"Cigarettes and Coffee" "I'm late." "I waited at the bus stop." "It was crowded." "i waited for several buses to pass and got on an emptier one." "I brought these for over there." " Another beer?" " No, thanks." "Did you eat?" " No, but I'm not hungry." " Are you sure?" "Come now." "I'm telling you I'm not hungry!" " Apple pie?" " Yeah." "I got on the 104 bus, since you told me." "But the 66 would have been better." "You know the traffic in Piata Natiunilor." "But the 104 is ok, it stops right here." "With the 66 I'd have had to walk a bit, and i'm not sure I would have found the place." "I have to meet a client at 2." "I don't have much time." "So now you tell me nicely exactly what you said on the phone, so i know what to tell those people." "Go ahead." "Chirica comes to me and says:" ""Man, I'm sorry," ""You see how times have changed, there's no money, I did all I could..."" "Who's Chirica?" "the staff manager..." "And he gave me two weeks notice." "Well, i drove around for 30 years." "I drove around, loading and uploading jars and potatoes and pea cans." "i was good enough for 30 years, no I'm no good anymore." "thirty-one yars this coming winter." "They've knocked me about for 31 years, then he comes up to me and says "Man, I'm sorry." ""You see how times have changed, there's no money, I did all I could..."" "They don't need me anymore." "cause they don't need those potatoes and peas and noodles cause they closed down the canteen." "That's it, no more canteen." "There's no one to feed anymore." "Sure, there's still a few employees, but they bring their own food." "So UCECHIM is over." "i heard some Greeks or Austrians were going to take over." "Have you decided?" "Are you going to have lunch, or just a snack, or just a beer?" "i don't know..." "We've got Bergenbier, Hopfen, Ursus, Tuborg, Stela," "Amstel, Budweiser, Corona." "Corona is 110.000." "Can I get one more of these?" "i'm not done." "Make it a bit crunchier, ok?" "Sure." "Get me a glass of water." "Perla, Dorna, Borsec, Harghita, Poiana Negri, Izvorul, Vittel, Perrier." "sub duration: 2,319" " Bring him a Dorna." " A Dorna." "So:" "Chirica, peas, Greeks, I'm not interested." "In five minutes I'm up and gone." "i have things to do." "Tell me about the two years, so I know what to tell the people." "Yeah." "I need two more years down in my work record so I can claim retirement benefits." "Right, and?" "And I got here the coffee and the Kent cartoon." "Yeah, you showed me." "But I'm talking about what you want to do, where you want to work." "Two years, i got that, but what do you want to do?" "Still a van driver?" "Wanna be a driver or you'll settle for something else?" "Well, a driver." "And if i can't find you such a job?" "That's what I'm asking." "if i can't get you a driver's place, will you take something else?" "Van driver." "But I could drive a pick-up." "Pops, i can't fit you as a van driver." "Can you do anything else?" "Why do you go on about driving when I'm asking you what else you can do?" "i talkes at the Dudesti depot for a job." "Night quard." "If it's just for two years..." " Night quard?" " Night quard." "Yeah, but I'm also a welder, I did that before I became a driver." "But I'm not sure my eyes could go for that." "That's why I'm saving this." "Yeah, but before being a welder, were you never a night quard?" "Come now." "i was never a night quard." " Is this ok?" " Yeah, great." " Can I take this?" " Sure." "And get me the bill, please." "I'll say it again: night guard at the Dudesti depot, that's wat I got for you." "Night guard." "That is, you sit there from 10p.m. till 6 a.m. and watch TV." "And if you get wise, you can even take a nap now and often." "Two years, pops." "Any problem?" "I got the work record here." "Take it back, I don't need it now." "I'll ask for it when I need it." " How's mom?" "The same." "The same what?" "Lying in her bed." "Your sister brought another doctor over, but he says the same thing." "What same thing?" "To go on with those pills." "Sintron, Malox, Heparin..." " Sintrom, with an m." "Sin-trom." " What did I say?" "Sintrom." "He says we're lucky it's just one side that's paralyzed and not the whole body." "He says to be patient." " And you wanna be a driver." " There's no money for the medicine." "We don't even have the rent money for september, and in acouple of days we'll have to pay the electricity too." "We only have money for food, but if I get a job we get money for medicine." "Forget about that, I've always paid for the medicine." "Baby, I can't not work." "That's why I called you to help me out." "i got that part." "So who's gonna stay with mom?" "Well, if you say you get me that night guard job," "I'll pay someone to stay with her." "And in here?" "What's this?" "That's for your mom, I got it at the marketplace." "And I got some celery for a potato soup I'm making." "It's a sort of massage device." "It's good, you know." "Look." "It sure tickles a bit." "Yeah, give it to me." " That's the coffee in the bag." " What's this?" "The coffee." "I thought I'd get instant coffee." "I told you to come tomorrow, that is today, at Graceland, that is here, with a Kent carton and a pack of Lavazza coffee." "That's not coffee, it's instant coffee." "There's a difference." "That's the only one I found." "And it's just 100 grams, not 250." "It's 165." "You take this." "What am I gonna do with it?" "I don't drinl coffee." "And I don't smoke." "The Kent stays with me." "You take the envelope back and I'll buy a pack of real coffee." "How could I go to the top guy with a pack of instant coffee?" "What can I do?" "I don't drink coffee, so I don't know what to buy." "i'll get a pack of Lavazza on the way." "Right, and I'll repay you afterwards." "But seriously, if that's the bribe for a night guard, what does a tram driver have to pay?" "See?" "It's a good thing you never considered driving a tram." "So nothing's changed." "It's like the old times with coffee and cigarettes." "Don't you see it's the same thing?" "It's like old times, with coffee and cigarettes." " Ok, I'll get going." "You go home." " I'll go home." "You go home and wait by the phone." "I'll call you today or tomorrow and I'll let you know how I did." " Don't you go out." " No." "Here, take this for the september rent." "For october I'll give it to you next week, I don't have enough on me now." "Are you driving?" "Yeah." "You want me to drop you someplace?" "I'm heading for Baneasa." "If you want, I can drop you a metro station." " Thanks." " Thank you." "I don't know." "Aren't you going via Unirii?" "How could I be going via Unirii if I'm heading for Baneasa?" "If yoy want, I'll drop you at the metro, in Romana Square." "Come on, you want me to give you a lift to the Romana square station?" "Nah, forget about it." "I'll go get on the 104."