A Greater Music Read Online Free PDF Page A

light from the wall lamp further down the side of the building streamed up and illuminated the whirling snowstorm outside the window. After taking a sip of coffee Joachim opened his mouth wide and bit off a chunk of the chocolate-covered bread. He didn’t give any to Benny, who waited patiently nonetheless. “Did you bring boots?” Joachim asked. “If you didn’t, your feet’ll get soaked. That’s how bad this snow is.” I’d only brought one pair of shoes with me; rain boots, as luck would have it. I took off Joachim’s pajamas, which I’d slept in, and found a pair of jeans to put on. I put a sweater on over my T-shirt, pulled on some thick woolen socks and went into the bathroom to comb my hair. The kitchen door stood open and through it I could see Joachim polishing off the rest of the bread, muttering to himself all the while. When our eyes met he raised his eyebrows as if to say, what’s the hurry?, and carried on slowly chewing the bread, staring up at the ceiling with his body stretched out in the chair. I stood beside the front door and waited quietly until he’d finished getting ready. Benny saw the clothes Joachim was wearing and gave a short, sharp bark, angry at being left behind. But there was nothing to be done. My love. Joachim put his arms around Benny’s neck and soothed him, kissing him again and again. My love, you have to stay here quietly. You wait here and I’ll be back before you know it. Good boy, my love.
    When we left the house the blizzard had abated somewhat, but the wind was as strong as ever. It was already completely dark. We began to walk silently along the snow-covered road toward the light at the tram stop. Joachim walked in front, carrying a blue backpack into which he’d stuffed the presents. It was the selfsame backpack I remembered from three years ago, and even back then it had already been pretty old. Now it had holes in the bottom, big enough to be instantly noticeable. I was a little surprised that he was still using it. I could see that the snow had soaked through the tops of his thin sneakers, and his feet were getting wet. His thin, light-colored jeans flapped around his skinny shins as he hurried along. When we arrived at the tram stop we brushed ourselves off and checked the timetable.
    â€œWe’ll have to wait twenty minutes or so. What shitty luck,” Joachim grumbled. We were the only people waiting there. On the opposite platform there were two young children and one woman, standing stock-still and bundled up in bulky winter clothes like an Inuit family. In an attempt to ward off the tedium and the cold, I turned my attention to the various notices pinned up on the board and gave them a thorough examination. There was an ad for beer that made my teeth chatter just looking at it. Except for a family play, an exhibition of paintings, an exhibition of ancient relics classified by cultural-anthropological periods, and large business ads, they were all advertising New Year’s fireworks parties. There was also something about writers giving a public reading at the town’s only café. Joachim tapped his finger on the place where it said “free admission.”
    â€œWant to go?”
    I said I wasn’t sure. A cup of coffee would set me back at least two euros, and I couldn’t make a single cup last for over two hours, but then if we ordered beer or something that would make it tooexpensive. Plus, there would be a fee for the brochure. But, more than anything else, I really didn’t feel like going out anywhere, not while the weather was still like this. It was just too cold.
    â€œI think I’d rather just stay home and read a book.”
    â€œSure, whatever you want,” Joachim said. “When the weather gets better you should go to the library and use my card. That’s free, after all. And maybe we’ll get to go to a party for New Year’s, have some wine. Also,