The Principle Of Chance (16 page)

‘He approved it?!’

‘Yeah, we ran through it last night
in the car, remember – he was ok with it. I’m double checking.’

‘About the money! Do it kid! He
wants that line in there.’

‘Decided then.’ Justin kept his eyes
on Amy while he was talking to Jack but she didn’t seem to pay much attention.

Pretending to read her book, Amy
heard every single word Justin said.

Justin finally sat down. ‘Good, now
tell me about last night Jack.’

‘What about last night?’

This was the moment Amy chose to
stand up, informing them both that she was going to the sauna. Jack and Justin
stared! She was aware of their stare.

‘Anything wrong?’ She asked
innocently.

‘Nothing.’ They answered in unison,
still staring at her.

Amy laughed out loudly. ‘Come on you
two, stop staring - you’ve seen me before.’

‘Not like this darling...’ Jack
answered with a grin.

‘OK.’ She picked up a robe wrapped
it around her shoulders. ‘How about this?’

‘Now you are spoiling it for an old
man.’

Amy disappeared from sight. Jack wanted
to find out what was happening. ‘Out with it!’

‘She is killing me Jack!’

‘Sweet suffering, Justin! In my time
…’

‘Still?’ 

‘Never eases, gets harder in fact.
Amy is … different.’

‘Tell me that again!’ He stood up.
‘Better go, got work to do.’

‘You can’t run away forever Justin.’

‘You should talk Jack!’

The filming was going well
considering they had only done a day’s work but everyone seemed to be getting
it right.

Justin surprised himself how much he
enjoyed being part of this movie. It was wonderful watching his screenplay
coming to life. Of course without Monica it wouldn’t work. His sister had
talent and maybe an interest in Jack Harvey?!

Last night he hadn’t been able to
sleep. He played with the idea of knocking on Amy’s door but it wasn’t right –
not now. He wondered why he was apprehensive making a move, usually he managed
his dates all right. With Amy, it was a challenge. He was interested but she
wasn’t going to let him in easily – and Justin didn’t want her to.

He’d decided to explore the house
without bumping into anyone. To his surprise he saw Monica coming out of a room
at two in the morning. Interesting! He went downstairs to check the board
displayed on reception for who had which room. What a revelation! Jack Harvey
and Monica Blakes!

Chapter Twenty

Frank and Don set off shortly after
breakfast. Don, a confidant of Frank’s for years, had organised the trip. They
drove in silence, passing sleepy villages under a thick fog. Frank had a plan;
he had left this country many years ago, even so, he kept up to date with its
progress.

With
the fall of the Iron Curtain the Soviet Occupation had ended, and since then
things had been moving fast. Not fast enough for some, the rich were able to
make more money and the middle class had to work even harder to keep up with
the ever increasing cost of living.

People scrutinised what their
neighbours and friends had, and wanted to buy something bigger or more
expensive, simply to show they could.

If he showed up in this Range Rower,
he wouldn’t get far.

Don had planned what Frank needed.
The driver pulled up in a sheltered lay-by on a deserted country road. Frank’s
plan was to visit the small village his family lived in.  What was it like
now? – he wondered, not for the first time. Don and the driver tactfully left
the car; it was time to get changed. Frank pulled on a pair of worn jeans and
serviceable brown boots, a shirt, a sweater and a bomber jacket. He ruffled up
his hair under a flat cap.

When
he was ready, he exchanged a few words with Don who had instructions to stay
close by. Frank opened the door of a battered, red, four-door Skoda, jumped in
and set off on his mission.

Driving through the small village he
didn’t recognise much at first. Then he passed the cemetery where he pulled
over. Frank lit a cigarette and walked into the deserted graveyard with his
head down. The fog was thinner; the crunching snow under his quick steps evoked
the memories of cold winters.

He spotted some familiar names on
the old headstones. When he arrived at his parents’ grave, sadness swamped in.
His sister’s and brother’s graves were also nearby.

He was desperate to find Eva’s grave
but he couldn’t see it anywhere nearby, when a small, old woman emerged from
nowhere.

‘Keresni tetszik valakit?’ She asked
in Hungarian.

Frank was taken aback; he wasn’t
expecting anyone to be around on a cold day like this.

‘Orban Eva?’ He managed to say.

The woman scrutinised him from under
heavy eyelids. She looked him up and down, not missing a thing. Finally, she
said there was a woman by that name she used to know during the war. She moved
away with her husband Jani when the Germans started to bomb around the village.
They had a boy with them. When they came back to the village, Jani bought a
house at the end of the cemetery road. They were quiet people didn’t mix much
with their neighbours. Their son emigrated to America in 1956, and Jani’s wife
died shortly after that. They say, she was heartbroken and missed her son.

Frank thanked her, there was nothing
here for him anymore, but where was his sister buried? Walking towards the
gate, he heard the woman shout something. Frank stopped.

‘Nem
mondtam, hogy a Jani is meghalt.’ She said, keen to retain his attention.

‘Koszonom.’
Frank was shattered, for one moment he thought his friend Jani was still here
in the village, now the woman revealed that Jani was also dead.

‘Ott van eltemetve.’ She pointed to
a grave, by a small chapel.

Frank found what he was looking for,
he hurried to where the woman pointed.

When he saw his sister’s and best
friend’s names beautifully engraved on the marble headstone, his eyes welled up
with tears. It was a double gravestone with a short inscribed line;

The memories that never fade,

 The
love that never dies.

