Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything by Daniela Krien & Jamie Bulloch

Author:Daniela Krien & Jamie Bulloch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Literary
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2014-09-01T16:00:00+00:00

12

The following morning Siegfried is in the animal sheds by five o’clock as usual. His determination, his strength, his sense of duty—these are the reasons Marianne has always admired him, and why she loves him still. Yesterday evening’s outburst was an aberration in almost twenty years of marriage; by and large they have been good years. By midday the dark clouds have already blown over, only to gather again when Henner appears in the shop.

He buys meat, salami, potatoes, leeks, tomatoes, and a basket of raspberries. He’s not here because of me, but he looks pleased when I come to serve him instead of Marianne. She hardly dares glance at him, even though he cannot know about last night’s argument. She’s relieved when Siegfried calls for her help in one of the meadows. Maybe he just wanted to get her away. I’ve come to realize that in matters of the heart, older folk are just as foolish as younger ones. I’m left on my own with Henner. Johannes and Lukas have gone to town to get something for their father. There’s only Alfred, and he’s easy to forget, given the way he sneaks around the place so inconspicuously.

I pack his shopping into a paper bag and put it on the counter. “Come here, Maria,” he says. “I want to feel you.” He gives the door a kick and it swings closed, but doesn’t shut completely. All of a sudden I am struck by an urge to sink to the ground at his feet. Where this comes from I have no idea. But he pushes aside his shopping and hoists me up onto the counter. His hands roam at will and I say, “Are you insane? What if Marianne comes in?”

This does not seem to bother him, and he asks, “When are you coming over again?” Then he pauses and whispers, “I’ve gotten used to having you there.” His smile is genuine, and it pains me. He strokes my hair, arms, neck, lips; he’s soft, and a little sad as well. My surrender during those feverish nights was like a promise, and now he’s coming and demanding it be fulfilled.

There is a movement at the door. It might have been the cat, or some other creature slinking about.

Henner rolls up my dress. “I hurt you,” he says without looking me in the eye. “But I’m not sorry for it.” His hands are resting on my legs. “Say something, Maria, say something!” But I don’t know what to say. My hesitation is not for the reason he thinks. I can’t find the right words; all I feel is a vague fear that rears up from some dark corner and vanishes again in a flash. Not for me, no. For him. That’s all I know.

It’s Alfred at the door, I’m sure of it. I think he’s known for ages. He has eyes in the back of his head, because no one takes him seriously. It makes him almost invisible.

“I don’t know when I can come.

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.