Thought I'd be needed for the logistics around the funeral, but Dragan and Boba handled all that. My part was to arrange a place for daća. First location of choice was Debela mačka, and I got Smilja on the phone really fast, but said she sold it and went to Belgrade. There's still a place with the same name, in same Eva's house, but she doesn't know how good it is. Tried for the fancy place in our area, where they had that double kids' birthday a year ago, but they had another kids' party in the other room so music would bleed through the partition. Eventually settled for Banatska which turned out quite OK in the end.
Later in the afternoon I went to be there for the wake. I sat while there was mostly just family - including ex-family, i.e. Višnja, who did her usual shtick of catering from the shadows, silently serving coffees etc, and her son (never officially adopted so he could keep receiving his father's military retirement until about age of 19). He's soon leaving his job as a prison guard and going off to Slovenia to be a truck driver, having passed the professional exams there, waiting only for a labor visa. Meanwhile he seems to have dropped his lumberjack line of work - there are lots of trees in various yards that need to be cut down with precision, being close to houses, so he could have made a living of that, but turns out it's too much work for him.
Dragan was there with Silvija and his parents stayed in the apartment with the kids. Milena was there all the time, and her parents (or dad only?) dropped by. Later more friends and neighbors came by and I took my leave around 21:30, only slightly drunk (two rakijas but it hit me). The cab driver was from my street, so I asked about Tika, whether his truck driving in Slovakia is still on - nope, says he, concluded he was too old for that kind of life. Should have done that twenty years ago, not now.
25-XI-2021 - 7-IV-2026