Pumpkin Eater, The by Mortimer Penelope

Author:Mortimer, Penelope [Mortimer, Penelope]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Modern Classics, Novel
ISBN: 978-1-59017-400-5
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Published: 1962-01-01T03:00:00+00:00

12

Jake arrived back from North Africa early on Saturday morning, and the children were all home from school. Most of them were in the front bedrooms, watching for him; when they saw his car draw up they cateracted down the stairs, swarming over him as he came through the front door, disregarding the clipped cries of the nurse. The violinist’s children flung themselves bodily, but his own stood holding him like a maypole. Dinah was not there. I called for her, but she didn’t answer. I could only see the top of Jake’s head as I came down slowly, smiling, step by step. He seemed to be being eaten.

“Hullo … Hullo … Hullo, there … How’s my baby?” (This to the youngest, held up by the nurse.) “Go on, then, get the things out of the car… Where’s Mum? … Go on, unload the car, can’t you? … Where’s Dinah? Where’s Mum? … No, I haven’t brought you anything, you haven’t been good enough … Is Mum still in bed? Where’s Mum?”

“Here,” I said, and hurried the rest of the way. His coat was damp, his face darkly sunburned. The children fell back a little and we embraced self-consciously.

“It’s lovely to have you back,” I said.

“Lovely to be back.”

“You do look well.”

“I’m bloody tired actually.”

“Would you like some … coffee or something?”

“No thanks. I need a drink.”

“Well… come in.”

The older children staggered in with the suitcases, grasping the handles in both hands, straining backwards against the weight, making a great fuss. They dropped them about the room and the younger children undid them, rummaging about among dirty shirts to find packages. Jake helped them energetically, after one of them had poured him a large brandy and another had put too much soda in it.

“Where is Dinah, anyway?”

“Oh, she’s still in bed.”

“She hasn’t been well,” I said quickly.

“Oh … here …”

I put on a vaguely Moorish dressing gown, pure rayon and covered with the signs of the Zodiac; they all admired it and Jake said uneasily, “It’s meant to bring you luck. I got one for Dinah too.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“There’s nothing to buy, really. You know, just a lot of junk.”

“It’s lovely. Really it is.”

“Well. Anyway …”

“I got a green star … I got top in Friday Paper … Two of the goldfish died and a cat… Did you see any lions? … I got a green star for spelling and I got … Well, I got top in Friday Paper … What were the elephants like, did you see any lions? … We went to the circus, we went to the pictures three times … That’s where I fell down … Did you see any camels, then? … and I got a green star for sums … I didn’t have a plaster, I had a bandage … So can we have some more goldfish, and can we have a dog … Would you like to see my Scripture book? Was it a Jet? Did you see any hyenas?

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