Breakfast at Tiffany’s

CHAPTER SIX

A Visitor from Holly’s Past

It wasn’t unusual for strange people to come to Holly’s door. One day late that spring, when I walked into the building, I saw a very strange man. He was looking at her mailbox.

He was about fifty years old, with a tired face andAnd - та sad gray eyes. He wore anAn - невизначений артикль old gray hat andAnd - та his cheap summer suit was too big for him. His shoes were brown andAnd - та new. He didn’t ring Holly’s doorbell. Slowly, he touched the letters of her name on her card.

That evening, on my way to supper, I saw the man againAgain - знову. He was standing acrossAcross - через, поперек the street, under a tree, looking up at Holly’s windows. What did he want? Was he a detective? Or someone sent by her Sing Sing friend, Sally Tomato?

Suddenly I felt sorry for Holly. We were enemies but I wanted to help her. AsAs - як I walked to the corner, the man looked at me. Then he started to follow me. He was singing quietly – Holly’s song: “I don’t want to sleep, I don’t want to die. I just want to travel through the sky.”

I waited for a traffic light to change. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye asAs - як he spoke to a dog-owner. “You have a fine animalAnimal - тварина; звір,” he said. His voice was low andAnd - та he came from the hill-country.

The hamburger restaurant was empty but he sat next to me at the bar. He smelled of cigarettes. He ordered a cup of coffee but didn’t drink it. He looked at me in the mirror on the wall opposite us.

“Excuse me,” I said. I looked at him in the mirror, too. “What do you want?” The question didn’t make him nervous. “I need a friend,” he said.

He pulled anAn - невизначений артикль old wallet from his pocket andAnd - та took out a photo. There were seven people in the picture, in front of a wooden house. They were allAll - всі, увесь, все, весь, цілий, ко... children, except for the man. He had his armArm - twisting aroundAround - навколо, приблизно, біля, по... the waist of a pretty little girl.

“That’s me,” he said, pointing at himself. “That’s her…” He pointed at the girl. “AndAnd - та this one here,” he addedAdded - доданий, збільшений; додав, с..., “is her brother, Fred.”

I looked at “her” againAgain - знову. Yes, now I could see that the child was Holly.

“You’re Holly’s father!’

“Her name isn’t Holly,” he said. “She was Lulamae Barnes until she married me. I’m her husband, Doc Golightly. Call me Doc. I’m a horse doctor. I do some farming, too, near Tulip, in Texas. Why areAre - бути, перебувати; ар you laughing?”

I wasn’t really laughing. I was nervous. I drank some water[ˈwɔːtə] вода, водойма; мочити  andAnd - та it went down the wrong way. He hit me on the back. “This isn’t funny. I’m a tired man. I’ve looked for my woman for five years. Then I got Fred’s letter. ‘She’s in New York,’ he wrote. I bought a bus ticket andAnd - та came to the city. I want Lulamae at home, with her husband andAnd - та her children.”

“Children?”

“Those areAre - бути, перебувати; ар her children,” he almostAlmost - майже shouted. He pointed at the four other young faces in the picture – two girls andAnd - та two boys.

Of course, the man was crazy. “Holly can’t be their mother. Those children areAre - бути, перебувати; ар older andAnd - та bigger than she is.”

“Listen,” he said calmly. “I’m not saying they’re her natural children. Their own dear mother, a good woman, died on the fourth of July, 1936. I married Lulamae in December, 1938, when she was almostAlmost - майже fourteen years old. Maybe anAn - невизначений артикль ordinary person of fourteen doesn’t know what she wants. But Lulamae isn’t anAn - невизначений артикль ordinary person. ‘I know what I want,’ she said to me. ‘I want to be your wife andAnd - та the mother of your children.’ She broke our hearts when she ran away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений .”

He drank his cold coffee andAnd - та looked at me carefully. “Do you believe me?” Yes, I believed him. His story was so strange, it had to be true. AndAnd - та it was like O.J. Berman’s description of Holly in her first days in California.

“She broke our hearts when she ran away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений ,” the horse doctor repeated. “She had no reason to go. Her daughters did allAll - всі, увесь, все, весь, цілий, ко... the housework. We had our own farm, chickens andAnd - та pigs. She got fat andAnd - та her brother grew really tall. They didn’t come to us like that. Nellie, my oldest girl, brought them into the house. She came to me one morning. ‘Dad,’ she said, ‘I’ve locked two wild children in the kitchen. They were outside stealing milk andAnd - та eggs.’ That was Lulamae andAnd - та Fred. They were very thin andAnd - та their teeth were falling out. Their mother andAnd - та their father got sick andAnd - та died. AllAll - всі, увесь, все, весь, цілий, ко... the children were sent to live with different people. Lulamae andAnd - та her brother lived with some terrible people, a hundred miles east of Tulip. She had a good reason to run away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений  from their house. But she didn’t have a reason to leave my house. It was her home.”

He put his hands over his eyes. “She grew into a really pretty woman. She was fun, too. She talked a lot. She had anAn - невизначений артикль opinion about everything. I picked flowers for her. I found a bird for her andAnd - та taught it to say her name. I taught her to play the guitar. One night I askedAsked - запитав her to marry me. I was crying. ‘Why areAre - бути, перебувати; ар you crying, Doc?’ she askedAsked - запитав me. ‘Of course I’ll marry you. I’ve never been married before.’ I had to laugh. I’ve never been married before.”

