Maja jumped up from the bench. “Did something happen to
Wizlaw? How do you know? Is he ill?”
Jozef pulled her hand to make her sit again. “It’s nothing
like that. It’s just that I know something about him.” He stopped, sighed, and
went on. “He’s married.”
“I know. His wife died and left him with two little girls. I
met them. It’s okay.”
“No. He’s married now, a second time.”
Maja frowned at him. “I don’t believe you.”
“Didn’t you see the wedding ring he wore?”
“I did. He told me it was from his first marriage. He took
it off on our last day. He said he was finally over her and didn’t need it
anymore. He’s not married. He can’t be. He’s betrothed to me.”
Jozef patted her hand. “I’m so sorry, but you’re wrong. I
know his new wife. She is one of the tightrope dancers. A black girl. Nina.” Her
name felt like a dagger in his heart.
Maja laughed, a delightful, easy laugh, a laugh he hadn’t
expected and had thought he’d never again hear from her.
“What’s so funny?” he said. He didn’t understand. Why would
it seem funny to Maja that Wizlaw was married to Nina, when it was the truth?”
“You have it all wrong, Panje
Wawrzyniak. I wonder who told you such lies.”
“What do you mean with lies? Nina told me herself.” Could it
really be true that she wasn’t married after all? What kind of game was she
playing with him?
“Now you listen, and I will talk,” Nina said, more
forcefully and animated than he had seen her in many days.
He nodded, not knowing what to think. “Good. You talk. I’ll
listen, and I will talk when you’re done.”
“Wizlaw told me about his first wife. She caught a fever
last year and passed away within months. Wizlaw missed her a lot, but he was
also overwhelmed with taking care of his daughters by himself. You see, he has
no family. His mother died when he was young, and his father shortly after. He
was the only child. His wife did have family, but they all live in Germany and
none of them cared enough to come to Poland when she died.”
Jozef couldn’t keep quiet, even though he’d promised he
would. “It’s a sad story, but what does it have to do with his second marriage?”
“I’m coming to that. He still loved his dead wife, but he
needed someone to care for his children. He came to an understanding with one
of the tightrope dancers, your Nina I guess. Nina has only two brothers, and
she was lonely. Wizlaw needed a wife to take care of him and the girls, so they
got engaged and planned to be married. But sometime this spring Nina came to
him and asked him to dissolve the engagement. She told him her heart belonged
to another, and she’d rather stay single. She agreed to keep house for him and
the children, but she kept living with her brothers.”
Jozef couldn’t believe what he heard. “What? Are you sure?”
“Yes. The ring you saw on Wizlaw’s finger was from his first
and only marriage. And now, he told me, he’d either be married to me or to no
one.” Her shoulders sagged. “And I haven’t heard from him for so long. I so
hope he is all right, even if he can’t find a position out of the circus.” She
sighed and gathered herself. “Panje Wawrzyniak, you won’t tell anyone, will
you? Please? Why are you so quiet?”
“I’m okay, Maja.” He patted her hand. The wheels were
turning in his head. Maybe all wasn’t lost yet for Maja. “Let me think about
this some, dear child. Maybe I can do something to help you.”
“Thanks for listening. I feel so much better already. But I
better go back in now. It’s been getting chilly, and I think a storm is coming.”
She rose, kissed him on his cheek and left.
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