A TASTE OF ROMANIA
Back in Bucharest. Lunch with Domino. Two girls walked up to the table. A vamp & a wallflower - they had to be sisters (they are never friends - the vamp would get fucked by all the guys & the wallflower would end up feeling even more like a recluse / the wallflower could outsmart the vamp any given day should the chance of half-decent convo arise before the fucking…). The vamp was the typical Romanian hand-me-down - acrylics, plastic lashes, extensions, acid in the lips, tits bought by some bearded & tattooed douche, LV bag, Gucci belt & Moncler jacket. The little honor still left inside the family was saved by her sidekick, a not-too-hard-on-the-eye redhead. Turned out they knew Domino & that they were indeed nourished in the same womb.
“Long time! How you doin’?” asked the vamp.
“Not bad… This is Teddy,” replied Domino. “Denisa & Andreea,” she continued to me.
“I read the book, now the blog…” said the vamp, offering her hand. “You’re into cougars.”
“Is that what you got from it?”
“Milfs & 80s music, wine & Top Gun,” she smiled.
“That about sums it up…”
“How are you doing, Andreea?” asked Domino.
“Fine, thanks…” said the shy one.
“Just got back from Dubai. Took her out for some Mojitos… Got promoted this past week,” put in the vamp.
“Congrats…” replied Domino.
“Thanks! But that means more business… So I gotta scram,” she said. “Nice meeting you,” she continued to me. “Come on, Andreea.”
The shy one made to follow her porno sister down the terrace.
“She’s got to work, you don’t. Why don’t you stay for another Mojito?”
She turned as Domino looked at me like “what the fuck are you doing?”
Two glasses of Glenfiddich later, I learned that Andreea was the proud mother of a 7-year-old and a foreign languages graduate now working as a teacher. Also, that more than two years have passed since her or her racy sister were tied down to any lover boy’s rules.
“Videochat or prostitution?”
Domino failed to quench her smile.
“What do you mean?” asked Andreea.
“Your sister’s bread & butter. Which one?”
“… Both…” she said. “They go hand-in-hand…”
“Most of the times.”
“How could you tell?”
“She doesn’t look like any surgeon I’ve met.”
Three smokes later, Andreea said her kid was waiting for her, but not before she suggested we sink the next round at her place. With all the Mojitos taking their toll on the teacher’s bladder, Domino got the chance to speak her mind about my interest in her friend’s proposal.
“We shouldn’t go…”
“Why not? She suggested it.”
“If we go, she’ll try somethin’, you won’t say no and it will end with tears on her pillow.”
“She ain’t that much of a boner-generator.”
“She’ll think you’re into her, your dick’s gonna find its way inside her…”
“How do you know what my dick’s gonna do?”
“That’s the way it went with me… Made plans only to watch them rush down the drain... She’s been through enough, trust me…”
“Gory deets?”
“She raised her kid all by herself, with very little money… Teachers are paid shit on a stick in Romania. The guy left two months after the kid was born. Her parents died in a car crash a few months ago, the little help she ever knew with them… Been heartbroken a couple of times after some shits promised her a shot at a better life, only to lay her and leave the next second.”
“Lots of girls here have this kind of stories.”
“What kind of stories?” cut in Andreea.
“… Sucking a beard for a trip to Dubai…” I ad lib.
“That’s true… So, are you comin’?” she asked.
“… I’ve got a deadline. Gonna have to take a rain check… but thanks for the invite.”
“Come on, one round! You can write about sex with 40-something blondes later,” she smiled.
Twenty minutes later, Andreea was leading Domino & I into her building. Three floors up, the howling of the elevator gave way to hymns of the past - In These Arms was streaming from one of the apartments, swaying the hallway.
“Your neighbors know the good stuff.”
“That’s not the neighbors, that’s my kid…” she said. “That’s coming from my apartment.”
“He’s 7 and knows Bon Jovi? Great job raising him!”
