In Belgrade with dad on 22nd. Looking to buy headset and both albums by Drago Mlinarec, found only "A ti se ne daj". Met a guy from kino union, asks whether I'd be going to Fest. I wish. The DC-99 movies are in demand, but they're away.
Talked with Okac, says he still didn't develop last summer pictures. I announced the plans for this summer.
Came home, played Dragec. This vacation started nicely, just if my tonsils stay put. They did act up next day, dad wanted to shoot me out of a cannon, "can't you ever find a girl anywhere nearer than the next village" (whatever they don't like is multiplied by two; what I fuck up once gets retold as "always did so"). What can I do, I believed in that Mala Amerika story just long enough, and later I liked her so much I wouldn't care if she was on the other end of Čurda.
Twentythird. It's easier to kill an elephant than time. Buzzing around the house all day, do this do that, even shaved again. Finally munched something and hopped to korzo. Bus was late, at Proleter she isn't there but my ex is, with a friend, just for spite. Found a better ambush point and observed the korzo. Wasted a kilo of nerves in ten minutes, still can't see her.
- hey, Hazim, was I with that little one on sunday
- sure you were
- so I wasn't dreaming
And he brought me luck, spotted her first. I've seen a hundred lookalikes so far, the faces dancing in my eyes, to the point when I couldn't remember how she looked. Of course, when he told me where to look, I recognized her. Went to Dom. I'm borrowing a better camera tomorrow, some voigtlander, so we'll do some shooting. Got to get home on bus, I'm queasy again. (... 25 words...) At that point my ex with her friend passed by... poor girl, she really didn't have to see us, the shock she didn't need.
(... 45 words...)
(see footnote*)
Then the power went out. Many people lit matches. (... 5 words...) Čarga recognized me, says "good that I've found you, now I'll just hook on you" and grabs me by the hand. "Let's stand back to back". Much better that way, and then the power returned. And then we found a place to sit. (... 33 words...) I have found what I was looking for. I think I just fell in love.
Set the next time for today, 16:40 for the shooting, but she didn't come. In the evening, in the town, I stretched my eyes but didn't see her. Gang went to disco, and Hazim starts sweetening about some little green one, while I was all cactus, my little one isn't here... and then I see there stand he, B., some guy from Dom staff and... Theatre. I approach, greet B. and then take him aside to tell him that he should not tell me her name, she thinks I don't exist, that's the crazy one whom we call Theatre. Well she's the little green one I'm onto.
Shock of the day. How did they collide at all. Told him "you already screwed up enough for knowing me; if you mention that you know Gavra, call it fails, you're finished.". So we agreed that whoever sees Gavra should tell him to pretend not to know Hazim if Theatre is around. Luckily, he wasn't there this evening.
(... 40 words...) Then gang switched to Dženk, Paja, Gavra's curly ex and a few others. Stayed a while, bus didn't appear, walked home.
She didn't come on 25th. Next day went early to town and bought "Pjesme sa planine" (songs from the mountain) by Mlinarec. Around 11 Vasa came so we played that and the previous one. Took to design of the hat club flag - base is the torn cloth from Rudolf's deck chair, letters from the hat cloth leftovers.
Saturday, 27th, visited grandfather in Zajač, he is somewhat ill. Okay about him, it's that I had to hear my so-called grandmother (i.e. his second wife) and the others, everyone in a row with someone or looking for a reason to start one. So went the day. Grandfather doesn't look good, he won't last. So all dried up he became dear to me finally, I recognized my bones in his knobbly fingers and back. Sad stuff, he's my ancestor and we have nothing to talk about.
My aunt (that driver's wife) took to nag me about my hair right at the door. I let it fly while the dinner lasted, but after that had a real fight with her, where it took mere ten moves to reduce her arguments to raw exercise of power, no logic.
Came home after midnight.
On sunday came to club as late as 11:30. Some tape turned out dark (the "rockefeller", what was that?), my quartz is being fixed, lots of stuff to redo. Then Aćim came by. Walked back home. Took a nap, Hazim came by. Ran some movies for him (including that rockefeller thing, whatever it was). We had some dinner then ran to town. She's not on the stripe. In disco, I saw her neighbors, asked where was she, dropping off her coat. Thanks! I arrived right on time to pull her out of the crunch. (... 50 words...)
Along the way, around komitet, met Gavra and a couple of others again. Seeing us coming, he said "here comes the married guy". That was part joke part diagnose, based on how he saw us.
(... 25 words...)
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* all the places where (... n words...) appear actually contain so many words there in the full text. About the time when it will be published, see Version.