Towards morning, with the snow frozen under the stars, I agreed to walk the ladies home. The night had passed so quickly – couples were now well-established, and tossed pointed jokes back and forth. Gaidaroff smoked all his cigarettes sitting next to a girl, a pharmacology student, a petite girl with roguish eyes and enticing breasts. With feeling, the chairman declared from the head of the table: ‘Ladies and gentlemen …’
The boys replied with enthusiasm: ‘Vivat profesores.’
Bibi, smiling, said: ‘I should.’
A blond girl said: ‘That made me hopelessly sad. It’s time to go home.’
Nonora: ‘I’m bored. Radu, go fetch my overshoes.’
Radu had suffered the whole night, stuck between two girls who spoke only to the people sitting on their other side. He was happy when Nonora called for him. He walked her home, arm in arm. I walked Bibi home and searched for phrases in which I could address her as tu without blushing. I succeeded.
*
Days filled with life. Self-doubt and consternation failed to find their way into my soul. I was happy at the beginning of that white winter.
THREE: NONORA
I found no respite to notice my anxiety. My time was less and less my own. I divided it between my books and the club. Books piled up, and the club became more and more active. We continued to meet at night in the attic. We made preparations for a ball and festival. Girls searched for young men to take part in an auction. The chairman signed more and more papers and came up with just as many new projects. The deputy chairman, a pale, calm student of industrial chemistry, examined the proposals with a smile and glacial logic. He never showed emotion, never spoke to anyone, and never allowed himself to be carried away by the general enthusiasm. He would smile after every speech and say, ‘And now, let us examine the opposing position …’
He was irritated by the rhetoric and writings of Nicolae Iorga. And that was all. The more Bibi thought about Andrei, the friendlier she became when she was around me. She was the first to accept the invitation to celebrate Saint Basil’s Night with the ‘elite’, at my place. Also invited were Nonora, a fellow soprano called ‘Florenţa’, two sentimental medical students, the blond girl Măriuca, Gaidaroff, the committee, a few Law students, Radu, and Andrei. The chairman decided on the sum everyone should chip in for bottles of champagne.
During the day on New Year’s Eve, I received a visit from a broad-shouldered Polytechnic student, with a moist smile and hazel eyes. He told me that he was a member of our club, that he had paid his dues, and that he wanted to ‘see in the New Year’ with us. He spoke to me as if I were a close friend, in an uninhibited bass voice, and addressed me as ‘boss’. I told him he would be welcome, naturally.
As he left, with a twinkle in his eye, he said, ‘Will there be any games?’
‘I’m not sure; the chairman.’
‘Who cares about the chairman, boss! Party games, we’ll get along famously.’
That evening, the man who called me ‘boss’ arrived with a pale, serious youth, whom he introduced to us as Gabriel.
‘But he goes by “Malec”. He’s a student too, poor chap. Law.’
He laughed familiarly. Then, to Gabriel, who did not dare cross the threshold:
‘Come on, Malec! Come on! Student-like!’
An awkward silence at once descended on the attic. The girls gathered by the stove and waited. The committee was embarrassed. I smiled and offered chairs to the newcomers. Nonora gave them a defiant look. ‘Boss’ forgot to take off his galoshes, and stared at her.
‘Is the young lady a student?’
‘No.’
‘A pity. We would have been classmates.’
The girls laughed. Gaideroff interjected, ‘Are you unable to pay visits without your galoshes?’
‘Boss’ laughed boisterously.
‘You’re good! What do you say, Malec?’
Malec, pale-faced and serious, stared at Nonora. He was helped out of his overcoat. He took a chair without saying thank you. Again, silence.
‘My name is Gabriel.’
‘Yes, we know, that’s what Mr … mentioned earlier.’
‘Elefterescu, Elefterescu. What do you think, Malec?’
They had forgotten my name.
‘Like in Cluj, with all those Hungarians. Forgive me, I almost said a swearword, but that’s just me, what with me being a patriot. My father was the terror of the Jews – are you all anti-Semites?’
Mr Elefterescu’s vigour made us all uncomfortable. In the ensuing silence I looked around the room and hazarded a ‘yes, yes.’
‘Boss’ told us stories of the battles he and his sidekicks had fought in Cluj.
‘It was getting out of hand. And you’re only a student once! To one I only had to shout, “Hey, you!” And the fool ran off.’ He laughed. Pleased with himself.
‘I’m not one to back down when patriotism is on the line!’
We nodded. ‘Malec’ was staring at Nonora, steadily, resignedly, pale-faced. He was beginning to annoy her. She avoided his gaze, changed chairs, and pretended to be bored. But ‘Malec’ calmly continued to stare.
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
The question burst out furiously. Gabriel gave a start and then looked away, with dignity, making no reply. The ‘Boss’ made light of it.
‘He’s funny, isn’t he? I told him that we’d have a party, just like students! We heard there’d be champagne. But not until midnight. On no account is it allowed before then. You know, I like to have a couple of glasses myself. But then again you don’t know me – what do you think, Malec?’
You might say that ‘Malec’ was attempting a smile. But all he managed was to squint his eyes and make his lips look thinner.
‘Oh, that’s just the way he is. The silent type. He’s a bit more talkative than usual today – you should see him when he argues with his wife. What a commotion!’
‘He’s married?’
‘Yes, since high school. He has a beautiful wife – Parla d’italiano con me e con altri.’
The attic burst into life in a single moment. The girls found it difficult to disguise the interest with which they looked at Mr Gabriel. The chairman brightened up. Gaidaroff went over to him and offered him a cigarette. Mr Gabriel turned pale, almost cadaverous. The situation was strange, grotesque, tragic, and full of comic tension.
‘A wife – and it’s a good thing too: he’s got a house, meals, everything he needs. He works, his wife’s