Summer at the Lullaby

So little girl, tell me what happens now

"So little girl, tell me what happens now"

Nora had looked into Tess's room like every morning, but instead of a good morning she had come out with that sentence. As a reserved but resolute governess she had found herself taking the place of a mother, or perhaps a good aunt, at the most delicate moment of a woman's growth. She had decided that she would not impose herself, her role would not allow it even when it would have been appropriate, but with small gestures, with the certainty of her presence, she had become a fixed point in Theresa's life.

The girl got up slightly from the bed, resting her shoulders on her pillow."It's not like there's much to say Nora, I screwed up."The woman sighed, did she really want to get into that mess? No. She Could have done without it? Neither.She realized that it would probably be the closest thought to parenthood she'd ever had."Let's fix it," she said as she opened the windows.Fresh air entered the room and Theresa curled up under the covers again."Courage little girl that only the guilty hide in the world""But I am guilty, the worst of all. I was wrong, I liked it and now I don't know how to get out of it".Nora smiled at that sentence. She knew very well what had happened on the stairs a few nights before. In fact, she had found herself on the landing above the two boys, intent on going down to the living room to make sure everything was in order for Mr. Hackman's early summer toast. Of course she was surprised, not too much to tell the truth. The charming chef was not as suitable for Tess as dear Will, that was clear, but if she could get her out of an even more serious situation she would do the best of her. She then she had looked away and waited for the two to separate. She had thrown an incendiary look at Diego who had fled to the kitchen with his tail between his legs thinking about getting fired. She had gone down the last flight of stairs, recovered the ring and she had decided to retrace her steps, waiting for Theresa to arrive. Instead, it was the hungry Miss Campbell who brilliantly resolved the situation once she saw the jewel on the kitchen table. It was enough for her to meet Diego's terrified gaze and receive a nod from the housekeeper to understand what to do. Nora adored Evelyn."Theresa I know everything, I saw you on the stairs. Now I repeat: tell me what happens now".

In telling Nora what had happened to her in the evening and what had happened to her in the morning, each gesture or phrase gradually lost its romantic vein.

Her own words sounded so ridiculous when they meant to convey her torment, and it irritated Tess.Nora knew the power of words well. She knew that as long as one basked in thoughts and memories everything would appear definitive, the word instead had the power to reveal the reality of things. What seemed romantic or passionate in the soul once reported aloud had two possibilities: either it maintained the ecstasy, confirming its ineluctability, or it would have been reduced to a farce worthy of an appendix story, revealing its little substance.This was certainly the second of the cases. So she decided to sink the shot."Are we therefore undecided between a sea captain and a hotel cook? I know, I know, one is perfect on paper and unbearable in life, the other is perfect going up the stairs and as ridiculous as it is scary once you go down. Definitely a difficult choice to make, tiring even with all those steps"Tess looked at her in amazement. Had she really said such a thing?

Nora didn't give up.

"I would like to tell you what to do little girl, but it would only be a copy of what I would do. The truth is that you would accuse me of being a single hotel housekeeper with a life dictated by the change of curtains and not by love. And would you think that despite how well I know you love me, or because of that "she once again she was turning into a mother" I won't tell you it wasn't always like this, it's none of your business baby. I will tell you instead that if life has mistreated you you must not allow love to do the same. This is up to you and no one else. Your mother could not choose otherwise than escape, your father stopped this place in the past waiting for his return. In the middle is you stuck in this madness that doesn't belong to you, it absolutely shouldn't. 

So not wanting to tell you what decision to make, even if that's what I know you want, I'm telling you to sit still, do nothing. Don't make decisions that aren't cheerful and practical girl. We understood each other? Now get dressed that you have to tell the florists how to arrange the vases in the brasserie and you know that you have to take care of it, I have my stuff to do and we have already wasted too much time both".