Thursday, December 8th
Thank you brother, for the money. Where did you get it? Perhaps I should not ask, eh? Either way. Thank you. I have moved back into apartment, number 1287, and have even started looking for job! I will pay you back, I promise. You have helped me regain control of life. I am thinking to get job working at restaurant in town. It is not work I love, but, as they say here, "whatever pays the Bill."
С любовью
Dmitri.
Monday, December 11th
I got job at store selling drinks! Today was first day. Job is much better than working for Alfonso. Owner, Ray, hardly even stays at store. Most of day, I am alone giving drinks to whoever buys. Ray even told me to help myself a bottle or two! I think I am liking this new job.
С любовью
Dmitri.
Tuesday, December 13th
I am just remembering. When I got your letter, it was delivered to me by crazy mailman I told you about. He was yelling, something about kidnapped daughter... He wanted me to ask Juli about her father. Strange, yes? I do not yet know if I am trusting this man, but I am asking Juli anyways. When I ask, she is bursting with tears, and I am trying to find what I have said wrong! After some time, she is telling me that she ran away, and that this mailman is her father. I do not have any more space on paper to tell you full conversation. I will send in next letter. I am trying to help Juli, but is very hard. She is coming to my apartment now, instead of roof. One night she asks if she can stay on couch. I tell her yes. She has stayed here each day for past week. But I must end my letter. I am running out of space. I will s[handwriting becomes illegibly small]
I got up to the roof in what turned out to be just in time. Dmitri was folding up his tent and gathering up his things. The stack of posters that I'd left up there was soaking wet, I noticed. (I'd brought them up with me at some point to have something to sit on, I think, but I'm not sure when.) Anyway, he noticed me at that moment and stopped. "What are you doing?" I said, very creatively. "My brother, he sent money. I am going, looking for job. I got back apartment."
ReplyDeleteI was astonished. "Yuri?" He nodded. "That's wonderful, Dmitri!" It really was, too. Although I was sad that I would not be able to talk to him. "Does this mean I don't need to bring you food?"
"No," he said, "but if you ever find you needing story or two, you come visit, yes? 1287."
I grinned. "Okay," I told him. "Well, good luck on finding your job! I have to go to work now, but I'm glad I came by, or I might never have seen you again."
I left the roof and went down the stairs, feeling slightly better about the world. Even if I was basically homeless, at least Dmitri wasn't. I didn't know whether or not I'd go see him at his apartment, though. Now that he didn't need food... I'd have to have a little mental discussion about how often to visit. I still didn't know if we were friends. (Man, life is sometimes a little too much like high school.)
...
An emotionless, empty walk later, I found myself in front of a door labeled 1287.
Dmitri looked pretty surprised to see me. I asked if I could sleep on his couch. He said yes, but that there was something he needed to ask me first. It was about my father.
I thought I'd been done crying. I was wrong. But I managed to get myself under control. "Your father?" he said again.
So I told him everything.