The Decay of the Angel - Yukio Mishima

ominous.
Her mother brought tea and withdrew. The two had
met several times before, but for the first time they
were alone. That fact did not produce new tensions.
Momoko was safe in the knowledge of having obeyed
instructions. He must awaken her to danger, thought
Tōru.
He had been put off by all the solemn attentions
during dinner. But his annoyance was about to leave.
A match was being made. Delicate love was being
picked up in pincers, tinted. The bonbon had already
been put in the oven. To Tōru it made no difference
whether he had gone in of his own accord or been put
in. He had no reason to be dissatisfied with himself.
The first thing Momoko did when they were alone
was to choose an album from four or five numbered
ones and offer it to Tōru. Thus he was made aware of
her essential mediocrity. He opened it on his knees,
and he saw an infant in a bib, its legs spread wide.
Pants all swollen with diapers, like a Flemish knight’s.
The dark pink of a mouth not yet filled out with teeth.
Tōru asked who the infant might be.
Momoko’s consternation was rather wondrous. She
glanced at the album and put a hand over the picture
and snatched the album from him. Clutching it to her
breast, she turned to the wall. Her breathing was