That night, Jozef lay in bed, thinking.
He had so many questions that needed answers. Did Nina break
her engagement because of him? How he wished it were so. But the last time he’d
seen her, she had not been happy to see him. He had always assumed it was
because she’d gotten married and didn’t want to be reminded of their
friendship. What if she had a different reason? He had never thought about it,
but it was possible that his friendship with Maja might have been the problem.
The first thing Nina had probably seen when she came into the circus ring for
her performance was him talking to, and smiling at Maja. And when he finally
found her under the tree, what did he do? He never asked Nina how she was, or whether
she was married yet. He instantly started talking about Maja. True, he wanted
to clear up Maja’s relationship with Nina’s assumed husband, but Nina didn’t
know that, and she probably could have cared less.
The more he thought about it, the more sense Nina’s behavior
made. She was a woman, and she had dignity. Instead of showing her discomfort,
she had simply reinforced his assumption that she was married. After all, in her
eyes, he was way too friendly with Maja. So she would have let him believe she
was married, to keep her dignity and let him go on with his life. What a
wonderful girl she was! His heart ached for her.
Jozef turned in his bed and pulled the covers closer. How he
must have hurt her!
There was only one thing he could do now, the one thing that
might just possibly solve not only his and Nina’s, but also Maja’s problems.
***
The next morning, right after breakfast, he went to the big
house. The butler led him into the waiting room, where Konrad, still in his morning
clothes and sitting at his desk, greeted him.
He shook Jozef’s hand and bade him sit in the easy chair by
the desk. “How are things going, Jozef?”
After a few minutes polite talk, Jozef said, “Is it possible
that I can have two weeks off? The paper work is all caught up, and the harvest
is in. There won’t be too much for me to do in the next few weeks.”
“No problem. You have deserved your vacation. Are you going
to see your family?”
“I might. But first, I need to straighten some other things
out. It’s possible that this will take a few days longer than two weeks. I will
have to be out of town, so won’t be able to notify you quickly.”
“Take as long as you need. Your work won’t disappear while
you’re gone.” Konrad chuckled at his own joke.
“I’m sure it won’t.” Jozef stood and held out his hand. “Thank
you so much. I better get home and get things ready then.”
Konrad rose too. “I’ll see you when you return. Hopefully it
will be before the snow comes down.”
“I’m sure it will.”
They said good-bye and Jozef left.
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