7

During the weekend it was a snow fall in Toronto. Not much, but not all roads have been properly plowed, which naturally affected the traffic. The drive from shop to home for Koifman took extra half an hour. Returning after shopping, Leo noted with irritation that the snow from the snowplow truck had blocked the parking lot in front of the house. Snow was cling to shovel and it took extra efforts to clean it up. Finally all snow was out of driveway. Sweaty and tired Leo came home. Taking his boots off, with frozen hands, he scratched his finger badly.

– What a shit!
– Koifman shouted with disappointment. Blood started to drop on the floor.

– Do you want a plaster?
– wife asked him with compassion.

– No, I want to Panama, - he answered wearily and went swimming.

Grechko called on Tuesday morning.

– What about the car?
– began Leo without an introduction.

– With the car... With the car - deep ass!
– same short way answered Nikolay.

– Come on, talk to me!

– What to tell?! I talked to these men. First man is real alcoholic. This is the reason why he agreed go to Panama - just to drink without any control. His wife at home not allow him even glass of wine. We are fed three times a day for free, but alcohol is officially banned on the territory of the camp. Although almost everyone drinks. Somehow they found the way and from a neighboring village they are buying beer, wine and tequila. Another man, a new immigrant from Romania. He even doesn"t have citizenship yet. He grew in some Romanian small town and never visited Bucharest. He found here all sorts of parks, mountains... Kind of tourist... But he doesn"t interested to spend any money on the car. I certainly understand him. I was in his shoos fifteen years ago. And he is afraid that if something happens, he will be deported back to Romania. He even not a "chicken", he is a real coward.

– 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.