I know, she said almost without any trace of anger, instead, her voice took on a hint of pity, I know that very well… nobody has time for anything, everyone is busy with their own business…
Not everyone, he interrupted her.
You don’t have to remind me of that as if I don’t know that myself… but anyway, everyone has something more important…
We should get used to it; the man stroked her hand gently.
I’m getting used to it for quite a while.
She bent down and only now picked up the book and the fallen part of the blanket from the floor, covered her husband’s knees, and put the newspaper aside, there was no point in returning to something that should be forgotten as soon as possible, they had allowed themselves to be tricked, an easy target of fraudsters who are the majority nowadays.
He will try to forget, he has no other option left.
She pulled the chair towards the armchair and sat down.
Did you measure your temperature this afternoon, she asked him a little later and tried to remove the last grain of reproach from her voice.
He shook his head; I don’t think I should, as it seems to me…
What does that mean – it seems to me… yesterday you had almost forty degrees, at our age you must not play with that.
At our age, he scoffed mildly.
Well, at our age, that’s what it’s all about, the age above all…
She saw the image before her eyes again when they rang the bell and Wojto went to the gate when she noticed the three unknown men in dirty work clothes and work jackets, she also went towards them, but then the people were already leaving the house engrossed in conversation, in a good mood because they expected a good earning…
They must have been satisfied, they saw two old people, probably abandoned people, of course, that’s what they thought when they saw them, they had reason to be happy about, they stepped onto a nice terrain, they promised mountains and marvels, the things they will do for them, something even they started, then disappeared with the decent deposit to buy the necessary materials and they never show up again, until now, in the newspaper…
She could not believe it whenever they showed similar incidents on television; she wondered how some people could be so naive and believe strangers.
Now it happened to them, unbelievable, but it happened, and the reason for it was their age, there was no doubt about it, they are old and vulnerable, they must have seemed like that to the strangers; victims, just as they wished.
She swallowed, trying to push the memory away; it will still going to bother her for some time; it will bite her, another unpleasant thing that she will have to come to terms with.
She took the thermometer from the table, and handed it to her husband – why do I have to take care of this as well?
Because you are the most responsible person in this family, he will say, and a small smile will appear on his face, and I… I am grateful to you for that.
Of course, it is the simplest thing, to transfer the responsibility to others and solve the situation with gratitude, simple as that.
But this time, I was right, he added after a few minutes when he was triumphantly handing her the thermometer; it has decreased.
She checked the mercury scale on the thermometer; thank God, she will say in a calmer voice.
I knew we shouldn’t… I felt.
She gets up from the chair; I’m going to finish something in the kitchen, then I’ll make some coffee for myself, and bring you some herbal tea, and if you feel really good and if you want, we could play some music, we missed a few days again.
Put coffee in two cups, those healing teas of yours just make my stomach hurt.
She is already at the kitchen door when he calls, with the coffee and the music I like it better.
She turns slightly and raises her index finger, it shouldn’t be today, however…
I’m actually fine now, he put on a serene face, trust me.
After a short hesitation, she will agree, okay, but not strong…
Translation from Slovak to Macedonian: Zvonko Taneski
The translation was made during the translation residency at TROJICA in Banska Štjavnica (16. 7. – 15. 8. 2022), and the residency under the management of the Literary and Information Center in Bratislava was supported by a financial grant from the LITA Fund, also in Bratislava.