Dr Astel called the waiter and ordered aquavit. Then he continued: ‘When they arrived at their destination, no sooner had they descended from the tram than the two girls wanted an ice cream. They went into an ice-cream parlour and ordered two portions. Bloch pretended that he didn’t like ice cream and ordered nothing for himself. When they had finished they ordered another two helpings. The ice cream was delicious, they said, and they simply couldn’t understand how Bloch could not like ice cream … How could anyone not like ice cream! … It was the best thing in the world, et cetera. Bloch was desperate; he felt as if he were sitting on a nest of vipers and scorpions and racked his brains in vain to find some way out. Suddenly he had an idea. He saw two youths passing outside, apologised to the girls and said that he had to leave them for a moment to speak to a couple of acquaintances he had just seen in the street, stood up and went outside and ran … And since then,’ concluded Dr Astel, ‘he never goes into a café or a restaurant or the like without counting his money at the door, even though he always carries more than enough on him.’

‘What about the girls?’ asked Thea.

‘He never saw them again. He began taking a different route to school and lived in constant fear of bumping into one of them. Fifteen years have passed since then, the girls are married women with children, but he still feels the same old fear stirring inside him whenever he has to go to Dresden, which he tries to avoid as far as possible. As for ice cream — he feels nauseated at the very mention of the word. It’s enough for a woman to express the desire for an ice cream for her to lose all her attraction, as far as he’s concerned. He can’t wait to find an excuse to get away from her, and he will never see her again. He only married his wife after ascertaining that she hated ice cream as much as he did. This Bloch,’ concluded Dr Astel, ‘is a strange character altogether. I could go on telling you about his peculiarities and eccentricities for a week.’

‘A sick man,’ said Gurdweill, ‘a complete neurotic.’

‘And now let’s go, people!’ urged Dr Astel. After deciding to go to the Opernkeller they got up and left the café.