***
"You guys were on the midday news. I didn’t see you. You all looked the same though in your blue uniforms. Couldn’t they design new ones? Nicer ones? In different colours, for example, so that each department has its own colour. You’d be able to tell each other apart from a distance that way. And you really need to have someone make you new hats for the protests. You look ridiculous in the ones you have."
He slurped the soup from a bag and thought that it could never compare to his mom’s soup. This soup tasted somewhat plastic and if he didn’t finish it all in one day, he’d have to toss it the following day. That’s why he tried to eat all of it now.
"I think that new uniforms are the last thing on their minds right now. Especially colourful ones. You know, there’s a good chance that we’re going to get shut down."
"Don’t you worry. You guys are too big of a company to be shut down. You’re too important."
"I’m not so sure that it means anything, really." He stopped eating and looked at her. "I really could be left without a job."
She was playing with her food. A strand of hair fell on her cheek and she tucked it away behind her ear. She worked up a smile and said, "It’s all going to be alright."
They went back to their plates and ate in silence.
"This sauce is amazing," he said as he dipped the bread with his fork.
"You like it?"
"Yea. It’s amazing. Umm, would you be up for going to the Art Cinema tonight? They’re playing an awesome documentary on EKV."
"EKV? Are they Serbian?"
"Well…yea…"
"Do you listen to their music?"
"No, no! Robi asked me if I wanted to go so I thought we could go together…"
"You know I’m not much of a fan of documentaries…especially ones about Serbian rockers. But you go ahead."
"You don’t mind staying home by yourself?"
"Nope. I’m going to text Mirela and go by her place." She got up and went into the living room.
"Are you going to finish your food?"
"No." He heard her texting away faster than a sewing machine.
He got up and started cleaning the table.
"Oh, you’re such a sweetheart. You don’t have to do the dishes. I’ll do them tomorrow."
"It’s no problem, I can do them. I still have another half hour before I have to head out."
"I’m going to take a shower cuz my hair smells like stew."
He raised his eyebrows. "I didn’t notice."
He started doing the dishes, but the water pressure suddenly dropped when she started taking her shower. He thought it might be better if he turned off the water in the kitchen so that he didn’t use up all of the hot water. He couldn’t understand why the red hand on the water regulator never went past the halfway line although the heat was turned all the way up. He was thinking about how old the water heater was when he heard a new text message come in on the cell phone.
"Hey!" he yelled through the bathroom door. "You and Mirela are crazy. You went to her place yesterday and she just wrote you saying, ‘I can’t wait to see you!’ Are you two lesbians? If that’s the case, count me in sometimes!" The thought of Mirela’s large breasts brought a smile to his face.