Love Doesn't Work by Henning Koch

this?”
    This time it was Jimmy’s turn to be incredulous. He threw out his arms and laughed. “Come on, what’s wrong with this? We have everything.”
    “Your wife’s not happy, okay? She’s a beautiful woman full of life and energy. And very bright too. She’s got a sexual neurosis of some kind, and you should get some therapeutic help. And then have a child.”
    “That’s what you think? Interesting.” He nodded. “Because we have this problem. I mean I have a problem.”
    “Yes?”
    “I think she’s looking for an affair.”
    “And that surprises you?” I waited a good minute, then blurted out: “Jimmy, I have to say this is totally insane. I mean, what the hell are you getting involved with, this whole mental sex thing? Isn’t it just some stupid idea you cooked up because things weren’t working between you?”
    “Sigmund Freud said successful creative people sublimate their physical urges.”
    “Yes, but Freud was insane.”
    “So is everyone, Chuck. So is everyone.”
    He stood there for a moment, clutching his head as if he were afraid it was going to fly away. I regretted my hard words to him. “It’ll be okay, Jimmy. Don’t worry.”
    “Chuck, it’s good to have you here. Sincerely.”
    He blinked his watery eyes at me, and I understood this was the moment when I had to put my hand on his shoulder and give it a little shake while making a sort of intense grimace of affection.
    He hugged me and apologized for giving me a hard time, assuring me that he didn’t mean it like that. He was just stressed, there was too much to do at the office and it looked like he had to go to China tomorrow.
    “China!”
    “Yeah, you’ve heard of China, right? Biggest bullshit factory in the world. You get paid in cash but you’ve got to pull it out of people’s asses.”
    “So what’ll I do then?” I said. “I can’t just stay here with Archie, I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
    “Why not?” he said without enthusiasm. “Stay, relax, enjoy the servants and the house and the pools and terraces. I’ll go and fucking work like I always do. I mean someone’s got to pay for all this shit. Yeah. Just one thing, Chuck. One thing, okay, and I’m not asking a lot here. If she comes to you and wants you to go to bed with her just tell her no. Tell her you’re my friend and she’s got to respect that.”
    His anxious eyes pored over me, and I wished I’d stayed in London where nothing ever happened.
     
    VI
    After he’d gone, I stayed there in the window for a while, magnetized by the shining white figure in the garden. Then I opened the door to the wooden decking outside and walked down the teak steps to the path. Like a wraith drawn by a power greater than itself, I felt myself moving towards the tennis court, where Archie grew aware of me.
    “Hello there, Chuck!” she called out. “You play tennis?”
    I stopped by the wire netting. “No. I don’t like games.”
    “Oh, you should get into them.” She smashed a forehand down the line. “Me and Jimmy are crazy about games.”
    “I noticed.”
    Waving to her opponent, a short, hairy-legged Sard who turned out to be the gardener, she came up to me, wiping the sweat from her face. “Jimmy’s going away.”
    “He told me.”
    “And so I was thinking if you can keep your wits about it, we could have an affair.”
    I was flummoxed, absolutely flummoxed. It was like she’d suggested we should watch some television, or go for a walk together. “An affair? And what would Jimmy have to say about that?”
    “Jimmy’s got to grow up!” said Archie. “Anyway, it’s up to you. I’ve made you an offer, and you can either decline or accept. Just think of it as a great chance to get some exercise.” She smiled.
    I shook my head like a frowning schoolmaster. “You know I came out here to relax. I came thinking that Jimmy had settled down with a woman he loved.”
    “He does love me. I’m not sure I love him so very much but at least I’m