Right Effort

There are a lot of women, and most of them will eventually want to have sex. Most likely more than once. Julia's husband counted on this. He depended on this. And he worked the situation well.

But pedophilia was not one of his sins, so he had been watching Réka Mátó since she was 14.

As a child, Tamás had watched the Maros push and shift the sandbar islands from year to year. First here, then there. Massive movement achieved through no obvious effort. He came to understand the depth and subtle power of the flow. Nature will always win.

But sometimes it does need a push. So in 1964, when Réka turned 21, he brought her a bottle of Chanel (albeit counterfeit) from Yugoslavia. In 1969 he heard of her love for Elvis and managed to secure an LP copy of the Comeback Special (albeit with a Cyrillic cover).

She called him Uncle and thought he was very sweet. Everything controlled. Everything proper.

The breakthrough came on a late spring day in 1974 as the two chatted on the sidewalk in front of the Cultural Center. There was no obvious sign, no wink, no brush of the breast. But he knew the time had come.

"My little Réka!" he had said in his most Uncle-like voice, "When will you make me your famous beef stew?"

"Tomorrow" was the reply. And he knew.

Pulling up in his Niva cop car, dressed in his pressed uniform, hair greased like Elvis '68, he felt secure.

He passed through the gate, leaving restraint behind. They met. Undammed, they moved together: one steady river pushing the sand, working together as they acknowledged the inevitable. Massive movement achieved through no obvious effort.

Máto Réka ... Check