Reparation
Page 33
He’s teasing her and she’s lying there on her back having her tummy tickled. In the metaphorical sense. Hugo sets up his music stand in the middle of the kitchen, playing a ravishing mazurka, with Mutti singing along and conducting as she scatters dill over the cucumber salad in time to the music.
“The auction’s next Wednesday,” I say. “Are you coming down to London?”
“Of course,” she replies. “I wear my mink.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, sweeping in dressed to kill and ending up disappointed. You know what the lady at Sotheby’s said. It’s impossible to predict what kind of price we are going to get for any of them.”
“I don’t care. Maybe I don’t sell after all. I have paintings all around the house. I make special artistic B&B with priceless art collection.” She flourishes the salad server around her head in time to the music.
One painting has been hung in pride of place in the dining room. It’s not going to the auction – an oil painting of a beautiful young woman in a red silk dress, playing the violin. A portrait of a young Mutti. It watches over us as we eat dinner.
Hugo eats with enthusiasm, complimenting each dish. For Mutti, that would be reward enough. But, to my astonishment, he appears able to discuss the finer points of Hungarian cuisine. That’s something even Dad wasn’t up to. He wonders if Mutti favours the sweet paprika or the strong one for a gulyas. What is her view of caraway seeds? She glows, as I have never seen her glow before.
For dessert, Mutti carves out three generous tranches of apricot kuchen. Through the ripples in Hugo’s beard, I discern a look of satisfied anticipation. She dollops a heavy spoonful of schlagsahne on top of one piece, and hands it to him. She cuts another slice, sinking the silver ladle back into the cream and scoops it up. As it is poised over the cake, she turns to me.
“So,” she says. “How’s Jonathan?”
“He’s fine,” I reply. “Jon’s fine.” And you know what? It’s not code for anything.
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First published in 2019 by Honno Press,
‘Ailsa Craig’, Heol y Cawl, Dinas Powys,
Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, CF64 4AH
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Copyright: Gaby Koppel © 2019
The right of Gaby Koppel to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
The Author would like to stress that this is a work of fiction and no resemblance to any actual individual or institution is intended or implied. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Published with the financial support of the Welsh Books Council.
ISBN 978-1-909983-84-7 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-909983-85-4 (ebook)
Cover design: Sue Race
Cover image: © Digalakis Photography/Shutterstock Inc.
Text design: Elaine Sharples
Printed in Great Britain by 4edge