A Long Long Time Ago And Essentially True

This summary section includes Chapter 29: “Life Has Become Better, Comrades; Life Has Become More Cheerful,” Chapter 30: “Sylwester,” Chapter 31: “Onward Toward the Bright Future,” and Chapter 32: “Oh, I Happy. I Much Happy.”

Back in Half-Village, a Russian squadron arrives the next day to investigate the death of their soldier. Czesław gives a plausible explanation of an attack by the Nazis and shows the commander some official papers proving that he’s a member of the Communist People’s Army. Accepting the tale, the Russian advises Czesław to go to the big city where he’ll receive benefits as a freedom fighter. After the Russians depart, all the villagers breathe a sigh of relief.

Sylwester is New Year’s Eve in Poland, and Beata looks forward to Stash’s party that night. Irena stays home, as expected, much to Stash’s disappointment, but the party is a big success. Kinga, Magda, and Beata get tipsy and break out the video camera to film the festivities for Irena’s benefit. By 11 o’clock, the girls head out to the Rynek market square to ring in the new year. There, Magda sees her ex-boyfriend now dating her former best friend. Thinking quickly, Beata spots the handsome young man from the bar and asks him to pretend to be Magda’s boyfriend to save face. He agrees to help. His name is Sebastian, and he offers to escort the girls home, but they decline. On the walk back, Beata confesses that she lost the nerve to tell Tadeusz off. Magda says she had the same problem when she tried to confront her ex-boyfriend.

After the war, life changes quickly for the inhabitants of Half-Village. Czesław and Anielica are formally engaged and plan to marry in Kraków. Władysław and Marysia decide to travel to the city with them to find work. Marysia’s parents want to go along too because the Red Cross is offering emigration services to countries where Jews aren’t persecuted.

Beata is having trouble adjusting to the cold winters in the city as opposed to her cozy country fireside. Stash begins phoning the apartment, but Irena refuses to speak to him. Still, he persists in calling. Irena shares one happy story with Beata about the time that Stash sneaked her out of town for a music festival. She’d been married for 10 years by then to a lazy man reliant on alcohol but had a magical time during her jaunt with Stash. A few days later, Pani Bożena says she won’t need Beata’s services anymore. Beata isn’t concerned because she has saved a significant amount of her earnings, and the end of this job is a relief.

By January, Magda gets a job at a wine bar, leaving Kinga and Beata at Stash’s. One night, Kinga brings an Englishman named Ronan to meet the other two. Magda can speak English and translates his message to Kinga. He teaches at the Agricultural Institute and takes students to his farm in Ireland each summer. They get room, board, and a monthly stipend to work on the farm. He offers this opportunity to Kinga, who is overjoyed. In broken English, she tells him, “Oh, I happy. [...] I much happy” (227).

This summary section includes Chapter 33: “From There to Here,” Chapter 34: “The Nazis, Soviets, Russians, Tatars, Ottomans, Turks, Cossacks, Prussians, and Swedes,” Chapter 35: “Work Just Like Stalin Taught You,” and Chapter 36: “Śmigus Dyngus.”

Getting to Kraków by bus proves an ordeal that none of the party from Half-Village is expecting. They find that buses are booked hours in advance because so many people are leaving the country to go to the big city. Czesław secures space for his party because the driver recognizes him from his resistance days. Halfway to their destination, however, in the middle of the night, the bus breaks down. The little group takes shelter at an abandoned manor house. They don’t get back on another bus until the following morning.

Stash continues to call Irena, but she still won’t talk to him. However, Beata sees her in the neighborhood of the music club as she’s going to work. Irena doesn’t want the girls to know that she’s seeing Stash on the sly. While Beata and Magda are having a conversation about Sebastian, whom they both fancy, Kinga walks in furiously. That afternoon, Ronan presented her with a sexual proposition rather than a job in Ireland. Kinga is determined to confront him when he shows up at Stash’s, but he and his English cohorts don’t arrive. The girls vow to track him down. They go to all the bars in the city where the English are known to congregate and eventually find him with his friends. One of the Englishmen says that all the local girls have their price, which infuriates Kinga, Magda, and Beata. Beata tells the men off roundly for the poor way they treat Polish women. Several Polish men overhear the interchange and step forward to defend the honor of their countrywomen. After the girls leave the bar, they know that Ronan and his friends will get a good thrashing.

Kraków is hardly what Anielica expects when she steps off the bus. Her group is discouraged to see the mass of people who have poured into the city looking for work and a place to stay. After his initial disorientation, Czesław sets off to make arrangements. Using his resistance connections, he soon gets Marysia’s parents relocated to Scandinavia. He finds work for everyone and a place to stay. Less than two months later, Czesław and Anielica finally say their wedding vows. The marriage feast is a humble affair, but their long wait is over.

The Monday after Easter in Poland is celebrated as Śmigus Dyngus. On this day, people douse each other with water in honor of a pagan tradition. Most businesses stay closed while this mayhem is occurring, but Sebastian is hosting a Śmigus Dyngus party at his flat. Magda and Beata decide to go. Sebastian hands out towels as the guests arrive because most of them have been drenched on their way to the party.

Although Magda is interested in capturing Sebastian’s attention, he seems more interested in Beata. To avoid awkwardness, Beata excuses herself to go to the bathroom. She finds that this small room is where everyone goes to smoke marijuana. Trying to fit in, she smokes with Sebastian. Later, Magda is disappointed when he doesn’t give her any attention, and she wants to go home. Back at the flat, Irena is chatting on the phone with an old friend. She has just returned from a Buddhist party, which surprises Beata: “Irena shrugs. ‘It’s a new world’” (263).