Dajana stood at the living room door leading to the terrace, nervously tapping her nails against the glass as she watched Fabian splashing in the pool. The box where they kept the money Adrian had earned under the table had been empty for two days.
She had prepared herself for the possibility that it could take years before they settled down properly. Yet, now that no money was being deposited into either of their bank accounts every month, she found it deeply unsettling. She couldn’t stop thinking about how they were eating into the savings they had built up over so many years. On top of that, unexpected expenses kept cropping up, each requiring a significant amount of money. Knowing they had enough funds for three years was of little comfort. Months had passed, and Adrian still wasn’t well-known enough in the area to secure a steady income. He managed to pick up one or two jobs per week, but the earnings barely covered the next grocery run.
The assumption that life on the island required fewer clothes due to the relatively stable weather had also turned out to be only partially true. While winter coats and heavy boots weren’t necessary, Fabian’s shoes wore out quickly—partly due to his constant scootering—and their clothes faded rapidly under the scorching sun.
Finding work was proving especially difficult for Dajana. Only one Slovak family had shown any interest in hiring her, mainly because cleaning their apartments didn’t require language skills. She would have preferred to work in a hotel, where she was less worried about exploitation, thanks to fixed working hours. Private landlords, on the other hand, never knew in advance when they would need someone. If a booking came in, there was no choice—the property had to be prepared immediately, and after guests left, it had to be cleaned. Adrian had tried to convince her to accept the job, arguing that apartment rentals often came with maintenance issues, which he could fix. That way, they could secure two jobs at once.
What she hadn’t told him was that her reluctance had little to do with working hours. The potential employers themselves were a problem. From the very first meeting, the loud, boastful couple had triggered deep hostility in her. Back when she was an accountant, she had always looked down on people like them—loud-mouthed, clueless, and constantly bragging. And now, she was supposed to ask them for a job. The very thought of it made her shudder. She could still picture the orange-haired woman with her oversized teeth, cackling in her shrill voice at her husband’s crude jokes. The round-faced man, with his sweaty, red complexion, kept chewing gum with his mouth wide open, shifting a hardened, yellowish lump from side to side with his tongue as he cracked one crude joke after another.
Dajana rested her forehead against the glass in despair. She knew she had no choice but to start working as soon as possible. Her eyes welled up as she watched her son, who had grown accustomed to having her at home all the time, always ready to play, go for walks, or ride scooters with him. If only Adrian could be the maintenance worker for the complex! He wouldn’t even have to work himself to the bone, yet he would have a contract, fixed working hours, and a stable monthly income. At least until they mastered Spanish well enough and figured out what kind of business they could start—something the island might still be missing. But getting a job like that wasn’t easy. Positions like those were almost always reserved for locals. It had been foolish to move here without speaking the language.
Before falling asleep, she reassessed their situation. She knew she was approaching things the wrong way. She shouldn’t be upset about having to work for people she would normally never even talk to. She should be grateful—first, for the opportunity to earn money, and second, because those people had no way of knowing what she really thought of them. This was just a temporary phase, one that required humility and patience. She needed to dedicate all her free time to learning the language. Without it, she wouldn’t even be able to help Fabian properly.
She listened enviously to Adrian’s peaceful breathing. If only she could let go of her worries as easily at the end of the day!