Dead Nettle, Lilyleek, and Toothwort
by Diane Williams
Mr. Anrep works two-handed at the piano and can go on forever, and in the end, he sits back and applauds himself.
He plays a chord—next its individual notes—then he shifts into a new key and does the same thing all over again.
In bed he also uses a two-handed method to please his wife to good effect.
Generally, his own pleasures are reliably achieved and the war is beyond their hearing range and quite distant.
In spring and summer Anrep sits cross-legged on the lawn, and with headphones listens to The Wind in the Willows while he digs up weeds with his hand weeder.
His wife’s scream the other night did not disturb him, because it was a scream in her dream barely issued. And how terrible can a terrible dream be if it will not linger and insist on being shared?
And bear in mind that their rock garden is filled with ethereal flowers—although some may have been given grim names—dead nettle, for example, or toothwort, and the Anreps eat the toothwort’s leaves. Mrs. Anrep flavors their soup with them!
Friends and family, for a long time—in addition to a neighbor—had the impression that the Anreps were miserable, especially Mrs. Anrep, who tends to walk heavily—but they are not, and they relish their office jobs.
And people really talk to each other politely—yes, the Anreps do.
To get back to Mrs. Anrep. A short while ago, she sat holding her knees, then stood slowly to make her way toward—to climb the stairs, which meant she needed to pull herself up the stairs using the banister as an aid.
When she got to the upper landing, the elderly cat occupied her attention because it was irritable. So something must be done for Carlos, she thought.
She cupped the back of the cat’s head, and then drew her hand slowly down onto its neck, but this was not a welcomed measure.
When she combed her tangled hair and observed herself in the mirror, she appeared more disordered than she remembered. And yet she thought, I have never felt better in my life!
For her, this is some hard-nosed regimen. It is appropriate to be respectful—to just listen in.