El
mofaja-a |
The
surprise |
Rafa-at Daisy el hatif wa
hawalet el ittissal bi zabooniha marraten okhra.
|
Daisy picked up the
telephone and tried to get through to her client again.
|
Wa kan zaboonoha,wa yod-a
Frank Baccini wa hwa sahibo mostawda-in
lissila-i el kahraba-iya lem yadfa laha ojrata ma qamet bihi min amalin
limoddati yawmayn.
|
Her client, a certain Frank
Baccini, who had a warehouse of electrical goods, had not paid for her two
days' work.
|
Laqad najahet Daisy fi
iktishafi el makan el-lathi kan ya-isho fihi esh-shariko el mohtal
lissayyed Baccini wa kanet bintidhari esh-sheek bi qaleq.
|
Daisy had managed to
discover where Mr. Baccini's dishonest partner was now living and was
anxiously expecting her cheque.
|
Wa bada-at Daisy tashokko bi
anna zaboonaha kana mohtalen aydhen.
|
Daisy was beginning to think
that her client was dishonest too.
|
Wa ja-a raddon motathaqil
min el jihati el okhra:” allo,hel astati el mossa-ada?”
|
A very bored "Hello,
can I help you?" was the reply at the other end.
|
Laqed kan sawta
fatatin,katibato es-sayyed Frank Baccini.
|
It was a young woman's
voice, Frank Baccini's secretary.
|
“orido et-kallom ma-a
es-sayyed Baccini ,min fadhlik.”
|
"I'd like to speak to
Mr. Baccini, please."
|
“assifa,es-sayyed Baccini
kharij el madina.”
|
"Sorry, Mr. Baccini is
out of town."
|
“fa alahhet Daisy
qa-ilah:”wa lakin mata ya-ood?”
|
"But when is he coming
back?" insisted Daisy.
|
“ma-a el assaf la arif.”
|
"I'm afraid I don't
know."
|
“halla akhbartihi bi anna
Daisy Himilton ittassalet bihi wa annaha torido et-takalloma ma-aho
li-amrin ajil.”
|
"Will you tell him
Daisy Hamilton telephoned and would like to talk to him urgently."
|
Wa
kan er-raddo bi dooni iktirath:”hassanen-na-am,wa hwa
kathalik.”
|
"Well - yes, I suppose
so," was the completely unconcerned reply.
|
Kanet hathihi el mokalama
hiya el mokalama el ashira,el-lati ajratha Daisy fi dharfi osboo-ayn ma-a
hathihi el fatat,wa lakin Frank Baccini lem yattessil biha.
|
This was the tenth telephone
conversation Daisy had had in two weeks with this young woman, but Frank
Baccini hadn't got in touch with her yet.
|
kanet
Daisy ghadhibah, fa qarraret eth-thahaba ila mostawda-i es-sayyed Baccini
litara in kan honak.
|
Daisy was furious and decided to go to Mr. Baccini's
warehouse to see if he was there.
|
Wa indama wassalet daqqet
ala bab el makteb.
|
When she arrived, she
knocked on the office door.
|
Fa qalet katibato es-sayyed
Bacini bi sawtiha er- ratib:”odkhol.”
|
Mr. Baccini's secretary said
in her monotonous voice: "Come in."
|
“laqad ittassalto iddata
marratin-ismi Daisy Hamilton.”
|
"I've telephoned many
times - my name is Daisy Hamilton."
|
“haqqen? Ma-a men konti
toreedeen et-takallom?”sa-alat el fatato thalika dona an tandhora ila
Daisy.
|
"Really? Who did you
want to speak to?" asked the young woman without even glancing at
Daisy.
|
Fa raddet Daisy:”orido
et-takalloma ma-a es-sayyed Baccini.”
|
"I want to speak to Mr.
