Around noon of the next day, Novak was sitting in the passenger's seat of Andelko's red Chevy Camaro, conversing with the other man whilst the Croat drove them to the Clackamas Town Center.
"So what kind of fashion do you like? I've only ever seen you in the clothes you're wearing right now, which look like something you pulled from your dad's clothes on the ship, no offense." Andelko said, chuckling.
"You're way too accurate. These actually are my dad's clothes." Novak laughed. "But I like things that aren't flashy, but still look nice, you know? Simple button-up shirts, jeans or slacks… Things like that."
"Kind of like me. Though I myself fancy cardigans. Maybe it's because I'm bisexual, more leaning towards gay, maybe it's because I just look damn good in them." Andelko joked, laughing. Novak grinned, laughing as well.
"So it seems that there's a decent gay, or at least bisexual community around here." Novak said.
"Yeah, it's pretty common around here for people to openly show their sexualities, especially in the complex. To name a few gays in the complex, there's Branko, Niko, Tiku, Zlatko, Alexianos, Berwald, Tino, Alexander…"
"Those are a few names I haven't heard. Berwald, Tino, and Alexander; who are they?"
"Berwald is a jewelry salesman and the owner of a shop in the Clackamas Town Center. He's thirty-two, I think. Big, tall, intimidating Swedish guy. He's way over six feet tall. Must be at least six-foot six. And then there's his ex-husband Tino. Short guy, around five-five, five-six. He's in his late twenties, if I remember correctly. He used to work at the jewelry shop, but now he owns a gun store. He's an expert sharpshooter; has a lot of sniping accolades. And then Alexander is a bit of a shady character. Early thirties. Used to work at a gay strip club in downtown Portland, from what I know. His husband Mathias got him out of that kind of lifestyle and now he's a fashion designer."
"Who's Mathias?"
"Mathias is one of the bisexual guys around. When his first marriage to a woman failed, he found Alexander. Mat is really well-to-do; he's a doctor… Diagnostician, I believe. I think he has more credentials than just that though, because I remember Alexander telling me that Mathias had to perform a surgery a few weeks ago, which was why he wasn't around the complex that day."
"I see. So there have been quite a few failed marriages in the complex too. Yours with Liz, Berwald and Tino's, and then Mathias and his ex-wife's."
"Yeah… Kind of funny though; I'm the only one who's still alone. Tino is dating Alexianos nowadays, Liz is married to a guy named Roderich, Berwald has been dating a young Latvian guy for some time now, Mathias married Alexander… I'm still stuck with no one."
"You'll find the right person sometime, I'm sure."
"Maybe I should have just stuck with Liz." Andelko said, chuckling.
He pulled into the parking lot of the Clackamas Town Center and found a parking space, turning off his car and stepping out. Novak followed the bearded man into the main entrance of the building.
"Welcome to the Clackamas Town Center." Andelko stated with a smile.
"This is huge." Novak muttered, glancing around.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Well, let's get rolling. You need clothes, and I'm guessing you need better shoes than what you're wearing at the moment."
Novak chuckled, glancing down at his worn-out work boots. The soles were just about worn through, and were separating from the shoe itself. The tan color of the footwear had been stained other colors from oil and grease on the boat Novak had come off of. He nodded his head.
"I'd say these things are near-death. As with the rest of what I'm wearing." He said. It was true; his yellow t-shirt had a few holes in it and it was stained as well by usage on a boat. His jeans had huge holes in the knees and the ends of the pant legs were frayed. "Makes me feel like I've been deprived of hygiene every time I wear these clothes."
"Well, you were for the four months you were on the boat, weren't you?" Andelko asked.
"Sort of. We had one working shower on the ship that the entire crew had to use, but a limited clean water supply, so a lot of us went without. I usually went a week without a shower."
"Damn. It must have been hard to brush your teeth or anything on that boat."
"Yeah. Maybe every three days I had a chance to brush my teeth and comb my hair."
"What would you do when your hair gets too long?"
