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Authors: Olaf Olafsson
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bookkeeping.
I haven’t told you yet that the first thing I saw when the ship docked was
Nuna. She waved and yelled, “Disa, are you back?” And dashed over to me
as soon as I came ashore.
“You’ve lost weight over the summer,” she said. “You’re almost unrecognizable.”
Since then I’ve heard the same thing from several other people. This
evening I’ll be able to pick up the hat that’s being altered. Joka went over to
Hafnarfjordur to buy us slippers. Apparently, you can get really good shoes in
Hafnarfjordur.
Anyway, I can’t think of anything else at the moment. Do give my love to
the girls.
Love from,
Your daughter Disa
P.S. It’s true that I’ve started helping out in the kitchen at Hotel Borg. I
completely forgot to tell you when I last wrote. I had a stroke of luck as Mrs.
Olsen knows the chef, Mr. Sivertsen, who offered me work on Friday and Saturday evenings. I know I’m going to learn a lot from him. Last weekend fish
soup and steak were on the menu. This Saturday there’s a banquet for some
Danish officials who are on a visit here in town. Sivertsen is going to cook
goose for them, with ptarmigan broth for the starter. I can’t wait.
You mustn’t worry about this affecting my studies. Most of the other girls
spend Friday and Saturday evenings at the cinema or skating.
8
I didn’t sleep a wink the night after little Marilyn left. Around midnight a storm blew up and the branches of the ancient poplar rapped against the gable of the house while the rain lashed my window. The poplar had always given me the impression that it was kindly disposed toward me, often seeming to acknowledge me when I was out for a walk, as if it knew me. All kinds of birds perched in its boughs and one summer I remember there being as many as three nests at once. The community was surprisingly a harmonious one. But now as the tree beat relentlessly against the house, I was filled with unease, for it suddenly felt as if someone was in desperate need of my help.
There had been a coolness between Marilyn and me ever since our talk in the conservatory and as I lay awake I began to wonder whether I had been unjust to her. Had I reacted out of jealousy? I asked myself. Was I inconsiderate to her? Should I have congratulated her instead of trying to make her see that what she thought was love would only bring her unhappiness in the long run? I sat up in bed and asked myself again: was there something else behind my words which I couldn’t put my finger on?
I tried to keep calm but the noise of the storm frightened me and I thought I saw lightning flicker in the gap between the curtains. Shortly afterward I heard a distant clap of thunder. I resolved to think over the chain of events objectively as if I had been a bystander, uninvolved. I came to the same conclusion as before: that my reaction had above all been motivated by concern for her, though I couldn’t hide the fact that I might also have been thinking of myself. She had been closer to me than almost anyone else, and I couldn’t contemplate how I would manage without her. I had taken care of her as if she was my own daughter. Which is why I felt she had been so inconsiderate to spring such a decision on me out of the blue.
No, there was no doubt that she had let me down, and I made sure she was aware of the fact, deliberately saying to Sean Truelove in her hearing: “Some people think about no one but themselves.”
Shortly afterward she offered to stay longer. I turned down her offer, saying I didn’t want to cause her any further inconvenience.
All things considered, I believe I treated her honorably, though I might have been a bit sharp on a couple of occasions. I really do believe that it was with her welfare in mind that I reacted as I did. At least, I hope so.
So passed the night after her departure. Toward morning the wind dropped and at daybreak I put on my dressing gown and opened the window. I was exhausted but the breeze was too warm to
I haven’t told you yet that the first thing I saw when the ship docked was
Nuna. She waved and yelled, “Disa, are you back?” And dashed over to me
as soon as I came ashore.
“You’ve lost weight over the summer,” she said. “You’re almost unrecognizable.”
Since then I’ve heard the same thing from several other people. This
evening I’ll be able to pick up the hat that’s being altered. Joka went over to
Hafnarfjordur to buy us slippers. Apparently, you can get really good shoes in
Hafnarfjordur.
Anyway, I can’t think of anything else at the moment. Do give my love to
the girls.
Love from,
Your daughter Disa
P.S. It’s true that I’ve started helping out in the kitchen at Hotel Borg. I
completely forgot to tell you when I last wrote. I had a stroke of luck as Mrs.
Olsen knows the chef, Mr. Sivertsen, who offered me work on Friday and Saturday evenings. I know I’m going to learn a lot from him. Last weekend fish
soup and steak were on the menu. This Saturday there’s a banquet for some
Danish officials who are on a visit here in town. Sivertsen is going to cook
goose for them, with ptarmigan broth for the starter. I can’t wait.
You mustn’t worry about this affecting my studies. Most of the other girls
spend Friday and Saturday evenings at the cinema or skating.
8
I didn’t sleep a wink the night after little Marilyn left. Around midnight a storm blew up and the branches of the ancient poplar rapped against the gable of the house while the rain lashed my window. The poplar had always given me the impression that it was kindly disposed toward me, often seeming to acknowledge me when I was out for a walk, as if it knew me. All kinds of birds perched in its boughs and one summer I remember there being as many as three nests at once. The community was surprisingly a harmonious one. But now as the tree beat relentlessly against the house, I was filled with unease, for it suddenly felt as if someone was in desperate need of my help.
There had been a coolness between Marilyn and me ever since our talk in the conservatory and as I lay awake I began to wonder whether I had been unjust to her. Had I reacted out of jealousy? I asked myself. Was I inconsiderate to her? Should I have congratulated her instead of trying to make her see that what she thought was love would only bring her unhappiness in the long run? I sat up in bed and asked myself again: was there something else behind my words which I couldn’t put my finger on?
I tried to keep calm but the noise of the storm frightened me and I thought I saw lightning flicker in the gap between the curtains. Shortly afterward I heard a distant clap of thunder. I resolved to think over the chain of events objectively as if I had been a bystander, uninvolved. I came to the same conclusion as before: that my reaction had above all been motivated by concern for her, though I couldn’t hide the fact that I might also have been thinking of myself. She had been closer to me than almost anyone else, and I couldn’t contemplate how I would manage without her. I had taken care of her as if she was my own daughter. Which is why I felt she had been so inconsiderate to spring such a decision on me out of the blue.
No, there was no doubt that she had let me down, and I made sure she was aware of the fact, deliberately saying to Sean Truelove in her hearing: “Some people think about no one but themselves.”
Shortly afterward she offered to stay longer. I turned down her offer, saying I didn’t want to cause her any further inconvenience.
All things considered, I believe I treated her honorably, though I might have been a bit sharp on a couple of occasions. I really do believe that it was with her welfare in mind that I reacted as I did. At least, I hope so.
So passed the night after her departure. Toward morning the wind dropped and at daybreak I put on my dressing gown and opened the window. I was exhausted but the breeze was too warm to
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