He laughed quietly. “That woman was happy!” he said. “We allAll - всі, увесь, все, весь, цілий, ко... loved her. She didn’t do anythingAnything - що except eat andAnd - та wash her hair. AndAnd - та send away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений  for magazines. We spent a hundred dollars on magazines. That was the problem. She read those magazines andAnd - та they gave her dreams about a different life. Then she started walking down the road from the farm. Every day she walked a little more. First she walked a mile andAnd - та came home. Then she went two miles andAnd - та came home. One day she didn’t stop walking.”

He put his hands over his eyes againAgain - знову. “The bird went wild andAnd - та flew away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений . AllAll - всі, увесь, все, весь, цілий, ко... summer you could hear him. In the yard. In the woods. AllAll - всі, увесь, все, весь, цілий, ко... summer that bird was calling: ‘Lulamae, Lulamae.'”

Then he stopped talking. I paid our checks andAnd - та we left the cafe together.

It was a cold, windy evening. We were both quiet. Then I said, “But what happened to her brother? Didn’t he leave?”

“No, sir,” he said. “Fred stayed with us until he became a soldier. He’s a good boy, good with horses. He didn’t understand Lulamae. ‘Why has she left her brother andAnd - та husband andAnd - та children?’ he askedAsked - запитав. AfterAfter - після, потім, після того як, п... he left the farm, he had some letters from her. He sent me her addressAddress - адреса, звернення; адре­сув.... So I’ve come to get her. I know she’s sorry. I know she wants to go home.”

He wanted me to agreeAgree - погоджуватися, домовлятися, ... with him.

“I think you’ll find that Holly or Lulamae – has changed,” I said.

“Listen,” he said, when we reached my apartmentApartment - апартаменти, квартира building. “I need a friend. I don’t want to surprise her or scare her. Be my friend. Tell her I’m here.”

I liked the idea of introducing Mrs. Golightly to her husband. I looked up at her lighted windows. I hoped her friends were there. I wanted to see Doc Golightly shake hands with Mag andAnd - та Rusty andAnd - та Jose. But then I looked at Doc Golightly’s proud, serious eyes andAnd - та I felt bad.

He followed me into the house andAnd - та waited at the bottom of the stairs. “Do I look nice?” he askedAsked - запитав quietly.

Holly was aloneAlone - один, самітний; лише. She answeredAnswered - відповів the door immediately. She was ready to go out. “Hello, you silly man,” she said. She hit my armArm - twisting playfully with her purse. “I’m in a hurry so we can’t make friends now. Tomorrow, OK?”

“OK, Lulamae. But will you be here tomorrow?”

She took off her dark glasses andAnd - та looked closely at me. “He told you that,” she said in a small, nervous voice. “Oh, please. Where is he?”

She ran past me into the hall. “Fred!” she called down the stairs. “Fred! Where areAre - бути, перебувати; ар you, darling?”

I heard Doc Golightly climbing the stairs. Holly saw him andAnd - та stopped. She wasn’t scared but suddenly she was very sad. Then he was standing shyly in front of her.

“Hello, Lulamae,” he began. “Don’t they feed you up here? You’re so thin – like when I first saw you.”

Holly touched his face. “Hello, Doc,” she said softly andAnd - та kissed him. “Hello, Doc,” she repeated happily. He lifted her off her feet andAnd - та started to laugh. Neither of them saw me when I went up to my room. They didn’t seem to notice Mrs. Sapphia Spanella when she opened her door. “Be quiet!” she shouted. “Take your men away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений  from this house!”

“Divorce him? Of course I never divorced him. I was only fourteen!” Holly lifted her empty glass. “Two more drinks, my darling Mr. Bell.”

We were in Joe Bell’s bar. “It’s early in the day for drinking,” he said. The clock behind the bar showed that it was not yet noon. We were alreadyAlready - вже, раніше on our fourth drink.

“But it’s Sunday, Mr. Bell. The clocks areAre - бути, перебувати; ар slow on Sundays. AndAnd - та I haven’t been to bed yet,” she told him. “Not to sleep,” she said quietly to me. She went red andAnd - та turned away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений .

For the first time, she seemed to feel a need to explain her actionsActions - поведінка to me.

“I had to. Doc really loves me, you know. AndAnd - та I love him. He may look old to you but you don’t know him. He’s a kind man, he loves birds andAnd - та children. He gave me a lot. Every night I askAsk - запитати, запитувати God to watch over him. Stop smiling!” she said angrilyAngrily - сердито, гнівно. “I do love him.”

“You’re a very special person,” I said.

“Yes, I amAm - бути, перебувати,” she said. Her face, pale in the morning light, brightened. She smoothed her hair. “I look terrible. We spent the night in a bus station. Doc wanted me to go with him. I told him, ‘Doc, I’m not fourteen andAnd - та I’m not Lulamae.’ But you know what’s sad? I amAm - бути, перебувати the same person. I’m still stealing eggs andAnd - та running through the trees.”

Joe Bell put the fresh drinks in front of us.

“Never love a wild thing, Mr. Bell,” Holly told him. “That was Doc’s mistake. He was alwaysAlways - завжди bringing home wild things. Once it was a sick bird, then a wild cat with a broken leg. But you can’t give your heart to a wild thing. If you give them your heart, they get stronger. Then one day they areAre - бути, перебувати; ар so strong that they run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky. If you love a wild thing too much, they run away[əˈweɪ] геть, далеко; віддалений .”

“She’s drunk,” Joe Bell told me.

“A little,” Holly said. “But Doc understood. I explained it to him very carefully. We shook hands andAnd - та he held me. He wants me to be happy.”

“What’s she talking about?” Joe Bell askedAsked - запитав me.

Holly lifted her glass andAnd - та touched it againstAgainst - проти, всупереч, від mine. “Good luck, Doc. Dearest Doc – it’s good to look at the sky. But you don’t want to live there. It’s a very empty place.”