"Get another crew member to cut it with a pair of scissors, or shave it all off so you wouldn't have to bother with it for a while. I had another crew member trim my hair about a month after I got on the boat, and I'll tell you, I was deathly afraid I was going to lose an ear. Thankfully he did a decent job and it didn't look like I cut my hair with a butter knife." Novak laughed a bit, running a hair through his messy blonde hair.
"God, I don't think I could have dealt with living on an unsanitary boat like that for four months. Are you glad to be on land?"
"Eh… It depends. I like being able to meet new people and actually settle down somewhere, but I'll miss the guys on the boat, and I'll miss my dad. And I'll miss the sense of freedom I had being out on the open waters."
"I can understand that. But often times, change is for the better. I don't think living on that boat any longer would have benefitted you."
"That is very true. I was pretty much just wasting my life away working on the same broken parts of an old cargo ship. But I don't regret it. It got me out of Serbia."
The two men conversed and shopped around the mall, Novak spending around one-hundred seventy-five dollars, the most expensive items being a seventy-dollar pair of new work boots.
"You really like work boots, don't you?" Andelko asked as the Serbian tossed his bags of clothing and the shoebox with his new boots in the back of the Camaro.
"Well, I know for one, when I do get a job, it's not going to be an easy job. I like to have to break a sweat when I work." Novak replied, getting in the passenger seat and sighing.
"Maybe you could find a construction job. That's hard work. Believe it or not, but I worked construction for two years." Andelko said as he got in the driver's seat.
"Really? Nurse Begovich worked construction?" Novak teased, prodding the Croat's shoulder with an extended finger.
"Hey now, I'm a doctor. I was a teenager when I worked construction. I graduated high school when I was seventeen, because I was an incredibly accelerated student. Advanced classes and whatnot; I already had half of my nursing school education done by the time I graduated. Then, once I graduated high school, I went ahead and finished nursing school. From there, I was able to get my doctorate in Nursing Practice. So, I'm Doctor Begovich."
"Shouldn't you be running an ER instead of working in one? You could be making so much more money with your kind of education."
"I choose to work in the ER because I like to save lives. It's a pride thing, I guess. I want to save people, not just order others to. And I don't want to transition into something as boring as diagnostics. I couldn't sit there and listen to someone tell me their problems and try to narrow things down to possible diseases or whatever."
"I'm guessing you like the unexpectedness of the ER then, huh?"
"Yeah, exactly. I like not knowing what's coming my way. When we get word that an ambulance is on its way with a victim of polytruama being carried in it, I want to be the first one to get their vitals stabilized and get them on the road to recovery. Call me crazy if you want; I'm ambitious. I want to help people."
"You're not crazy at all. I think that's awesome that you want to save lives so much. People who work in the ER don't get enough credit for what they do. Saving lives, I can only imagine, is a tough and stressful job."
"It really is. I wish I didn't have to deal with the stress alone, but seeing as I don't have anyone around anymore to tell me that I make them proud and that I'm doing the right thing anymore, it gets tough. Sometimes what I see in the ER comes back to haunt me. I've seen children die of terrible wounds that I couldn't do anything for. I've seen innocent people mangled by drunk drivers… It hits the worst when I'm trying to sleep. I try to push it out of my mind, but it's impossible when I have nothing there to distract me."
"I can understand that."
"Taking someone's life in your hands and losing it… It takes so much of an emotional toll, I'm shocked that ER Nurses don't lose their minds after a while."
"You seem pretty sane to me."
"But I didn't get out of college until two years ago when I got my D.N.P…. I'll be working in an ER for the rest of my life, or at least until I'm deemed unfit to work anymore. Two years in an ER is enough to scar someone for life… What will happen when I hit five, ten, fifteen, twenty years? How sane will I be then?"
"We'll find out when those days come around. You have to think in the now; isn't that was doctors and nurses in the ER do all day? They take things moment by moment as they come?"
"I suppose… Sorry for going on this huge rant, Novak. I don't mean to bug you with my issues."
