The Phoenix of Montjuic by Jeremy D Rowe

Author:Jeremy D Rowe [Rowe, Jeremy D]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786233103
Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing
Published: 2018-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Clara and Ambros attempted to keep their love a secret from the rest of the staff at the store, but most of the shop girls had guessed, and the next time April 23rd came round, Ambros produced a whole bunch of red roses for Clara, which confirmed their suspicions. Clara, of course, was in a dilemma: how could she give a book to a man who was a librarian? She knew the books in the library were all second hand, mostly from Father Matias’s pawn shop, augmented by bundles brought in for sale by neighbours, but she wanted something a little more special for her boyfriend.

Escaping for an afternoon of shopping, she went to a bookshop to ask for help, and the knowledgeable young man there suggested a recently translated detective novel. “It’s by a famous English author called Agatha Christie, and is all about a detective called Hercule Poirot. It’s recently been translated into Spanish. If it sells well, I think I will be able to stock many more of these stories about the same detective.” Clara thought this would suit Ambros, and the young man wrapped up a copy of ‘Murder on the Orient Express” for her.

Ambros liked the story very much, and read it very quickly. “It says there are more stories by this Agatha Christie,” he said. “Where did you buy this one?”

Clara took him to the bookshop, and he bought ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles.’ He got talking to the owner of the bookshop and explained that he was the librarian at Bonet’s Department Store. It was not long before Ambros was selecting new books for the library from a selection which the bookshop could not sell, and which they offered to him at a cut price. Manel liked this development, but warned Ambros to be prudent with the budget.

Meanwhile, Clara and Ambros had developed a new passion: they loved going to the cinema. There was a wonderful picture palace on the corner of Augusta, a very short walk from the Bonet apartment in Rossello. The Windsor Palace Cinema was huge and luxurious, and showed comedies and dramas, some of which had been filmed in Barcelona.

Clara remembered the gala opening of the Windsor Palace: it had been in 1946, and Anna had told her she was too young to go. “And anyway,” her mother had said, “you won’t understand the film. It’s a history play by Shakespeare, Henry Fifth, with a famous English actor called Laurence Olivier.”

“That’s not the reason to stay away,” said Manel, “but I wouldn’t go with all the Fascist big-wigs turning up. I’m sure there will be good things to see when you’re older.”

Their first visit to the cinema had been for a comedy called ‘Anchor Button’. They had laughed a lot, and afterwards Clara confessed to thinking that the star, Jorge Mistral was very handsome. The local heart-throb had been only twenty-eight when he’d made the film, not much older than Ambros himself.

Films were shown during the day, with very cheap tickets, but Clara and Ambros were always at work.

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