“Thanks! Yeah, I think you’re gonna like him,” she smiled.
She led us to the door and opened it. The place, though worn out, was clean and cozy. Andreea showed us down the hall and into the living room. A little boy was sitting cross-legged in the middle of it, a bunch of vinyls scattered around, a record player in front of him.
“Mommy!” he jolted with a smile.
It took him a second to realize his mother wasn’t alone… His smile waned and he seemed a little embarrassed about his reaction when he saw Domino & I following his mother inside the room.
“Hey! Come here,” his mother smiled back. “These are my friends, Domino and Teddy.”
He stood and walked up to us.
“Hi! Nice to meet you, Teddy!” he said, offering his hand.
“You too, Victor!” I replied. “You’ve got great taste in music!”
“I really like Jon! He’s so cool!” he said, letting go of Domino’s hand and walking back to the records.
He sat and got back to organizing them.
“Church! What else do you got there?” I asked. “I see Slippery When Wet, New Jersey… 7800° Fahrenheit?! Fuck, that’s rare!”
“Yeah! My grandpa gave it to me. It’s the original edition, from ‘85!” he smiled, offering it to me.
I took the record, guts tightening.
“So… you like Bon Jovi too…?” he asked.
“Yeah…”
I tried to avoid his eyes by looking at the record.
“He likes the 80s & 90s a lot, Victor,” said his mother. “He writes about 80s music, movies and girls. He’s a writer.”
“Cool! I like 80s music too!”
I finally looked away from the record, not at the kid, but at Domino. Her eyes met mine. There were already tears in hers.
“He likes Top Gun!” his mother put in. “What do you wanna drink?” she continued to us.
“…Whatever you’ve got,” replied Domino on a soft voice.
“I’ve got wine… scotch… Martini, and I think I’ve got some bourbon left. Teddy?”
“Scotch is fine, thank you,” I said, body going numb. “You know Top Gun?”
“Yeah! My favorite Tom Cruise movie! I like most of his stuff, except Legend…”
He leaned over the records and began searching for something… Seconds later, he was offering me the Top Gun Soundtrack vinyl.
“I also got the movie, hold on,” he added, rushing to his room.
Luckily, his mother left the room for Domino’s Martini.
“Did you know…?!”
“No… I’ve never met him,” she whispered back.
“This can’t be real.”
“It fucking hurts…” she said, wiping tears. “I don’t wanna make them feel bad, but I can’t hold back… One drink and we leave.”
“Empty your pockets,” I said, reaching for mine.
“I tried this with Andreea after her parents died, made her feel awkward…. She won’t accept. We’re just gonna make them feel bad… Do nothing.”
“I don’t care. I can’t know about this and do nothing. How much cash do you have? Where’s a fucking ATM?”
“8, 900… 1000…” she counted, finally starting to look inside her wallet.
“Ain’t enough. Here, hold this,” I said, throwing some more cash over her pile. “Keep them busy for a while.”
I walked up to the hallway, but our hostess cut me short.
“Here,” she said, offering me a glass of scotch. “What’s going on?” she asked, aware of the commotion.
“Andreea… We wanna help,” Domino said eventually. “We know how hard it is to take care of him all alone… Please, let us help. We really want to… It’s not much, but we can get more…” she continued softly. “He really likes Victor…”
“Absolutely not,” said our hostess. “I really appreciate the thought, guys… But we’re doin’ fine… There’s really no need.”
“Andreea - ”
Domino’s pleading got interrupted by the kid entering the room.
“Here!” he said, offering me Top Gun on laserdisc.
I took it and swallowed my grief.
“That’s really somethin’… Don’t think these were ever sold in Romania. How did you get it?”
“My grandpa gave it to me! We used to watch it together!” he smiled.
“My father was a pilot. He used to bring movies and records from America and Europe…” explained his mother.
“This is really worth something,” I told her.
“It’s his favorite movie.”
“Yeah!” jolted Victor. “Have you seen it?”
