Читать книгу The Complete Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald онлайн

1048 страница из 1457

“Thanks. You had ’em all carefully preserved I see. Sit down again and we’ll have a little talk.”

Elaine sat down. Charley drained off his whiskey and soda and leaned back stupidly in his chair.

“Now,” said Diana, “I’m going to tell you a little story. It’s about a girl who went to a war once and met a man who she thought was the finest and bravest man she had ever known. She fell in love with him and he with her and all the other men she had ever known became like pale shadows compared with this man that she loved. But one day he was shot down out of the air, and when he woke up into the world he’d changed. He didn’t know it himself but he’d forgotten things and become a different man. The girl felt sad about this—she saw that she wasn’t necessary to him anymore, so there was nothing to do but say good-bye.

“So she went away and every night for awhile she cried herself to sleep but he never came back to her and five years went by. Finally word came to her that this same injury that had come between them was ruining his life. He didn’t remember anything important anymore—how proud and fine he had once been, and what dreams he had once had. And then the girl knew that she had the right to try and save what was left of his life because she was the only one who knew all the things he’d forgotten. But it was too late. She couldn’t approach him anymore—she wasn’t coarse enough and gross enough to reach him now—he’d forgotten so much.