and the carpenters and bicycle repairmen
came in. Two of them took a bottle of wine,
hard-boiled eggs, garlic sausage and apples,
out of their bags. They had tasted enough
croque-monsieurs. Through the swinging
doors entered another group. So to hear
the Spanish course. Busco un disco ... ¿Hay
quantas paradas en la calle de Madrid?
They were still practicing. That made it a
more mixed company. More women than
men. A couple of Algerians, who had been
playing table tennis. I sat down at the reading
table and browsed through La Parisienne.
The Gil Blas was there as well. An older man
with a gray goatee was also sitting at the
reading table. Clearly in for a chat. I asked
him if he played chess.
