When I was a student, I had a summer job as a home help for the elderly
+
elderly:
ancianos
. It was nothing medical; I just provided a bit of cheerful
+
cheerful:
alegre
conversation to keep them company. They loved to talk and I learned a lot of local history. Sometimes I made notes. It was my dream to write a novel one day, and I thought that all these anecdotes might provide useful material.
I heard the best stories from Mrs. B. The widow of a magistrate, she had done a lot of charitable work. In fact, she was considered a local celebrity and I was quite nervous the first time I walked up the drive
+
drive:
entrada
of her large old house. Her son, Hector, opened the door. Tall and balding
+
balding:
que se está quedando calvo
, with long melancholic features
+
features:
rasgos
, he shook my hand
+
to shake hands: :
estrechar la mano
and led
+
to lead::
guiar
me to his mother’s room.
“There won’t be much for you to do,’ he said. ‘Mother is quite near the end. You can read her some poems. My late
+
late:
difunto
father was a published poet, you know.’
Mrs. B was fast asleep
+
fast asleep:
profundamente dormida
. She was a tiny
+
tiny:
diminuta
creature, an assortment
+
assortment:
surtido
of bones loosely held together by a membrane of transparent skin. I’d never seen anyone alive look so skeletal.
“Shall I read to her, then?”
Hector nodded
+
to nod::
asentir
and indicated an old book with a well-worn
+
well-worn:
muy deteriorada
cover on the bedside table. “My father’s first published collection.”
Feeling self-conscious
+
self-conscious:
cohibida
, I began to read aloud. It was heavy, sombre stuff. Hector silently left the room; seconds later I saw him walking down the drive.
“Has he gone?”
I spun round
+
to spin round::
darse la vuelta, girarse
, and the book fell to the floor. Mrs. B was peering
+
to peer: :
mirar detenidamente
at me with bright, bird-like eyes.
“Yes, he has.”
“Thank the Lord. You haven’t got a cigarette, have you?”
Her voice sounded thick
+
thick :
spessa
in her toothless
+
toothless:
sin dientes
mouth. When I realised what she wanted, I shook
+
to shake: :
sacudir
my head wordlessly
+
wordlessly:
sin hablar
. She rolled her eyes
+
to roll one’s eyes::
poner los ojos en blanco
and ordered me to help her sit up
+
to sit up:
incorporarse
; she was light as a child.
“Pass my teeth, will you?” She pointed to a glass containing her dentures. I handed
+
to hand::
entregar
it to her then bent down
+
to bend down: :
agacharse
to retrieve
+
to retrieve::
recoger
the book of poems.
“Leave it there, dear. It’s appalling rubbish
+
appalling rubbish:
basura horrenda
.” Her voice was much clearer with her teeth in. “What’s your name?”
I introduced myself and explained that I was from the agency.
“Very good,” she said. “Now fetch
+
to fetch:
traer
me the wooden box in the bottom of that drawer
+
drawer:
cajón
over there.”
The first box I found was quite large. It was antique and made beautifully-inlaid
+
inlaid:
con incrustaciones
wood.
“Is it this one? I think it’s locked
+
locked:
cerrada con llave
.”
“No, not that one,” she said sharply
+
sharply:
bruscamente
.” That one’s got my diaries in it. You hadn’t better read those!” She giggled
+
to giggle:
reírse
girlishly. “Look further back
+
further back:
más atrás
.”
A smaller box was hidden under some clothes. It contained a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.
“The cleaner keeps me supplied
+
to supply:
proveer
,” she confided
+
to confide:
hacer una confidencia
. “Open the window, will you? If Hector smells smoke, he’ll blame
+
to blame:
culpar
you! Now, shall we watch Love Island?”
I enjoyed my chats with Mrs. B and I think she liked to shock me. Married to Hector’s father for forty years, she had travelled all over the world, enjoying tempestuous love affairs along the way
+
along the way:
por el camino
. And she remembered them all!
She loved to reminisce
+
to reminisce:
rememorar
about André, Paris 1948, Harvey, New York 1956 and Christos, summer in Crete, 1969, to mention just a few. Every time I replaced
+
to replace:
devolver a su lugar
the box with cigarettes in the bottom drawer and caught sight of the larger inlaid box, I yearned
+
to yearn :
anhelar
to know what was in Mrs. B’s diaries. Here indeed
+
indeed:
ciertamente
was material for a novel.
Mrs. B snorted
+
to snort::
resoplar
with laughter
+
laughter:
carcajadas
when I told her I wanted to be a novelist and I think she guessed
+
to guess:
adivinar
why I encouraged her to talk about her past. She had a bird-like way of putting her head on one side, her eyes twinkling
+
to twinkle::
brillar
. On one of my last visits, she pressed a small brass key
+
brass key:
llave de latón
into my hand. “Keep that safe,” she whispered
+
to whisper::
susurrar
, a conspiratorial gleam
+
gleam:
brillo
in her eye. “It’s my little gift to you; something to remember me by.” I guessed what the key was for and the idea filled me with anticipation.
After I returned to university that autumn, I received the sad news that Mrs. B had passed away
+
to pass away: :
fallecer
. My mother sent me a link to an article in the local newspaper. The headline read: “Local Benefactress Dies”.
When I went home for Christmas, the agency called me in and handed me a package, which they said had been left to me by Mrs. B. I rushed
+
to rush::
correr, darse prisa
home to open it and, sure enough, inside was the antique inlaid box. The small brass key she had given me fitted
+
to fit::
encajar, caber
the lock perfectly. I opened the box slowly, savouring the moment. Now I would learn all about Mrs. B’s fascinating life.
A single book with a well-worn cover lay
+
to lie::
yacer
at the bottom. It was her husband’s first collection of poems. The old girl had tricked
+
to trick::
engañar
me. At first I was bitterly
+
bitterly:
amargamente
disappointed, but then I smiled, thinking of her girlish laugh. Who was I to be the custodian of her deepest secrets? One thing was certain: I would never forget her.