Frank felt miserable as he sat in
the car. What to do now? His world was slowly falling apart, he should’ve known
what was waiting for him, but he didn’t think the discovery of the truth would
affect him this much. He started the engine numbly and decided to drive around
the village. It seemed a quiet place, same old houses and narrow roads; not
much had changed. He drove past the old inn he used to go to. On an impulse he
pulled over, parked up and went inside.

He saw a crackling fire and a group
of locals sitting around a black and white television set. The men put their
beer down and openly stared at him. The landlord also surveyed him suspiciously
from behind the bar, but offered him a beer and a cigarette. Frank accepted,
paid for his drink and moved to sit down by the fire. From the corner of his
eye he saw an old man sitting alone in the corner. He looked at Frank and
murmured something, he then stood up and began walking towards Frank supported
by a walking stick. The man didn’t waste any time introducing himself; he
started openly asking Frank what he was doing in the village as it was obvious
he didn’t belong here.

Frank told his story and, on the off
chance, he asked if he knew the people he was looking for. The man did.

He spoke of Jani’s move from the
village, which Frank had already heard. Eva and Jani loved each other very
much. It was obvious to everyone, but in those days embarrassing as well. A
husband and wife were not supposed to show much affection in public but they
did. Jani was a good fellow the man said, his son learned a good trade. He had
repaired houses in the village many years after the war, for no payment. During
the war, many houses were damaged by the bombing, but people had no money to
rebuild them for years.

Frank asked the man his name. He
said his name was Nagy Gabor. He went on talking about old times, when Frank
questioned him, he informed him he had lost his leg in the war.

Listening to him, Frank realised
that he knew the man – they had been at school together and used to go fishing
on the nearby lake. He encouraged Gabor to talk about his life, which was a sad
story.

Gabor lived on his own now. His
children left to live with their aunt in Austria after the revolution and his
wife died shortly after from a stroke. He talked about the government, the
changes and the lack of money. Frank was fully aware of the life here, what
Gabor was saying underlined the facts Frank had read in a file, compiled by Don
long before this visit.

Frank extracted a bunch of notes
from his pocket and gave it to the old man. He regarded Frank with a suspicious
expression, not taking the money. Frank didn’t want to look like a big shot
waving a stack of notes but
he
was able to help this man who was too
proud to take money. Frank introduced himself to Gabor. He stared at him for a
long time … and then spoke.

‘Orban Feri?’

‘Igen, en vagyok.’
He reassured the man. Frank thrust
the money into his hands and wished him good health.

He was ready to leave. Outside he inhaled
the fresh winter air, - he thought, he had reached closure.

Gabor was speechless, he assumed
Frank had died many years ago. Before he could thank Frank, he was gone.

Gabor sat still for a while looking
around. Nobody seemed to notice him or his chat with Frank. He stood up,
murmured a goodbye and left.

 He had money, a lot of money,
he will put central heating in his house, end the cold days. That’s what he
will do, and he will put the rest away for his
very
old days, - the
years he didn’t want to think about. He thought about where he would put the
money for now, and decided to stuff it in the mattress – safest place. He
couldn’t take it to the bank; people would start speculating.

****

A few miles down the country road,
Frank was back in the lay-by. Don looked anxious but never said a word.

‘No problems Don, relax!’ Within
minutes, Frank had changed back into his clothes. Don handed him a glass of
whisky, Frank drank it without delay.

‘I am ready Don, let’s go.’

He
picked up a magazine to focus on something else. As much as he wanted to
concentrate, he found his mind was wondering.

Where would he be today if he had
stayed here? Would he still be alive? What would his life be like?

The visit troubled him, there were
people out there living an ordinary life, working for nothing, struggling to
exist.

What can
he
do for
his
people? Giving a bunch of banknotes to one man wasn’t going to change much.

Don sat in silence, knowing Frank
was building a plan.

‘Have you considered the possibilities
here?’ Frank enquired.

‘I have, Frank.’ Don said, focusing
his attention on Frank. ‘The population of the village isn’t great, around two
thousand. There is a small grocery shop, a bakery and a village hall. The hall
serves as a social club, events venue and library. The building is
unfortunately outdated and the roof is in danger of collapsing.’

‘I
remember, it is an old shack.’ Frank stated.

‘Yes, built after you were born
Frank, there is no money to replace it.’

‘I understand.’

‘There is a larger village about
five miles away, well stocked with shops and even a small picture house. Yet,
to get there is a problem as public transport is non-existent and cars are a
rarity. To sum it up; a bigger grocery store, small shops and a new village
hall are needed. I would recommend a banqueting hall with fully equipped
kitchen for weddings and other occasions.’

‘Nursery, schools?’ Frank asked.

‘They have two small rooms in the
old Manor House. The village’s committee also has a room there. The house
belongs to a Mr Daniel Darvas, who charges a high rent.’

Frank clenched his fists, he knew
precisely who Daniel was, - the bastard who’d got his sister into trouble. He’d
never actually found out the true story, Eva refused to tell him. There was
nothing he could do now; it was all in the past.

‘The old shark, I remember him well.
He was the one people would go to for a loan. He charged a high rate of
interest.’ Frank felt anxious.

‘Playground?’

‘On my list.’

‘Good work Don, will you set up the
meeting?’