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Life Begins on Friday
181
were at a more acute angle
than usual, like upturned
letters v. He kissed the toy
cow and handed it over,
glancing sideways. Costache
examined it and then stood
up andwent to the fireplace.
Nicu was convinced that he
was about to throw it on
the fire and tried not to cry
out. Costache dropped it,
whether deliberately or not,
but the legs of Fira the cow
got caught in the grating of
the fireguard and there she
clung.
‘You may take her,’ said
Costache, without giving
any explanation. ‘You may
also take the pencil and
the paper, as a present. But
here’s the thing! Do you
want to help the stranger or
not?’
Nicu acknowledged that he
did. The cop instructed him
for a long while and then
released him.
‘How’s your mother?’ he
asked in lieu of saying
goodbye.
‘Well,’ replied Nicu, ending
his visit to the police station
as he had begun it, which
is to say, with another
lie. How did he know his
mother? Costache was a
good policeman, so much
was true, but that did not
mean the police station was
a good place. He ought not
to push his luck. And so he
left at
a run.
_____