\u201cMy name is Nikola,\u201d he says, his voice touched by a thick accent, something Eastern European that I can\u2019t pinpoint. \u201cLike the inventor, Tesla.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you work much with electricity, Nikola?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cHardly, no. I make things, but electricity isn\u2019t usually involved other than to keep the lights on over my head. Please,\u201d he says, gesturing at the chair opposite him. \u201cSit down. Join me for lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve already got a plate at my table\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, such sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 which means that you<\/em> should come and join me<\/em>,\u201d I finish.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, a much better idea,\u201d he says. He leaves his table, takes his cup of coffee and follows me back to my table. \u201cSo,\u201d he says once we both sit. \u201cI\u2019m pleased you came and introduced yourself. A lunch alone is never as pleasant as one with a beautiful woman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd here I thought I was the one being forward,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n \u201cOh please, do not misunderstand me, I meant no offense. I just prefer to speak the things on my mind rather than hold them close to the chest. So much of life is spent dancing around the meanings of what one is actually wanting to say. I find it saves time to just say what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn that case, I should say that I wanted to talk with you the moment you came in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad to have caught your interest.\u201d He points at his upper lip. \u201cIt\u2019s the mustache, I\u2019m sure. It\u2019s definitely my best feature.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the whole picture,\u201d I say. \u201cAlthough it is a very lovely mustache at that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh,\u201d he says, and leans back in his chair, holding both hands up at shoulder level, palms facing me. \u201cAn old girlfriend made me start wearing it like this. The girlfriend now, she is gone, but the mustache remains. I am a little more attached to it than I was to her, it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry to hear it,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I\u2019m not. Some people, they are made more like shooting stars than orbiting moons, yes? She came along, she burned very brightly for a short time, and then the love burned out. It\u2019s nothing to have regret over. It was quite beautiful while it lasted, but the memories of these loves are sometimes better to keep than the real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had some experience with that sort of romance, and I can\u2019t say that I disagree with your opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiles and shrugs. \u201cMy mother always said that I was a smart boy. Perhaps there is a bit of truth to it.\u201d He nods at my salad plate. \u201cPlease, eat your salad. My lunch will be coming shortly, I am sure.\u201d<\/p>\n I spear a cherry tomato on my fork and pop it into my mouth. \u201cWhere are you from, Nikola? I can\u2019t place your accent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh, much like Tesla again, I am from Serbia. I am fairly certain that there is where our similarities end. And you?\u201d he asks. \u201cAre you from Japan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d I say. \u201cMy grandfather was, and my father lived there when he was a small boy, but I was born in Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOregon is a lovely place. I have never lived there, but I\u2019ve driven through it several times. So many trees. I am very fond of forests, I must say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo am I. I may move back there some day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh, well, it\u2019s very expensive to live here. My apartment is very small and costs more than should be legal. It\u2019s very hard work to keep up in this city. Do you live in the city or in the suburbs someplace?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have a house near here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA house! How can you afford one here? Are you doing anything illegal to supplement your income? Do you need an assistant perhaps?\u201d<\/p>\n I smile. \u201cNo, nothing illegal. The house was my grandfather\u2019s, and when he died it went to my father, and when my father died it went to me. Although I didn\u2019t know anything about it until my father\u2019s will was read.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo it was a surprise then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it\u2019s still a surprise,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n \u201cI can only imagine. I\u2019ve never owned a home myself, but I\u2019ve also never stayed anywhere long enough to really need one. I am a gypsy, yes? A traveling man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you traveling anywhere soon?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo plans just now.\u201d<\/p>\n I take a pen from my bag and put my phone number on a napkin.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that case, we should have lunch again.\u201d<\/p>\n He takes the napkin from me and puts it into his pocket. \u201cOr dinner, perhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, dinner would be nice,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n \u201cLucky for you I am a gypsy with a cell phone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLucky for you I love a nice mustache.\u201d<\/p>\n He grins. \u201cI would say there is more than enough luck to go around in this city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes,\u201d I say. \u201cSometimes for certain.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cMy name is Nikola,\u201d he says, his voice touched by a thick accent, something Eastern European that I can\u2019t pinpoint. \u201cLike the inventor, Tesla.\u201d \u201cDo you work much with electricity, Nikola?\u201d I ask. \u201cHardly, no. I make things, but electricity isn\u2019t usually involved other than to keep the lights on over my head. Please,\u201d he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,15],"tags":[91,92,256],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nikola","category-persons-of-interest","tag-lunch-is-the-best","tag-mustache","tag-nikola"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":760,"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions\/760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kamekomurakami.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}