Catapult

by Paral, VladimIr

  Jacek fled through the ridged mud of the Cottex courtyard, onto the bus and away along the highway, the monument with the lion, the linden with its sign, the clay path, and up the steps of stormy waves to the little beach of hotel Splendid Isolation, I HAVE NO IMAGE, BROTHER TOM, JUST BLOOD SAUSAGE—

  V — twenty

  Quick, down with the netting and the rough chin on her sweet little tummy, nothing’s so sweet to kiss as our little one, “Uncle gwab me—” our pretty little girl calls, take her in your arms and rock her.

  “Uncle don’t go way—”

  “I’m just going to give Mama a kiss.”

  “Uncle come back—”

  “You know he’ll come right back.”

  “Uncle tell a stowy—”

  “You know he will!”

  Lida was already warming milk for the hot cereal, “Look what I brought you—” “How wonderful, you’re too kind, thanks—” and joy at an additional supply of Dutch cocoa, a water pistol for Arnostek, and a blow-up squirrel for Janicka, trampling her nightgown with her heels the little girl got all tangled up with the squirrel in the kitchen while Arnostek liberally sprayed the walls, “To put that thing in his hand—” said Lida, “—means an immediate call to workmen to repaint the house!” Jacek laughed.

  “And why did you choose to come today?” Lida asked.

  “Uncle tell a stowy—” Janicka called from her crib.

  “Chema made up its mind again it wouldn’t raise the OMZ’s balance allotment—”

  “Just a second, please,” said Lida, “I have to run and shut up the hens, the fox is making his rounds…”

  “Uncle tell a stowy—”

  “I’ll just go put her to bed—” said Jacek. “So which one shall we tell, kids?”

  “The sad pwince!” Janicka cried, “The sad prince!” Arnostek cried.

  “Once upon a time there was a prince and he was very sad…,” Jacek began.

  “Because he had to wide the twain so much,” Janicka whispered, and Arnostek: “Through eleven dark tunnels.”

  “… and in each of those tunnels a princess was walled up…,” Jacek continued.

  “In each of them they was one.” “Eleven princesses in all.”

  “… and the prince rode from princess to princess…”

  “And aways cwied.” “Then where did he live?”

  “… and he kept waiting until from the woods he would hear cwop-cwop-cwop…”

  “And the auwochs’d come!” “Uncle, aren’t there some aurochses in the Tatras?”

  “Only in the zoo. Aurochs, little one, you’re saying auwochs, aurrrochs…”

  “And he was all golden—-” “But Uncle, I’ve seen a photo of a Tatra aurochs in the woods—” “and he said, pwince—” “But an aurochs wouldn’t go into a tunnel!” and the children started to argue, “—here’s your pwincess!” cried Janicka, “But which of the eleven was it?” Arnostek shouted at her, “And the pwince went boom like this!” Janicka squealed, and she hit Arnostek on the head, “And that tunnel went bang on top of him!” yelled Arnostek, and he jumped on Janicka and so because of the fairy tale fighting and tears.

  Outside the window a mass of spruces pierced the morning sky with its Asiatic towers and from the wide dark-wood frame with the black ribbon the late Adalsky looked at them through the glass, on the other side of the wall a child crying, objects falling, and shouts.

  “Uncle come today?”

  “But he came last night.”

  “Uncle din’t come!”

  “But you’ve got that pistol he gave you, I mean, that squirrel. So hop into your pants!”

  “Uncle put on pants!”

  “Shh—Uncle’s still beddie-bye and we mustn’t wake him…”

  “… and we mustn’t wake him…,” Janicka whispered on the other side of the wall, did we imagine it or did the face on the picture really move, the thirty-three-year-old forest ranger was grinning behind the glass and with horror Jacek hid his head under the pillow for his second sleep.

  Outside the window the mass of spruces and across the strip of morning sky, above the Asiatic towers, a jet plane flew in supersonic silence, it disappeared behind the towers and shortly thereafter the empty blue-gray sky grew stormy, Jacek shivered, and again his head under the pillow.

