Immediately after Cabinski's departure Pepa called through the door,
"Nurse, come here!"
The nurse had just returned with the coffee and the boys whom she had dragged in from the yard with difficulty.
She served the breakfast to the children and promised: "Eddy . . . you will get a pair of new shoes . . . papa will buy them for you. Teddy will get a new suit and Jadzia a dress . . . Drink your coffee, dears!"
She patted their heads, handed them the rolls and wiped their faces with maternal solicitude. She loved them and fussed over them as though they were her own children.
"Nurse!" shouted Cabinska, sticking her head through the door.
"Yes, I hear you."
"Where is Tony?"
"She's gone to the laundry."
"You will go, nurse, for my dress to Sowinska on Widok Street. Do you know where it is? . . ."
"Of course, I know! . . . That skinny woman who's as cross as a chained dog. . . ."