Thus peace returns again to the land.
Nina looks in satisfaction at the pile of clothes. Picking up the topmost piece, she spreads it out flat and then takes the next, spreading it and smoothing it. Then she signals for the others to help. And so they get to work on their togs, building a long, straight line. Nina walks behind, perfectionist that she is, straightening corners and patting crinkles flat.
Finally Nina takes the measuring tape that came from Shlomith’s pocket and measures: yellow lace bra (70 cm), red satin bra (85 cm), white maternity bra (80 cm); long black caftan dress (132 cm), hospital shirt (55 cm), black smocked maternity blouse (65 cm), pink polo shirt (68 cm), black-and-white Scott Walker T-shirt (56 cm), large dark-blue cardigan (75 cm; also with belt, 100 cm); suit trousers (85 cm; spread in the “splits” 158 cm), turquoise cotton satin trousers with stretch jersey front panel (93 cm; spread in the “splits” 159 cm), hospital trousers (78 cm; spread in the “splits” 141 cm), brown corduroys (95 cm; spread in the “splits” 178 cm), yellow dress (135 cm); thin black socks (34 cm x 2), thin white hospital socks (30 cm x 2), bright-red woolen socks (40 cm x 2), furry slippers (38 cm x 2), thick brown tights (73 cm; spread in the “splits” 110 cm); light green scarf (70 cm); green trainers (size 41, 27 cm x 2), brown sandals (size 40, 25 cm x 2), blue trainers (size 36, 21 cm x 2), and one winter boot (size 37, laid flat 40 cm).
Total: 22 meters, 7 centimeters. Which would yield about 30 square meters.
Nina lifts the sleeves of the long-sleeved shirts. They will add a few dozen more centimeters.
Next they have to make a decision: one larger room or two smaller ones? They want one big room. The kitchen. It is simpler to be either outdoors or in. Movements between rooms could be problematic: Why did she go in there, with her, and what did it mean? What did a second room signify in general? Could it belong to someone? The thought of two rooms arouses so much concern that no one wants to take the risk, even though there would be undeniable benefits to a two-room version. Dividing rooms (kitchen + bedroom, for example) would have provided the possibility for some amusing routines. They could sit and imagine a delicious, candlelit dinner. Afterwards they could all go sleep on the floor, closing their eyes and imagining a shared dream. But if they used the rooms wrong . . . If cliques formed . . . If two nations formed . . . If a war started . . .
The women begin to arrange the clothing in a rectangle around the sable couch and the wig fireplace. Then Polina thinks to ask whether they should change the couch to a long bench, since kitchens didn’t have couches, at least not her kitchen in Moscow. The others are not enthused by the idea. Long benches are hard and the fur is soft, regardless of whether they feel its softness or not. They can see the softness all the same—the sable fur is fluffy in a way that a bench could never be, so the thought is impossible, period.
But Polina doesn’t give up so easily. Could the fur be a rug then? It could be an oriental rug! Or a flying carpet! A flying carpet in the kitchen. Polina doesn’t think there is anything strange about that, unlike a couch, which doesn’t belong in a kitchen, period.
No one reacts to Polina’s suggestion. Let’s vote, Nina exclaims, clearly worried about the increasing discord. Who wants the fur to be a couch? (Everyone except Polina and Ulrike raises their hands.) Who wants the fur to be a rug? (Only Polina raises her hand.)
And what about that fireplace? There aren’t fireplaces in kitchens! They can have old-fashioned wood-burning stove tops or baking ovens. But not fireplaces! Polina is angry. Why don’t we make a living room then, she screams, if you don’t want to turn the couch into a rug and the fireplace into an oven? A couch and a fireplace belong in a living room!
Nina, who wants to complete her brilliant idea, places her hand calmingly on Polina’s shoulder. Would it be OK, she asks in as gentle a tone as possible, for each of us to think of this room exactly as we please? For some, she continues, like me, the idea of a kitchen is extremely important. Extremely important. And in my kitchen under these exceptional circumstances there can be a couch and a fireplace. I’ve already become used to them, and so I’d prefer to hold onto them. Anyone who’s bothered by this can imagine a living room instead of a kitchen. Would that work for everyone?
Polina grits her teeth and accepts Nina’s suggestion. Defiantly she decides to think of a flying carpet, only and exclusively that. To hell with rooms.
But building continues. And the farther construction proceeds, the greater their joy grows. Nina and Shlomith look at each other and smile. Hostilities could be suppressed after all. Fangs could be sucked back into gums. It was as if morning had been waiting for them somewhere. A gentle, bright morning that wakes sleepers with light. Morning, the scheduled beginning to the day: was it the walls that did it? Did
