I thought of myself as a writer
But failed dismally
I thought of myself as a poet
But failed dismally
I thought of myself as an artist
But I had no talent
You will always be a chemist Max
Nothing but a chemist
My father had said to me
She is a very exotic creature
Where did you get her
Such raven features
Is she a Jew
Eleanor was next to me at the window
Dressed in an evening gown
She was as beautiful and tactless as ever
Were you greeted by them in the circular hall
Elizabeth is from the Mid West
An American
Obviously
Are you sleeping with her
No
We are just friends
I would not want to cheapen our friendship
Where is she now
Taking a bath and resting
You should be there Max
You have not changed Eleanor
Yes just boring old Eleanor
Do you still love me
No you are insufferable
Then I shall drown myself in the lake
Do not let me stop you
Have I made you cross
No
Then why the stern face
Because you as much as I can see what is happening
There will be a war soon
Just look at the family
They have changed
They used to be so tired but now they have so much energy
When I arrived they insisted on singing a folk song to me
They sang it with a passion with tears in their eyes
It worried me
They probably think that you had brought a Jew with you
It was their defence mechanism
Where did you meet her
In New York
New York
Yes
What were you doing in New York
Father had taken me there
As he wanted to meet Marlowe
Who is Marlowe or what is Marlowe
Alfred Marlowe the great English chemist
Could you have not met him in England
It seems a long way to go to meet an Englishman
He works and lives in New York
Was your friend shining shoes in the street
Eleanor
Sorry
You are in love with her
No I am not
Liar
I just like her very much
I thought so you are sweet on her
I suppose I am
She is very beautiful
I know
In a Jewish sort of way
I have told you that she is not Jewish
Do you think that I would have brought her here if she was Jewish
She inherited her dark looks from her mother who is Cuban
I am not sure how the family will react to a Cuban
That said I do not think that I have met anybody from Cuba before
Her mother was from Cuba but her father was an American
I was wondering what a Cuban was doing in the Mid West
I have no idea but they married and Elizabeth came along
Does she have any brothers as I would like to meet them
No
That is sad
I will just have to put up with you Max
Without being rude Eleanor I will have to see the family
Abandon me then but before you leave tell me about New York
New York
Yes how did you meet her
She met me
Met you
Yes
She literally bumped into me at Grand Central
Her parcels went everywhere
How romantic
I wish someone would bump into me
Would you formally introduce me to your Cuban
As I am sure we will be friends
I will but later today as everybody wants to see me
You will find me here by the window
If I do not jump
Please do
How wicked you are Max
Poor lonely Eleanor
Ignored by all her friends