|
|
        
|
 |
10 Helsinginkatu: Chapter 12
by Thanos Kalamidas
2009-02-25 09:54:14 |
| Print - Comment - Send to a Friend - More from this Author |
12. A mail and a coffee on the patio
Why every time you have a problem the last thing you always think to do is the obvious? I had spent already a couple days thinking about the bloody ring and I had come without any answers except some strange but not very logical explanations online but nothing at all to make sense. The other thing that didn’t make sense was my obsession with the ring. Why was I so bothered with the damn ring? And then again I could not think where to look or who to ask and as I said before I was running away from the obvious. I mean who had told me that it was a blood ring and left straight away to meet his brother without explaining? I felt like hitting my head on the wall, Risto of course but Risto was not around, so let’s use technology! I very rarely call Risto because his English is not so good and telephones make it more difficult. Text messages and mails make our life much easier and there are no misunderstanding.
“Hello my friend, I hope everything is like always fine with the gang and it was really nice to see you the other day in Helsinki. I’m really sorry you didn’t have more time for a drink and tell me all your news, especially the surprising ones you mentioned and never had the time to finish. Anyway, I hope you will have the time the next time you will be here for a drink and chat.
“At the moment I need a big favour, do you remember when I met you I asked you about a man’s ring with a red rock in the middle and you said that it is a blood ring. Can you please write to me a bit more about these blood rings? I have no idea what they are and how can I find one. “Thank you in advance and please give my love and kisses to the gang and you wonderful wife.” Send!
I just hope I didn’t seem to eager with this mail and the information I was asking but Risto seemed quite casual with it the other day, like I should know about it. Well I had no bloody idea and the whole mystery about it had started getting on me. So, time for a cigarette. A make quite often references to my smoking habit and in the end you will think that I am a chain smoker. Well, I’m not or at least I’m not any more. I used to be something like twelve years ago, when I was in my career era but nowadays I smoke something like six to ten cigarettes a day, I just have this funny thing with half cigarettes.
Ok I have to explain that. The temperatures in Helsinki especially between November and March go pretty low and of course since the only place to smoke is outside going for a cigarette turns to an Arctic adventure. You see you have two possibilities, you either put on jackets, hat and gloves to go outside for a smoke or you just go outside take a couple of deep puffs and leave you cigarette to a safe and protective place for the next time you will need another puff. Of course there is always the third solution, quit smoking but this solution hasn’t worked very well with me doesn’t matter how many times I tried it. Following my method a cigarette lasts for something like three hours and in the end of the day I have smoked no more than five six cigarettes. Apparently I have no idea how that started and how it happened and from two to three packets a day I moved to a packet every three or four days.
And yes of course there are exceptions with pubs making the biggest exception. For some reason drinking and smoking going together and every time I have a drink I feel the taste of a cigarette, I had the same with my cappuccino but that ended as well. I don’t know, perhaps it has to do with age, after a certain point you find out that you don’t need any addictions including even sleep, but this is another story I will tell you another time. So here it is me outside the protected with glass patio smoking my usual half cigarette and watching the crows flying around.
“Moi, are we going to have our coffee today?” and to my surprise Leena was there on her wheelchair with the cat on her side looking at me, I had no idea how she came and when that happened. The cat checked slowly around and then she looked at me. “Do you want to come inside?” I asked trying to think how she could come with this massive wheelchair, “It’s fine, I have our coffee with me, I have my cup as well” she said showing me a black thermos and a cup with a cat’s face printed on the side. “The only thing missing is your cup!” she added making me laugh and I went inside to pick a cup.
Actually the weather wasn’t so bad, most of the snow had melted and there was no wind, the temperature was over zero around five degrees and the only thing missing was a warm jumper something I corrected straight away. So here were the two of us, me sitting on the side of the patio with a steaming hot coffee in hand, Leena on the outside of the patio sitting on her wheelchair with a cup of steaming coffee a black thermos and the cat patrolling around us. Surprisingly she let me touch her! The house on the other side where the new Leena now lived looked dark and quiet. Obviously a morning shift!
“Leena sorry I ask but somehow … I have to, what’s wrong?” I think she was expecting the question or perhaps she was used of people always asking the same thing when they first meet her or again she wanted to say it knowing that if the question didn’t come it was mainly because the person didn’t know how to do it. “MS!” she said quietly! Damn, multiple sclerosis! I didn’t know what to say so I just nodded and looked away!
Read the other chapters
<--Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Next--> |
| Print - Comment - Send to a Friend - More from this Author |
|
|
|
Newsletter
Subscribe
Contact
Search
