I could have mentioned as we passed that this was where I lived and one or two of them might have expressed an interest, might have asked me something about it: how long had I lived there? was it expensive? did I own it or rent it? did I live with my family? But that would have damaged the integrity of the new self I put forward, the person who was solid and businesslike, efficient and serious. One of them, on learning that I lived alone in an apartment on the third floor of this downtown building, would have guessed that I was, in some fundamental way, unreliable. This was simply because he would have focused his attention on me for a second, looked at me carefully, pondered on the detail that I had revealed. And that would have been enough. I did not feel that I would survive close inspection. Thus I let the moment pass out of need. I told them nothing. I let them talk among themselves and as we walked through my streets I found that this gave me pleasure.

Now, however, my time was up. Three of them would remain to study the intricacies of the oil industry and the rest would leave to write reports and follow up on other projects and return to the intimacy of their families. There was no need for me to stay in the hotel. I made sure that their taxis for the airport arrived on time and that all the extras were paid and no one was overcharged. I stood in the lobby and made sure that all the bags were carried out. I rang the airport to check that there were no delays. I shook hands with the departing economists, wished them a safe trip, checked once more their time of departure, and assured them that they had plenty of time. And then I went to the desk in the lobby and got my key and hurried upstairs to my room. I sat on the edge of the bed and let time pass. I packed and made sure that I had left nothing behind. I sat on the edge of the bed again. I could easily have gone back to bed and slept until lunchtime and maybe then I would have known what to do. I remember that I forced myself that morning to leave the room and go downstairs and hand over the key and pay what extras I had consumed and go home.