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She wanted a wedding dress, a white one, because she’d
always dreamed of getting married in a white dress with a
train. He gave it some thought. No problem, she’d have
one, he’d buy it for her. He’d go into town and buy it. She
didn’t have to go with him. He’d get her the most beautiful
one, the most expensive one. If she went with him someone
might twig. She shouldn’t worry, it would be the right size.
It’d fit her like a glove. How tall was she exactly? That’s
what he thought. And her hips and waist, and here? That’s
what he thought. So why did she need to go? What if
someone saw them together in the store, and her trying on
a wedding dress, then there’d be problems. It wasn’t their
fault they were living in such times. He wished they’d met
in a different age. But she herself could see it was best if he
went alone. White shoes? He’d buy her white shoes. What
size was she? That’s what he thought. Just in case, she
should draw the outline of her foot on a sheet of paper.
That way he’d be more confident. Especially since with
shoes it can happen that even though they’re the right size,
they turn out to be too tight or too loose. Would she also
like white gloves? He could get her some white gloves while
he was about it. What else would she like?
How do I know all this? You’ve never worked on a building
site? Then you don’t know much about life. On a building
site everyone knows everything. You don’t even need to
eavesdrop. You don’t need to see, you don’t need to guess.
You could say that what happens, what’s said, what
someone feels, what they think about, that first off