Chapter 24 twenty four

Be clear.We are not "living together". Although we had a great summer this year. Yes, the two of us ate together, chatted together, laughed together (there was also a fierce argument), and we slept together in the same room at night (that is, my apartment on the ground floor).But neither of us admits that we have any agreement with each other.Naturally, there is no obligation to each other.Everything is one day at a time.Although we always try to spend as much time together as possible.This kind of relationship between us seems to me to be quite rare indeed.It can be said to be a kind of...friend relationship.The fact that this is not a platonic love makes it all the more unusual.

Marcy's clothes are still in her "castle", and every time she goes to change clothes, she takes the letters and phone notes by the way.The servants in her family are free now, so they often cook some dishes and bring them with her, which saves me a lot of trouble.We just ate with unmatched spoons on the low tea table, and talked about whatever was hot in society.Will Johnson ① have a high status in history in the future? ("Certainly not lower.") What kind of bloody tragedy would Nixon ② direct in order to implement his policy of "Vietnamization" of the Vietnam War?The spacecraft landed on the moon, but the environment of the city deteriorated day by day.And Dr. Spock.James' Earl Ray.Chappaquiddick.Green Bay Raider⑥.Spiro Si⑦ la.Jackie Oh.There was even discussion: if Kossel⑨ and Kissinger switched positions, would the world be better?

① Refers to the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973, 1963-1969), who had not been out of office for a long time. ②Refers to Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States who had just taken over as president at that time. ③Dr. Benjamin Spock (1903—): American pediatrician.The publication of his book "Common Sense of Infant Health Care" coincided with the "baby period" (baby boom) in the United States, so it was a bestseller.He was also active in the anti-Vietnam War movement, which made him even more of a news personality. ④ In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the American Civil Rights Movement and a black pastor, was murdered.James Earl Ray was charged as the murderer in the case.

⑤ Chappaquiddick is a place name. In July 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy, the younger brother of the late U.S. President Kennedy, crashed his car here. His car fell into the water. He abandoned the car and fled. Later, his girlfriend in the car was found dead in the water.The incident became a major scandal at the time. ⑥This is the name of a football team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ⑦ Refers to Nixon's Vice President Agnew.In Agnew's full name is Spiro Theodore Agnew.Agnew eventually resigned in 1973 due to corruption and bribery scandals. ⑧ refers to Jacqueline Onassis.Jackie is a nickname for Jacqueline.This woman was mentioned earlier. She is the widow of President Kennedy and remarried to Onassis, the Greek shipping magnate.

⑨Refers to Howard Cossel (1920—), a famous American TV sports host. Sometimes Marcy was busy and worked until almost midnight.Then I'll pick her up, and we'll have a late-night snack together, and then we'll walk back slowly all the way home—to my home, of course. Sometimes I have to go to Washington on business, and I have to leave her alone—although she has a lot to do in that place, she is always busy.When the time comes, she will pick up my flight at LaGuardia Airport① and drive me home.However, getting to and from the airport is usually my job. ①An airport in New York, located on Long Island.

It's like this: due to the nature of her work, it is common for her to go to other places.It is necessary to go to each branch for inspection.For example, it takes at least a week to go to several cities in the East, and it takes more than half a week to go to Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Chicago, and it is necessary to go around the West: Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco.Naturally, it's not like going to the east and then going to the west.For one thing, New York is the base of the company's business, and she has to "recharge her batteries" here.Two, and recently added one, that is, she has to "recharge" for me, which also requires her to stay in New York.That way we can spend days together.Sometimes it can even last a week.

①The above three places belong to the Midwest. Naturally, I wish I could spend more time with her, but you must know that she is a person with a heavy responsibility.Today's newspapers often decried the problem of so-called machismo suppressing the individuality of spouses.I don't care much about this kind of article, just read it.But I found that the young couple is far less fortunate than us.For example, Lucy Danzegel has a tenured position in the psychology department at Princeton University, and her husband, Peter, teaches mathematics in Boston.Adding up the two salaries of higher education institutions, we still can’t spend as freely as Marcie and I can: we can make endless phone calls, and on weekends, we can quietly sneak into small restaurants and hotels on the side of wild roads Go for some fun. (The idyllic atmosphere we enjoyed in Cincinnati last time deserves a song to commemorate it.)

Of course, I also admit that when she went to other places, I felt very lonely.Especially in the summer, seeing the couples in Central Park is really uncomfortable.Phone calls are no substitute for meetings.Because as soon as I hung up the phone, I felt that there was only emptiness in front of me. According to the current media, people like us can be called modern young couples.The man has a job.The woman also has a job.All responsibilities are shared—in fact, it should be said that neither party can bear any responsibility.The couple respect each other as guests.Children, most of them don't want it.

In fact, I really want to have a child or two in the future.I also don't think the way of getting married is outdated.Anyway, this issue still needs to be discussed with Marcie in the long term.Marcia never said anything about how happy it would be to be a mother, or how wonderful it would be to be married.She seems quite content with our current relationship.Our relationship, I think, can be called a love relationship that is not bound by time and not limited by status. This topic is never discussed when we are together.We're too busy to talk about it.One of the reasons we were always on the go was that it kept us out of my humble quarters (although Marcie never said "smothered inside").We are going to run.We also often play tennis (now it’s not early in the morning to play at six o’clock, if you want to play at six o’clock, I won’t do it).We used to go to the movies, and whenever Walter Kerr mentioned a stage play worth seeing in his review column, we all saw it.Neither of us likes going to other people's social gatherings; we cherish our time together and just want it to be just the two of us.Sometimes, though, we occasionally take a break in the evening to see friends.