“With every 40-something blonde in town,” his mother said, her eyes in mine.
“I like blondes too… There’s one in my class… The prettiest girl in school, and I kissed her!”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Congrats!”
I high-fived him and the next second I saw some envelopes on the shelf behind him.
Domino must have caught my eye, because she figured out my intent.
“Do you wanna show us your room, Victor?”
“Any more of mighty Scotland back there?” I asked his mother after sinking the glass.
She left for another round as her kid led Domino to his bedroom. I reached for an envelope and shoved the cash inside. Walked up to his room and felt even worse… The walls were screaming under the weight of Bon Jovi, Michael, Clapton & Queen posters.
“Victor… This is for you.”
The kid was both happy and intrigued. Opened the envelope and his smile turned to shock.
“2800… I’ve never got this much…”
“… It’s from Santa. He left it for you… He knew we were gonna meet you.”
The little boy looked from me to Domino, a thousand feelings swaying him.
“Thank you…!” he said softly.
“Don’t blow it all on records, Victor…” smiled his mother, now leaning on the doorway.
“Look, mom! Now I can buy those jeans I wanted!” he jolted. “And a tennis racket! And The Tears Of Hercules!”
“Fine, one record…” she smiled.
“He’s an amazing kid… He’s really special,” I told the mother. “You’ve played a huge part in it… He has a better education than most adults I’ve met here. He’s smarter and has better tastes than any grown-up around… Take great care of that. That’s beyond rare in this day and age, especially around here.”
“Thank you! Yeah… The music stuff… He always liked what was playing around the house… And my father spent a lot of time with him, taught him everything he knows…”
“My grandpa went to Heaven…” the little boy told Domino & I, his voice in shades of sorrow.
“He’s watching over you, Victor… And he’s really, really proud of you,” said Domino, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“I know… I just hope I’ll never disappoint him…”
“You never will.”
Our eyes were still in tears as we left the building. Hers more of compassion, mine more of anger… So, this is it - the place where streetwalkers bank more than decent people, criminals more than the honest folk. Two sisters, a whore and a teacher. One sucking it around the country… or up & down Dubai… Not a care in the world but how many beards she lets cum on her face tomorrow for 2/3000€… A teacher struggling to make ends meet… The mother of a 7-year-old that has a better culture than any grown-up around this fucked-up country.
“Long time! How you doin’?” asked the vamp.
“Not bad… This is Teddy,” replied Domino. “Denisa & Andreea,” she continued to me.
“I read the book, now the blog…” said the vamp, offering her hand. “You’re into cougars.”
“Is that what you got from it?”
“Milfs & 80s music, wine & Top Gun,” she smiled.
“That about sums it up…”
“How are you doing, Andreea?” asked Domino.
“Fine, thanks…” said the shy one.
“Just got back from Dubai. Took her out for some Mojitos… Got promoted this past week,” put in the vamp.
“Congrats…” replied Domino.
“Thanks! But that means more business… So I gotta scram,” she said. “Nice meeting you,” she continued to me. “Come on, Andreea.”
The shy one made to follow her porno sister down the terrace.
“She’s got to work, you don’t. Why don’t you stay for another Mojito?”
She turned as Domino looked at me like “what the fuck are you doing?”
Two glasses of Glenfiddich later, I learned that Andreea was the proud mother of a 7-year-old and a foreign languages graduate now working as a teacher. Also, that more than two years have passed since her or her racy sister were tied down to any lover boy’s rules.
“Videochat or prostitution?”
Domino failed to quench her smile.
“What do you mean?” asked Andreea.
“Your sister’s bread & butter. Which one?”
“… Both…” she said. “They go hand-in-hand…”
“Most of the times.”
“How could you tell?”
“She doesn’t look like any surgeon I’ve met.”
Three smokes later, Andreea said her kid was waiting for her, but not before she suggested we sink the next round at her place. With all the Mojitos taking their toll on the teacher’s bladder, Domino got the chance to speak her mind about my interest in her friend’s proposal.
