Eleven Minutes Read Online Free PDF Page B

now, but I wanted you to know.' Missed chances. She had learned very early on what that meant. 'I love you', though, were three words she had often
     heard during her twenty-two years, and it seemed to her that they were now completely devoid of meaning, because they had never turned into anything serious or deep, never translated into a lasting relationship. Maria thanked him for his words, noted them in her memory (one never knows what life may have
     in store for us, and it's always good to know where the emergency exit is), gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and left without so much as a backward glance.
    They returned to Rio, and within a day she had her
     passport (Brazil had really changed, Roger said, using a few words in Portuguese and a lot of gestures, which Maria took
     to mean 'before it used to take ages'). With the help of Maflson, the security offlcer-cum-interpreter-cum-agent, any other important purchases were made (clothes, shoes, make-up, everything that a woman like her could want).
    On the eve of their departure for Europe, they went to a nightclub, and when Roger saw her dance, he felt pleased with his choice; he was clearly in the presence of a future great star of Cabaret Cologny, this lovely dark girl with her pale eyes and hair as black as the wing of the grauna (the
     Brazilian bird often evoked by local authors to describe black hair). The work permit from the Swiss consulate was
     ready, so they packed their bags and, the following day, they were flying to the land of chocolate, clocks and cheese, with Maria secretly planning to make this man fall in love with
     her - after all, he wasn't old, ugly or poor. What more could
     she want?
    She arrived feeling exhausted and, while still in the airport, her heart contracted with fear: she realised that she was
     completely dependent on the man at her side - she had no knowledge of the country, the language or the cold. Roger's behaviour changed as the hours passed; he no longer made any attempt to be pleasant, and although he had never tried to
     kiss her or to fondle her breasts, the look in his eyes grew more and more distant. He installed her in a small hotel, introducing her to another young Brazilian woman, a sad creature called Vivian, who would be in charge of preparing her for the work.
    Vivian looked her coolly up and down, without the least show of sympathy for someone who had clearly never been
     abroad before. Instead of asking her how she was feeling, she got straight down to business.

Eleven Minutes
    'Don't delude yourself. He flies off to Brazil whenever
     one of his dancers gets married, something which seems to be happening more and more frequently. He knows what you want, and I assume you do too: you're probably looking for one of three things - adventure, money or a husband.'
    How did she know? Was everyone looking for the same thing? Or could Vivian read other people's thoughts?
    I
     'All the girls here are looking for one of those three things,' Vivian went on, and Maria was convinced that she really could read her thoughts. 'As for adventure, it's too
     cold to do anything and, besides, you won't earn enough to go off travelling. And as for money, once the cost of room and board has been deducted, you'll have to work for nearly a
     whole year just to pay for your flight back home.'
    'But...'
    'I know, that isn't what you agreed. But the truth is
     that, like everyone else, you forgot to ask. If you had been more careful, if you had read the contract you signed, you would know exactly what you were getting yourself into, because the Swiss don't lie, they just rely on silence to
     help them.'
    Maria felt the ground shifting beneath her.
    'And as for a husband, every time a girl gets married, that represents a great financial loss for Roger, so we're
     forbidden to talk to the customers. If your interests lie in that direction, you'll have to run great risks. This isn't a pick-up place, like in Rue de Berne.'
    Rue de Berne?
    'Men