Only the Strongest Survive (26 page)

“
I like it a
lot,” said Emely, who had never before lived in a private
apartment. “The furniture is in good condition and the walls look
freshly painted.”

Sally
shrugged. She was used to expensive furniture and spacious rooms,
but was aware that she couldn’t afford anything like
that.

“
The
bastard,” she said quietly, thinking of her father. Then she pulled
Emely’s sleeve, indicating she should stop praising the place since
this would make the owner think she could increase the rent. “And
what about the heating? Do the radiators work?” she said
quickly.

The owner
replied in a satisfied voice, “Of course they do. We changed them
only in July, so you’ll definitely not get cold.”

“And what about the rent?” Sally asked
next.

Emely stood there perfectly still, unfamiliar
with the real world. Until then, she had done nothing but pray and
listen to the nuns’ sermons. No one had taught her how to
negotiate.

“You pay a month in advance, two hundred and
sixty dollars a month.”

“
That’s too
much,” Sally said. She pulled Emely’s hand to indicate they were
leaving.

“The lowest I can offer is two hundred and
twenty.”

Emely and Sally smiled at each other and
nodded to say that they would take the apartment.

“
Oh, and what
about the bathroom?” Sally asked, suddenly remembering.

The owner nodded and opened a door to show
them a small room with a toilet in it.

“Great, that’s the toilet, but what about the
bathroom?”

The woman began shuffling from foot to
foot.

“
Signorina,
there’s no problem. You can have a wash in the kitchen. There’s hot
water and—”

Sally
understood immediately. “You’re trying to tell us there’s no
bathroom?”

“Well, no, but as I said, that shouldn’t be a
problem,” the owner said.

Sally looked
at Emely
, who was visibly disappointed.
For years she had been imagining her own bathroom. In the dorm at
her school she had to wash at the sink every day and only once a
week she was allowed to take a shower. She could only dream about
lying in a tub of hot water.

Sally thanked
the woman for showing them around and again took Emely’s hand. “The
apartment is very nice,” she said, trying to sound pleasant, “but a
bathroom means a lot to me personally.”

The owner
moved back, looking disgruntled. “Young people nowadays are so
spoiled. You want a luxury apartment for a few dollars a
month.”

“
But ….”
Emely said, unused to such outbursts.

“
No buts. The
more I offer, the worse it is. I’m surprised you didn’t ask if
there’s a Jacuzzi and perhaps even a garden.”

When Sally
saw the confused expression on Emely’s face as she looked at the
impudent woman, Sally could no longer help herself and burst out
laughing.

“And now you laugh. How rude!”

The woman
walked behind Emely, and Sally had a feeling she would grab her at
any moment.

“
Only
yesterday in a small room and today they want a huge apartment with
all the modern cons. No modesty
….”

“
Thank you
and goodbye,” Emely said when they were stepping out of the
apartment.

“
Thanks for
nothing,” the owner said.

Emely looked
back at the door that had slammed shut and then at Sally, whose
eyes were watering from all the laughter. Emely burst out laughing
as well. They laughed until their stomachs began to
hurt.

“And we nearly paid her in advance,” Sally
said.

*

Sally
leaned back and sighed. “Oh, to be young again.”
She sat up and asked in a calm voice, “Would you like another
drink, Robert? You don’t mind if we use first names, do
you?”

“Of course not, I was going to suggest it
myself, but thought it might not be appropriate,” Robert said.

He was a bit
dizzy but didn’t know whether it was from the whiskey or her
perfume. Sally took another sip and went back to the
past.

*

They needed
over an hour to find the location.
This
was the fifth apartment they had come to see.

“
My husband
and I didn’t really intend to rent out the apartment,” the thin
woman said in a refined voice. “In four years our son will be old
enough to move in. I personally don’t trust strangers. You know,
you often hear how people get strangers into their property and
then can’t get rid of them.”

“Yes, I know what you mean,” Emely said,
trying to be nice.

Sally was
inspecting the place. It was the one she liked the most so far. The
small, yellow-and-blue kitchen, next to the entrance, was modern. A
long hall led to two large rooms. What she particularly liked were
the tall windows that let in a great deal of light.

“My sister-in-law rented an apartment to a
young couple. Three years later they had kids. When she decided not
to extend their contract, the young family refused to move out. She
asked the police to help her, but they were unable to. It took
another four years to get what she wanted in court. See what I
mean?”

“
Of course,
but you won’t have any problems with us,” Emely said. “I went to a
convent school and my friend Sally comes from a respectable
upper-class family.”

This obviously satisfied the woman and she
opened the bathroom door.

Sally and Emely were enthralled. It had tiles
from floor to ceiling and a large round mirror above the basin,
like the one Emely had dreamed of.

“
But on the
other hand, I agree with my husband that if the apartment is empty,
it makes sense to rent it out. Times are hard and every dollar is
welcome.” The owner looked at Emely. “You say you went to a convent
school?”

Emely turned
to the woman and smiled. “Yes, that’s right. I’ve spent my whole
life so far, there. My mother died at birth and I have never known
my father.”

The woman nodded and gestured with her hands
to say that she understood how things stood. Then she looked
directly into Emely’s eyes. “I’m sure you’ve been well brought up,
then.”

“God’s eyes are everywhere,” Emely said.

The owner smiled and it was obvious she had
taken to Emely.

If
only she knew all the tricks I played on the nuns,
Emely thought.

“
And you,
young lady?” the owner
asked, turning to
Sally.

“I come from a wealthy family. Because I
refused to do what my father wanted me to do, he threw me out.”

