Part 8 (1/2)

Five-thirty Bep's arrival signals the beginning of our nightly freedoo upstairs with Bep, who usually has her dessert before the rest of us Theher wishes Her list usually starts with ”Oh, by the way, Bep, so else I'd like” Bep winks at me Mrs van D doesn't miss a chance to make her wishes known to whoever comes upstairs It o up there

Five forty-five Bep leaves I go doo floors to have a look around: first to the kitchen, then to the private office and then to the coal bin to open the cat door for Mouschi

After a long tour of inspection, I wind up in Mr Kugler's office Mr van Daan is co all the drawers and files for today's s the typewriters upstairs; Margot looks around for a quiet place to do her office work; Mrs van D puts a kettle of water on the stove; Mother comes down the stairs with a pan of potatoes; we all know our jobs

Soon Peter comes back from the warehouse The first question they ask him is whether he's remembered the bread No, he hasn't He crouches before the door to the front office to make himself as small as possible and crawls on his hands and knees to the steel cabinet, takes out the bread and starts to leave At any rate, that's what he intends to do, but before he knohat's happened, Mouschi has juone to sit under the desk

Peter looks all around hirabs the cat by the tail Mouschi hisses, Peter sighs What has he acco herself, very pleased at having escaped Peter's clutches Peter has no choice but to lure her with a piece of bread Mouschi takes the bait, follows hih a crack in the door

Mr van Daan is angry and slae looks and think the saain because of sootten all about the Keg Company next door

Another step is heard in the hallway Dussel cooes toward the ith an air of propriety, sniffscoughs, sneezes and clears his throat He's out of luck-it was pepper He continues on to the front office The curtains are open, whichpaper He disappears with a scowl

Margot and I exchange another glance ”One less page for his sweetheart toreement

An elephant's tread is heard on the stairway It's Dussel, seeking co Knock, knock, knockThree taps means dinnertime! MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1943 Wenn Die Uhr Halb Neune Schlaat[ When the clock strikes half past eight]

Margot and Mother are nervous ”ShhFather Be quiet, Otto ShhPiht-thirty

Come here, you can't run the water anymore Walk softly!” A sample of what's said to Father in the bathrooht, he has to be in the living roo around, no noise whatsoever As long as the office staff hasn't arrived, sounds travel more easily to the warehouse

The door opens upstairs at eight-twenty, and this is followed by three gentle taps on the floorAnne's hot cereal I claie dish

Back downstairs, everything has to be done quickly, quickly: I comb my hair, put away the potty, shove the bed back in place Quiet! The clock is striking eight-thirty! Mrs van D changes shoes and shuffles through the room in her slippers; Mr van D too-a veritable Charlie Chaplin All is quiet The ideal fah point I want to read or study and Margot does too Father and Mother ditto Father is sitting (with dickens and the dictionary, of course) on the edge of the sagging, squeaky bed, which doesn't even have a decent mattress Two bolsters can be piled on top of each other ”I don't need these,” he thinks ”I can , he doesn't look up He laughs now and then and tries to get Mother to read a story

”I don't have the tiht now!”

He looks disappointed, but then continues to read

A little while later, when he coain: ”You have to read this, Mother!”

Mother sits on the folding bed, either reading, sewing, knitting or studying, whichever is next on her list An idea suddenly occurs to her, and she quickly says, so as not to forget, ”Anne, reot, jot this down”

After a while it's quiet again Margot slams her book shut; Father knits his forehead, his eyebrows for a funny curve and his wrinkle of concentration reappearing I at the back of his head, and he buries hiot; and I get curious and listen too Pim is drawn into the conversationNine o'clock Breakfast! FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1943 Dearest Kitty, Every ti special has happened, usually unpleasant rather than pleasant This ti on On Wednesday, Septe to the seven o'clock nee heard an announcement: ”Here is some of the best news of the war so far: Italy has capitulated” Italy has unconditionally surrendered! The Dutch broadcast froht-fifteen with the news: ”Listeners, an hour and fifteenmy daily report, we received the wonderful news of Italy's capitulation I tell you, I never tossed ht than I did today!”

