The south side of Riverbank State Park has a long black lane with dense trees on one side and gray walls on the other, along the gray wall. At the end of the road, you can see a large green lawn. The other side of the lawn is the public library of New York City.
There is a gap in the gray wall about two-thirds of the place, leading to a dead end, the car can drive in, about forty or fifty feet of gravel At the end of the trail stands a gray, brown and white small house. The house has only two floors. It is as small and delicate as the residence of Thumbelina in a fairy tale. It can only accommodate two or three people. The front of the house is open. The garden is very quiet, and Mrs. Boro can hear the snoring of his car tires as they run through the stones.
Mrs. Boro parked the car behind a bunch of roses, and when she got out of the car she had to be careful not to let the hard, hard, stab of the rose break her - This house, which was born in the late Victorian era, has no swimming pool. It is a big problem without a garage. The trouble is that most of the residents in this area have deep feelings for this mysterious little house - almost Every child in the neighborhood once used this two-story building, which had been inhabited for a long time, as a haunted house, base, camp... They grew up playing here and then looked at their children and even their grandchildren. Climb in and out of it... Every time someone tries to renovate the house, it will definitely be opposed by the residents of the community, so it will be constantly changed hands quickly - there are always people who fall in love at first sight, but they will always accept You can't walk for 60 minutes at least twice a day.
This new neighbor is willing to keep the house in its original state, which is a good thing, but he should at least trim the surrounding flowers and trees, Mrs. Boro thought, on the courtyard path. The wild chamomile gave a crisp crack under her wedge shoes, similar to the apple's sweet fragrance began to emanate in the air, a cluster of lily of the valley not far away shook a few times, a rounded head came out - Boro The lady was taken aback and immediately found out that it was a dog, a white British bull terrier, and then its companions, their evil awkward little triangle eyes turned up and stared at her without hesitation. The degree of concentration allowed Mrs. Bolu to seize the handbag. She couldn’t decide whether she should yell or shout. Although she could attract the owner, she might stimulate the dog and let it suddenly attack. God knows There are no more neurotic dogs in the world than bull terriers.
There were some dogs that followed suit, and they followed Mrs. Boro to the porch, and Mrs. Boro walked up the steps, and they walked up and down the porch, from time to time. The mantle licked his mouth, and the shark-like long kiss entangled Mrs. Boluo's internal organs. Fortunately, the doorbell rang twice, and the owner of the house opened the door.
A gentleman.
This is his first impression of Mrs. Boro, an elegant, handsome gentleman, now such a man has rarely seen - although one hundred They were as many as they were before the river.
He is tall and thin, the cuffs and neckline of the gray shirt are good, the shirt is covered with a white vest, and the bottom is the same color trousers; His eyes are dark gray-blue, like the sky between dusk and night, his eyes are black and black, his eyes are pressed, his hair is black, and there is no variegation. Coming from the forehead, As smooth as the crow's back, the skin is fair and even transparent, like white wax, the lips are the most vivid, it is red and thin, just like he curled his lips and licked a rose petal.
"Mrs. Boro?" he asked in a wonderful voice, and the end was raised like a bird's wings.
"Oh, it's me." Mrs. Boro hesitated a little, smiling and reaching out: "Mr. Claude Streif?"
" Yes." The gentleman took the visitor's hand, his fingers were cold, but very dry: "I am waiting for you, come, please come in, please come in and talk."
; He gently let go of Mrs. Borrow’s hand, leading her sideways into the hall, then closing the door behind her.
***
"Please sit...what do you want to drink?" Claude · Streif asked: "Pomelo juice or coffee?"
"If convenient, grapefruit juice." Mrs. Boro replied. She didn't sit down immediately, but looked around, and she was surprised to find that there was not much change here, or more accurately, not only the appearance of the house remained the same as it was - she remembered the last time At this time, the sewage was flowing across, the dust spiders were densely covered, the messy furniture room was full of the droppings of rats and cats and dogs, the stair steps and the railings were decaying, and the curtains were pulled in the corners, full of loopholes.
