Milan Kundera - Farewell Waltz

"One day."

"One day? That's absurdly brief, we won't be able to discuss anything!"

"It hurts when you touch me like that," said the woman with the raised legs.

"It should hurt a little bit, it's nothing," said Jakub to amuse his friend.

"Yes, the doctor's right," said Skreta. "It's nothing, it's normal. I'm going to prescribe a series of shots for you. Be here every morning at six, and the nurse will give you your shot. You can get dressed now."

"I really came to say goodbye to you," said Jakub.

"What do you mean, goodbye?"

"I'm going abroad. I've got permission to emigrate."

The woman dressed and took leave of Dr. Skreta and his colleague.

"What a surprise! I never expected that!" Dr. Skreta marveled. "Seeing that you came to say goodbye to me, I'm going to send these women home."

"Doctor," the nurse interrupted, "you sent them away yesterday too. We'll have a big backlog at the end of the week!"

"All right then, send in the next one," said Dr. Skreta with a sigh.

The nurse sent in the next one, whom the two men glanced at absentmindedly, noting that she was prettier than the last one.

Dr. Skreta asked her how she had been feeling since she began the baths, and then asked her to undress.

"It took forever to get my passport. But after that I was ready to leave in two days. I didn't want to say goodbye to anyone."

"Then I'm all the happier that you stopped here," said Dr. Skreta, and then he asked the young woman to climb up on the examination table. He put on a rubber glove and thrust his hand into the patient.

"I don't want to see anybody but you and Olga," said Jakub. "I hope she's all right."

"Everything's fine, fine," said Skreta, but from the sound of his voice it was obvious he was not aware of what he was saying to Jakub. He was concentrating all his attention on the patient: "We're going to do a little procedure," he said. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." Then he opened the glass door of a cabinet and

took out a hypodermic syringe with a small plastic nozzle at the end instead of a needle.

"What's that?" asked Jakub.

"During many years of practicing medicine, I've perfected some extremely effective new methods. You might find it selfish of me, but for the moment I consider them my secret."

Her voice more flirtatious than fearful, the woman lying with her legs spread asked: "It won't hurt?''

"Not at all," replied Dr. Skreta, dipping the syringe into a test tube he was handling with meticulous care. Then he came close to the woman, inserted the syringe between her legs, and pushed the plunger.

"Did that hurt?"

"No," said the patient.

"I also came here to give you back the tablet."

Dr. Skreta barely took notice of Jakub's words. He was still busy with his patient. He inspected her from head to toe with a serious and thoughtful expression and said: "In your case, it would really be a shame if you didn't have a child. You've got long legs, a well-developed pelvis, a beautiful rib cage, and quite a pleasant face."

He touched the patient's face, chucked her chin, and said: "A nice jaw, sturdy and well-shaped."

Then he took hold of her thigh: "And you've got marvelously firm bones. It looks like they're shining under your muscles."

He went on for a time praising the patient while manipulating her body, and she didn't protest or giggle

any longer, for the seriousness of the physician's interest in her put his touchings well on this side of shame-lessness.

At last he indicated that she should get dressed, and he turned to his friend: "What were you saying?"

"That I came to give you back the tablet."

"What tablet?"

As she was dressing the woman said: "Well, Doctor, do you think there's any hope for me?"

"I'm extremely satisfied," said Dr. Skreta. "I think that things are developing positively and that we, you and I both, can count on a success."

Thanking him, the woman left the examining room, and then Jakub said: "Years ago you gave me a tablet nobody else would give me. Now that I'm leaving, I think I won't need it anymore, and I should give it back to you."

"Keep it! The tablet could be just as useful elsewhere as it is here."

"No, no. The tablet was part of this country. I want to leave in this country everything that belongs to it," said Jakub.

"Doctor, I'm going to bring in the next one," said the nurse.

"Send all those females home," said Dr. Skreta. "I've done my work for today. You'll see, that last one will surely have a child. That's enough for a day, no?"

The nurse looked at the doctor tenderly and yet showed not the slightest intention of obeying him.

Dr. Skreta understood this look: "All right, don't

send them away; just tell them I'll be back in half an hour."

"Doctor, you said half an hour yesterday too, and I had to run after you in the street."

"Don't worry, my dear, I'll be back in half an hour," said Skreta, and he motioned his friend to return the white coat to the nurse. Then they left the building and went straight across the park to the Richmond.

They went up to the second floor and followed the long red carpet to the end of the corridor. Dr. Skreta opened a door and with his friend entered a cramped but pleasant room.

"It's nice of you," said Jakub, "always to have a room for me here."

"I've got some rooms set aside now at this end of the corridor for my special patients. Next to your room is a beautiful corner suite where cabinet ministers and industrialists stayed in the old days. I've put up my prize patient there, a rich American whose family originated here. He's become something of a friend."

"And where does Olga live?"

"In Marx House, like me. Don't worry, she's all right there."

"The main thing is that you're looking after her. How is she doing?"

"She has the usual problems of women with fragile nerves."

"I told you in my letter about the life she's had."

"Most women come here to gain fertility. In your ward's case, it would be better if she didn't take advantage of her fertility. Have you ever seen her naked?"

"My God! Certainly not!" said Jakub.

"Well, take a look at her! She has tiny breasts hanging from her chest like two little plums. You can see her ribs. From now on look more closely at rib cages. A real thorax should be aggressive, outgoing, it has to expand as if it wants to take up as much space as possible. On the other hand, there are rib cages that are on the defensive, that retreat from the outside world; it's like a straitjacket getting tighter and tighter around someone and finally suffocating him. That's the case with hers. Tell her to show it to you."

"It's the last thing I'd do," said Jakub.

"You're afraid that if you saw it you'd no longer regard her as your ward."

"On the contrary," said Jakub. "I'm afraid of feeling even more sorry for her."

"Incidentally, old friend," said Skreta, "that American is really an extremely odd type."

"Where can I see her right now?" asked Jakub.

"Who?"

"Olga."

"You can't see her now. She's having her treatment.

She has to spend the whole morning in the pool."

"I don't want to miss her. Can I phone her?"

Dr. Skreta lifted the receiver and dialed a number without interrupting his conversation with his friend: "I'm going to introduce you, and I want you to study him thoroughly for me. You're psychologically astute. You're going to see right through him. I've got plans for him."

"Like what?" asked Jakub, but Dr. Skreta was already talking into the receiver: "Is this Ruzena? How are you?… Don't worry, nausea is normal in your condition. I wanted to ask you if a patient of mine is in the pool right now, your neighbor in the room next door… Yes? Good, tell her she's got a visitor from the capital, above all tell her not to go anywhere… Yes, he'll be waiting for her at noon in front of the thermal building."