The Secret Room Read Free Page B

said.
    â€œMaybe not. Did you sleep well?”
    â€œHm-hm,” I said. The music stopped.
    She waved wearily.
    â€œNevermind. How does breakfast sound?”
    â€œHm-hm,” I said.
    She just smiled, pulled a drawer open, and said, “Here are the breakfast dishes, and there’s the silverware. Could you ...? I have to watch the jam.”
    I nodded and stood in front of the open drawer helplessly.
    Had Ines already had breakfast? She must have eaten with Paul. And I had slept too late. But what if they wanted to eat again?
    â€œWhat’s going on?” asked Ines. “What are you thinking?”
    â€œUh—nothing,” I said and decided to take two plates and two knives. Luck was on my side: Ines said she wanted to eat too.
    â€œWhat do you like to drink with breakfast?” she asked and looked into the refrigerator. I stopped to think. What did Ines drink? I wanted to do everything right.
    â€œCocoa?” she suggested. “Juice? Tea?”
    I shrugged my shoulders. She was rummaging through the refrigerator. “And what would you like to eat? I mean, honey or sausage or nutella or cheese or ...?”
    I shrugged my shoulders again. What did Ines eat?
    She sighed. “Well, what did you eat in the orphanage? Sweet stuff or salty stuff?”
    I looked down at my shoes, thinking that I was annoying her and that I had already started to mess everything up.
    â€œSomething on bread,” I answered miserably.
    We had a sort of hectic breakfast. Because of the jam, Ines was constantly jumping up, taking off the lid, and stirring, and at the same time she was also making herself some coffee.
    I would have been happy to help, but I didn’t dare ask.
    So I sat there and drank my juice and ate my bread very slowly, so that I wouldn’t have to say anything. If you don’t say anything, you can’t be wrong.
    The juice tasted like it had been sitting in the refrigerator for a long time. A little sour and sort of fizzy. I really wanted some of the cocoa from the orphanage, but I didn’t say anything. If Ines was already so busy with the record player and the jam and making coffee and everything, then she probably couldn’t keep track of how long the juice had been in the refrigerator—and besides, I didn’t have to drink that much of it.

    â€œListen, Ar—Achim, I have to get going. To the flower shop. Paul is already at work. He’ll be home at five. We’ve been trying to take off work for a while, but it hasn’t quite worked out yet, and we wanted to come and get you as soon as you said that we could, and ...”
    She trailed off and looked into her cup of coffee intently. Had she lost something in it? Something that had sunk into her coffee?
    â€œIt’s all a little … awkward, I know,” Ines said finally. “We thought that at first... you could stay with our neighbors during the day. Till school starts. They’re nice people, really...”
    Her voice trailed off again. I started to feel sorry for her. Apparently she felt bad that she and Paul couldn’t look after me the whole time.
    â€œI’m not a little kid anymore,” I said quietly. “I can stay here and take care of myself.”
    â€œOh, Ar—Achim.” Ines looked up from her coffee cup and smiled at me. “But all alone! Where everything is still so new to you! I told the neighbors a long time ago, you know. They have two kids, a boy and a girl. The three of you will definitely have fun together... they could show you around...”
    She stood up and pointed out the window. “It’s that house over there, with the green roof. You just take the path … you’re really grown up already,” she added and gave me a smile. “You definitely won’t get lost.”
    I shook my head.
    â€œGood,” said Ines. “I’m giving you a house key. You should take good care of it.”
    I nodded.
    She took