The Return Journey and This Year It Will Be Different: An Inspiring Collection From the World's Favourite Storyteller by Maeve Binchy

Author:Maeve Binchy
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Anthologies, Christian, Anthologies (Multiple Authors), Short Stories (Single Author), General, Literary, Fantasy, Christmas Stories, English, Fiction, Short Stories
ISBN: 9781741145458
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2004-12-15T06:00:00+00:00

THE CHRISTMAS

BARAMUNDI

She had met him first at the fish market on Christmas Eve. It was very early in the morning, but already crowded. Their hands touched as they each pointed to the same ocean perch.

“That one,” they said at the same time.

They all laughed, Janet the schoolteacher, Liam the banker, and Hano the younger son of the fish merchant.

“You have it,” Liam said gallantly.

“No, no, you were the first,” Janet countered.

Hano said, “He has many brothers and sisters, you can have one each.”

“I don’t like to think of his brothers and sisters,” Janet said.

“I know, but we’re very hypocritical, aren’t we?” Liam had a crinkly smile that lit up his face.

“Who was it said they could never eat anything that had a face?” Janet looked thoughtfully at the slabs of fish, each one with a very definite face, some of them indeed with expressions that you could almost define.

“Hey, you’ll have us eating bread and cheese for Christmas,” he said.

Janet sighed. “No, that’s the problem, point out all the disadvantages about something and then go ahead and do it all the same.”

“Mine’s different, I favor the ostrich technique; pretend things don’t have faces, or brothers and sisters. Just grill them and eat them.”

“Poach them surely, or cook them in foil. This is much too big to grill.” Janet took things literally.

“Have coffee with me,” Liam said suddenly.

Hano wrapped their fish for them. Janet paid in cash, Liam used a gold credit card. He took her by the elbow and they went to where people drank small cups of coffee and ate delicious Italian bread. Hano waved them goodbye. He would love to have gone with them, to have talked and laughed as they did so easily. Instead he would have his father’s eye on him and his uncles’ and the eyes of his two older brothers. This was one of the busiest days of the year. He should be working, reaching out toward customers, not dreaming.

More and more people bought fish for Christmas Day. Going to the market in Pyremont was now almost a tradition. The customers enjoyed the experience as much as the fish they bought. Look at that couple, for example: The man was rich, he had a jacket that Hano would have to work for five years to earn. His watch was gold. He didn’t even look at the docket he signed. He surely didn’t need to come here and buy fish; someone could have got it for him. Perhaps he was lonely; maybe he had a fight with his wife. Possibly he was a bachelor or a divorced man. He must be about thirty-five or forty.

Janet was asking herself all these questions, too, as they went together for coffee.

But by the time they were sipping their espresso and eating the warm foccacio she didn’t care if he was married or single, if he had twenty people waiting at home for him or nobody. He was just so easy to talk to. They sat on high stools and talked about Christmas Eve in other lands.

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