The Truce by Mario Benedetti

Author:Mario Benedetti
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
ISBN: 9780141396866
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2015-07-21T04:00:00+00:00

Monday 24 June

Esteban is ill. The doctor says it could be serious. We hope not. It’s pleuritis or some other pulmonary disease. He doesn’t know. When will the doctors know? After I had lunch, I went to his room to check on him. He was reading, with the radio playing loudly. When he saw me enter, he folded the upper corner of the page he was reading, and closed the book. He turned off the radio, as if to say: ‘Well, my private life is over.’ I pretended not to notice. I didn’t know what to talk about. I never know what to talk about with Esteban. Regardless of the subject we inevitably end up arguing. He asked how my retirement plans were progressing. I think it’s going well. Actually, it can’t be terribly complicated. I arranged my schedule, paid the pledged contributions, and organized my office record card a while back. ‘According to your friend, the matter shouldn’t take long,’ I said. My retirement is one of the subjects Esteban and I discuss the most. There’s a kind of silent agreement between us about having it at our disposal. Even so, today I made an effort: ‘Well, tell me a bit about your affairs. We never talk.’ ‘It’s true,’ he replied. ‘It must be that we’re both always so busy.’ ‘Must be,’ I said. ‘But do you really have so much work to do at your office?’ A stupid, thoughtless question. His response was predictable, but I hadn’t foreseen it: ‘What are you trying to say? That all city employees are lazy? Is that what you’re trying to say? Sure, only you, the outstanding private sector employee, have the privilege of being efficient and hardworking.’ I felt doubly furious, because it was my own fault, and said: ‘Look, don’t be an idiot. That’s not what I meant to say nor did I even think it. You’re as touchy as an old maid. Or you have a guilty conscience as big as a house.’ Surprisingly, he didn’t say anything offensive in reply. The fever must have weakened him. Furthermore, he even apologized: ‘You could be right. I’m always in a bad mood. What do I know? It’s as if I feel uncomfortable with myself.’ As a secret, and coming from Esteban, it was almost an exaggeration. But as self-criticism, I think it’s very close to the truth. For a while I’ve had the impression that Esteban’s path doesn’t follow that of his conscience. ‘What would you say if I left my city job?’ he asked. ‘Now?’ I replied. ‘Well, not now,’ he said. ‘When I recover, if I recover. The doctor said it would probably be a few months.’ ‘And where does this sudden inspiration come from?’ I asked. ‘Don’t ask me too much,’ he replied. ‘Isn’t it enough that I want to change?’ ‘Of course it’s enough. You’ve made me very happy. The only thing I’m worried about is if you need a leave of absence due to illness, it’s much easier to secure it from your present job.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.