The Notebook + The Proof + The Third Lie by Agota Kristof Read Free Book Online Page A

seat, but they're all dirty and torn. Grandmother never washes them."
    "The Witch is your grandmother? Wonders never cease!"
    Grandmother comes back with two sacks:
    "That'll be ten silver coins or one gold coin. I don't take bills. They'll soon be worth nothing at all, they're just paper."
    The housekeeper asks:
    "What's in the sacks?"
    Grandmother answers:
    "Food. Take it or leave it."
    "I'll take it. I'll bring you the money tomorrow. Can the boys help me carry the sacks?"
    "They can if they want to. They don't always want to. They don't obey anybody."
    The housekeeper asks us:
    "You will do that for me, won't you? You'll each carry a sack, and I'll carry your suitcases."
    Grandmother asks:
    "What's all this about suitcases?"
    "I'm going to wash their dirty clothes. I'll bring them back tomorrow with the money."
    Grandmother sniggers:
    "Wash their clothes? Well, if you've got nothing better to do . . ."
    We go off with the housekeeper. We follow her to the priest's house. We see her two blond braids dancing over her black shawl, two long, thick braids. They reach down to her waist. Her hips dance under her red skirt. We can just see a bit of her legs between the skirt and her boots. Her stockings are black, and the one on the right has a run.
     
     

The Bath
    We arrive at the priest's house with the housekeeper. She lets us in by the back door. We put the sacks down in the larder and go to the washhouse. There are lots of ropes stretched across the room to hold the washing. There are receptacles of every kind, including a zinc bathtub of odd shape, like a deep armchair.
    The housekeeper opens our suitcases, puts our clothes in cold water to soak, then starts a fire to heat water in two big cauldrons. She says:
    "I'll wash what you need for now right away. While you're bathing, it will dry. I'll bring you the other clothes tomorrow or the day after. They also need mending."
    She pours hot water into the bathtub; she adds cold water to it:
    "Well, who's first?"
    We don't move. She says:
    "Who's it going to be, you or you? Come on, get undressed!"
    We ask:
    "Are you going to stay here while we bathe?"
    She laughs very loudly:
    "What! Of course I'm going to stay here! I'll even rub your backs and wash your hair. You're not going to be embarrassed in front of me, are you? I'm almost old enough to be your mother."
    We still don't move. So she starts to undress:
    "Oh, well. Then I'll go first. You see, I'm not embarrassed to undress in front of you. You're only little boys."
    She hums to herself, but her face goes red when she realizes we're staring at her. She has taut, pointed breasts like overinflated balloons. Her skin is very white, and she has a lot of blond hair everywhere. Not only between her legs and under her arms, but also on her belly and thighs. She goes on singing in the water, rubbing herself with a washcloth. When she gets out of the bath, she quickly slips into a robe. She changes the water in the tub and starts to do the washing with her back turned to us. Then we get undressed and get into the tub together. There's plenty of room for both of us.
    After a while, the housekeeper hands us two large white towels:
    "I hope you scrubbed yourselves well all over."
    We sit down on a bench, wrapped up in our towels, waiting for our clothes to dry. The washhouse is full of steam and very warm. The housekeeper comes over with a pair of scissors:
    "Now I'm going to cut your nails. And stop making a fuss; I won't eat you."
    She cuts our fingernails and our toenails. She also cuts our hair. She kisses us on the face and on the neck; and she never stops talking:
    "Oh! What pretty little feet, how sweet they are, all clean now! Oh! What adorable ears, what a soft, soft neck! Oh! How I'd love to have two pretty, handsome little boys like you all to myself! I'd tickle them all over, all over, all over."
    She strokes and kisses our whole bodies. She tickles us with her tongue on our necks, under our arms, between our buttocks.