One Road, Six Ways

One Road, Six Ways - Part 36

Luisa did not liked it that Karel called her 'Schat'. She prepared him his coffee and pushed the cup to Karel and said, "I am not your Schat!"

"Whatever!" Karel said and laughed. He looked at Thelma and asked her, "You are alone? Is Kees not with you?"

"No, he has something important to do, he just drop me here." Thelma answered Karel.

"Okay, I will not disturb you girls." Karel stood up, went to the living room with his cup of coffee sat on the sofa and opened the TV with the remote control.

Thelma saw that Luisa was uneasy.

"What do you think if we go to Lijnbaan?" Luisa asked Thelma. Lijnbaan Square was a shopping center. From the apartment it's only few minutes walking. The apartment of Karel was also in the west side of Rotterdam city proper and a street farther from the former apartment of Thelma and Luisa. Thelma agreed as she understood that Luisa was trying to avoid Karel.

They were already walking in the street of Weena and Thelma turned right as she seen the big name Lijnbaan but she saw Luisa walked straight through. "Luisa!"

"Come, first I want to show you something!" Luisa said.

"What something?" Thelma asked.

"You see that fountain?"

"You meant the fountain in Hofplein?"

"Yes."

"I'd seen it already many times." Thelma could not understood why Luisa wanted her to see the fountain. 

"I will show you where Herman's apartment is."

Thelma heaved a sigh and followed Luisa. They stopped in the tram stop and Luisa pointed to her the building where the apartment of Herman was. 

"I always come here and look at the window of his apartment, but I saw no activity! I think he is still in Brazil!" Luisa said.

"Luisa, why are you doing that? Herman leave you, you must forget him." Thelma advice Luisa.

"I don't know. I think because I am going crazy. Come, we go to Lijnbaan!" Luisa answered Thelma, shrugged her shoulder and walked back to Lijnbaan, Thelma followed her.

When they came back to the apartment, Karel was gone. They then cooked rice, the shrimps, the dried fish and the vegetable okra they bought from the Chinese Store at Kruiskade.  

"If you fried dried fish, the neighbors don't complain?" Thelma asked.

"No, they don't complain, they only don't talk to me. The first time they always greeted me Good morning, good afternoon or good evening or hello, but when I fried the dried fish and the bagoong (fermented shrimps) they never talked to me again." Luisa said laughing.

"You must have a good connection with your neighbors!" Thelma said.

"Let them. I did nothing wrong? It's food! They find it stinky while it's very delicious!"

"Yes, but sometimes we have also to adjust ourselves. Remember that we are not in our own country, we could consider ourselves as guest in here." Thelma advice Luisa.

"Okay, I will behave. I like the Netherlands. After seven years we will became citizens of this country, that's why I am trying to learn the Dutch language." Luisa replied. 

"By the way, how is your financial?" Thelma asked Luisa about her financial situation.

"I am very thrifty, Karel and me have an agreement to split the costs, the rent, the electricity, the gas, the city taxes. I also have to pay my own health insurance. I guess I still have more than two thousand in my bank account."