He Has the Heartless Eyes of One Loved above All Else

<p>I’ve just returned from comforting my best friend, Gesine. In the meantime I’m sure that she won’t kill herself. The storm has not been weathered. I saw how he trashed her, then slammed the apartment door behind him. He has the delicacy to continue living with her to avoid hotel costs. He leaves her apartment and goes about his business, visiting his new mistress, a married woman for whom Gesine has been demoted.</p> <p>I have to take care that my words of comfort (although I usually just gather her silently in my arms and put her to bed) don’t fuel her hopes of his returning to her in some fantastic shape. I saw the look in his eyes. Gesine doesn’t stand a chance. No one in the world can get something from him if he doesn’t want it. And he’s satiated, nourished by the devotion of women whose tribute he has been used to since childhood…</p>