"It's not a problem. I'm used to conversations on the boat where it's just like 'Hey', 'hi', 'got work to do, so bye'."
"That was a good rhyme, Novak." Andelko chuckled, glancing over to the Serbian as he stopped at a red light about a block from the Brickyard Apartments.
"I guess it was." Novak responded, laughing slightly.
"So… you've got a date with Tiku in an hour, huh?" Andelko said, switching the topic of the conversation.
"Yeah. He's a nice guy. Sure, I have better likes in older men, but I figured I'd give him a chance. I mean, he's good-looking, he's energetic, he's talented… He may not be the most intelligent guy around, but he's not an idiot either."
"Excuse me for how I refer to him, but I hope the kid treats you well. He's the youngest person around the apartments, minus one of Tino's sharpshooting friend's little sister. Tiku has a lot going for him though. I hope things go well for you and him. Maybe it'll turn out for the better."
"Yeah, maybe it will." Novak said, smiling despite the fact that he felt Andelko was a bit falsehearted with his words. He could remember the Croat sounding practically disappointed when Novak had informed him that he had a date with Tiku.
When Andelko parked in front of Novak's apartment, he assisted the man in getting his bags inside without hesitation. As Novak began to put his clothes away in the dresser against one of the walls in his bedroom, he looked to Andelko, who was standing in the doorway.
"Thanks for helping me out, Andelko. Means a lot that you would help me even when you've only known me for such a short time."
Andelko smiled. "It's not a problem. I'm going to head to my apartment, so I'll talk to you later. Have a good time with Tiku tonight."
"I will. See you later, Andy."
Andelko seemed to flinch slightly at the use of the nickname, and Novak raised an eyebrow.
"Did I say something wrong?" He asked. Andelko chuckled a bit, face reddening slightly.
"The last person to call me Andy was Liz when I was still married to her. It's kind of an affectionate nickname."
Novak blushed embarrassedly. "Oh, I'm sorry then. I didn't know."
"It's fine. Uh, anyways, I'll see you later, Novak."
"Yeah, see you."
Andelko walked out, leaving Novak to put his things away and get ready for his date with Tiku.
After about twenty minutes of putting his new clothes away in drawers, the Serbian man sighed and looked to the digital clock on the bedside table. He had about a half hour until Tiku was supposed to arrive.
He got himself dressed in a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a red polo shirt. He combed his hair, though the messy curls in his blonde locks never straightened out. He sighed and looked himself in the eyes, noting the dark circles around his emerald green orbs. Four months on a cargo ship took its toll on your hours of sleep; when Novak had a chance to rest, he only was in slumber for about an hour or even less than that before another mechanical issue struck on the ship and he had to attempt to fix it.
He glanced at the clock once again; fifteen minutes to spare. He went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, which shockingly, weren't all that bad-looking. A tiny bit yellowed from lack of care on the ship, but it was nothing keeping up with dental hygiene wouldn't fix. With a sigh of minty breath, Novak went out into the living room, deciding to relax before Tiku showed up.
The Serbian sat on the couch, quietly thinking to himself for a few minutes before a knock on the door came. He stood and went to the door, smiling and opening it to reveal, as expected, Tiku.
"Hey Novak." The Kosovar man stated, grinning. "You ready?"
"Yeah." Novak replied. "Let me just grab my keys and I'll be right out." The Serb walked into the kitchen where his apartment keys were, and he shoved them in his pocket. The then grabbed his wallet and put it in his back pocket, returning to the door. "Let's go."
Both men smiling, they headed out the door.
"Hope you don't mind walking to the Clackamas Town Center's TriMet Station. I don't have a car." Tiku explained.
"It's fine; I need a good walk anyways. Have to get myself in shape." Novak responded, chuckling slightly.
"Oregon will whip you right into shape, I'm sure."
"So I've been told."
"Let me guess; Andelko? I noticed you two seem to get along pretty well."
"Yeah. He's pretty much the first person to really open up to me other than you."
"What about Niko? He brought you here, correct?"
"Yeah, but he's… he doesn't seem like much of a people-person, you know?"
