Chapter 8

After washing up with vodka (there was no running water, just like yesterday, and I had already used up the toilet tank), the first thing I did was call the fitness club, spending the last bits of my phone battery. Not such a strange move, considering how I had spent the last few hours in prison. More than anything, I wanted to wash off all that grime. A sweet receptionist answered and told me that yes, my membership had expired, and she had called several times about it. I hadn’t picked up, so she assumed I must have gone somewhere and “froze” my membership, effectively extending it for another month ... May her days be long and her work light!

At the gym, I asked to charge my phone at the front desk, took a long shower, and then spent ages swimming in the pool. Good thing, I thought, they don’t have a jacuzzi–or I’d never leave this place for a month! In the steam room, I almost cried, feeling so good to be clean again. Sure, nobody in pre-trial detention goes completely filthy, but this – it felt completely different.

I still had no plan, but the next step was obvious: eat! I went to the shopping mall and headed to the second-to-last floor. Maybe I’d run into some former colleagues and talk to them: perfect lunchtime. Surely they’d be happy to see me... (yeah, right). During my time in prison, the company hadn’t reached out once. No one had tried to contact me. So, no going back to work. But maybe I could get some compensation? Like for maternity leave?

I didn’t see a single colleague. It dawned on me slowly: it’s Saturday! Leaning on the railing, munching on a Big Mac (or whatever it’s called now), I watched the people below and thought: In prison, they’re eating lunch right about now too ... Then, as usual, on schedule, all predictable. Soon my successor will take his first ... well, he’ll get the point. I felt something stir in my pants at the thought. Surprise!