Journal 3

There is a girl with an American man having drinks at a table outside a train station bar. They are waiting for a train arriving from Barcelona that continues on to Madrid. There is also a woman who is serving them the drinks. The couple orders two beers because it is hot outside and then two "anis del toro's" because the woman is curious as to what they are and taste like. Clearly the two people know each other well because they seem to come to a bit of an arguement when the girl mentions absinthe. It seems to be a touchy subject for the man because he gets upset and tells the girl that he wants to try to have a fine time. The girl then replies back by saying "I was trying to--by talking about the white elephant 'hills'." The touchy subject then turns into being about an operation the man is convincing the girl to have. She seems weary of it because it might change their relationship, but the man replies by saying that the operation is the only thing hurting their relationship, therefore having it will make everything even better than before. As the story goes on, we can tell that they're in love with each other and the man is just worried for her and wants her to do what will make them both happier, but not do it if it's something she doesn't want. As the man continues to convince her and sweet talk her into getting the surgery, the woman seems to get more and more upset with him in a very sarcastic tone. It's a very weird story because the atmosphere and temper of the couple seems to be really calm and peaceful, but the operation and subject they're debating seems to be very undecisive and touchy to both of them. By the end of the story, the woman seems so uncomftorable and almost tired of hearing about the 'operation' because she tells the man to just stop talking, until he ends up walking away to look for the train. I'm not exactly sure what they're talking about, but you can definitely get the gist of their relationship--how they feel about each other and the way they normally act with each other.