The Grasshopper

Chapter 95

“Mom, when will dad come?”

“I don’t know, Peter. You know that your father is busy. Let’s get you to bed.”

“I don’t want to. Dad comes at night. And you don’t wake me.”

“He also comes during the day. And you can’t interrupt children’s sleep, son.”

“What difference does it make? Why do we care whether its day or night?” Peter still protested.

“Peter, we can’t allow ourselves to not care. We have to keep our natural rhythm. Even under artificial conditions. Like Eir, you see…”

“Eir! But she’s just a baby, mom!”

“You’re mom’s baby too,” Manami kissed her son’s hair. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Peter silently got up from the armchair.

“OK, I promise you,” said Manami when she saw how sad her son was. “If dad comes tonight, I’ll wake you up. But just tonight.”

“Really?” Peter was overjoyed.

“Really. I see that you want to be present when Mr. Alexander speaks well of you to your father. How smart you are and how you know everything.”

“I want to,” Peter smiled. “But also the other thing we agreed to ask him.”

“Alright, alright… we’ll ask him,” Manami smiled. “Now off to bed.”

“I’m going. Good night.”

“Good night, Peter,” said Pascal.

Manami got up from the armchair and sat across from Pascal, at the table.

“You’ve really won over my son,” she said. “You’re very good at that, sir.”

Pascal silently looked at her.

“You have nothing to say, sir?”

“Ma’am, that red cover with the black rose… in the middle…”

“Yes?”

“You…” Pascal stopped and looked down.

“What about it?” Manami asked.

“It isn’t important. Forgive me… and this… what you were joking about. I will really tell the Mayor what a brilliant boy your son is.”

“What about the cover?”

“You sleep in that room, I assume? In that bed?”

“Yes. With Eir. And Peter is in the room with the bunk beds. He says he doesn’t want to be in a girl’s room. He sleeps on the upper bunk. He finds it interesting. And I fear that he might fall down in his sleep…”

“I slept on it…”

“On the red cover?”

“Yes.”

Manami was silent.

“I mean, I wasn’t really sleeping… when Raul and the Mayor drugged me. I guess it was easies for them to put me down there… I don’t know.”

Manami was still silent.

“That red cover… it’s made of silk?”

“Yes,” said Manami.

“When I woke up… it was dark, I didn’t know where I was… but I felt its smell… It was stale…”

“I immediately washed it. It smells nice now.”

“Do you also sleep on it? Or do you cover yourself with it?”

“No. I don’t use it. I put it away in the dresser.”

“Not even once… You’ve never laid on it?”

“I’m sleepy, too. Good night, sir.” Manami got up and went to her quarters.