“We shouldn’t go…”
“Why not? She suggested it.”
“If we go, she’ll try somethin’, you won’t say no and it will end with tears on her pillow.”
“She ain’t that much of a boner-generator.”
“She’ll think you’re into her, your dick’s gonna find its way inside her…”
“How do you know what my dick’s gonna do?”
“That’s the way it went with me… Made plans only to watch them rush down the drain... She’s been through enough, trust me…”
“Gory deets?”
“She raised her kid all by herself, with very little money… Teachers are paid shit on a stick in Romania. The guy left two months after the kid was born. Her parents died in a car crash a few months ago, the little help she ever knew with them… Been heartbroken a couple of times after some shits promised her a shot at a better life, only to lay her and leave the next second.”
“Lots of girls here have this kind of stories.”
“What kind of stories?” cut in Andreea.
“… Sucking a beard for a trip to Dubai…” I ad lib.
“That’s true… So, are you comin’?” she asked.
“… I’ve got a deadline. Gonna have to take a rain check… but thanks for the invite.”
“Come on, one round! You can write about sex with 40-something blondes later,” she smiled.
Twenty minutes later, Andreea was leading Domino & I into her building. Three floors up, the howling of the elevator gave way to hymns of the past - In These Arms was streaming from one of the apartments, swaying the hallway.
“Your neighbors know the good stuff.”
“That’s not the neighbors, that’s my kid…” she said. “That’s coming from my apartment.”
“He’s 7 and knows Bon Jovi? Great job raising him!”
“Thanks! Yeah, I think you’re gonna like him,” she smiled.
She led us to the door and opened it. The place, though worn out, was clean and cozy. Andreea showed us down the hall and into the living room. A little boy was sitting cross-legged in the middle of it, a bunch of vinyls scattered around, a record player in front of him.
“Mommy!” he jolted with a smile.
It took him a second to realize his mother wasn’t alone… His smile waned and he seemed a little embarrassed about his reaction when he saw Domino & I following his mother inside the room.
“Hey! Come here,” his mother smiled back. “These are my friends, Domino and Teddy.”
He stood and walked up to us.
“Hi! Nice to meet you, Teddy!” he said, offering his hand.
“You too, Victor!” I replied. “You’ve got great taste in music!”
“I really like Jon! He’s so cool!” he said, letting go of Domino’s hand and walking back to the records.
He sat and got back to organizing them.
“Church! What else do you got there?” I asked. “I see Slippery When Wet, New Jersey… 7800° Fahrenheit?! Fuck, that’s rare!”
“Yeah! My grandpa gave it to me. It’s the original edition, from ‘85!” he smiled, offering it to me.
I took the record, guts tightening.
“So… you like Bon Jovi too…?” he asked.
“Yeah…”
I tried to avoid his eyes by looking at the record.
“He likes the 80s & 90s a lot, Victor,” said his mother. “He writes about 80s music, movies and girls. He’s a writer.”
“Cool! I like 80s music too!”
I finally looked away from the record, not at the kid, but at Domino. Her eyes met mine. There were already tears in hers.
“He likes Top Gun!” his mother put in. “What do you wanna drink?” she continued to us.
“…Whatever you’ve got,” replied Domino on a soft voice.
“I’ve got wine… scotch… Martini, and I think I’ve got some bourbon left. Teddy?”
“Scotch is fine, thank you,” I said, body going numb. “You know Top Gun?”
“Yeah! My favorite Tom Cruise movie! I like most of his stuff, except Legend…”
He leaned over the records and began searching for something… Seconds later, he was offering me the Top Gun Soundtrack vinyl.
“I also got the movie, hold on,” he added, rushing to his room.
Luckily, his mother left the room for Domino’s Martini.
“Did you know…?!”
“No… I’ve never met him,” she whispered back.
“This can’t be real.”
