Tirza

'Papa,' says Tirza, 'we will skip that tonight and simply play Monopoly?'

The father serves everyone still has a glass of wine. 'It is a rather important subject,' he says, 'especially if you go to the magical center of the Aids epidemic.'

Previously talked often ship's steward sex life of man. How less sex he had, the more he talked about it. Not on the vulgar manner that most men own. On the information campaign, almost scientific way. He Ploos van the sex life of the man. Especially if Tirza's girlfriends remained a snack food, note he forged to thrash this out.

'I do not know what i expected Tirza,' says Atta soft. 'If you of someone, you expect something of those?'

'Are you ready with food?' requires a ship's steward.

Tirza nods.

He stacks the signs on each other and portrait he says: 'us you love Tirza?'

The sarcasm in his voice can not escape anyone. Here it is again, the man who love went, abolish the man who knew that he is going to pass.

Atta nods and ship's steward must think Ester feast at which he had welcomed, where he had lived go, even more than Tirza itself.

'that is nice that you love her. That is very good.'

'Papa,' says Tirza.

He also discusses silently.

At the rear of the cabinet is he Monopoly game.

It counts the money, gives everyone a pawn.

They focus on the game. The conversation is limited to the bones machines.

Only when a ship's steward is trying to win and Atta a mortgage should take on its streets, ship's steward: 'Have you actually read the Koran?'

The dice throws Atta. 'The most,' he says. 'also out of curiosity.'

He has two fours thrown.

'Curiosity?' across the board and bends the father to the boy.

'interest'.

Ship's steward looks at the hands of the boy, with which he holds a blue icon.

'8,' says ship's steward, "You have eight thrown. You come on my hotel.'

There have been previous he played monopoly as he the rent inde, ashamed and yet eager, at the end always bloodthirsty. As if he were then suddenly be reminded that everything that could be called a win was an excuse.

'I have him at me.'

'O YES?'

'Tirza was curious.'

'What?' requires a ship's steward. He knows it is no longer what it was all about. His answers are automatically, his thoughts are elsewhere.

'To the Koran.'

'Oh yes. I am also curious,' says the father. 'Forever. Not only to the Koran. To all of the man. For the other. The other has always fascinated me. Because the other determines who i am.'

The boy shakes his head. 'I determine who i am,' says Atta. 'I am Choukri. I like to play guitar. I love your daughter. That is who i am. It has nothing to do with other.'

They still play a minute or twenty further. The voltage is off. Who is going to win is now clear.

Tirza and her friend as first to top.

Ship's steward remains the same down to the fire in the fireplace to go out and the last glass and dishes to the kitchen. Slow chestairbag his game on, as though the movements hurt him. He let it on the table. Perhaps they can do a game tomorrow, it is a way to meet in the evening.

In the bedroom where his parents have slept well he opens the wardrobe, which is still a few suits of his father. A forgotten shirt.

Also it smell to the bale before he goes on the bed. Now he knows he is nothing sure, a black hole that also pent if the others look at him. As a presenter who has exercised too long only come to life when the red light on the camera starts to burn.

He will fall asleep, is to half three awake at night, he dresses civilised from, it lifts located in an old pajamas and sleep is again.

The next morning it is still rainy and gray. In his pajamas cooks ship's steward three eggs, but because Tirza and her friend lie in and he does not want to give them, eat it the eggs detached in the kitchen yourself.

Before he starts in the garden with the cutting of the grass, but if at eleven Tirza and her boyfriend still sleep, the insult both to him. He knocks at the door of the guest room. 'Tirza,' he calls. 'Solar Queen.'

He opens the door carefully.

His daughter still asleep. The blanket is only half on her. She is in so far as he can see completely naked. On the other side of the bed is Atta. Also completely naked.

Ship's steward remains in the door opening are watching his daughter. Tomorrow they fly to Africa. More than twenty-four hours he is on the airport of Frankfurt.

'Tirza,' he says, 'it is already eleven hours.'

Its only response is that they turn around. On the bedside table is the iPod, which they so happy, a black booklet, which they make notes about her life and in which they sometimes things such as jamming cinema tickets and train tickets, a single time also the account of a restaurant, a recipe for honey cake, but the label of a wine bottle.

He goes out of the room and close the door. Soft In the kitchen washes his hands. Then he in his Volvo. He puts his head on the steering wheel and if someone would have seen him, would certainly those have thought that ship's steward slept. After five minutes to have sat, start he the car and drive to the village. Although he has purchased already in Amsterdam, does he groceries. In the pastry shop he is recognized. We want a conversation about his parents start, but a ship's steward keeps the. Then he drinks still quick two glasses of white wine in the cafe for it to the outside house travels back.

Tirza and her friend are now awake. They sit down at the dining table. Tirza has a long T-shirt, nothing else. Atta wearing a jeans and a shirt that ship's steward can only be described as old.

He offers to eggs to cook for them or baking, but they want only fruit and a tea and coffee.

'Except what I have taken from Amsterdam,' he says, 'there are still grapes which i just bought in the village.'

He washes the grapes and brings them to a scale the living room.

Without that they say anything against takes a seat and sits down. Occasionally also eat he thought a grape. The pips He gulps.

If the bunch is eaten almost empty, he says: 'Let see him.'

'What?' requires Atta.

Not without satisfaction in the bubbler ship's steward notes the voice of the boy. The inconvenience. It is the inconvenience that the other human.

'You Koran,' says ship's steward, 'Let see him. You have him with you?'

'Top in my bag.'

Ship's steward shall examine the tros on a cool grape. 'I have my children agnostic raised, but I have read them or from the bible, like Tolstoy, and also from Turgenev. Do you know that beautiful meaning on the last page of Anna Karenina? "I will with my sense cannot understand why I pray and i will nevertheless continue to pray." You know what I am talking about?'

'I know Anna Karenina not.'

'Dat does not surprise me,' says ship's steward. 'Get him but also. Your koran.'

The Guy goes to the top.

Since they are sitting at the table. Father and daughter. 'You do a little hostile,' says they are soft.

'I? I keep the call is in progress. I show interest. I do my best.'

She shakes her head.

'Pap, do you think that you ever have a girlfriend, a real? I mean: do you think that you ever really good falls in love?'

He thinks of the wife, and to the worker from Ghana with whom he some time on a modest scale has had sexual relations. Nobody knows that further. Such things depends we are large clock. But the worker is him all those years girlfriend enough. In Love he was not on her. In Love. It is really something for Tirza to him to demand that he falls in love. As if it had all not difficult enough, it must also be in love. To whom? And furthermore: he has its yet? He has the solar queen. A real father, one that deserves that word is in love with his children. Life-long. To death. And even then.