Trafika Europe 13 - Russian Ballet

Naum Vaiman

and moved into her husband’s apartment, and Pyotr Naumovich was left entirely alone. He was a bit crest- fallen, but still kept to his routine (“The main thing is discipline!”): twice a day, a light workout with weights (three kilograms,) always immaculately shaved and neatly dressed, even at home. Sometimes, I helped in the “quartermaster department,” and we sometimes took walks together to the park adjoining the Red Army’s Central Club. But with time, I began to visit him less and less often – it was a time of non-stop parties for me, and our conversations were somehow going around in circles: Jews, death, history, this arc repeating itself endlessly and beginning to irritate me – I was becoming angry and cynical. One time, visiting him, I found two strange Hebrews in tattered rabbit skin hats, which they did not remove, and I thought to myself: could it really be that the old man has finally decided to convert to Judaism? He did not let me leave right away (I’d come to return yet another selection of borrowed books,) and when they left, he got out his homemade hooch, the remnants of it... “Let’s have us a drink... I received a letter from Lenka. In fact, it’s the first one. There had been two postcards... She asks if you come to visit me. It would seem that for this letter too, I’m indebted to you... And Vera doesn’t come by either. She calls sometimes and asks if I need anything. But the Jews, they come by. It’s not what you think, they’re book people, even though they’re probably religious. You see, I am selling my library. Not

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