"He's a nicer guy than he acts like. Why do you think everyone in this complex has absolutely nothing to complain about apartment-wise? He takes care of us tenants; hell, he even does a lot of the maintenance himself if something breaks. Not that he's a good mechanic or anything, but he tries, you know?"
"Yeah."
"Speaking of mechanics, maybe you can ask him if you can replace him as the mechanic for the complex's machines and whatnot."
"I don't know. I'm pretty handy, but to take care of the maintenance of this entire complex would be bit much."
"And trying to fix a cargo ship's engine wasn't?"
"Touché, Tiku. Touché."
"But really, even if it's only for a little while when you're searching for a better job or getting a better education or whatever, it'd be good for you to have an income."
"I suppose so. I guess I'll ask him about it later… So, where are we headed?"
"It's a restaurant called London Grill. It's a bit on the pricey side, but hey, I've got money to spare. My paycheck was better than I expected."
"Really? That's good."
"Yeah. I'll have to thank my boss when I go into work tomorrow."
"By the way, how was your test today?"
"It was difficult, but I think I did alright. I feel like I wrote a bit too much about polyrhythms on one of the essay questions, but I'm thinking it'll be alright."
"Polyrhythm…?" Novak asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Oh; it's a music compositional technique in which more than one contrasting rhythm is used simultaneously with others."
"And all of that just went in one ear and right out the other, but that's okay. You can't honestly expect me to understand what a Music Theory student says when he talks all musical." Novak said, laughing. Tiku smirked and put his hands in his pockets, sighing.
"It's a beautiful day out. Wish I wouldn't have had class all day. It's rare here in Oregon to have a stretch of nice weather like what we've been having for the past few days… Probably going to have a big storm here soon, then it'll go back to typical old Oregon with gloomy overcast weather. Though, you never know… I'm hoping this weather will last."
"Yeah."
"So what did you do while I was in class? I can see you have some new clothes."
"I went out shopping. Andelko helped me out. I paid for everything with my own money, but he helped me make decisions on what to get." Novak chuckled. "I don't really know what I look good in, so I always go shopping with someone else so I can get their opinion."
"I think you look great. I have a feeling you're never going to get rid of those work boots though, huh?" Tiku said, laughing.
"I'm kind of attached to them, I guess. I've worn nothing but work boots since I left Serbia. No other footwear really feels right."
The two chatted all the way to the TriMet station, and after purchasing tickets, they boarded the light rail system that was headed for Downtown Portland.
"Pretty much exactly like the railways in Belgrade." Novak stated as he grabbed a hold of one of the poles in the center of the car's isle. Tiku stood next to him, grabbing a hold of it as well. A lot of the seats were taken, and as they went along, more people would probably board. It was best to stand now before there was nothing to hang on to.
"I bet. Did you ride them a lot when you were in Belgrade?" Tiku asked.
"When I was still in school, I took the railways to school and back home. Haven't ridden one in a while though. About four or five months. I had my mom drive me to the coast of Montenegro to meet up with my dad on his ship when I decided to leave Serbia. It's been at least four months, I know that."
"You ever go outside of Serbia much before you left to get on the cargo ship?"
"A few times I went to Montenegro to see my dad while he was docked there. I've been to Romania once for vacation, and then I've been to Turkey once, also for vacation. All when I was a teenager. Once I got out of school, I never really left Belgrade."
"That's understandable. Who knows; maybe you'll get sick of the United States and actually want to go back to Serbia for a while."
"Maybe just for a visit, but to live there again? Nah. Say, where are you from in Kosovo? Pristina?"
"Nah. Dardana."
"I have never heard of it."
Tiku chuckled. "You may know it by the more… Serbian name it's also called; Kosovska Kamenica?"
"Oh, yeah… I have to keep in mind most cities in Kosovo have two names; an Albanian one and a Serb one."
"Don't worry about it. I'll try to use the Serbian names around you."