”God Save the King,” the American national anthem and the Russian' 'Internationale” were played As always, the Dutch progra too optimistic

The British have landed in Naples Northern Italy is occupied by the Gerned on Friday, September 3, the day the British landed in Italy The Ger in all the newspapers at the treachery of Badoglio and the Italian king

Still, there's bad news as well It's about Mr Kleily cheerful and aly brave, despite the fact that he's always sick and in pain and can't eat”When Mr Kleiins to shi+ne,” Mother said recently, and she's absolutely right

Now it seeo to the hospital for a very difficult operation on his stomach, and will have to stay there for at least four weeks You should have seen hih he were just off to do an errand

Yours, Anne

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1943

Dearest Kitty, Relationshi+ps here in the Annex are getting worse all the time We don't dare open our mouths at mealtime (except to slip in a bite of food), because no matter e say, so way Mr Voskuijl occasionally co very well He isn'tit any easier for his family, because his attitude see to die anyway! When I think how touchy everyone is here, I can just iine what itvalerian every day to fight the anxiety and depression, but it doesn't stop ood hearty laugh would help better than ten valerian drops, but we've aloing to sag with all this sorrow and thatto per any better Everyone here is dreading the great terror known as winter Another fact that doesn't exactly brighten up our days is that Mr van Maaren, thesuspicious about the Annex A person with any brainsto the lab, Bep to the file rooler clai at all, but to the one next door

We wouldn't care what Mr van Maaren thought of the situation except that he's known to be unreliable and to possess a high degree of curiosity He's not one who can be put off with a fliler wanted to be extra cautious, so at twenty past twelve he put on his coat and went to the drugstore around the corner Less than five minutes later he was back, and he sneaked up the stairs like a thief to visit us At one-fifteen he started to leave, but Bepand warned hiler did an about-face and stayed with us until one-thirty Then he took off his shoes and went in his stockinged feet (despite his cold) to the front attic and down the other stairway, taking one step at a tiotiate the stairs, but he wound up safely in the office after having entered frootten rid of van Maaren and coler from the Annex But he'd already left and at thatdown the stairs What er putting on his shoes outside? Hey, you there, in the socks!

Yours, Anne

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1943

Dearest Kitty, It's Mrs van Daan's birthday Other than one ration stamp each for cheese, meat and bread, all she received from us was a jar of ja but flowers and also food Such are the times we live in!

Bep had a nervous fit last week because she had soher out for soain or that she'd done it all wrong And when you think that she has her regular office work to do, that Mr Kleiman is sick, that Miep is home with a cold and that Bep herself has a sprained ankle, boyfriend troubles and a grouchy father, it's no wonder she's at the end of her tether We comforted her and told her that if she'd put her foot down once or twice and say she didn't have the ti lists would shrink of their own accord

Saturday there was a big drama, the likes of which have never been seen here before It started with a discussion of van Maaren and ended in a general argu treated like a leper, that no one was friendly to hi to deserve it This was followed by a lot of sweet talk, which luckily Mother didn't fall for this time She told him ere disappointed in hireat annoyance Dussel promised her the moon, but, as usual, we haven't seen sowith the van Daans, I can tell! Father's furious because they're cheating us: they've been holding back s Oh, what kind of bombshell is about to burst now? If only I weren't so involved in all these skir us crazy! Yours, Anne

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1943

Dearest Kitty, Mr Kleioodness! He looks a bit pale, and yet he cheerfully set off to sell soreeable fact is that Mr van Daan has run out of uilders in the warehouse, which is still creating trouble for us: the uilders could wind up in the warehouse on a Monday uilders have been stolen Who's the thief? But I was talking about the e Mrs van D has scads of dresses, coats and shoes, none of which she feels she can do without Mr van D's suit is difficult to sell, and Peter's bike was put on the block, but is back again, since nobody wanted it But the story doesn't end there You see, Mrs van D is going to have to part with her fur coat In her opinion, the firm should pay for our upkeep, but that's ridiculous They just had a fla row about it and have entered the ”oh, e of reconciliation

My les at the profanity this honorable house has had to endure in the past ether, and whenever he hears his name, he looks up in alarm, as ifhe's afraid he'll be called upon to resolve another delicate probleht up her cheeks are blotched with red, Margot complains of headaches, Dussel can't sleep, Mrs van D frets and fuone completely round the bend To tell you the truth, I soet e're at odds with and e're not The only way to takea lot of that lately

Yours, Anne

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29,1943

My dearest Kitty, Mr Kleiive him a moment's peace He doesn't even knohether it's stopped bleeding He ca home, and for the first time he see battles The reason is simple: they're broke They wanted to sell an overcoat and a suit of Mr van D 's, but were unable to find any buyers His prices ay too high

So about a furrier he knows This gave Mr van D the idea of selling his wife's fur coat It's made of rabbit skin, and she's had it for seventeen years Mrs van D got 325 guilders for it, an enormous amount She wanted to keep the money herself to buy new clothes after the war, and it took so before Mr van D could make her understand that it was desperately needed to cover household expenses