Zdravko woke up with the phone ringing. It was Rusim. Zdravko listened while eyeing up the darkened, daytime apartment. Curtains were still drawn, the bedroom door shut. Silence but for a vaguely ill sounding city. The cup of tea was missing. A folded blue blanket lay over the end of the sofa.
\n\u201cThe bridge at twelve,\u201d Zdravko confirmed and hung up. The time was 10.14am.
\nAs he made himself another tea, Nadejda arrived back from shopping, a full bag of groceries in her arm. She was dressed in a turquoise T shirt, jeans and espadrilles. There was not one piece of jewellery on her.
\n\u201cGood morning, detective Nestorov,\u201d she said, dropping the bag on the kitchen bench. \u201cBreakfast,\u201d she said. \u201cTime to pull the blinds.\u201d<\/p>\n
They sat down at the table. Mint tea and coffee and fresh pastries. Nadejda looked even more beautiful under daylight. Less make-up. As they talked, Zdravko got to meet her greenish eyes more often than was good for a sleep-deprived policeman.
\n\u201cDeath makes me nervous,\u201d he was saying.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not really funny. I had to go to a funeral recently and I was shaking like a leaf. I had a speech to make. I just couldn\u2019t stop shaking.\u201d
\n\u201cWhose funeral?\u201d
\n\u201cMy big brother\u2019s.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d
\nNadejda said nothing.
\n\u201cWhat did he die of?\u201d
\nNadejda\u2019s eyes focussed on some far away shirt button. Or some ruffled head of hair right in front of her that no one else could see. \u201cThey say his heart just exploded. He was twenty nine,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s too young.\u201d
\n\u201cHe was autistic. Borislav never had a good outlook for a long life.\u201d
\nZdravko stared at his plate, full of pastry crumbs, pushing them round with a teaspoon as if he could change the future. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s like life\u2019s a joke,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we can never get ready for these things.\u201d He pushed the crumbs round some more without looking. \u201cAnd that was very sad about Antonov last night. We needed him alive.\u201d
\n\u201cFrom what I heard, sounds like he wanted to be dead.\u201d
\nZdravko raised his eyebrows. \u201cAntonov didn\u2019t have a good prognosis either. Tumour on his brain. Maybe you knew that already. Maybe not. Probably, he didn\u2019t have long to live. But we didn\u2019t know that last night.\u201d
\n\u201cWell you know it now,\u201d said Nadejda. She finished her coffee. \u201cI don\u2019t know about life being a joke. I got taught to think of life like it was a bowl of cherries. Not even someone dying changes that. Not even sadness.\u201d
\n\u201cI guess we all got a lot of different upbringings.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll need a shower,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve only got these clothes. I can take a shower at work.\u201d
\n\u201cDon\u2019t be silly. I have some clothes that will fit.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd how will it be with me walking around in a twenty something year old woman\u2019s undergarments?\u201d
\n\u201cZdravko! Men\u2019s clothes. I have all\u2026 I have a whole drawer full of men\u2019s clothes. And new underwear.\u201d
\n\u201cWow,\u201d said Zdravko.
\n\u201cThey were Bobi\u2019s,\u201d she reproved him. \u201cHe was about your size. Only better looking.\u201d
\nZdravko put down the teaspoon. \u201cYou are very beautiful,\u201d he said. The words just appeared of their own. Waltzed out the gate without any kind of anybody\u2019s say so.
\nNadejda gazed back at him across the table for a few seconds. Then she said: \u201cYou can kiss me if you like.\u201d
\nThe crumbs had fallen. Serious cherry shape.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a long way to kiss,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe I could meet you at the end of the table.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zdravko woke up with the phone ringing. It was Rusim. Zdravko listened while eyeing up the darkened, daytime apartment. Curtains were still drawn, the bedroom door shut. Silence but for a vaguely ill sounding city. The cup of tea was … Continue reading