  “…and today I’d like to go somewhere we haven’t been yet,” Mojmira said as they left Brno Main Station, “Great!” Jacek agreed, “How about something sweet?” Mojmira proposed, “Coffee with whipped cream and cake!” Jacek said and burst into laughter, “Great!” Mojmira agreed, but Jacek suddenly stopped laughing, “What’s the matter?” Jacek froze as he looked at the airline building across the street, did we imagine it or did those heavy chrome swinging doors really open all by themselves—

  We haven’t gone yet to Tomans’ pâtisserie, Jacek ordered two coffees with whipped cream and Mojmira Parisian cake and cream rolls, “What’s the matter now… Jacek?” “Nothing, I only imagined…,” but he didn’t imagine it, among the boisterous cluster of heads in the corner diagonally across, Nora Hradnik was reading the paper, now he put it down, drank his mineral water, and again vanished behind his paper sail, he couldn’t have seen us—

  “… and so it comes to six thousand,” Mojmira prattled on and the crumbs from her cream rolls fell on her breasts, “I’ve taken care of the apartment, all we need is to buy a couple more things, I’d like a new rug and…”

  “… and a vacuum for it…”

  “Great, that would come in handy for dusting the pictures and the books…,” Mojmira gibbered with chocolate-stained lips, and with greasy fingers she scratched her hair, Comrade N. Hradnik, how about this 29-year-old translator and editor, intell. no child. with own apart., take this one at least, let my holdings diminish a bit, “… do you know what we’ll buy out of our first paycheck?” Mojmira whispered, “But it’s plain as plain,” Jacek said wearily, “wedding rings.” “How’d you guess?”

  Nora Hradnik suddenly laid aside his paper and got up, a pretty woman with two children came toward his table, she was maybe 28, they borrowed a fourth chair and all of them sat down at the round table, “But Jacek, you aren’t listening to me at all and these things matter to a woman…,” N. Hradnik had come back home and at his table the waiter was serving two coffees with whipped cream and four slices of cake, Lenicka was so fond of store pastry and so far she’d never been to a pâtisserie with her Daddy and her Mommy, “Jacek, what’s wrong with you today…” “I forgot that I have to go back to Usti immediately, if I leave now I can just catch the R 7—”

  Express R 7 from Bucharest, Budapest, and Bratislava was arriving two minutes early today on Platform One. “A reserved seat to Usti nad Labem—” Jacek shouted into the ticket window, he received his ticket at once and with relief rushed along the row of eccentrically numbered cars till he found his own car, No. 100, compartment G, except for two seats the whole compartment was taken, the trade fair had just opened, Jacek placed his traveling satchel up into the net, hung his beige iridescent raincoat beneath it, and as he was sitting down an air force officer entered the compartment, IS HE SUPPOSED TO GUARD ME, CAPTAIN, OR GIVE ME A MESSAGE—

  The air force lieutenant, seat ticket in hand, gave Jacek a sharp look, he had the even number opposite, he placed his own light leather satchel—on duty, of course—into the net and hung his blue-gray raincoat beneath it, on his uniform the golden emblems of the air force shone, the train pulled quietly out, the officer took his seat, and he looked straight ahead.

  “We’re on time…,” Jacek said casually, and he directed a smile of blandishment at his counterpart, the lieutenant neither returned the smile nor turned away, insolently he looked straight ahead and Jacek blushed, well, so a pilot’s going by train, when you travel so often there’s nothing mysterious about one trip with an officer, and angrily Jacek dug himself in behind his coat, today there’s no view anyway and we know this whole stretch by heart.

  In Svitavy Tanicka Jo
stova, in Pardubice Hanicka Jostova, Lida Jostova waiting in the woods and in Prague Anna Jostova is itching to see us, in Decin lies Nadezda Jostova, and then there’s Tina Jostova in her tower, let’s not forget Mojmira Jostova either, and then Jost the graduate fellow who’s trying to conquer the world, you didn’t stick in the two Lenka Jostovas yet, and the Jost retreat in Ritin would make an even ten, but weren’t these ten Josts still too few, why not take out another ad—

  Ta-ta-ta-dum the train went through meadows and woods to the east and to the west, ch-ch-ch-ch it moved slowly along the coast from beach to beach, ta-ta-ta-dum is the dream of a man who’s wide awake and ch-ch-ch-ch is an awakening for the timid, ta-ta-ta-dum is the sign of a weary traveling man in love and ch-ch-ch-ch is a boat sailing to a fabled continent where one lives only for play, hunting, and loving, ch-ch—close your eyes and repeat after me: ch-ch-chch—

