Nada by Carmen Laforet

Author:Carmen Laforet
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2008-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

XIV

THE EXAMINATIONS FOR that year were easy, but I was afraid and studied as much as I could.

‘You’ll make yourself sick,’ Pons said. ‘I’m not worried. Next year will be different, when we have to take the final for the degree.’

The truth is I was beginning to lose my memory. I had frequent headaches.

Gloria told me that Ena had come to see Román in his room and Román played his violin compositions for her. About these things, Gloria was always well informed.

‘Do you think he’ll marry her?’ she asked suddenly, with a kind of ardour that spring communicated to her.

‘Ena marry Román! What a stupid idea!’

‘I’m saying it, kid, because she’s well dressed, like she comes from a good family … Maybe Román wants to get married.’

‘Don’t talk foolishness. There’s nothing like that between them … Come on! Don’t be ridiculous, Gloria! If Ena came here, you can be sure it was only to hear music.’

‘And why didn’t she come in to say hello to you?’

I was so interested in all of it that my heart felt as if it would leap out of my chest.

I saw Ena at the university every day. Sometimes we exchanged a few words. But how could we talk about anything intimate? She had distanced me completely from her life. One day I asked politely about Jaime.

‘He’s fine,’ she said. ‘We don’t go out on Sundays any more.’ (She avoided looking at me, perhaps so I wouldn’t see the sadness in her eyes. Who could understand her?)

‘Román’s travelling,’ I said abruptly.

‘I know,’ she replied.

We were silent.

‘And your family?’ I ventured (it was as if we hadn’t seen each other in many years).

‘Mamá’s been ill.’

‘I’ll send her flowers when I can …’

Ena looked at me in a special way.

‘You look ill too, Andrea … Do you want to go out with me this afternoon? The air will do you good. We can go to Tibidabo. I’d like you to have lunch there with me …’

‘Have you finished the important matter that was keeping you so busy?’

‘No, not yet; don’t be ironic … But this afternoon I’m going to take a holiday, if you want to spend it with me.’

I wasn’t happy or sad. It seemed that my friendship with Ena had lost a great deal of its charm after our break. At the same time I sincerely loved my friend.

‘Yes, let’s go … if you don’t have anything more important to do.’

She took my hand and opened my fingers in order to see the confused net of lines on my palm.

‘What slender hands! … Andrea, I want you to forgive me if I’ve behaved badly with you recently … It isn’t only with you that I’ve behaved badly … But this afternoon will be the way it was before. You’ll see. We’ll run through the pines. We’ll have a good time.’

In fact, we did have a good time and laughed a lot. With Ena any subject became interesting and animated. I told her stories about Iturdiaga and my new friends.

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