In search of the niche
Шрифт:
– Be more careful with Romanians. He can easy steal something.
– No worries, he looks like a normal guy, just afraid of his own shadow. So, now the story. We took the bus on Saturday morning and hit the road. The road is absolutely awful - winding, broken, dusty... But in an hour we finally got there. We walked around about twenty minutes in order to explore this village and found the place where you can rent cars. The dealership almost museum. I mean, everything old and nobody there. There is an old "Chevrolet" since the last century and two barely alive "Fords". The owner, local Indian guy, maybe four feet tall if you will measure him with a hat and on skating. He know English almost the same as I know mechanical design. Well, we began to explain him with gestures what we want. We explained, he nodded, seems like understood. In general, he says, for the month it will cost us 600 bucks. We're were just speechless! I told him right away - you have Canadian prices! Only in Canada cars are the new, and you have piece of junk. Are you think that we are suckers? You think because we don"t know Spanish, you can rip us off! But he stands there, smiles and shrugs his shoulders. Do not like it, he says, go to a neighboring city. Only there the prices are the same. Well, Romanians immediately crawled into the bushes. Started to cry how it is difficult in Canada, and he doesn"t have a car, and his children are hungry at home, he is a new immigrant, oh, how hard! Oh I"m so poor!
– Well, what about alcoholic? Also hides in the bushes?
– Something like that. He said that he found somebody, who will bring him alcohol from the adjacent village for ten bucks a week. By the way, he bought four bottles of some suspicion tequila for nine bucks a bottle after arriving to Panama. I mean, close to airport. It looks like a Russian moonshine. I checked the wine here, you know, the prices are the same as in Toronto. In general, I bought two boxes of their "Corona" to taste it. And you know, surprise-surprise - beer is not bad. I relaxed yesterday so pleasantly... I drank two boxes at once. But you know, with such pleasure...
– Hey! I hope you know when to stop? Especially your next room partner can help you.
– Well, yes... What are you saying? I didn"t hear. Something with connection.
– I having sad, don"t drink too much alcoholic there. Your goal is higher.
– Yes, higher... Honestly, it's not like I saw it originally...
– And what about your friend Francisco?
– I event don"t want to talk about this condom! He became so important, kind of doing me a favor if talk to me. I asked him openly: Where are all these girls that you told me?
– And what he is saying?
– Never mind. He kind of got offended! Answer me through the teeth: ten years ago everything was different here. Trust me, I was surprised by myself.
– He is douchebag! I told you that all these Spanish men pathological crooks. I told you from the beginning that he is baboon! And you argued with me... Why should he cheat? Because!
– Yes, he told me...
– By the way, I think that he married five times because otherwise nobody agreed to have sex with him.
– Maybe... In general, you can"t save money, can"t travel around and... I mean, nothing exciting. A food is just nasty. My stomach started to hurt.
– You would eat less there. You probably eat twice as usual.
– Why twice? Maybe a little bit... Anyway, nothing to do here... The first week maybe I ate too much, because it was unusual food. And now I mostly eat fruits. Just to shit properly.
– What going on at work? It is already the third week has gone. Have you done something?
– Yeah... Do some small stuff here and there. But you know, I have absolutely no mood. Francisco sent me to a kiln area for measurements. And near the smelting furnace, the heat is wild. I sweated in three minutes! A real sauna.
– Poor little Nikolay! You got sweat. I hope it was no wind draft there?
– What's so funny?! Yesterday I didn"t get sick, but tomorrow or after tomorrow I will. And the lungs inflammation not have been canceled yet. And you know, I have antibiotic allergy. If something happened, I can"t reach Canada.
8
Next time Nikolay phoned in about a week.
– Well, Mr. Grechko, tell me. How is Panama doing?
– What you want me to tell? I'll probably wait another two weeks, go back home, and then I'll quit. I'll start to look for a normal job in Toronto. I"m so tired.
– Oh boy... Have you already gave up in a four weeks?!
– Yes somehow everything is sour and bitter here. I hate this glowing sun! I'm probably allergic to this sun. Something happened to my body - it"s began to itch.
– May be it"s itchy because of women absence?
– Hm-m, I guess. Hmmm... I have one story to tell... Well, I went the other night in this adjacent village. There they have a bar and there's a kind of dancing. One guy from locals explained me how to get there from the bus stop. It is really not too far - about 10 minutes to walk. The village is small, maybe 10 thousand people. And I run out of beer, so I decided to combine these two businesses.
– Kind of - if I do not find the girls, so at least I'll warm up.
– Yes. If I don"t find a girl, then at least I'll buy a beer. I got there about 8 p.m., and the last bus to the plant goes at 10p.m.
– Well okay. You just got an hour and a half to find the girl, five minutes to get behind the barn for emotional sex, buy the beer and run back to the bus stop.
– Koifman, I immediately feel that I"m talking to project engineer. Everything calculated by the minute, as in the work schedule. Ha-ha-ha. In short, I came to this local "night club"...
– Are you went there alone?
– Of cause alone. You refused go with me.
– Oh yeah! Otherwise we would shake this village upside down. The population would increase in three times in this village...
– You better listen further. I tried to convince people, nobody agreed. One neighbor is already was drunk in the smoke. Romanian, in my opinion, even afraid go to the toilet. He probably believes that still leaves under communism regime and shaking.
– And what your Spanish speaking friends?
– They are morons! Not kidding. In the evenings they sit in their house, put drawings on the table, and something discuss in Spanish. From their conversation I just can pick up some international words, like: a conveyor belt, a bolt, and, more briefly, something related to the job. I thought they are "hot machos"...