Berl Make Tea by Chaim Bermant

Author:Chaim Bermant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cities and the American Revolution
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 1965-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

It happened as Idris said and I learnt the whole story when they let me out the next morning.

While Urbane-Urban was organizing an army of police and private detectives, his wife, working on a hunch, took a taxi and drove to the farm.

It all ended happily for everyone except Idris and me. Idris was sent to prison and I lost my job.

Mrs Urbane-Urban left the man she was living with and was reconciled with her husband. Anthea came back to live with them, and I was thrown out of the cottage.

‘We have nothing against you personally,’ U-U explained, ‘but we shall be needing the cottage. My wife likes country life and we shall be using it again most week-ends. But there’s no hurry, old boy. Take a week or two to find a new job, and if you have any difficulty don’t hesitate to come and see me in London.’

‘They’re not keeping you then?’ Bogle said to me later that day.

‘Where did you hear that from?’

‘I heard.’

‘I’ve been here long enough,’ I said, ‘and I told Urbane-Urban that I’m thinking of going back to London.’

‘You’re thinking about it?’

‘Well, I’ve as good as made up my mind. I’ll probably leave next week.’

We were unloading hay-bales while we were talking.

‘You’re looking all in,’ he said, ‘you’d better go and have a lie-down. I’ll finish this myself.’

I didn’t have a lie-down, but took a long walk instead. It was a blustery day with dark clouds hanging low over the fields and between them a white sky. The trees were bare, their branches flailing in the wind.

The village was almost deserted, with the sign at the ‘Dog and Duck’ screeching as it swung to and fro on its hanger. The local bakery shop served teas and I went in for a pot of tea and scones. A young girl with auburn hair and bright, laughing eyes served me. Something in my breast had hardened so that I was almost finding it difficult to breathe, but the sight of her dissolved it. She had said nothing to me, not even smiled, but already I felt much happier. As long as there are pretty young girls in the world, I thought to myself, there will always be spring.

I enjoyed my tea, and the sight of the girl serving in the front shop, but as soon as I stepped outside I was restored to myself and my problem. What would I do now?

When I got back to the cottage Bogle was waiting for me.

‘Mother said you’ve to come and eat with us,’ he said.

‘But I’ve just had a big tea——’

‘You know mother,’ he said, ‘if she said you’ve to come and eat, you’ve to come and eat.’

I did not have much of an appetite for supper, but there was rice-pudding and jam at the end and I cheered up for that. When I had finished and was about to go, Mrs Bogle said to me:

‘Dad was on the phone to Mr Urbane-Urban earlier today. You see, there’s Ed’s room upstairs.

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