“It fucking hurts…” she said, wiping tears. “I don’t wanna make them feel bad, but I can’t hold back… One drink and we leave.”
“Empty your pockets,” I said, reaching for mine.
“I tried this with Andreea after her parents died, made her feel awkward…. She won’t accept. We’re just gonna make them feel bad… Do nothing.”
“I don’t care. I can’t know about this and do nothing. How much cash do you have? Where’s a fucking ATM?”
“8, 900… 1000…” she counted, finally starting to look inside her wallet.
“Ain’t enough. Here, hold this,” I said, throwing some more cash over her pile. “Keep them busy for a while.”
I walked up to the hallway, but our hostess cut me short.
“Here,” she said, offering me a glass of scotch. “What’s going on?” she asked, aware of the commotion.
“Andreea… We wanna help,” Domino said eventually. “We know how hard it is to take care of him all alone… Please, let us help. We really want to… It’s not much, but we can get more…” she continued softly. “He really likes Victor…”
“Absolutely not,” said our hostess. “I really appreciate the thought, guys… But we’re doin’ fine… There’s really no need.”
“Andreea - ”
Domino’s pleading got interrupted by the kid entering the room.
“Here!” he said, offering me Top Gun on laserdisc.
I took it and swallowed my grief.
“That’s really somethin’… Don’t think these were ever sold in Romania. How did you get it?”
“My grandpa gave it to me! We used to watch it together!” he smiled.
“My father was a pilot. He used to bring movies and records from America and Europe…” explained his mother.
“This is really worth something,” I told her.
“It’s his favorite movie.”
“Yeah!” jolted Victor. “Have you seen it?”
“With every 40-something blonde in town,” his mother said, her eyes in mine.
“I like blondes too… There’s one in my class… The prettiest girl in school, and I kissed her!”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Congrats!”
I high-fived him and the next second I saw some envelopes on the shelf behind him.
Domino must have caught my eye, because she figured out my intent.
“Do you wanna show us your room, Victor?”
“Any more of mighty Scotland back there?” I asked his mother after sinking the glass.
She left for another round as her kid led Domino to his bedroom. I reached for an envelope and shoved the cash inside. Walked up to his room and felt even worse… The walls were screaming under the weight of Bon Jovi, Michael, Clapton & Queen posters.
“Victor… This is for you.”
The kid was both happy and intrigued. Opened the envelope and his smile turned to shock.
“2800… I’ve never got this much…”
“… It’s from Santa. He left it for you… He knew we were gonna meet you.”
The little boy looked from me to Domino, a thousand feelings swaying him.
“Thank you…!” he said softly.
“Don’t blow it all on records, Victor…” smiled his mother, now leaning on the doorway.
“Look, mom! Now I can buy those jeans I wanted!” he jolted. “And a tennis racket! And The Tears Of Hercules!”
“Fine, one record…” she smiled.
“He’s an amazing kid… He’s really special,” I told the mother. “You’ve played a huge part in it… He has a better education than most adults I’ve met here. He’s smarter and has better tastes than any grown-up around… Take great care of that. That’s beyond rare in this day and age, especially around here.”
“Thank you! Yeah… The music stuff… He always liked what was playing around the house… And my father spent a lot of time with him, taught him everything he knows…”
“My grandpa went to Heaven…” the little boy told Domino & I, his voice in shades of sorrow.
“He’s watching over you, Victor… And he’s really, really proud of you,” said Domino, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“I know… I just hope I’ll never disappoint him…”
“You never will.”
Our eyes were still in tears as we left the building. Hers more of compassion, mine more of anger… So, this is it - the place where streetwalkers bank more than decent people, criminals more than the honest folk. Two sisters, a whore and a teacher. One sucking it around the country… or up & down Dubai… Not a care in the world but how many beards she lets cum on her face tomorrow for 2/3000€… A teacher struggling to make ends meet… The mother of a 7-year-old that has a better culture than any grown-up around this fucked-up country.
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