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.And if governments failed in their duty there were always the media — continual goadings on television programmes, upsetting articles in the Sunday papers and disturbing pictures in the colour supplements.There was no need to worry about Miss Crowe and Miss Ivory.The (acting) deputy assistant director, who had been commanded to make the presentation speech, wasn't quite sure what it was that Miss Crowe and Miss Ivory did or had done during their working lives.The activities of their department seemed to be shrouded in mystery — something to do with records or filing, it was thought, nobody knew for certain, but it was evidently 'women's work', the kind of thing that could easily be replaced by a computer.The most significant thing about it was that nobody was replacing them, indeed the whole department was being phased out and only being kept on until the men working in it reached retirement age.Yet under the influence of a quick swig of sherry, even this unpromising material could be used to good effect.The deputy assistant director stepped into the middle of the room and began to speak.'The point about Miss Crowe and Miss Ivory, whom we are met together to honour today, is that nobody knows exactly, or has ever known exactly, what it is that they do,' he declared boldly.'They have been — they are — the kind of people who work quietly and secretly, doing good by stealth, as it were.Good, do I hear you ask? Yes, good, I repeat, and good I mean.In these days of industrial unrest it is people like Miss Ivory and Miss Crowe' — the names seemed to have got reversed, but presumably it didn't matter — 'who are an example to us all.We shall miss them very much, so much so that nobody has been found to replace them, but we would be the last to deny them the rewards of a well-earned retirement.It gives me much pleasure on behalf of the company and staff to present each of these ladies with a small token of our appreciation of their long and devoted service, which carries with it our best wishes for their future.'Letty and Marcia then came forward, each to receive an envelope containing a cheque and a suitably inscribed card, the presenter remembered a luncheon engagement and slipped away, glasses were refilled and a buzz of talk broke out Conversation had to be made and it did not come very easily once the obvious topics had been exhausted.As the party went on, people divided most easily into everyday working groups.It was the most natural thing then for Letty and Marcia to find themselves with Edwin and Norman, and for the latter to make some comment on the speech and to suggest that from what had been said he supposed they would spend their retirement setting the motor industry to rights.Marcia was glad to be with people she knew.When she met other members of the staff she was conscious of her breastlessness, feeling that they must sense her imperfection, her incompleteness.Yet on the other hand she liked to talk about herself, to bring the conversation round to hospitals and surgeons, to pronounce in a lowered, reverent tone the name of Mr Strong.She could even, if it came to that, take some pleasure in saying 'my mastectomy — it was the word 'breast' and the idea of it that upset her.None of the speeches and conversations dealing with her retirement had contained any references to breast (hope springing eternal in the human) or bosom (sentiments to which every b.returns an echo), as they might well have done had the deputy assistant director's speech been more literary.It was of course generally known that Miss Ivory had undergone a serious operation, but the dress she was wearing today — a rather bright hyacinth blue courtelle — was several sizes too big for her skinny figure, so that very little of her shape was visible.People at the party who did not know her were fascinated by her strange appearance, that dyed hair and the peering beady eyes, and she might have provided unusual entertainment if one had had the courage to attempt a conversation with her.But one never did have quite that sort of courage when it came to the point.Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold of retirement, it was an uneasy combination and it was no wonder that people shied away from her or made only the most perfunctory remarks.It was difficult to imagine what her retirement would be like — impossible and rather gruesome to speculate on it.Letty, by contrast, was boringly straightforward.Even her rather nice green-patterned jersey suit and her newly set mousy hair were perfectly in character.She had already been classified as a typical English spinster about to retire to a cottage in the country, where she would be joining with others like her to engage in church activities, attending meetings of the Women's Institute, and doing gardening and needlework.People at the party therefore talked to her about all these things and Letty's natural modesty and politeness prevented her from telling them that she was no longer going to share a country cottage with a friend but would probably be spending the rest of her life in London.She knew that she was not a very interesting person, so she did not go into too much boring detail with the young people who enquired graciously about her future plans.Even Eulalia, the black junior, gave her an unexpectedly radiant smile.Another, whose thick, smooth straight neck rose up like a column of alabaster, the kind of girl it was impossible to imagine engaging in any of the mundane office jobs like typing or filing, suggested brightly that she'd be able to watch the telly in the afternoons, and Letty began to realize that things like this were, after all, one of the chief joys of retirement.She could not admit to this kind girl that she hadn't even got a television set.Inevitably everyone had to get back to work and eventually Letty and Marcia found themselves in their own office with Edwin and Norman.The two men seemed pleased with themselves.In their time they had attended a good many retirement parties and this one apparently came up to the standard which was measured by the number of times the sherry bottle went round.'Of course sherry's a bit livery midday,' said Norman, 'but it's better than nothing.It does have its effect.' He swayed slightly in a comic manner.'I find two glasses quite enough,' said Letty, 'and I think my glass must have been refilled when I wasn't looking because I feel quite [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]