“It was disgusting,” she grimaces to show what she means as plainly as possible. “His hand did not feel like that of a man—it was … slimy.” I shake my head in disbelief. “I almost slapped him,” she continues, “but there were too many people crowded around us.” I shake my head again. “Forget it,” she grins and waves her hand happily, “this happened many years ago.” She is talking about a man from Motovun who grabbed her by the ass as she was walking into a café. I know him well. Very well, in fact. We were talking about his slimy ways when ass-grabbing came up out of the blue. “You know,” I mumble at last, “not only that I have never done anything like that, but it has never crossed my mind, either.” It takes me a while to realize that I am sort of apologizing to her. It is as though I feel guilty for something disgusting another man has done to her. Actually, it is as though I am apologizing to all women for everything disgusting men have ever done to them.

Addendum I (March 16, 2015)

This story is about Slobodan Vugrinec, of course. Which is why his name is nowhere to be found in it. Having had loads of trouble with the then mayor of Motovun, I waited for a better day to spell his name out. As for the woman in the story, she will remain nameless for a while longer. Motovun is a tiny place. As well as poisonous.

Addendum II (August 11, 2016)

The woman in the story is Nives Valenta. She grew up in Motovun. And she knows its people well. Too well, as a matter of fact. So many years after I heard her story, I believe it is time to round it off at last. Bright and direct, she would not mind calling a spade a spade, or so I hope. Now, it is interesting that I jotted this story down only a day before I got a registered letter from the court in Pazin (“Welcome to Motovun,” November 13, 2008). At the time, I was flabbergasted that Vugrinec would take me to court a few weeks after my public retreat from the local political scene (“My Resignation,” October 23, 2008). Alas, I was yet to learn about his slimy ways. Ass-grabbing in a nutshell.