  At the terminal, Prague Main, Jacek waited hidden behind his coat until the compartment was safely empty and then he mingled with the hurrying throng, looking around from time to time to see whether he was being followed, outside in front of the station he stood for a while, uncertain, we could try to ask for Lenka’s white plush, but trains don’t wait and Jacek hurried by the shortest path through the park to Prague Central Station and climbed onto the 4:45 to Berlin, as always there was time to spare and in the corridor he leaned out the window, behind the rail at the entrance gate a blue-gray air force uniform seemed to flash by in the crowd, Jacek jumped back into the corridor and banged the window shut.

  Through the early Indian summer evening the train rushed along past the sand and the white stones of the now ebbing river, during droughts the river is at its lowest point, beyond the empty harvested fields the copper- colored woods of Varhost and below Strekov Castle the first leafless trees, the first lights in the first houses of our town, and on the express we’ve made it home—

  Standing right outside the door were two air force officers looking at the faces of those descending, Jacek slunk back into the corridor and pressed his face against the dirty wall, YOU WON’T LET ME GO HOME, CAPTAIN, EVEN FOR A TWO-DAY LEAVE, and the train pulled quietly out along the bank of the falling river.

  So the meeting with Speranza was ordained from on high, now the high command was taking responsibility for opening fire, Jacek was the first to jump off the train onto the Decin platform and he took a deep breath, but suddenly he felt the impossibility of leaving the station, minute after minute flew by, outside in front of the building Speranza was still waiting and inside the station Jacek ran back and forth, CAPTAIN, S-O-S, “This is a customs area,” a man in uniform shouted at Jacek, “you have to exit that way—” and Jacek left.

  Nada was waiting on the sidewalk in front of the station, just now her back is turned toward us, and the familiar air force lieutenant with the special light leather satchel, the one who got on at Brno, is looking right at us, of course it’s me, the officer verified this with a short concentrated look, walked on in Nada’s direction, and came up close behind her by the rail, both of them turned around and already they were walking back together towards us, he’s really bringing her here, who’ll fire first, all I’d have to do is press the trigger—

  “There’s no point in lying anymore, Nada, because I’ll never marry you, I love my wife and daughter and besides them I’ve got six more women and two kids all along the line to Brno, why should I save up for years with you for a co-op apartment in this hole when I’ve got a better one in Prague, ready to move into, two more furnished ones in Brno, a family house is being readied for me in Pardubice, and I even have at my disposal a real forest ranger’s lodge in the woods I love so much, why should I train as a case maker’s apprentice at your Wood-Pak when I can be the head of a government office, amuse myself as a colorist or an editor, or rake in money like hay at a gas station, and besides I’ve been accepted in Brno as a graduate fellow, I have a girlfriend who writes poems about the two of us, and I’ve got two girlfriends with college degrees, I’ve got a simple, pretty girl who’s younger than you and still a virgin and I’ve got an experienced Venus with skin like gold and like oranges…,” all I have to do is say it, a jeep with a canvas top drove up to the sidewalk, the officer jumped in, and quickly the car drove off, CAPTAIN, WHY MUST I— “You’re looking at me,” Nada Houskova laughed, “as if you had something very special to say—” “Let’s go to bed—” Jacek finally managed to articulate.

  The next day, as if from the 4:45 to Berlin, Jacek hurried past the playground along the broad concrete road, the staircase to our apartment is once again quite a bit higher, perhaps with time it will grow up into the clouds and there will be peace and quiet, Lenka has the lights on, but what’s with her that she doesn’t come to greet me—Lenka was sitting in the kitchen with Grandma and the two of them were whispering with Tomas Roll.

  The women didn’t even stir to welcome Jacek, but the dwarf joyfully leaped up and greeted Jacek like a king, “I had to stop off in Prague…,” Jacek whispered into the women’s silence, “… and forgive me, Lenka, I didn’t bring the white plush, but next time definitely—”

  “I don’t need it anymore,” Lenka said softly, and behind her Grandma looked angrily at Jacek, the dwarf croaked merrily in the rude silence, and Lenicka was already asleep, don’t wake her, “Get something in the pantry—” said Lenka, “we’re going to the living room for a while.” “You aren’t even going to warm up my milk…,” Jacek whispered. “Take it out of the refrigerator,” said Lenka, “but it won’t go very well on top of fried mushrooms!”

