Smith	, Ellen

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A Parisian Dinner

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© Providence College  The author(s) permits users to copy, distribute, display, and perform this work under the following conditions: (1) the original author(s) must be given proper attribution; (2) this work may not be used for commercial purposes; (3) the users may not alter, transform, or build upon this work; (4) users must make the license terms of this work clearly known for any reuse or distribution of this work. Upon request, as holder of this work’s copyright, the author(s) may waive any or all of these conditions.  The Prose Poem: An International Journal is produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress) for the Providence College Digital Commons. http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/prosepoems/ THE PROSE POEM: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL  Volume 1 | 1992 A Parisian Dinner Ellen Smith  Ellen Smith A PARISIAN DINNER Almost overnight, an agreement has been made between me and the man from Perigord. He is not to flirt with me. He is not to take a seat beside me in the resto-U without inquiring now, first with his eyes. He is no longer allowed to pretend he is, like the others here, a student with a future. Even with his briefcase full of soiled papers, even with his papers full of countless figures, he is not permitted to pretend he is someone to contend for me; he is old and bald and needs a bath; I couldn't eat; I was ready to gag; he had gone through the wastecans to make up his plate. I stood up as he came to sit down. "You 're not going to throw that out, are you?" he asked me furtively, the way he used to ask before: "Would you like to spend a weekend in Perigord with me?" 

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A Parisian Dinner

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