MALCOLM BRADBURY

The History Man - fragments
 

The days go by, and the telephones ring, and then it is the morning of Monday 2 October, when things are really starting again: the first day of term, the day of the party. The Kirks rise up, early and together. They pull on their clothes; they tidy the bed; they go downstairs. The kitchen is done out in pine. The rain washes down the window; the room is in wet half-light. In the kitchen Anne Petty stands by the stove in a candlewick dressing-gown, cooking an egg. 'What gets you up so early?' she says. 'We're going shopping,' says Barbara, 'for the party.' Howard goes to the toaster, and presses bread into it; Barbara takes a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. Howard pushes down the button on the toaster; Barbara cracks eggs and drops them into the frying-pan. The children come in, and sit down at the places Anne has already laid for them. 'Cornflakes, yuk,' says Martin. 'Oh, Jesus,' says Barbara, looking in the sink, 'I didn't know we dirtied all those plates last night. How did we do that?'

Blaj Alexandra

Malcolm Bradbury
 

Zilele trec, telefoanele suna si apoi vine luni 2 octombrie, ziua cand totul reincepe cu adevarat: prima zi din semestru, ziua petrecerii. Sotii Kirk se trezesc amandoi dis de dimineata. Se imbraca, aranjeaza patul, coboara la parter. Peretii bucatariei sunt imbracati in lemn de pin. Ploaia se prelinge pe geam, camera e slab luminata. In bucatarie Anne Petty, imbracata cu un capot alb-galbui de bumbac, sta langa plita si prajeste un ou.
- Cum de te-ai trezit asa devrme? intreaba ea.
- Mergem la cumparaturi, raspunde Barbara. Pentru petrecere.
Howard se indreapta spre toaster si impinge niste felii de paine inauntru; Barbara scoate cutia cu oua din frigider. Howard apasa botonul de la toaster; Barbara sparge cateva oua si le varsa in tigaie. Copii intra si se aseaza la locurile pregatite de Anne.
- Cereale, ce sarbos, Martin se stramba.
- Dumnezeule, exclama Barbara, uitandu-se in chiuveta. Nu mi-am inchipuit ca am murdarit atatea farfurii aseara. Cum am reusit asta?