  “On top of what fried mushrooms…,” Jacek was confused, but behind the women’s backs the dwarf put a finger to his lips and gestured zealously, what tricks are you up to here, Mr. Roll, what have you talked these two good souls into believing—but the dwarf was already being led by the women into the living room—or rather it was he who was leading them, an unexpectedly efficient paratrooper, in the living room whispers and smothered laughter while in the kitchen Jacek drank his milk, frozen solid as ice.

  On his desk at Cottex several days’ worth of mail had accumulated, a pile of letters as if replying to an ad, FOREST CONSTRUCTION 06 requests confirmation your arrival by Oct. 1, by 10/1 KOLORA 04 PARDUBICE, signed Dr. Bivoj Mach, Dear Comrade, we’re looking forward to your coming, wrote the TECHNICAL NEWS, A 20th-century Fortnightly, it’s a great pleasure to congratulate you on your new appointment, Bena’s RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR COTTON TECHNOLOGY congratulated him, cable address Brno RIFCOT, the 5th Citizens’ Apartment Cooperative in Decin requests the date of your wedding without delay, and THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE OF THE CAPITAL CITY OF PRAGUE insists that you fill out, in your own handwriting, the enclosed application for telephone service, from Brno his mom and dad were inquiring whether they should get rid of their lodger right away or by Oct. 1, and I’m sending you this cargo of memories and of my longing for the sun, may it reflect at a sine angle and fall on your shoulders as a hot and heavy mantle, Anna wrote from Prague, and Hanicka from Pardubice, that Mama is of the opinion that it’s good to have both children soon after the wedding,

  I am already

  melted gold

  which in your

  hands finds

  its own form

  Tanicka wrote of her frame of mind in Svitavy and in Svitavy, as in Usti,

  The river in which

  I drown is not enough

  A deluge

  a flotilla of lips come to attack like Hitchcock’s Birds and a terrifying siege one can only shoot his way out of, at a distance it would be easier, Jacek tore the cover off his typewriter, the blue-gray metal gleamed cold and the rattle of its keys was like a machine gun:

  Dear Madam:

  I can no longer deceive you. I have concealed from you the fact that I have been married for a long time, that I have a good wife and a clever, pretty little daughter. I won’t leave them. Forget me and try to forgive.

  in six copies, the seventh to Tina by telephone, place an or
der for an urgent call to the Mosquito Tower and, while waiting for it to go through, type out six envelopes, Miss Nadezda Houskova, Dr. Anna Bromova, Miss Hanicka Kohoutkova, Mrs. Lida Adalska, Miss Tanicka Rambouskova, Dr. Mojmira Stratilova and seal up the letters and we’re all finished with your pirds, Mr. Hitchcock, and your tomfoolery, mudget, we’ve fired off all the rockets and tomorrow—I’m sending them special delivery—they’ll thunder from Brno to Decin, in Usti there’s only a pygmy to deal with, DAMN IF I HAVEN’T THOROUGHLY VERIFIED MY LOVE FOR MY WIFE AND MY DAUGHTER—“Happiness isn’t necessary,” the cardinal told Fellini in a film—AND MY UNHAPPINESS.

  Jacek jumped at the ring of the phone as if it were a shot, CAPTAIN, —“Your call to Mosquito Tower is ready,” the receiver sounded and then, “Jacek—,” Tina’s familiar subdued voice, “it’s good you called, I’ve got the gas station, it’s near Harrachov, a marvelous area for tourists, we’ll live at the Hotel Belvedere… you must come and see me this evening!”

  “I’ll come,” Jacek sighed, on the table the six blue letters, Jacek pasted a sixty-heller stamp on each of them and locked them up in his desk, he sat down, his fists on his temples and his face tormented, “Jacek’s got neurosis,” and the final symptom of depression— THE IMAGE COMMISSIONED BY T. ROLL IS READY TO BE PICKED UP.