“Mummy, it’s so good that you’ve arrived! I have been missing you a lot! I even dreamt of you at night, and cried a little!”
Margot gained back her breathe and hugged the boy even harder.
“Mummy, what if you take me with you? You know what happened? I fought with big boys yesterday!”
“Wait for a little while more, darling, and I’ll take you with me, I promise. Now, let’s take a walk in the town and have our breakfast there, if you don’t mind.”
“How nice, Mummy! I’ll go and ask Madam Annette if I may go with you.”
Margot laughed. “Of course you may, darling. I am your mother.”
They walked in the streets for a while. The streets were covered with the autumn leaves of different colours.
They entered a little café, had their breakfast there, and continued to walk.
“Mummy, I’ll buy a nice house for you when I grow up, and we shall always stay together.”
Margot took the child in her hands, kissed him, and wiped her tears.
Now they were walking in the park. It was a bit cool there. Several snow-white swans were swimming in the manmade pool.
“You know, Mom, some of the kids are visited only by their mothers, and some others are visited only by their fathers. And several kids are not visited at all. Tell me, Mom, where is my Dad?” the child asked quite unexpectedly, looking straight into Margot’s eyes.
“Your Dad is far away, darling. His job takes him away. But he will arrive soon, and he will visit you by all means.”
“But I don’t know him. How can I recognize him?”
“You know him, darling. You simply don’t remember him. You will recognize him the moment you see him.”
That evening Margot went back by train and arrived in the city early in the morning. She slept nearly all day long. In the evening she went to her working place on the shore, near the hotel “Green Island”.
There were a lot of people in the street. The women were all in good mood. Most of them were walking up and down the street baldly. Some others were standing leaning against the wall. Many of them hated Margot. They might simply be jealous, for Margot was really very beautiful. Sometimes the clients took women to other hotels. But the majority entered the “Green Island”.
***
Margot lived in the outskirts of the city. She shared a small flat with Lily. First she worked in a laundry, but her job was low-paid and the money she earned was not enough even to pay the rent and buy food. So she couldn’t see her child for several months. Her hands were always red and she walked stooping. She felt she was getting old too fast. But she was still very beautiful. She was tall, with chestnut-brown hair, pale brown eyes with a mysterious and passionate look.
She had a lot of friends in the laundry, but Lily was closest to her. Lily was the first to give up the laundress’s job and go to the “Green Island”. Margot followed in her steps a bit later.
At first it was very hard for her to get used to her new profession. She dreamt of the beautiful house almost every night. She lived in that house with her son, and she was knitting or embroidering all day long, for she had a lot of servants who did all the housework for her. Margot was fond of one more thing – reading. She could read anything, especially love stories. This was the way to beautify her miserable existence. Sometimes she stayed at home alone and read all day long. In the evening she had to listen to Lily nagging at her though:
“You don’t think about anything but yourself! How long are you going to work in the street? You must work as hard as you can to get rid of this nightmare!”
Margot smiled and, sank deep into her daydreams; she couldn’t even guess what Lily wanted of her. But these were rare cases. She always got back to the hotel. On the rainy days the hotel keeper let the girls enter the hall and take seats there. They were a real picture indeed – walking with cigarettes and glasses of wine in the right side of the foyer. Some were sitting in the armchairs as if being models for painters. All were in good mood, and pretended to be proud of themselves too.
But they were quite happy in one respect – after a hard night’s work they could sleep till late afternoon, and in the evening, dressed up and covered with a heavy make up, they walked up and down the crowded street in short skirts, holding long cigarette holders in their hands. All of them had their own place, so their walking area was somewhat limited, until some client called them. After that they felt free and could enter any hotel along the shore.
They were best delighted when some touring liner entered the port. They felt her class and the potential of the future clients at first sight. They hated the fishing boats. When the fishing boats entered the port, the streets were full of drunken sailors who had a lot of money but were rather impolite. They paid the girls generously, but were too rude with them. When the fishing boats came, one couldn’t find a single girl in the street.
The best girls went first, followed by the average, but in no time, all of them were engaged – every girl had a client of her feather. At such instances the tourists frequented the central quarters, for none were pleased to watch the rude and drunken ruffians. Neither the captains nor the other sailors of the higher ranks stayed at the seaside hotels. They, too, went downtown.
The drunken brawls and fights were pretty common. The hotel-keepers had to be very careful, especially the owners of the cheap hotels. In short, the ‘Bethlehem’ continued for a week. When the fishing boats left, the girls’ lives returned to their customary mould, a bit dull and indifferent, but their purses were full.
Margot kept her money in a bank on her and her boy’s accounts. It was only Lily who knew where to find Luke in case of necessity, and how to take money out of the bank.
Margo told Lily about the strange customer that night.
“Such a strange man was looking for you when you were away,” Lily said. “He didn’t want anybody else but you. He said he would be back three days later.
“I know,” Margot answered.
“How do you know? Who has told you?’
“Nobody. I simply felt it.”
Lily giggled.
“Now don’t get involved in a silly love affair, would you? Remember, you have to take the child out of the asylum as soon as you can, and get away from this damned place.”
***
“I have been looking for you for two days already!”
Margo turned round and saw the strange client standing by her side; the same man that impressed her so much.
“I was away.”
“I know. Shall we take a little walk? And in the evening I want to invite you to the café “Frigate”. They are playing live music there. Do you like jazz?”
“I do. But I rarely have an opportunity of listening to it.”
They have an excellent band there. We can take a cruise boat afterwards and taste their delicious cocktails.”
“I don’t now, really... I have to work.”
The stranger smiled. “I am a generous client, am I not?”
“Oh yes, you are. But why do you do it?”
“A pleasant passtime. Anyway, this was what I thought earlier. But our meetings became something more serious for me now.”
“What’s your name?” Margot asked in a whispering voice.
“Enrique De Silva.”
“I have heard this name before.”
“Makes no difference.”
“Enrique De Silva”, thought Margot. “Where do I know the name from?”
***
She came back at dawn, Lily was already fast asleep. She shut the door, lay on her bed undressed, and fell asleep immediately.
At noon Margot was woken up by some noise. Lily was getting breakfast ready. Margot stretched and sat up on the bed. She was smiling and her eyes were beaming with joy.
“What’s up? You are in a very good mood this morning,” Lily said, putting a big pan with an omelet on the table, “Let’s have our breakfast.”
“Or supper, to be more precise?” Margot said laughing.