"I'm sorry to interrupt," A man with short brown hair apologized from his seat, looking up to the two men conversing. "But you two are from the Balkans, right?" His accent gave away that he was from a Slavic region of Europe.
"Yeah. I'm a Kosovar Albanian, and he's a Serb." Tiku said, turning to the man.
"Man, am I glad to find some other Southeastern Europeans here. I'm from Bulgaria." The man in the seat chuckled.
"Oh, cool. I haven't met a Bulgarian around here yet." Tiku replied. "I'm Tiku Harxhi." The Kosovar man offered his hand to the Bulgarian.
"Apostle Svetozar." Apostle shook hands with Tiku, then offered his hand to Novak. "Your name, sir?"
"Novak Novkovic." Novak responded, shaking the other's hand firmly, smiling.
"Novak Novkovic? That's a catchy name." Apostle chuckled. "How long have you two been here in the states?"
"I've been here a while. Since I was thirteen. I'm twenty now." Tiku explained.
"I see. What about you, Novak?"
"I actually came here a few days ago. I'm still new to the area and everything."
"Really? I have a feeling you'll like America. You don't seem like the typical Serbian. I don't quite believe I've ever seen a blonde-haired, green-eyed Serb hanging out with a Kosovar Albanian. You sure you're Serbian?" Apostle joked.
"I'm actually a fourth Moldovan. That's how I believe I received such traits that I have."
"Moldovan? That's odd, to say the least. Your story just gets more and more distant from your typical Serbian."
"I know, right?" Novak laughed. "So where are you headed?"
"Work. Part-time bartender."
"Why part-time? You a student?" Tiku asked.
"In a way you could call me a student. I'm an athlete training for the Olympics. Hoping to compete in 2016."
"Really? That's awesome. What sport do you participate in?"
"I'm a gymnast. Floor exercise, pommel horse, high bar, etcetera, etcetera… I do them all."
"You don't seem very short. A lot of gymnasts I've seen watching the Olympics are always tiny."
"I'm five feet ten inches tall. I'm one of the tallest gymnasts around… but I'm underestimated by a lot of people. I'm hoping to get Bulgaria on the map with gymnastics. Next week I'm heading to Sofia for a tournament with a group of other Bulgarian gymnasts… All three of us are hoping to compete in 2016."
"That's awesome that you have that kind of ambition. I'll have to watch your guys' progress."
"It's a longshot, but I've got my mind set to it."
As the TriMet came to a stop, Tiku sighed. "Well, here's Novak and I's stop. Apostle Svetozar, you said your name was?"
"Yeah. It was nice meeting you two."
"Likewise. I'll look you up online sometime. See you around."
Novak and Tiku stepped off the light rail car and the latter of the two led the other down the sidewalk. They proceeded to the restaurant and ate dinner together, chatting casually, eating the rather delicious food that they ordered, and leaving satisfied.
As they got back on the light rail system to head home, the two Southeastern Europeans sat next to each other. Tiku yawned.
"Man, I'm tired. Been a long day." He muttered.
"I bet. I have to say though, thanks for taking me out tonight, Tiku. You're a great guy. I feel like I should be paying you or something; that dinner was expensive, especially for a college student." Novak replied.
"Don't worry about it, Novak. You've paid for it in kindness and good looks."
"I'm not that good-looking."
"Oh, but you are. You just don't realize it."
"You could probably find at least twenty men more handsome than me on this tram."
"I doubt it." Tiku stated, grinning at the other man. Novak couldn't help but smile.
"Whatever you say, Tiku." He responded, chuckling.
After the ride back to the Clackamas Town Center and the walk back to the apartments, the two stood outside of Novak's apartment.
"Thanks for taking me out tonight, Tiku… I had a good time." Novak smiled, putting his hands in his pockets.
"No; thank you, Novak, for letting me take you out. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Yeah… Well, I guess I'll see you soon."
"Yeah, see you soon, Novak." With that, Tiku left, heading back to his apartment. Novak sighed and headed inside his own apartment, heading straight to his bedroom.
It felt like as soon as he lay down on his bed, he was out like a light.