“Oh?” the woman said, obviously becoming less
trustful. “What did you do?”

“My father wanted me to help him manage his
company, but I wanted to go on studying art,” Sally lied.

“
Oh, you did
the right thing.” The woman looked visibly relieved. “A very good
decision. I’m an artist myself.”

She lifted
her head proudly and went on, smiling. “My husband made me a small
studio in the garage and when I feel particularly good I can make
beautiful pottery. Oh, you made the right decision. What could a
woman do in business?”

The landlady
no longer tried to hide her enthusiasm. She took Emely’s hand and
led her to the other end of the room. Sally followed them. Then the
woman opened a curtain behind which there was a wooden door that
separated the interior from the exterior. When the door was opened,
the view took their breath away. The medium-sized terrace was full
of lush plants: roses in vibrant colors with creepers wrapped
around their stems. Among the roses there were zinnias, the orange
color of which was simply astonishing. There were petunias,
orchids, and many other plants. The edges of the terrace were lined
with small cypresses, preventing neighbors from seeing
inside.

“Absolutely beautiful,” Emely said.

The owner put
her hands on her hips and looked on with pride. “I adore flowers.
Their beauty is something very special. I regret that we bought two
apartments instead of a house. If we had bought a house I could
have a proper garden and a greenhouse. But once you’re settled,
it’s difficult to move. You do understand, don’t you?”

“Yes, it is,” Sally and Emely said at
once.

“
Let’s sit
down in the kitchen. I’ll make you some coffee.” She closed the
door to the terrace after taking one more glance at her plants and
the sun, and closed the curtain.

“
The kitchen
is on the small side, but it does have a good stove, refrigerator,
microwave oven, and the necessary kitchenware,” the owner said
while opening cupboards and drawers.

Sally and Emely were satisfied.

“OK, I’ll make us some coffee and you two
have a break.”

Emely and
Sally were more than happy with the apartment, the only possible
problem being the rent. They had agreed they would be unable to pay
more than three hundred dollars a month.

“
So, my
dears,” the landlady said as she put the coffee on the table and
sat down, “what do you think?”

“
It’s very
nice,” Sally said. “But the question is, can we afford
it?”

“
I
understand.” The woman put one hand on her mouth and creased her
forehead. “Just tell me how much you’re willing to pay.”

“One hundred and fifty each would be the
maximum,” Emely said.

The woman put
her other hand on her mouth and took a deep breath. “Hmm. It’s not
much. My husband and I were hoping for at least four hundred a
month.”

Emely gulped down her coffee and got up.

“We’re very sorry, but four hundred is beyond
our budget.”

Sally kept sitting. She was surprised that
Emely was leading the conversation this time.

She was about
to interfere, when the woman said
, “Hold
your horses, don’t rush.” She looked at the window and frowned
again. “How about three hundred and fifty? Would you be able to
manage that?”

Emely looked down. “I’m very sorry, but three
hundred dollars really is the maximum we can afford. I personally
was in fact hoping to get away with one hundred each.”

She began walking to the door. Sally got
up.

“My husband really won’t be pleased,” the
woman said. “Let it be three hundred then, with a month’s payment
in advance.”

They both looked back and jumped with
joy.

“I’d rather rent to someone who is well
brought up than have problems later.”

As they were leaving, the woman was still
sitting there with her hands on her mouth. “My husband won’t be
very pleased,” she kept saying.

*

Sally rested
her head
against the chair and took a
deep breath. “Oh, those were the days.”

She closed
her eyes and when she opened them, she leaned over toward Robert in
such a way that she touched him with her right shoulder.

He
said,
“You tell a good story. Has anyone
said this to you?”

She thanked him with her eyes.

“
But what I’d
really like to hear is something from her business and love life.
How did she start, for example?”

Sally lit
another cigarette. “Her first proper job was with a stockbroking
company. The work interested her very much and she was there from
morning to night. She began as a secretary ….”

*

“Emely, I’d really like you to go home
now.”

“Of course, boss.”

It was seven in the evening.

She stretched
her neck and yawned discreetly. “I’d like to finish these
contracts.”

“As you wish. But it’s late. Promise me you
won’t stay more than half an hour.”

“Yes, I promise.” But she knew she would not
keep her promise. What was there to do at home? “Just a few more
minutes,” she said.

When she put
the last papers on the corner of her desk, it was past nine
o’clock. She yawned once more and left within three
minutes.

“
Finally
you’re home,” Sally said as Emely closed the door. “I’ve been
bored. Shall we go and get something to eat?”

“
You know I
haven’t got any money. Besides, you haven’t given me back what you
borrowed last month.”

“
Don’t be
difficult, you know I always give it back to you. What if we only
went for a snack?”

Emely thought
for a few seconds. “OK.”

Sally was
pleased to have met Emely. Even though they only saw each other in
the evenings, they were almost inseparable and often went out
together.

“
I enrolled
at college during my break today,” Emely said while applying her
makeup in the bathroom.

“What? You’re going to college? Are you
serious?”

“Yeah. I asked at work if they were willing
to pay the fees and they said yes.”

“But how will you manage, you’re always at
work,” Sally shouted, her doubts clear in her voice.

“I’ll study in the morning before I go to
work. I know I can manage.”

“If you say so.”

Sally knew she was serious. When Emely
decided something, she carried it through. Sally had never met such
a stubborn and persistent woman.

“
I’ll tell
you a secret,” Emely said. “I’d like to buy and sell shares. I
don’t want to be a secretary forever.”