It’s like being a fairy wand’s point, everything is full of life, shiny and shiny – herringbone hardwood floors, old-fashioned but soft Large sofa, oak furniture, simple lines, no railings on the stairs, there are three on average, each with a beige carpet on the steps, smooth walnuts on both sides, and yarn curtains. Open, the sun shines in through the window and shines on a small wooden table with a seemingly heavy glass vase on the small table. It has an adult head size and contains about half a tank of water. A small rose full of enamel.
The owner walked out from the side door of the living room, and Mrs. Borrow remembered that it should be the restaurant and the kitchen. She settled down and walked down the sofa to the fireplace. There is a glass sugar bowl commonly found in the old grocery store. The white shell of the toffee and the color-packed fruit candy are mixed together. There are several picture frames next to the sugar can, the male owner here and... ...a woman, should be his wife, and their children, the child's appearance tends to him, or her father, because his (her) mother's appearance is really lacking - she has a blonde hair, a smile But the nose is flat, the teeth are small, and the bumps are uneven.
However, her husband should love her very much. The photo of the hostess is not only in this place, but also on the small table at the side of the sofa.
Mrs. Borrow felt that she had seen what she wanted, she walked back to the sofa and saw Mr. Claude Streif carrying a The bulky silver tray came in, and in addition to the clear yellow citrus juice, there was a stack of scallion biscuits.
The grapefruit juice is filtered so that no residue sticks to the lips and teeth - a less common man. Mrs. Boro thought that she took out the paper and pen from the pouch she was carrying.
"I think you already know my identity and your intentions, Mr. Streif?"
"Of course." Mr. Claude Streif sat on the sofa with his hands on his knees and his hands on his knees: "The Executive Committee of the Nineteen Division of the National Parent-Teacher Association."
"One," Mrs. Boro corrected: "Now I want to ask you some questions. If you think the problem involves your privacy, you can not answer."
“Does it affect my application?”
“I can’t guarantee not.”
"Then let's talk about it first." Mr. Streif replied: "I will be cautious."
......
"Are you married?"
"Yes."
; "Your wife is now..."
"She died of illness two years ago."
"Sorry." Mrs. Boro swayed the pen in her hand - in fact, the information was there, but according to the established procedure, she still had to ask herself: "You have Have you ever had any criminal records and a history of mental illness?"
"No." Mr. Claude Streif - our Anthony Hopkin Dr. S. did not hesitate to answer.
"How old is your child?"
"Seven years old." Hopkins Moved his finger: "Eight years after September."
"Seven years old," Mrs. Boro repeated: "When are you at work?" Take care of him?”
“Before I was working to look after my children.” Dr. Hopkins whispered softly: “I have little savings. "
"So why do you want to apply for this job?" Mrs. Boro asked: "Primary school teacher, Mr. Streif, with your qualifications." And experience you can get a salary, a higher level, a more familiar position..."
"Why is the answer not?" Showing a peaceful and serene smile: "For my children, look, Mrs. Borrow, my child is going to elementary school, and I don't want to leave my child - I happen to be able to do this."
< Br /> Mrs. Boluo's eyes widened slightly.
Mr. Streif is a good father, no doubt, but his approach makes her want to sigh and shake her head - there are many fathers who want to accompany their children, But not every one will prepare such a big gift for the children who are going to elementary school.
As she said, Mr. Claude Streif is a knowledgeable and experienced person who can rely on those in his head. Things get a good job of glory and money in a museum and university, but he came here to apply for a position as a primary school teacher - he does not have a college degree in elementary education, and of course he did not pass cbet and oral interviews. But he passed the national exam, which is msat. A large exam of more than 6 hours, including English reading, math, science, history, economics, sports, art, stage performance, politics, etc. Half of them are multiple-choice questions and half are short-answer questions. Typical topics such as analyzing a sonnet of Shakespeare; discussing the flow of energy in photosynthesis; developing a training plan for a football team; discussing the influence of the knight system on modern Western civilization; writing a stage art director should do it in the background Ten things and reasons, etc. The questions asked cover almost the entire human knowledge, and are professional and profound – you can't even guess with guesses or gibberish.