Chapter 2 joke (2)

2 I told him that I had been here less than an hour, on an unimportant errand, and that the delay was about two days.As for him, he seemed immediately flattered that he should be my first caller.This made me very uncomfortable, because I didn't want to do this trip without asking him.I asked him some questions (I asked him cheerfully if he was remarried), as if to show my sincere concern for him, but with specific intentions underneath.He replied (to my liking) that he was still single to this day.I told him to have a good talk.He said yes, but sorry to say he still had to go back to the hospital, with just over an hour left, and had to drive out of the city in the evening. "Don't you live here?" I asked, terrified.He reassured me that he lived here, with a one-bedroom in a new building, but "it's hard to live alone." It turned out that Koska had a fiancée in another city twenty kilometers away, An elementary school teacher who owns a two-bedroom apartment. "Are you going to move to her place in the future?" I asked him.He denied it, saying that the job I found for him was very good, and it was difficult to find a better job elsewhere, but it was also difficult for his fiancée to find a position here.So I am deeply indignant (with all sincerity) at the procrastination of our bureaucracy, which makes it impossible to solve such problems as men and women moving to live together. "Don't worry, Ludvik," he said to me calmly, "it's not unbearable at all! It's costly and time-consuming to run to and fro, but I can stay celibate, no matter what. Nothing to worry about." "Why do you want to be so free?" I asked him. "What about yourself?" He kicked the ball back. "I hang out with girls a lot," I replied, "it's not about the women, it's me who needs to be alone," he said, and then added, "Listen, come and sit with me, I'll Let’s go later.” This was exactly what I wanted.

After leaving the courtyard wall of the hospital, we quickly came to a group of new buildings, which stood up one after another without any structure.The unpaved surface is dusty (no green lawns, no sidewalks, no roads).This group of buildings is ugly to decorate the edge of the city, next to a piece of empty plain fields, to the distance.We stopped on the fourth floor, and I saw Kauska's name on the door plate.Through the foyer we entered the house.I was more than satisfied with my expectations: a large and comfortable double sofa bed occupied one corner, covered with a red lace bedspread; Gramophone and radio.

I told Koska about his room and asked how his bathroom was. "Not pretty," he said, pleased with my interest, and led me to the bathroom door.The bathroom is small but pleasant, with a bath, shower head, and washbasin. "I see, your place is really nice, I thought of a good idea", I said, "what are you doing tomorrow afternoon and evening? - cough", he apologized sheepishly, "tomorrow I will spend all day They're all on duty, and won't be back until seven o'clock. Are you free in the evening?—I may be free in the evening," I replied, "but before you come back, can you lend me this little room for an afternoon?"

My question surprised him, but he immediately (as if afraid that I might suspect him of insincerity) said to me, "I'd be more than happy to lend it to you." Said: "If you have trouble staying, you can sleep here from today onwards, because I won't be back until tomorrow morning, and I won't even be back tomorrow morning. I'm going straight to the hospital anyway." "No, that's not necessary. I'm in I’ve already stayed in the hotel, but my room is too bad, and I need a comfortable environment tomorrow afternoon. Of course, it’s not for me to stay alone.” “That’s right,” Koska said with his head slightly lowered, “I I think so.” After a while he said, “I’m glad I could be of some use to you.” Then he added, “Of course, I hope it’s really of some use to you.”

With that said, we sat down at the little table (Cowska had already made coffee) and chatted a bit more (I sat on the sofa bed and was able to verify that the bed was tight, neither caved in nor creaked Call).Koska announced that he had to go back to the hospital, and hurriedly explained to me a few things to watch out for: the bathtub faucet should be screwed on tightly; The flapboard was tucked under the sofa bed; there was a fresh bottle of vodka in the cupboard.Then he handed me two keys that were strung together, which one was for the bottom door and which one was for the house door.I don't know how many beds I have slept in in my life, so I always look at the key with admiration. At this time, I didn't say anything, but I happily put the key in my pocket.

Kowska told me before leaving that he hoped his room would allow me "something really good to happen to me." "It will," I said to him, "and with it I can pull off a nice demolition project." "Do you think dismantling can be beautiful?" Koska asked.I smiled to myself at this moment, because through this question (the tone was calm, but the question was sharp), I found that he was exactly the same Koska when I first met him fifteen years ago. .I like him very much, but at the same time I think he is a bit funny, so I refuted him: "I know you would rather be a docile craftsman to build an eternal paradise, and when you hear the word demolition, you will feel uneasy , but I'm not like you: I'm not God's handyman. Besides, if His old men's handicrafts build houses in this world with strong walls, then we are lucky. There are not many opportunities for demolition. In fact, when it comes to walls, I see that these walls are all fake. It is only natural to demolish these fakes.”

That's how we were when we broke up (about nine years ago); now our disagreement is an insinuation, because neither of us realizes what the words really mean, and neither sees the need to reopen the verbal war .We just needed to confess to each other at this point that neither of us has changed, we are both very different (I like the difference between Koska and me in this respect, and because of this, I enjoy arguing with him , so that I can clearly express who I am now and what I am thinking by the way).To assuage my last doubts about him, he replied: "What you just said is perfectly clear. But please tell me: how can you be sure that this wall is what you are, a man who doubts everything? What? You sarcasm others for being full of fantasies. Haven't you ever doubted that these fantasies are really just fantasies? What if you're wrong? And if these fantasies are values ​​anyway? Then you're a destroyer of values ?” He went on: “A value screwed up is as pitiful as a fantasy you debunk, they are so close that the two are too easily confused.”

When I walked back to his laboratory with Koska across the city, I really felt that my old friend was beside me.No matter when and where he tried to convince me of his truth, even now, climbing the bare slopes of this new residential area.Koska was well aware that we had plenty of time for two days and nights, so he quickly left philosophy behind and turned to trifles.He asked again to make sure I'd be there waiting for him when he came home at seven tomorrow (he didn't have another keychain), and asked me if I really didn't need anything.I rubbed my face and said I should go to the barber because the nasty beard had grown back. "Very well," said Koska, "I'll let you give him a good shave!"