All The Names - Jose Saramago

...
Senhor José slept like a log. After returning from his dangerous but successful visit to the unknown
woman's parents, he wanted to set down the weekend's extraordinary events in his notebook, but he was
so tired that he didn't get any further than his conversation with the clerk at the General Cemetery. He went
to bed without any supper, fell asleep in less than two minutes and when he opened his eyes, at the first
light of dawn, he discovered that, without knowing how or when, he had made the decision not to go in to
work. It was Monday, the very worst day to miss work, especially if you were a clerk Whatever the
alleged reason, and however convincing it might have been on any other occasion, it was always
suspected of being merely an excuse, a way of justifying prolonging the indolence of Sunday into a day
that was legally and customarily devoted to work. After the repeated and increasingly serious
irregularities in his behaviour since he had started looking for the unknown woman, Senhor José is aware
that not going to work could be the last straw as far as his boss's patience was concerned. This frightening
prospect, however, was not enough to shake the firmness of his decision. There are two important reasons
why Senhor José cannot postpone what he has to do until he has an afternoon off. The first of these is that,
one day, the mother of the unknown woman will come to the Central Registry in order to recover the keys,
the second is that the school, as Senhor José knows all too well, from harsh experience, is closed on the
weekend.
Despite his decision not to go to work, Senhor José got up very early. He wanted to be as far away as
possible before the Central Registry opened, he didn't want his immediate superior to come knocking at
the door to find out if he was ill again. While he was shaving, he wondered whether it would be best to
begin by going to the unknown woman's apartment, or to the school, but he opted for the school, he is one
of the many who always leave the most important till last. He also wondered if he should take the letter of
authority with him, or if, on the contrary, it would be dangerous to show it, bearing in mind that a
headmaster, given his job, was likely to be a knowledgable, well-read, educated person, what if the terms
in which the document was written struck him as unusual, extravagant, hyperbolic, he might demand to
know why there was no official stamp, prudence tells Senhor José to leave both letters of authority behind
with the innocent clippings about the bishop, My identity card proving that I work for the Central Registry
should be more than enough, concluded Senhor José, after all, I'm only going to confirm something
concrete, objective, factual, that a woman who committed suicide was a teacher of mathematics at the
school. It was still very early when he left the house, the shops were closed, with no lights on and the
shutters down, there were scarcely any cars, probably even the earliest risers among the Central Registry
staff would only just be getting out of bed. In order not to be seen in the vicinity, Senhor José went and hid
in a park two blocks away from the main avenue, along which the bus had taken him to visit the lady in the
ground-floor apartment, late one afternoon when he saw his boss going into the Central Registry. Unless
you actually knew he was there, he was invisible among the bushes and the low branches of the trees. The
benches were all wet with the night dew, so Senhor José did not sit down, instead, he passed the time
walking along the garden paths, enjoying himself looking at the flowers and wondering what their names
were, it's not surprising that he knows so little about botanical matters, since he's spent his whole life
between four walls, breathing the pungent smell of old papers, still more pungent when the air is filled by
that smell of chrysanthemums and roses mentioned on the very first page of this story. When the clock
marked the opening time for the Central Registry to the public, Senhor José, now safe from any possible
unfortunate encounters, set off for the school. He was in no hurry, today was his, which is why he decided
to go on foot. As he left the garden, he was doubtful which direction to take, if he had bought a map of the
city, as he had intended, he would not now have to be asking a policeman the way, but the fact is that the