“Stroke me,” she said softly, while the radio brought us moans and groans from the world outside. “Just that, please.”

I put my hands on her small, flat belly, but couldn’t move her. I was frozen and unhappy and there was nothing in me, not even a little of that warmth I would have liked more than anything else in my life, that all-consuming warmth that would have spread from my belly through my body so that in the end I’d be able to reach her. And that low, imploring voice of hers was even worse. Instead of bringing her closer, it made her even more distant, more unattainable, and I was ice cold, inert, filled with sadness.

For a long time, the radio continued alternating static and spluttering with distinct bursts of music and it was very late when I got up and switched it off. Arianna had sat up between the sheets. Huddled on the bed, with her back against the wall, she was looking at me in silence. Then I sat down facing her and we sat there staring at each other, scrutinizing each other, until we lay down again. But nothing had changed, and in the end she fell asleep.

Toward dawn, the air turned cooler and the trees in the valley filled with birdsong. Arianna woke up and we lay there listening while the room grew lighter. Then she stood up and got dressed. “Stay where you are,” she said, giving me one of those light kisses on the lips. But I went to the window that looked out on the courtyard so that I could keep watching her. She was walking to the gate, stooped against the dawn light. She fiddled with the lock, then got in her car and drove off. I went back to the room overlooking the valley. The sight of the ruffled bedsheets gave me a pang in my stomach, so I tossed everything up in the air and carefully remade the bed. But the sheets still held her perfume. I went to brew myself some tea.

As I waited for the water to boil, I switched on the radio. It was broadcasting old songs and world news. All things considered, it was in good health.

5

I was awakened by the silence. The apartment was full of light, but even though it was almost noon not a sound came through the open windows. Something else must have happened during the night, something that was yet to play itself out. I got out of bed and went out on the balcony. The valley was silent beneath the weight of a still, clear sky and the air was motionless as if waiting for a sign. It took me a while to realize it was the heat.