The One from the Other

by Philip Kerr

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. —Reinhold Niebuhr

And if we knew now what we’ll know then, it would probably be enough to make any of us scream. In life the trick is all about keeping the two separate for as long as possible.

I put it down to the new suit I had bought at Oberpollinger. It fitted me like a glove. Kaufmann’s suit was better. It fitted him like a suit.

All successful marriages are based on some necessary hypocrisies. It’s only the unsuccessful ones where people always tell the truth to each other.

‘They’re really quite friendly when you get to know them,’ he said. ‘Funny. That’s the same thing people say after their dog has bitten you.’

I drank the cognac but only half the coffee. I had my health to consider.

Kohlmarkt was a typical Viennese street, with an art gallery at one end and an expensive confectioner at the other.