The Incident Report (15 page)

I nodded, while tears ran down my cheeks. I could not stop them. I wiped at them with the back of my hand but more ran down, down my cheeks and down my neck.

INCIDENT REPORT 142

How much is it possible to fit in one suitcase? A dictionary, one loaf of bread, a bottle of water, a bag of dried dates,
Kekec
—the story of a boy who overcomes evil. A box of ginger tea, a photograph of Janko on the beach, one pair of pants, one sweater, his hair-brush, his hairs caught in the bristles. His map of Slovenia.

INCIDENT REPORT 143

Outside, small white clouds hang motionless. In a minute I will go.

INCIDENT REPORT 144

The time was 7:35
PM
. A male patron in his early sixties stood and orated in silence. His soft red scarf, draped over his shoulder, gave him an air of distinction. He stood without apology, square shouldered, dignified, his broad hands gesturing, slicing the air. He appeared to be performing a careful act of redistribution, though what he was apportioning could not be said. For twenty minutes he spoke, not uttering an audible word. His thick sweater fit him well. His passion galvanized his imaginary audience.

END

Page found in library return slot

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Joanne Schwartz and Glenda Goodgoll helped guide this novel from the outset and became its guardians. Greg Sharp, Candy Girling, Marianne Apostolides, Margaret Sweatman and Susan Glickman read with utmost attention and refused to let me lose faith in this work. I thank Mary Jane Baillie, Laura McLauchlan, Iris Haüssler, Theo Heras, Bernard Kelly, Winston Lau, Heidi Schaefer, John Grant, Anne Egger and Tisiano Vanola for their encouragement. I thank Nusa Prijatelj and Janko Virant for answering my many questions about Slovenia. I salute my courageous publisher and excellent editor, Beth Follett, and my loyal and wise agent, Samantha Haywood. I thank Christina Baillie for lending me her copy of Thomas Bernhard's
The Voice Imitator
. I thank Jonno, as ever.

A small section of A. A. Milne's “The Doctor and the Dormouse” is quoted on
pages 209
and
229
.

Phrases from the libretto of Verdi's opera
Rigoletto
have been used throughout the novel.

Identity card photo c. 1979

MARTHA BAILLIE is the author of five novels. Her most recent,
The Search for Heinrich Schlögel
, was published by Tin House Books in 2014.
The Incident Report
was nominated for the Scotia Bank Giller Prize, included in the
Globe and Mail
's “Best Books” for 2009, and is currently being adapted into a screenplay. She has written about contemporary visual art for
Brick
magazine and other publications. She lives in Toronto.