Manly Thunder

Paul Poissel, The Facts of Winter, tr. Paul La Farge (San Francisco: McSweeney's Books, 2005), p. 51:

                                        MANLY THUNDER

The next night, Mme F—— dreams that she's on the 367 bus from the Louvre to Belleville. A well-dressed gentleman gets up and offers her his fortune, which adds up to two million francs, he says. He grabs Mme F—— by the waist and says he wants to kiss her. "Oh no," says Mme F—— "Not again!" At that moment the gentleman farts loudly. Sorely embarrassed by this contretemps, he gets off the bus, and disappears into a crowd of old people and soldiers.

Mme F—— wakes up sad and sleepy: another of those damn dreams. "The 367 bus doesn't even go to Belleville," she tells herself.

Note: Paul Poissel is actually an invention of Paul La Farge.

Hat tip: A friend.