We went out to visit friends for the first time, and the friend we visited was definitely Steve Simpson.Gwen would love to cook a few dishes myself, but I was really worried that I would have indigestion again, so I proposed to go to Gamati's restaurant in Gecun.Well, that's it - I'll see you at eight o'clock, please come with me, both of you. ①Greenwich Village, an area in the southwest of Manhattan, New York, is a settlement for writers and artists. However, when Marcie appeared in social situations, there was such a small problem.People will not even say a word when they see her.This is beyond the imagination of some young girls.If you want to ask the reason, of course, you must first see her appearance (in fact, the crux of the problem is here).Take Steve, for example—Steve is a decent guy, and he has a wonderful wife.But even when he looked at Marcie's face from a distance, he had such an air that it was hard to say that he was indifferent.Although he didn't stare directly with his eyes wide open, but his eyes were staring so hard that he forgot to look at it.From this point of view, as soon as Marcy appeared on the stage, she had already compared others to the big one.Although her clothes were always quite simple, the young lady seemed to have discovered a trendy fashion in her eyes.In my heart, it was naturally a little sour.

We walked into the store on the sawdust floor of Gamati's.Stephen, who arrived first, had already stood up (was he being polite, or did he want to see more clearly?).Gwen was smiling on the surface, but she must be thinking in her heart: My girlfriend is very personable and stylish, that’s all for nothing, I just hope she doesn’t have much in her belly, just five light bulbs. Introducing her first and last name was another difficulty.The mere mention of "Binningdale" can unavoidably sway even a seasoned socialite.There is always some cliché to say when you meet a celebrity, there is always a formula to follow (“I saw your article on boxing, and you wrote it very well, Mr. Mailer”; “What’s the matter with national security? No question, Professor Kissinger?" and so on).There is always a Huatou that can be used as a basis for making a random sentence or two.But what do you say to Marcy?Do you just say "I have seen your company's recent window display, it is so beautifully arranged"? ①It probably refers to the famous American writer Norman Mailer. Of course, Marcy still has a way.Her solution is to always take the initiative and find her own way.But the result is often she sings a one-man show there alone.In this way, it will not be so easy for others to understand her.People often feel that she lacks enthusiasm, and this is the reason. Let's talk about that day, first we said a few jokes, such as why Gamadi's restaurant is so hard to find. ("You've been looking for it for a long time, too?") When John Lennon comes to New York, he always eats here.Anyway, it is a common social talk at this kind of banquet. ①John Lennon (1940-1980): An important member of the "Beatles". Then Marcy simply took the lead and started talking.She was eager to show kindness to my friend.She asked Steve a few neurological questions in a competent manner.It can be seen that the knowledge she has mastered in this area is by no means comparable to ordinary laymen. She heard that Gwen taught history at the Dalton High School, and she went on to talk about the private schools in New York City, and she talked about it very well.When she was at Brearley, the school was so rigidly run, everything was the same, and there were so many rules.She enthusiastically praised some new teaching ideas at the moment.Especially in math class, the students are still dolls, and they are already taught to use computers in school. Gwen had heard a little of this, too.She is busy enough teaching history, so she has no time to pay attention to the development of other subjects.She noticed, however, that Marcie knew very well what was going on in New York's current schools.Marcy's answer was that she read a lot of magazines on the plane. My heart tightened when I heard it.I feel so sorry for Marcie.Who can tell that under her swan-like appearance, she actually has the mentality of an ugly duckling.They wouldn't have thought that it was because of a guilty conscience that she purposely acted like this, in order to feel more at ease in her heart.I understand.But it's only my fault that I lack the ability in this area, and I can't grasp the conversation during the meeting. But I still do my best.I managed to turn the conversation around to sports.Steve cheered up immediately, and Gwen breathed a sigh of relief.In no time we were rambling on about the hottest issues in sports at the moment—the Stanley Cup, the Davis Cup, Phil Esposito, Derry. G Sanderson, Bill Russell, will the Yankees switch to New Jersey--I'm happy to see that the dull situation has been broken, nothing else I didn't pay attention either.Well, now everyone is free.Even the private incisions of athletes are used. ①A high-level ice hockey competition between Canada and the United States. ②International tennis tournament. ③A famous Canadian ice hockey player. ④ Famous basketball players. ⑤A baseball team in New York. It wasn't until the waiter came to take an order that I realized that our song was only sung by a trio.Only then did I hear Gwen Simpson say, "I'd like a veal sauté." "What's wrong with your Marcy?" That's what Steve told me a few days later after my run. (Marcie went on a tour of several eastern cities this week.) I started the conversation, and I casually mentioned it to Steve to ask him and Gwen what impression he and Gwen had of Marcie.Who knows that what he said once doesn't count, when we left Central Park and crossed Fifth Avenue, the same sentence came out of his mouth: "What's wrong with her?" "What do you mean by that—asking 'what's the matter with her'? There's nothing wrong with her. What's the matter with you?" Stephen looked at me and shook his head, which meant I didn't understand him. "That's the problem," he said. "She's too good to talk about—that's why there's something wrong with her."