LITMIR.BIZ

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house.

      – Fine! I might actually better lie down. I’ll now write you a list of the necessary props for the performance, and it is advisable to buy it all today, since tomorrow I plan to hold another rehearsal.

      – Tomorrow is a day off!

      – I’ll ask Chuck to call the sound engineer, lighting engineer and other workers, I want to go through all the material.

      – Fine. I hope that by tomorrow you will feel much better, and if your condition remains the same, then you should remain in bed for a few more days.

      “I assure you that I will be completely fine,” Mr. Gould said smiling and added: “There is money on the nightstand.” Take as much as you need.

      – I have. Let me buy everything I need, and then you give it to me.

      “I don’t understand how you still have anything left from the meager salary you receive in the theater.”

      – This is art. We are artists and must be good at our craft,” Julie joked.

      – So, take the money and don’t argue with your director! – Mr. Gould pointed to a low old cabinet by the door. “Otherwise, my stress may cause my blood pressure to rise even higher, although, in my opinion, it can’t go any further.”

      – You always knew how to work with actors and make them do it the way you wanted.

      They laughed.

      Miss Blunt went to the flea market, located four blocks from Mr. Gould’s house, admiring the old streets and squares along the way. Approaching the place, Julie saw only two rows where merchants were offering old things, coins and other goods of the same kind. Having purchased everything she needed, she was about to leave the market, but, passing by an elderly woman selling paintings, she stopped. Julie’s attention was drawn to three unrolled, unframed canvases.

      She was interested in painting and had long been planning to decorate the walls of her apartment with it. Why not start making your dreams come true now? Julie moved closer to get a better look at the canvases. The woman noticed her interest:

      – Hello, miss. Which one did you like? If you take all three, I’ll give you a discount.

      But Julie was looking at the canvases so intently that she didn’t even hear her. She slowly looked from one picture to another, studying them. The first, entitled “Bear,” dated 1929, depicts a clear morning in the forest and a bear chasing someone. The second painting, called “Pisces,” captured the day and the sun’s rays passing through the water. Two fish frolicked in the transparent waves. This painting was dated 1932. The third, from 1939, called “Owl,” depicted a sunset. The sun was gradually setting behind the horizon, the dense forest was green, and an owl was sitting on a tree branch…

      Having once again carefully examined the paintings, without listening to what their owner was saying, Julie asked:

      – Who is author?

      Unfolding the picture and squinting, the woman read syllable by syllable: “Josef Schwarz, Mainz.”

      – You sell paintings and don’t even know whose they are? – the actress was surprised.

      “I’m far from painting, I’m a simple milkmaid…” the woman answered, as if justifying herself. “My father died last month, and when I was sorting out old things in the attic, I saw these pictures. He hid them from the authorities.

      – Which authorities?

      Ignoring the question, the saleswoman continued:

      – He brought them from Germany after the war. There was also a watch and a German officer’s flask. Take these three paintings, the watch and the flask, all for a hundred pounds…

      “I don’t need a watch and a flask, especially a German officer,” Julie answered. – I only want these paintings. How much are you asking?

      After thinking, the elderly woman said:

      – Sixty pounds.

      Miss Blunt did not bargain. Having paid the required amount, she rolled up the canvases and carefully placed them in a bag along with her other purchases.

      At home after dinner, she repeated the role, and then took out the purchased paintings from the closet. Laying them out on the table and pressing the edges with books to prevent them from curling up again, Julie began to look at the painting with even greater attention. She could not understand why she liked these pictures so much. The earliest one had the inscription: “Mainz, Germany, 1929.” Carefully folding the other two, Julie moved the bear canvas to the center of the table, pressed the books into the corners, and began studying again. The clock showed midnight when Julie, impressed by the picture, went to bed.

      MAINZ, GERMANY, NOVEMBER 13, 1929

      – Josef, why don’t you dance, but sit and be sad on such an important day for me? Your best friend is getting married today! – said a man of about thirty, patting a friend on the back sitting at one of the tables in a luxurious restaurant.

      “Klaus, I’m not in the mood for dancing right now.” “I must have fallen in love,” the thin young man answered thoughtfully.

      – What got into you? asked the groom, dressed in an expensive white suit with a red bow tie. – Let’s go have fun!

      – I’m quite serious. Tell me please, who is this beautiful girl?

      – Which? – not understanding who exactly we were talking about, Klaus asked.

      “A slender brunette with big eyes, sitting alone over there,” Josef nodded towards the table against the wall.

      Looking in the indicated direction, Klaus saw his young wife’s childhood friend.

      – This is Leah. She works as a teacher at school. By the way, she’s Jewish, like you… but you’d better forget about her, since she’s not alone here.

      – And with whom?

      – With Paul. He must have gone out somewhere. Although he usually doesn’t leave her side for a second. A terrible bore… By the way, they are going to get married soon, so look for other girls to meet. Do you see how many of them there are?

      “Tell me about Leah,” Josef asked.

      Sitting down next to him, Klaus Nolde poured a glass of water to quench his thirst and at least take a little break from dancing, and said:

      – She moved to Mainz with her parents in early childhood, I can also say that she does not like noisy companies and prefers a quiet pastime.

      – Who is this Paul?

      “I met him at Leah’s twenty-fifth birthday, where Tilda and I were invited back in the spring, and since then I’ve been avoiding him. – Looking around and making sure that none of the guests of the celebration could hear him, Klaus continued: – Paul is a mathematics teacher at the school where Leah works. It is simply impossible to be in his company: he constantly lectures her, finds fault with everything, even the little things. It comes to the point that he teaches how to behave, how to stand, how to sit, even how to pour water into a glass… But since Leah endures all this, it means he suits her. So find yourself another girl. You are unlikely to meet another Leah at a German wedding, but there are plenty of beautiful girls here…

      – I want to meet her. I will never forgive myself if I don’t do this… Klaus, my friend, you understand: this girl is exactly my type. Calm, beautiful, gentle, with good manners and also a teacher. She will be a wonderful wife and mother. Do you agree?

      – Josef, I now understand why you and I have been friends for so many years. The thing is, we like different girls,’ Klaus smiled. ‘Even at the university, we always chose different ones and never conflicted on this issue. I’ll tell you straight, Leah is not my type: I like more

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