Baccini," replied Daisy.
|
Wa saret tazdado odwanyyeten
akther.
|
She was becoming even more
aggressive.
|
Fa qalet el katibato bi
tariqatiha er-rateeba el mo-tada:”ana assifa,innaho ghayr mawjood
hona.”wa wassalet qira-ata majallatiha.
|
"I'm afraid he's not
here," said the secretary in her usual monotonous way and went on
reading her magazine.
|
Wa sarakhet
Daisy:”kifayah,kifayah.” Wa aghlaqet el bab bi onfin.
|
Daisy shouted "Enough
is enough!" and banged the door closed.
|
Ahasset Daisy bilinqibadh.
|
Daisy felt rather depressed.
|
Wa
khataret bi baliha fikrah:”ana arifo matha sa asna-o sa
atawqqafo bi mahel luigi liqtina-i boodhat el mawzi el-lathitha.”
|
"I know what I'll
do," she thought, "I'll stop off at Luigi's for a nice banana
split."
|
Kanet Daisy tohibbo el
joloos bi rodhati mahel luigi lilboodha wa et-tahadothi qalilen ma-a
sahibihi wa hwa itali thi tafkirin ijabi.
|
Daisy liked sitting in
Luigi's ice-cream parlour and having a little chat with the owner, a
positive-thinking Italian.
|
Wa fi athna-i tarikiha ila
maktabiha wa hiya tass-odo
ed-dorooj ahasset bi alamin aqal tojah el bashar.
|
As Daisy walked up the
stairs to her office she felt a little less sore about human beings.
|
Wa fi el waqti lathi kanet
fihi Daisy toghayyiro hitha-aha bi hitha-in akthara rahatin,tarak shskhson
el bab wa dakhal.
|
Just as Daisy was changing
her shoes to a more comfortable pair, someone knocked on the door and
walked in.
|
kan amilen fi zay el amal.
|
It was a workman in
overalls.
|
“el mathira anisssa-hel
anti el anissa Daisy Hamilton? Ayna nadha-o hathih?”qala rajolo wa hwa
yoshiro ila es-sandookayni el kabirayni el-lathayni tamma inzalohoma.
|
"Excuse me miss - are
you Miss Daisy Hamilton? Where shall we put these?" pointing to two
large boxes on the landing.
|
“na-am, ana Daisy
Hamilton,wa lakin matha yoojado fi thaynika es-sandookayni?”
|
"Yes, I am Daisy
Hamilton but what have you got there - what's in those boxes?"
|
“es-sandook el kabir
thallajah walasghar alaton li-asri el kahwa.laqad ahsanti el ikhtiyar,fa
hathihi afdgalo sina-a fi hathihi en-nawahi.
|
"The big one is a
fridge and the smaller one is a cappuccino-making machine. You've chosen
well, you know, these are the best makes around."
|
Fa sahet Daisy:”lem atlob
ayyin min hathih.”
|
"I haven't ordered
either of these," exclaimed Daisy.
|
Wa qal el amilo
mo-akkiden:”wa lakin ismoki ala wasli et-teslim!”
|
"But it's your name on
the delivery note!" insisted the workman.
|
Laqad soddida eth-thamano
kolliyen-faqat qooli li ayna adha-ohoma.”
|
"It's all paid for -
just tell me where to put them."
|
Kanet Daisy ala washaki
rafdhi es-sil-a indama
absaret Frank Baccini wa hwa yadkholo kathalik.
|
Daisy was just about to
refuse the goods when she saw Frank Baccini coming in the door, too.
|
“Anissa Hamilton.ana assif
jidden li-adem tamakkoniki mina el ittissal bi.
|
"Miss Hamilton. I'm
very sorry I haven't been in touch.
|
Amol alla to-aridhi wa
lakinnani lahadhto adama wojoodi thallajah fi maktabik wa…alato el kahwa
hathih mina en-naw-i el khass
|
I do hope you don't mind but
I had noticed you didn't have a fridge in your office and... this
cappuccino-making machine is a little speciality.
|
Wa
bi el monassaba ha howa esh-shik mokabila el amal ellathi qomti
bihi,ma-a badhi ez-ziyadah li nafaqatik.”
|
Oh, by the way here is your
cheque for the excellent work you did, with a little extra for your
expenses."
|
Wa ra-a Frank Baccini anna
Daisy qad indahashet wa adhaf:
|
Frank Baccini saw Daisy was
astonished and added:
|
amolo an takona katibati qad
itassalet biki? Laqad taghayyabto limoddati osbooayni li qadha-i shahri el
assal.”
|
"My secretary did phone
you, I hope? I've been away for a couple of weeks on honeymoon."
|
Fa qalet Daisy bada an adet
li nafssiha:”hassanen,la, lem taf-al,lakin la bass sayed Baccini!”
|
Daisy recovered herself,
"Well, no, she didn't - but that's quite all right Mr. Baccini!"
|