Meanwhile I began looking at the check, which was for 30-some dollars. Since I had been unhappy with the service, I had decided to only leave a three dollar tip. But perusing the bill, I saw that a tip had already been calculated into the bill. The final bill was around $38, which worked out to more than a five dollar tip. It was possible to strike out the final calculation and replace it with my own tip and recalculation, and at first I thought I would do just that. But then I decided to just let it go - it was just too much trouble to go to for just two dollars.

The waitress then brought out a small tray of diamonds and handed them to me. Glancing at them, I could quickly discern their obvious high quality. On the tray was also a pair of tweezers with a tiny loupe attached to it. The loupe was probably only about five centimeters in size. I would have preferred to use my own loupe, which was considerably larger, but unfortunately I realized I didn't have my loupe with me. I thought to myself that I later needed to remind myself to take my loupe with me on our trip because I might need it while Carolina and I were traveling. I would need to return home to pick it up before we left.

There must have been 20 sparkling diamonds on the tray in front of me. I picked up one of the diamonds from the tray and looked at it. It was quite impressive – at least a carrot – clear with an excellent cut. I was definitely interested, and asked the waitress what the deal was.

But the waitress didn't heed my question, and she seemed unobservant about what I was doing. A stray thought passed through my mind: Carolina and I could steal some of the diamonds. We could put them in our mouths, perhaps holding them under our upper lip between the lip and the top teeth. Or better yet, we could simply swallow the diamonds and shit them out later. I didn't relish the idea of looking through Carolina's shit, but for a diamond I would do it.

Meanwhile another brown-haired woman (about 30 years old) had sat down at our table right across from us. She was also tall and slender. She was obviously going to use our table when Carolina and I left, and she appeared to be waiting for a man to join her. I politely suggested to her that she probably didn't want Carolina and I to keep sitting at her table, but she didn't seem to mind.

Although my interest was still focused on the diamonds, the woman began talking about other restaurants where we could go. She mentioned some names of restaurants which I didn't recognize, and I had the feeling they were all expensive. I thought to myself that Italliani's was about as nice as I got, and I really didn't want to go to a more expensive restaurant.

I pointed out to the woman that today was a holiday, and that I had expected Italliani's to be full, but that it wasn't. That was a surprise because we usually had to wait in line when we came to Italliani's. The woman said she wasn't surprised because the service at Italliani's wasn't that good. I had to agree, and I remarked that "the service counts for something."

I took up the subject of our pending trip, telling the woman that Carolina and I were going to Yugoslavia. We discussed the currency exchange, and the woman said it was possible to buy Yugoslavian money here for ten percent less than what we would pay in Yugoslavia. It sounded to me like a way to make some money, but I could foresee complications and I thought I would just wait until I was in Yugoslavia.

***

Carolina and I, accompanied by two other people, had walked into a small restaurant in Yugoslavia. We sat down at a wooden booth. The table still had dirty plates sitting on it, but since it was the only table open, we took it. However, as soon as I had sat down, I realized that there was still a coat lying on the bench where I was sitting, indicating that someone was still sitting at the table. So we all stood back up to move.

***

Carolina and I were outside on the street of the Yugoslavian city in which we found ourselves. We were riding bicycles, and someone else also on a bicycle was leading us to a place where we would be able to purchase some Yugoslavian money. I knew I had a wad of American money in my billfold, and that I also had a lot of credit cards. Carrying so much money might have worried me, but I felt safe here. Although the city seemed large, it had a small-town air, and I could even see nearby hills which were used as pasture.

I became so engrossed in looking at my pleasant surroundings, that I soon realized I had become separated from the others. I rode down the street looking for them, but they were nowhere to be seen.

***

In the same city, now on foot, I passed a small wooden building, something like a barn. Easily peering through the open windows, I saw that the building was packed full of shelled nuts. I couldn't tell for sure if the nuts were almonds or pecans. If I looked at them one way, they looked like almonds, but if I looked another way, the nuts looked like pecans. There were so many nuts they were even overflowing out onto the street. Although I had thought this was a poor town, obviously people must not be starving here, if so much food was actually flowing out into the street.

The next building, similar in construction, was filled with large loaves of bread. The windows and doors of the building were open, and the bread could obviously be taken by anyone in need – another indication that no one was starving here.