Home is who you are

Part Four

4

On Tony's first day of work, they got up early and had breakfast together. They had not done that in a long time. Gabi would just linger in bed, having nothing to do and nowhere to be. She hadn't made any special plans for the day and it was too early to skype with her family in Brazil. She wrote them an email saying everything was alright and suggested a time to call. She knew her dad wouldn't show up, though.

There was still some unpacking and cleaning up to do, but Gabi wasn't in the mood to stay home alone and play the housewife. She wrote a list of things they needed to buy for the apartment, googled "shopping in Brussels", marked some places on her map and left.

The subway is an excellent place to people-watch, a real melting pot. From the Caucasian man clad in a suit, reading the news on his smartphone to the girl with blond dreadlocks and a baby in a sling. From the many Muslim woman in veils to the African ladies in colorful traditional clothing. Young man with funny haircuts that seemed to be the latest trend. Young girls with way too much makeup. Tourists with their maps and cameras. Bikes, dogs, shopping carts, strollers, suitcases, backpacks, umbrellas... the world seemed a bit too small for Gabi at that moment. She heard French all around. And Spanish. And what she thought was either Dutch or German. And maybe Arab. And even some Portuguese in the distance. The girl sitting next to her spoke on the phone – way too fast for her to decide which language it was – and suddenly she started sobbing quietly. Gabi felt bad for the girl and wondered who she was talking to and why she was crying, but her station was next.

Rogier. That's it. City 2 Mall. Here we go. I'll definitely have a better chance of finding what I need and not get lost all by myself.

The mall was not too big and Gabi even ventured on the shopping street just outside, which was super crowded because of the season sales. She spotted many of the same stores they have in the US, but she didn't really need any new clothes and she had no energy to face the sales crowd and hunt for good items.

Gabi decided to head home even though she had only bought half of what they needed: some kitchen utensils, basic groceries, some sheets and towels and a new sim card for her phone. She settled for French fries for lunch – although you should never call them French in Belgium – and indulged in her new guilty pleasure: a big pack of fries with mayonnaise on the side. Jen told her to ask for it sur le coté, otherwise they drown your potatoes and you end up with a gooey mess for lunch.

This is so delicious! And unhealthy. I have to find a gym. And a school. Ugh, it's raining again. Why doesn't mayo taste like this in America? Should I call Jen? No, she's probably busy with her kids. We need to make more friends... Damn, I forgot to buy toilet paper. What's all that in the food display? I wonder if there's a good Brazilian restaurant around here.

Gabi's mind raced. She finished her meal, pulled her hood up and headed for the subway station. After a few stops she was alone in the wagon but for this middle aged man a few seats from her. She leafed through the brochures she had taken from some stores but could feel his stare. She peeked at him: his left hand held a big umbrella; his right hand was in his pocket.

Her heart raced. She felt herself blush and stiffen. Growing up in Brazil makes you permanently alert and aware of creeps. She looked around but there was nobody else. She started playing with her phone and was about to call Tony when she realized her card wasn't activated yet.

Silently praying the creepy guy would stay put, she got up and bolted as soon as the doors opened at her station. She tried to walk normally and not look back. From the top of the escalators she glanced and saw him, pants half down, jerking off and glaring at her. She ran out of the station, turned a corner and entered a small grocery store.

Gabi pretended to browse the shelves while she caught her breath. She looked out at the street and realized she hadn't even noticed if she had taken the right exit off the subway station. She chose some kiwis and pears, toilet paper, grabbed a bottle of guava juice and paid the cashier, shyly using her s'il vous plaits and mercis. She stood by the store entrance and drank her juice to kill some time and to make sure the perv was nowhere to be seen. It does taste like real guava, I should get some more. Gosh, this was not the kind of adventure I was looking for when we moved. She oriented herself and walked home, still a little shaky.

Tony wouldn't be home for a couple of hours, so Gabi put the shopping away and organized the apartment to get her mind off what happened. They lived on the fourth floor of an old but well-kempt building near the Cinquantenaire Park. The place was not big but they were lucky the company had taken care of everything. It was clean and smartly furnished. It even had a small balcony where they planned on having flowers and herbs. Everything felt different than New York.

Great first day out alone in Brussels! If this ordinarily happens on the subway in the middle of the afternoon, what else should I expect? She took a long hot shower, getting used to her new bathroom, made some tea and started cooking dinner. Was he sick in his head? What kind of person can't resist the urge to jerk off in public? Why wasn't there any security? Gabi thought, while chopping onions, garlic, tomatoes and peppers. Well, at least nothing worse happened.

"What smells so good?" Tony said from the hall.

"Spaghetti sauce." She heard him take his coat and shoes off. "And a perv followed me and jerked off in the subway station."

"What the f...?" He came into the kitchen looking concerned. "Are you okay? What did you do?"

"Ran. I'm fine." She put water and a little salt and olive oil in a pot.

"Who does that?" He took her spoon and tried the sauce.

"Exactly."

"Oh, baby. I'm so sorry."

They hugged and knew there was nothing else to say or do about it but hope it would never happen again.

"So, how was your first day?" She asked.

"Great. The job is pretty much the same. I just need to learn some new things."

"And your co-workers?"

"They're cool. In fact they invited us for a drink this weekend."

"Sounds fun."

***