22 Britannia Road - Amanda Hodgkinson [43]
‘Hello, Dad.’
‘Peter, what are you wearing?’
‘I got wet. These are Eric’s clothes. He lent them to me.’
They are so obviously small for him that Silvana wants to apologize for making the boy look ridiculous. ‘Not Eric,’ she says. ‘Aurek.’
‘Well,’ says Tony. ‘We must make sure you give them back to him. Peter, what am I to do with you? Why are you getting other boys into trouble?’
‘Oh, no,’ says Silvana, climbing the stairs slightly to give herself a better vantage point to look at them all. ‘Don’t be angry with Peter. Aurek doesn’t like school either.’
‘He’s my friend,’ says Peter.
Silvana likes the boy suddenly. If he is a friend to Aurek then he is a friend to her. No matter that he is a child with no obvious graces.
‘I blame myself for his misbehaviour,’ says Tony. He addresses her as if they are alone. ‘I never liked school and I have always told Peter that. It’s my own mistake.’
Silvana suddenly remembers she has not offered him something to drink. Janusz would think this unforgivable. What should it be, tea or sherry?
‘But I must make you tea.’
She takes a hurried step down, misjudges the stair and swings into mid-air, falling forwards. Peter’s father catches her.
He has strong arms, this man. She can smell the lemony scent of him. Clean and soapy. What on earth is she thinking? His cheek shows a shadow of dark stubble. Dashing. She read that word on a cinema poster just the other day.
This man is dashing.
He carries on talking, setting her upright, ignoring her excuses and discomfort, as if women always fall into his arms, telling her how he breeds canaries and owns a pet shop.
Not an opera singer then.
‘No, it’s very kind of you but we mustn’t take up any more of your time,’ says Tony. ‘I must say, it has been a real pleasure to talk to you, Mrs …’
‘Please, my name is Silvana.’
‘Silvana. What a beautiful name. And I will make sure Peter brings back the clothes you’ve lent him.’
As Silvana and Aurek walk them to their car, Janusz appears, walking up the hill, back from work, a newspaper and his dictionary under his arm, his face grimed with oil and dirt.
‘This is my husband,’ she says, glad to see Janusz’s welcoming smile. She feels exhausted by Peter’s father and all his talk, exhausted by her own girlish reaction to him earlier. She wants her husband beside her. He knows how to talk to people. She has long ago lost the skill.
‘What a view you have up here,’ Tony says to Janusz after they shake hands. ‘I’ve always liked this terrace. I know a couple who live in the street, the Holborns?’
‘Doris and Gilbert? The Holborns are our neighbours,’ says Janusz. ‘Yes, we know them very well.’ He sounds proud. ‘Everybody keeps to themselves here, you know how it is. But the Holborns are very friendly.’
‘I should call in on them again. I haven’t seen Gilbert in ages. If you see them, say hello from me. Tell them if there’s anything they need they can give me a call.’
Janusz doesn’t get angry with Aurek that night. Nobody mentions the truancy. Instead Janusz says he is pleased Aurek has found a friend.
‘A black Wolseley? That’s a lovely car to own. I wouldn’t mind a car of my own. Hey, Aurek? That’s what we’ll get one day, and I can drive you out to the woods to play.’
Silvana remembers Janusz as a young man, always mad about cars. It reminds her of who they both once were. He hasn’t changed. She feels something move within her, as though someone has put his hand on her heart and squeezed it. It is love. Not just gratitude but real love.
‘You look different,’ he says.
‘Do I?’
‘Yes. There’s something about you today.’
She laughs, a womanly sound. She can feel a warmth inside her, as if the sun has been shining on her. Janusz puts his arms around her waist and kisses her. She closes her eyes and breathes in the scent of his skin. It takes her