Suddenly his mind flashed to a vision of her in the mulatto’s arms, the wet kiss. He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t know. I guess most people in love might be like that.’

‘No, I am talking about you.’ She sounded curiously insistent; her eyes were steady on his.

‘It has never happened to me.’

She got up on an elbow. ‘You mean you’ve never been in love?’

He nodded, half-smiling. ‘I’ve mostly admired, but not really loved.’

She gave a mock frown and opened her mouth, exaggerating her astonishment. ‘Not really loved. How old are you?’

‘A hundred this birthday.’

‘Serious.’

‘O Κ. Twenty-two.’

‘Same here. But what have you been doing all this while?’

‘Waiting for you, of course.’

She smiled and lay back. ‘I am listening.’

He was joking at first, but as he talked he realized how convinced he was of his own words. ‘I did not know was waiting for you, of course, but the very first day I saw you I knew I had been waiting for you. Why? I don’t know. But sometimes you meet someone and they are everything you’ve ever imagined and desired in a lover – from the way they speak to the colour of their skin to the way they walk and laugh. Anybody else apart from them would be imperfect. It is true.’

‘And I was perfect for you?’ she asked.

He felt bold, so sure of himself. He reached out and traced his hand over her face. She closed her eyes. Just then the record ended. She got up and went to change it. She glanced at her watch. ‘How time flies! It is after eight already. You must be very hungry, and I am afraid I have no food in the house. Only Coke, or tea if you prefer.’

‘I think I should be going.’ Lomba said it without thinking, without meaning it.

Alice turned and faced him, the record in her hand. ‘Why? Do you have something pressing to do in the hostel? You could spend the night and go early.’ She spoke in a rush, as if scared that if she stopped halfway she wouldn’t have the courage to complete her statement.

When she returned to the bed, he took her in his arms and kissed her. She sucked on his tongue. She laughed when they came up for air and said, ‘I thought you were never going to do that.’ He kissed her again. He had dreamt of this moment many times. Everything felt unreal, as if he was in a dream, or watching a film of himself, but in another life, another dimension. She hugged him tight, as if she also had waited and dreamt of this moment. They forgot hunger and Coke and time and the song from the player.

They kissed and made love. After, she grew talkative. Laughing at the tiniest hint of a joke in his statements. She asked him questions.