often get quick results.’
The husband pointed at the policeman’s empty glass.
‘I’ll get them. You can hardly walk.’ The policeman stood up and went over to the bar for two more beers. He said something to the barman, they laughed, then he slalomed back to the table.
‘Are you married?’ the husband asked.
‘No. I’m in a relationship though. With another officer.’
‘Have you ever…Do you ever have someone else?’
‘Of course. That’s dead normal for us.’ The policeman looked him straight in the eye. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Just curious. Man talk, you know.’
‘That’s a disappointment. So you had girlfriends?’
‘
A
girlfriend. Just one. But she did it too.’
‘What’s the big deal? You lot always make it so difficult.’
‘Yeah, maybe. Women are different from men.’
‘No, they’re not. How?’
‘When they’re unfaithful, there has to be an underlying problem.’
‘So your wife had an underlying problem?’
‘Yes.’
‘You want something to eat with this?’
‘Sure.’
‘I’ll get some
bitterballen
.’
‘What are we doing here?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Why do you associate with me?’
‘Aart! One portion of
bitterballen
!’ the policeman called.
The barman nodded. More and more people came into the bar, bringing in the damp. The windows misted over.
The husband drained his glass.
‘Why do
you
associate with
me
? I could ask you the same,’ the policeman said.
‘I thought you were a nice guy.’
‘I am. Have you tried to get hold of that student?’
‘No. I don’t have any contacts at the university. What’s the point? I’d guess he’s not attending lectures any more.’
‘He’d be out of there.’
‘Travelling maybe. Somewhere in Asia. India, probably. To find himself and find enlightenment.’
‘Oh, one of them. Ending up on a mattress on the floor of some filthy hovel with all his Imodium gone. And a kid screaming day and night in the room next door.’
‘Yes. Maybe. Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘My mother-in-law thinks it’s strange me going out for a beer with you. She thinks you should have put me in jail. Is the barman one too?’
‘Yep.’
‘Hmm.’
‘Aart! Two more beers!’
‘There’s a side of her I’ve never understood. A part that was always out of reach. It’s like, it doesn’t really surprise me, her being gone.’
‘What did you find out? To make you suddenly want to register her as missing?’
‘She’s ill.’
‘Ill?’
‘Maybe very, very ill.’
‘And now she’s gone away, like a cat crawling off?’
‘Yes, maybe. She’s gone away anyway. From me. And from her parents.’
The barman put two glasses of beer down on the table. ‘The
bitterballen
are coming,’ he said, laying a hand on the policeman’s shoulder for a second.
‘That’s awful.’
‘At the end of the last academic year she startedsomething with this student.’ He looked around. ‘Maybe because she was ill.’
‘The one whose dick you wanted to cut off.’
‘Oh yeah, sorry. You already knew that. We were just talking about him.’
‘I said it wasn’t allowed.’
The husband looked at the policeman. ‘It’s only now that I realise it must have been funny. For you.’
‘It wasn’t the least bit funny.’
‘No, of course not. But I was angry.’
‘Even though you weren’t much better yourself?’
‘No. I’m not angry any more. And I want to understand why she did it.’
A woman put a plate of
bitterballen
down between them. ‘Careful,’ she said. ‘Hot.’
‘Thanks,’ the policeman said.
‘It’s not even what she did,’ the husband said. ‘But her having done it. Someone doing things, secret things, things from which you – me in this case – are completely excluded.’
They both ate a
bitterball
.
‘Go online when you get home,’ the policeman said. ‘Find one and give them a call.’
‘Yes.’
‘You really have no idea where she’s gone?’
‘No. Abroad, I
The husband pointed at the policeman’s empty glass.
‘I’ll get them. You can hardly walk.’ The policeman stood up and went over to the bar for two more beers. He said something to the barman, they laughed, then he slalomed back to the table.
‘Are you married?’ the husband asked.
‘No. I’m in a relationship though. With another officer.’
‘Have you ever…Do you ever have someone else?’
‘Of course. That’s dead normal for us.’ The policeman looked him straight in the eye. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Just curious. Man talk, you know.’
‘That’s a disappointment. So you had girlfriends?’
‘
A
girlfriend. Just one. But she did it too.’
‘What’s the big deal? You lot always make it so difficult.’
‘Yeah, maybe. Women are different from men.’
‘No, they’re not. How?’
‘When they’re unfaithful, there has to be an underlying problem.’
‘So your wife had an underlying problem?’
‘Yes.’
‘You want something to eat with this?’
‘Sure.’
‘I’ll get some
bitterballen
.’
‘What are we doing here?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Why do you associate with me?’
‘Aart! One portion of
bitterballen
!’ the policeman called.
The barman nodded. More and more people came into the bar, bringing in the damp. The windows misted over.
The husband drained his glass.
‘Why do
you
associate with
me
? I could ask you the same,’ the policeman said.
‘I thought you were a nice guy.’
‘I am. Have you tried to get hold of that student?’
‘No. I don’t have any contacts at the university. What’s the point? I’d guess he’s not attending lectures any more.’
‘He’d be out of there.’
‘Travelling maybe. Somewhere in Asia. India, probably. To find himself and find enlightenment.’
‘Oh, one of them. Ending up on a mattress on the floor of some filthy hovel with all his Imodium gone. And a kid screaming day and night in the room next door.’
‘Yes. Maybe. Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘My mother-in-law thinks it’s strange me going out for a beer with you. She thinks you should have put me in jail. Is the barman one too?’
‘Yep.’
‘Hmm.’
‘Aart! Two more beers!’
‘There’s a side of her I’ve never understood. A part that was always out of reach. It’s like, it doesn’t really surprise me, her being gone.’
‘What did you find out? To make you suddenly want to register her as missing?’
‘She’s ill.’
‘Ill?’
‘Maybe very, very ill.’
‘And now she’s gone away, like a cat crawling off?’
‘Yes, maybe. She’s gone away anyway. From me. And from her parents.’
The barman put two glasses of beer down on the table. ‘The
bitterballen
are coming,’ he said, laying a hand on the policeman’s shoulder for a second.
‘That’s awful.’
‘At the end of the last academic year she startedsomething with this student.’ He looked around. ‘Maybe because she was ill.’
‘The one whose dick you wanted to cut off.’
‘Oh yeah, sorry. You already knew that. We were just talking about him.’
‘I said it wasn’t allowed.’
The husband looked at the policeman. ‘It’s only now that I realise it must have been funny. For you.’
‘It wasn’t the least bit funny.’
‘No, of course not. But I was angry.’
‘Even though you weren’t much better yourself?’
‘No. I’m not angry any more. And I want to understand why she did it.’
A woman put a plate of
bitterballen
down between them. ‘Careful,’ she said. ‘Hot.’
‘Thanks,’ the policeman said.
‘It’s not even what she did,’ the husband said. ‘But her having done it. Someone doing things, secret things, things from which you – me in this case – are completely excluded.’
They both ate a
bitterball
.
‘Go online when you get home,’ the policeman said. ‘Find one and give them a call.’
‘Yes.’
‘You really have no idea where she’s gone?’
‘No. Abroad, I
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