The men [1]
Peter Bichsel [2]
Translated by xia23
She sat there. If you had asked her, since when, she would have answered: “Always, I always sit here.”
She was waiting here, soon for a girlfriend, for a colleague, for the train, for the evening.
The waiter smiled friendly, when he brought a cup of coffee. She had a red purse, and it belonged to her as much as a purse only belonged to a young woman. It also happened, that some one paid for her coffee, but then the girlfriend or the train came and she thanked.
Today she was told in the office, she is nice, the boss had said that, she played with her purse.
A pretty woman should not have to wait, they thought. She is young, they thought too. A little spoiled, they wished.
She inhales deeply, they saw. A girlfriend had taught her that, they knew.
At six thirty the train leaves. They watched her, as she unbuttoned her tight coat, pulled it off and took it off. Later she put it on again, snuggled up in it, stroked her hips.
She has a big mouth.
She has beautiful hair.
She is small and petite.
They knew her voice: “A cup of coffee please – thank you – good bye.” A tender voice.
Doe eyes.
They could have asked her. The waiter asked: “What would you like?”
She is a little girl. A little thing, a little doll, a butterfly, they also thought.
They could have asked her.
She has a delicate hand.
She was waiting here, soon for a girlfriend, for a colleague, for the train, for the evening.
She is a girl.
If you ask her, she is already a woman.
[1]. p.10. Die Männer. Eigentlich möchte Frau Blum den Milchmann kennenlernen. Suhrkamp Verlag Frankfurt am Main, Walter-Verlag AG, Germany. 1996.
[2]. Peter Bichsel. 3/24/1935 - . Swiss writer and journalist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bichsel
