Читать книгу Headwinds - Sybil Kempel - Страница 5

"Dixon, it was him" The two women whispered at the end of the line. In the bakery it was hot and Klara, behind the counter, glanced at them impatiently.

"And then two more of them there. Are they fresh?" said the old woman at this moment.

"Mrs. Clements, we do not keep the bread of the previous day," answered Klara with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"For heaven's sake, I did not mean it this way," the old woman apologized.

"Do you want anything else?" Klara asked.

"Tomorrow my son is coming with his family," Mrs. Clements leaned toward Klara. "His wife is so demanding, you know ..." Klara barely held a sigh while the other continued: "In twenty years they hardly invited me four or five times to their house. On the other hand they are coming a lot of times here to eat with me"

"You see you cook very well," Klara said, lowering her voice. Mrs. Clements smiled smugly.

"In fact, my sanguinaccio is remarkable, everyone who tasted it says so"

"Anything else?" Klara repeated, seeing that the line was getting longer.

"No, no. If I need something, I'll come again tomorrow."

Mrs. Clements took a handful of coins from her purse: "Can you pick the right amount of money? I cannot see so well anymore. "Klara took two coins and returned to the others. Very slowly Mrs. Clements put the rest of the coins back in her purse, grabbed the bag of bread, and in small steps walked toward the exit.

"And what did Dixon do? " Asked the other woman in line as Klara served the next customer.

"He tried it, didn't he? That fat pig .." replied the first.

"Ursula, I cannot believe it. He must be one hundred and fifty years old"

"He is in a good shape, I assure you in spite of his belly and all the rest. He never stopped hunting," said Ursula. Finally it was their turn.

"Ursula, Magda," said Klara with a smile, " can I help you ?"

"I do not want anything," Magda said. "If I buy some bread, I will eat it all on the street. I came to say hi."

"I'll take that loaf." Ursula pointed to a dark, small, round bread like the back of a turtle.

Klara slipped it into a paper bag and placed it quickly on the weighing scale.

Magda was feeling too hot and nodded at Klara. The latter leaned over the desk while her friend whispered: "So how did it go last night?"

Klara lowered her voice: "I've fixed it"

"I knew it," Magda said, giggling.

"In my opinion you should not accept the invitation," Ursula grumbled, "people like that, can get you into trouble..."

"In the meantime I had dinner at the boat club last night," Klara said lightly as she handed her the receipt," and I assure you it was not a vegetarian dinner."

"I hope you let him spend a lot of money," Magda said sourly.

"This doesn't mean a thing to him. With all the pounds he spends on drinks every day in there ...." Ursula added.

"Are we moving?" The first customer in the queue asked impatiently. She was a skinny lady looking tired and aggressive with a blue livery "There is someone who works here," she concluded.

Magda gave her a look full of contempt as Klara gently asked, "What can I offer you, Mrs. Cox?"

Magda and Ursula halted and did not leave the cash register. Then they stood in a corner waiting for the end of the line. A few minutes later nobody was in the shop. Klara went to meet them.

"I can't stand Cox," she said.

"Is it true that she became a housekeeper in a villa near Hall Garth Park?" Magda asked.

"It seems so, but I don’t know who hired her" Klara replied.

" Maybe a rich stranger for his beautiful seaside holiday house," Ursula wryly said while shrugging her shoulders.

"Probably. Someone who does't know her" the three women laughed.

"And Dixon?" Magda asked curiously.

Klara giggled and spread her arms: "As I told you: I fixed it"

Ursula got infuriated. "I wonder if he takes a look of himself in the mirror once in a while . He disgusts me. How can she hope to succeed ...’’

"At a certain age," Magda interrupted, "men lose consciousness of what they are. They think they are always fascinating teenagers. The older they get, the worse they became. They do not realize they are being ridiculous’’

"True," Klara said, "but some manage to hide it. Others, like Dixon, become even more impudent»

At that moment the bell of the glass door rang.

"Look who's coming," Ursula muttered.

"That bitch," Magda muttered between her teeth, turning to the woman who had just entered with a large, false smile.

She was a very graceful looking woman, dressed in a refined manner with a violet silk scarf wrapped softly around her neck. As soon as he entered, a 100-pound perfume per bottle fussed the shop and erased the smell of loaves of breads. Klara snapped to the counter and said politely: "Mrs. Price, how can I serve you?"

The woman looked around, looking bored, and then asked, " What’s up ?"

Ursula and Magda looked at each other and refrained from giggling, amused.

"There are these loaves made of potatoes, or those made of wholemeal flour ..." Klara said pointing at two shelves closed by a glass shutter filled with tiny little buns.

"Do you have the sesame one?" Asked the other, trying to exaggerate the London accent.

"No, Mrs. Price, I'm sorry. Today we don't have them’’

"Too bad" she said, disappointed, "I'll settle for a wholemeal and a normal without lard."

Klara closed the bag and handed it to her.

While paying Mrs. Price asked nonchalantly, glancing at Ursula and Magda: " Since down here it’s quite easy to know what’s going on in town these days, do you happen to know if Mr Davis has arrived? "

Klara studied the woman: "Mrs. Price," answered with a little too much determination" this morning was pretty hectic and there was no time for me to gossip. I'm sorry, but here we never hear any news about what Mr. Davis does."

"I thought the opposite" said Mrs. Price sweetly. "After all, Davis is always surrounded by a certain... fame, surroundings..."

"He could also be the new Prime Minister," Klara replied cheerfully, "would not make a big difference to us" and she remarked that with a knowing look at the two women who were listening with great attention.

Leslie Price shrugged her shoulders, smiled and went out elegantly, muttering in an imperceptible w ay: " Gossipy bitches ."

As soon she left the three women burst out laughing.

"...If by any chance Mr. Davis has already arrived..." Magda asked, imitating her refined accent and the mania of throwing the scarf back on her neck.

"As if he doesn't know that she is stalking him and she is only looking forward to slip into his bed and take all his money " said Ursula.

"And God knows to how many she must have..." Magda sighed.

Klara shook her head. "At this moment, I repeat, even if he was the crown prince in person, it would not make any difference to me"

"I would, if I was given the chance " Ursula said.

Magda looked at her and then said. "But you're not so do not even think about it"

Ursula shrugged her shoulders. "See you tonight at Victoria's?" Klara asked.

"As usual" she replied.

The door rattled again. "Mrs. Adams. In what I can serve you" Klara said, moving away from her two friends and going behind the counter.

Ursula and Magda waved good-bye and left the bakery, chatting intensely.