“I’d do anything to stay.”
“That’s not true,” said Julia. “You’d do anything to leave.”
In the plaza in Once a man approaches, dragging one of his legs behind him. He is a beggar. He sits beside me, ignoring me, and enters into a long and one-sided conversation with the pigeons. I slip a hand into my bag and pull out Madame Cupin’s pearl necklace. I hand it to him immediately, without an explanation, except to say that the necklace is his now. He wants to know if the pearls are real. I say they’re not and expel a final tear, which seems to hover in the air for a moment, except it doesn’t.
I started down the dirt track and heard somebody following me. It was Marco. He put a hand on my neck and, trembling a little, since he’d jogged to catch me, bent to give me a long kiss. Why this goodbye, if we’d be seeing one another again so soon?
One hundred meters earlier he’d promised to spend the night with me in town. I’d asked him to. I’d dared to tell him that, this time, I really meant it.
“In the Hotel Amancay?” I said, stroking his face. If he didn’t come, I would miss him.
“Tonight in the Hotel Amancay. Without fail.”
MARIANA DIMÓPULOS was born in Buenos Aires in 1973. A writer and a translator, she is the author of three novels, as well as short stories and nonfiction, including a critical study on the work of Walter Benjamin. She teaches at the University of Buenos Aires, and contributes to the cultural supplements of Argentine newspapers. All My Goodbyes is her first novel to appear in English.
ALICE WHITMORE is a Melbourne-based writer and literary translator. Her previous translation from the Spanish was Guillermo Fadanelli’s novella See You At Breakfast? She lectures in literary studies and translation at Monash University.
Transit Books is a nonprofit publisher of international and American literature, based in Oakland, California. Founded in 2015, Transit Books is committed to the discovery and promotion of enduring works that carry readers across borders and communities. Visit us online to learn more about our forthcoming titles, events, and opportunities to support our mission.
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