墙边，依令面朝着墙，用手摸着背上的痛处。 他发现身边站着的是刘。刘问他：“没受伤吧？” “只是起了个肿块，你呢？” "no big deal." 戴夫现在总算明白祖母为什么想改变针对同性恋的法律了。他为一直以来不知道同性恋的境遇感到非常羞耻。 刘低声说：“还好警察没认出乐队的人。” 戴夫点点头说：“他们不像熟悉流行明星的那种人。” 透过眼角的余光，戴夫看见警长正在与先前询问自己哪里有卖药丸的那个满身便宜货的高个男人在交谈。现在他知道这个穿着廉价牛仔裤、剃着军人平头的是什么人了：是个乔装打扮得非常粗糙的便衣警察。便衣耸耸肩，摊开双手对警长做了个无助的手势。戴夫觉得他也许是没能找到任何一个卖毒品的人才如此失望吧。 警察搜了所有人的身，让顾客们翻开衣服口袋给他们看。检查戴夫的警察用了很长的时间检查戴夫的胯部。这些警察也都是同性恋吗？这就是他们来这检查的原因吗？ 几个顾客反对近身的检查，结果被用警棍狠揍了几下，接着以袭警的名义被逮捕。一个人持有据称是医生开的一袋药片，他也同样被逮捕了。 检查完以后，警察终于离开了。酒保宣布这一夜的酒水都免费供应，但没几个人贪这个便宜。桃色岁月的成员离开了酒吧，戴夫决定回去早点睡上一觉。 “同性恋经常遇到这种事吗？”分开的时候戴夫问刘。 “伙计，这是常事，”刘说，“真他妈该死。” 一天晚上七点，加斯帕觉得姐姐应该下班回家了，于是他去安娜现在待的汉克·雷明顿在切尔西的公寓找她，结果他发现安娜和汉克这一天都还没有出门。他有些紧张。他有求于安娜和汉克，他想让他们帮的忙对他的未来非常重要。 他坐在厨房里，看着安娜为汉克做他最喜欢吃的烤土豆三明治。“你的工作怎么样？”加斯帕找了个话题。 “非常棒，”安娜的目光中闪动着热情，“我找到了一个新作家，一个苏联的持不同政见者。我甚至不知道他的真名，但他的确是个天才。我要出版一本他写的小说，背景是西伯利亚地劳役营，叫《冻伤》。” “听上去并不是很有趣。” “小说有一部分很有趣，但整部小说却有打动人心的感染力。我正在翻译这本小说。” 加斯帕感到狐疑：“谁会想知道劳役营里发生的事啊？” “全世界的人都会想知道，”安娜说，“你就等着瞧吧。最近你怎么样——毕业以后干些什么，定下来了吗？” “《西部邮报》给了我一个实习记者的职位，但我不准备去就职。看在老天的份上，我已经是自创报纸的主编和记者了。” “美国那边有回音吗？” “来了封回信。” “只有一封吗？说了些什么？” 加斯帕从口袋里拿出信交给安娜。这是封来自《今日》电视节目组的信。 安娜看了这封信。“信上只是说他们不会不经面试就招人，太令人失望了。” “我准备让他们实践诺言。” "What's the meaning?" 加斯帕指着信头上的地址说。“我准备拿着这封信去他们的办公室说'我来面试了'。” 安娜笑了：“他们会佩服你的胆量的。” “我只有一个问题，”加斯帕急切地咽了口口水，“机票钱要九十镑，我只有二十镑。” 安娜把一篮土豆拿出煎锅，把它们晾干。接着她看了一眼加斯帕。“你就是为这过来的？” 他点点头：“能借我七十英镑吗？” “当然不行，”她说，“我没有七十英镑。我是个图书编辑，这几乎是我一个月的工资了。” 加斯帕就知道会是这么个结果。但这还不算完。他咬咬牙说：“能从汉克那要来七十英镑吗？” 安娜把炸过的土豆放在一块涂了黄油的白面包片上，在上面浇了些麦芽醋，撒上许多盐，接着又盖上了一块面包片，最后把做好的三明治切成两半。 汉克走进厨房，他的衬衫胡乱塞在橙色的灯笼裤里，红色的长发因为淋了雨而有些湿。“加斯帕，你好。”他和平时一样热情地跟加斯帕打了个招呼，接着他亲了亲安娜，“宝贝，什么东西这么香？” 安娜说：“汉克，这也许是你吃的最贵的一顿三明治了。”