Endless Night / Бесконечная ночь. Книга для чтения на английском языке

�Ah,’ said my mother, �as usual, eh?’

�As usual,’ I agreed.

�How many jobs have you had since I saw you last?’

I thought a minute. �Five,’ I said.

�I wish you’d grow up.’

�I’m fully adult,’ I said. �I have chosen my way of life. How have things been with you?’ I added.

�Also as usual,’ said my mother.

�Quite well and all that?’

�I’ve no time to waste being ill,’ said my mother. Then she said abruptly, �What have you come for?’

�Should I have come for anything in particular?’

�You usually do.

�I don’t see why you should disapprove so strongly of my seeing the world,’ I said.

�Driving luxurious cars all over the Continent! Is that your idea of seeing the world?’

�Certainly.’

�You won’t make much of a success in that. Not if you throw up the job at a day’s notice[26 - day’s notice – предупреждение за день] and go sick, dumping your clients in some heathen town.

�How did you know about that?’

�Your firm rang up. They wanted to know if I knew your address.’

�What did they want me for?’

�They wanted to re-employ you I suppose,’ said my mother. �I can’t think why.’

�Because I’m a good driver and the clients like me. Anyway, I couldn’t help it if I went sick, could I?’

�I don’t know,’ said my mother.

Her view clearly was that I could have helped it.

�Why didn’t you report to them when you got back to England?’

�Because I had other fish to fry,’ I said.

She raised her eyebrows. �More notions in your head? More wild ideas? What jobs have you been doing since?’

�Petrol pump. Mechanic in a garage. Temporary clerk, washer-up in a sleazy night-club restaurant.’

�Going down the hill in fact,’ said my mother with a kind of grim satisfaction.

�Not at all,’ I said.

She sighed. �What would you like, tea or coffee? I’ve got both.’

I plumped for coffee. I’ve grown out of the tea-drinking habit. We sat there with our cups in front of us and she took a home-made cake out of a tin and cut us each a slice.

�You’re different,’ she said, suddenly.

�Me, how?’

�I don’t know, but you’re different. What’s happened?’

�Nothing’s happened.