"Why don't you want your father to live with us?" Gaston asked.

They had moved into another room of the cabin, the man sitting in an armchair while Belle was doing laundry after that unsuccessful hunt, looking anxiously at the brown stains on his pants and her apron.

She answered, not immediately, but with some weariness and irritation. Belle had changed a little, as if she'd had enough of this mask of submissiveness and indifference, and had decided to tell it like it was. And it was much better, though it was still unclear how to behave with this new Belle.

"If you'd lived with him yourself, you'd understand why. Damn, it's all just in the oven," the girl threw pants into the basin, shook off her hands and, coming to the chair plumped on the floor at Gaston's feet.

"God, you can't even imagine," she said, addressing not even Gaston, but just somewhere in space. "Until I came to your... to our house, I didn't even know what calm meant. I've always lived on pins and needles. You can't imagine what it feels like, how your heart sinks when you walk down the path to the house and there's an explosion or a fire or something falls... How many times I've begged, cried, "please, don't make it at home"... "Belle, this invention will change our lives"... It will, of course it will... Again, cleaning, repairing the house, it's all on me. My father's a genius... And the worst thing is that you can't even get angry, you can't say... You can't say, "To hell with it! Let me live normally, in silence..." There's nowhere to go. Everyone laughs, again... One joy is reading, running away into an unknown world where beautiful noble people live their beautiful lives. High feelings, adventures, love..." Belle sighed, and, after a little silence, spoke in her usual tone "But this, of course, is not your concern and not your sorrow."

His wife sat at his feet, just like in his dreams, but it was not what was right at all. Gaston moved over and said:

"Belle, sit next to me, you're not comfortable."

He held out his arms to Belle, but the girl shook her head and stood up.

"There's no time to sit around. I have to go to his house, then to the market for vegetables."

Gaston lowered his hands and silently watched his wife, who was gathering groceries for her father in a basket.

"Belle, I'm sorry I laughed at your father," the man spoke softly.

Belle turned around and looked at his face in surprise, trying to figure out if he was joking or serious. Then she shrugged:

"It's all right that you laughed. Why not laugh at something that's really funny?"

The girl moved closer to help him stand up. She put her thin arms around him and Gaston could see her face so close. Her beautiful eyes were sad. How could he laugh at her sadness?

"Belle, please forgive me. I'm really sorry."

There must have been something in his voice that the girl believed. Her lips trembled slightly in a smile:

"It's all right."

Belle helped Gaston back to the bed and strictly forbade him to get up.

"I'll be quick," the girl said and, treading lightly, went out the door.

His little wife. If they had been alright, she would have kissed him before she left.

But it wasn't all right with them.

Gaston picked up a book "about true love," as he called it to himself, that book with the young man and girl who killed themselves because they couldn't be together.

The man leafed through the pages with incomprehensible signs, eh, he should have learned to read, at least a little. But why had he needed it before? He knew where the store was in the town, and he didn't go any further than that...

Hunter looked at the black and white pictures of dancers in gorgeous outfits. What did Belle say? Beautiful noble people and a beautiful life...

He put the book aside and closed his eyes, beginning to daydream. If he was a knight in shining armor and Belle was a beautiful princess, he would protect her from the dragon...

But he did not protect her from the taunts of the mob, though he could have. Moreover, he was himself in that nasty cackling mob.

Dreaming was no longer an option.

Gaston began to leaf through the book again. What had that young man said to his beloved? What did he feel when he took that vial that was probably poison?

This was a book Belle had read several times. What was in it? God, he must find out!

The front door slammed - his wife had returned.

Gaston listened - she was clearly in a bad mood. Belle was rattling pots and cutting vegetables furiously. With a clatter she put the pot on the fire, the girl entered the room and, throwing a pile of torn socks on the bed, sat down to mend them.

"How is your father?" Gaston asked, shivering a little. He had never seen Belle so angry before.

"How do you think he is? He is completely out of his mind. Waiting to go to the madhouse with Mr. what's-his-name..."

The conversation wasn't going well, so Gaston decided to change the subject.

In general, he wanted Belle to read him a book about true love, but decided to come from afar.

"Belle, what kind of animal is that?" he showed that humpbacked horse in the picture. His wife looked at the picture and then at him, sighed and rolled her eyes:

"That's a camel."

"Where do they live?"

"In hot countries. Why do you want to know that?"

"I was just curious. I was bored, so I read books."

"It would be better for you to sleep." She continued sewing and Gaston decided it was a good time. Somehow he could no longer remain in the dark about that book Belle had read several times, the one about true love.

"Belle, Belle!"

"What?"

"Read me a book about true love, please."

"About what?"

"Well, this book."

She picked up and put down a stack of socks:

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy."

"To hell with the socks. I'm fine just the way I am. Please read it to me. You loved that book."

Belle frowned:

"Is it okay to walk around in tattered socks? Just as normal as dirty boots? Is it okay to have an airy lunch?"

"I don't really know what you're trying to say, Belle."

The girl dropped her sewing and almost screamed:

"I mean to say that I keep two households, Gaston! Two! My head's about to explode with all the things I have to buy, clean and sew! It would be all right if I had one grown man on my neck who acts like a child, but I'm afraid there's a second one. Father walks all in patches, disheveled, as I do not know who, as well as a husband in shredded socks and dirty as a tramp. One's a genius, and the other's a romantic who wants to go to the sea and look for true love."

" Belle, I-"

"Why did you start acting strange when you married me? You weren't like that. You were just- Normal. Normal. You started asking questions. What do you want from me? I stopped reading those books, and you're bringing them back into the house! Why? Are you playing a game? He's apologizing, he's playing a game. Why did you marry me, Gaston?"

"Belle, calm down."

But Belle was starting to get excited, so she decided to say what she'd been wanting to say for a long time:

"You wanted to talk, let's talk. I've got questions too, and it's not about animals that don't even exist in our area. When you get well, are we going to live as husband and wife or are you going to sleep on the chair again?" She took him by surprise, and Gaston didn't know what to say.

"If this is some kind of perverted concern for me, I'm telling you straight up, I don't want that. Let's live like a normal husband and wife."

"Look, Belle, I can't be, I don't know, pushy. I'm used to women liking me, but you... I can't do that."

Belle sighed.

"I can't reject you. You're handsome. What more could I want? I had to get married anyway, so I'd rather marry you than anyone else."

It didn't sound right, and Gaston turned away. He stared blankly at the wall.

"You wanted to marry me," Belle continued. "So what's the problem? Why did you start... I don't know... suffering after the wedding?"

"I don't know."

Belle sighed again, drumming her fingers on the bed. Then she spoke more softly:

"Look, Gaston, I was upset too. But, if you think about it... This is real life, not a fairy tale, but we can build something good ourselves. Let's have a baby, you love it, I love it. And we'll live as a normal family. We'll have one more baby and one more baby... "

"You say good and right, but I... I don't know... I want some feelings. I want what they have," Gaston pointed to the book. "True love."

"Ugh!" Belle was angry, and left the room, slamming the door.