It’s a perfectly beautiful winter day, when Kaarna walks all the way to the town center to see Mari.
They’ve agreed on having the big talk face to face.
Mari has big news. She has sold her apartment and bought another one in Tampere.
- It’s a really small apartment. The prices are three times higher than here. But I’m glad I managed to sell this at all. Nobody wants to live in Imatra. There’s nothing in here, just a dying little town.
Kaarna can’t believe her ears.
- You’re moving to Tampere??? Why?
- I got a job at the city theater. It’s on totally different level than our town theater. The actors and directors are true professionals over there!!!!!
For how long have you known about this?
- Pretty long, but I wasn’t absolutely sure about it before…
- Before you suggested we’d take a break?!
- Yes…
- That’s why you’ve been so distant. You’ve been slowly breaking up with me?
- Well… if you put it that way…
- Asshole. I hope you’ll rotten in Tampere. Sorry… I hope you’ll be happy in Tampere. But you’re still an asshole. Gigantic and full of diarrhea.
Ken! Listen to what Mari just texted me: ”Forgot to tell you the moving day… hoping you’ll be here to help me.” Do I really have to help her leave me?!
- Oh dear. You don’t have to do everything she wants. She’s got a lot of other friends that she can boss around.
Days go by slowly and Mari moves away without Kaarna’s help. Kaarna feels like she needs some especially deep relaxation.
What a great reason to visit Mocambo… It’s early and the bar is almost empty. Taylor says:
- I think I’ve told you also before that I told you so. Why don’t you believe me? Mari has a habit to leave broken hearts behind where ever she goes.
- She’s so beautiful. It’s impossible to resist her. Is your bathtub free?
- Sure. The first reservation of the boudoir is at nine.
Taylor leads Kaarna in the back room and leaves her to enjoy the hot bath and the luxury surroundings.
Kaarna wishes she could lie here in the hot water until she dies in this ridicilous room.
- I keep failing at my relationships and my work. And still surviving this world is based on those two exact things.
Kaarna gets up when the noise in the bar starts to rise.
Geordie surprises her with hot chocolate:
- Taylor told me this is your favorite drink. It’s on the house. And surely you still remember that I’m always ready to take care of all your needs.
- Thanks, that’s nice of you. But I’m not looking for excellent casual sex right now.
Every morning Ken reads the news when he wakes up. And every morning it makes him more desperate about the modern World.
He says to Kaarna:
- I need to figure out some new morning routine. The news make me hate the humankind.
- There’s nothing wrong about hating the humankind. We are a huge mistake and we should all go extinct.
- Hating makes me unhappy. I need to make my brain work with something positive while waiting for the extinction.
- Like crossword puzzles?
- Great idea!
Ken didn’t realize that there are so many different crossword puzzle magazines in the supermarket. How could he choose a magazine that’s neither too easy nor too difficult?
Life really gets a whole lot easier without the news. Ken doesn’t even know that Trump has begun as a president. But unfortunately some of the
World events find their way to Ken’s eyes through the Instagram memes that he accidentally sees:
- I don’t understand this one…
- They have banned TikTok in the USA.
- Really? Why?
- Don’t ask me. I only read the headlines.
Ken asks Kaarna if they could watch a movie together in the evening, but Kaarna says:
- I’m going to Mocambo.
- Again? You go there almost every evening!
- I can relax there like nowhere else.
- True… you always come home with rosy cheeks and a happy face.
It’s not just the bath tub that is tempting Kaarna to visit Mocambo several times every week.
The service they provide is far more relaxing than the mere bubble bath.
And Kaarna likes it a lot more than she’s ready to admit. Or to tell Ken about.