“Oh, Vincent!” He ran his hand over his brother’s hair; the lump in his throat prevented him from speaking.
“It’s good to have you here, Theo.”
“Vincent, please tell me what has been the matter with you. Why have you been sick? What was it?”
Vincent told him about Courrieres.
“You’ve exhausted yourself, that’s what. Have you been eating properly since you’re back? Have you been taking care of yourself?”
“The miners’ wives have been nursing me.”
“Yes, but what have you been eating?” Theo looked around him. “Where do you keep your stores? I don’t see any.”
“The women bring me in a little something every day. Whatever they can spare; bread, coffee, a little cheese, or rabbit.”
“But, Vincent, surely you know you can’t get your strength back on bread and coffee? Why don’t you buy yourself some eggs and vegetables and meat?”
“Those things cost money here in the Borinage, the same as anywhere else.”
Theo sat down on the bed.
“Vincent, for the love of God, forgive me! I didn’t know. I didn’t understand.”
“That’s all right, boy, you did all you could. I’m getting along fine. In a few days I’ll be up and about again.”
Theo ran his hand across his eyes as though to clear away some misty cobweb. “No. I didn’t realize. I thought that you. . . I didn’t understand, Vincent, I just didn’t understand.”
“Oh, come. It’s all right. How are things in Paris? Where are you bound for? Have you been to Etten?”
Theo jumped up. “Are there stores in this forsaken town? Can I buy things here?”
“Yes, there are places down the hill in Wasmes. But draw up that chair. I want to talk to you. Lord, Theo, it’s been almost two years!”
Theo ran his fingers lightly over his brother’s face, and said, “First of all I’m going to load you full of the best food I can find in Belgium. You’ve been starved, that’s what’s the matter with you. And then I’m going to give you a dose of something for that fever and put you to sleep on a soft pillow. It’s a good thing I got here when I did. If I had only had the slightest idea . . . Don’t move until I get back.”
He ran out of the door. Vincent picked up his pencil, looked at “Le Four dans les Landes,” and went on copying. In a half hour Theo was back, two small boys following him. He had two sheets, a pillow, bundles of pots and dishes and packages of food. He put Vincent between the cool, white sheets and made him lie down.
“Now, how do you work this stove?” he asked, peeling off his beautiful coat and rolling up his sleeves.
“There’s some paper and twigs. Light that first and then put in the coal.”
Theo gazed at the
“It’s what we use. Here, let me show you how to work it.”
He tried to get out of bed, but Theo was on him with a leap.
“Lie down, you idiot!” he cried, “and don’t move again or I shall be forced to thrash you.”
Vincent grinned for the first time in months. The smile in his eyes almost put the fever to rout. Theo put two eggs in one of his new pots, and cut up some string beans in another. In a third he warmed some fresh milk, and held a flat toaster over the fire, with white bread on it. Vincent watched Theo hovering above the stove in his shirt-sleeves, and the sight of his brother close to him once again did him more good than any food.
At length the meal was ready. Theo drew up the table alongside the bed and spread a clean, white towel from his bag. He put a nice cut of butter into the beans, broke the two soft boiled eggs into a dish, and picked up a spoon.
“All right, boy,” he said, “open your mouth. You’re going to have a square meal for the first time in Heaven knows how long.”
“Oh, come off, Theo,” said Vincent, “I can feed myself.”
Theo filled the spoon with egg and held it up for Vincent. “Open your mouth, young fellow,” he said, “or I’ll pour it in your eye.”
When Vincent finished, he put his head back on the pillow with a deep sigh of contentment. “Food tastes good,” he said. “I had forgotten.”
“You’re not going to forget again in a hurry.”
“Now tell me, Theo, everything that’s been happening. How are things at Goupils? I’m starved for news of the outside world.”
“Then you’ll have to stay starved for a little while longer. Here’s something to put you to sleep. I want you to be quiet and give that food a chance to work.”
“But, Theo, I don’t want to sleep. I want to talk. I can sleep any time.”
“Nobody asked you what you wanted. You’re taking orders. Drink this down like a good fellow. And when you wake up, I have a nice steak and potatoes that will set you right on your feet.”
Vincent slept until sundown, and awoke feeling greatly refreshed. Theo was sitting under one of the windows, looking at Vincent’s drawings. Vincent watched him for a long time before he made a sound, a feeling of peace in his heart. When Theo saw that he was awake, he jumped up with a broad smile.
“Well! And how do you feel now? Better? You certainly were sleeping.”
“What did you think of the sketches? Did you like any of them?”
