When Maja arrived in the small seaside town, her bag held two dresses and a manuscript. Filip, the organizer of the literary weekend, had promised a fee, accommodation and a long walk after the reading. They had been exchanging messages since spring. His usually arrived late, often with a photograph of the sea beyond an empty table.
The hotel expected her to pay for her room herself. Filip apologized, saying the person responsible for payments was ill. At rehearsal, he was busy with more important guests. At dinner, he seated her near the door, without a name card. When she asked about her fee, he touched her shoulder and promised to settle it privately.
She did not want to cause a scene. But after two days, her savings were paying for someone else's event. She watched Filip order expensive wine for a writer whose appearance attracted cameras. He whispered that she understood art and surely would not reduce everything to money. Maja put down her fork.
During the closing program, each author was asked to say something unplanned. Maja told a story about a woman who invited a neighbor to repair her window. She admired his hands, praised his patience and assured him he was special. When the window was finished, she told him that a bill would spoil the beauty of their encounter.
The audience laughed. Filip did too, at first. Then he looked at her. "Did he fix it?" the famous writer called out. "He did," Maja said. "But she spent the following winter looking for a repairman who accepted compliments instead of rent." She did not look at Filip as she closed her notebook.
He waited for her backstage, offended. He said she had humiliated him, although nobody had mentioned his name. Maja showed him the contract and hotel bill. She wanted the money by morning, without further discussions of their special connection. He paid everything. The payment confirmation came with a long message explaining how she had misunderstood him.
At the station, the sound technician Vedran approached her. During rehearsal, he had brought her a chair without making a performance of it. He was taking the same bus home. He asked whether he could sit beside her. During the journey, they talked about bookshops that closed early and the ugly hotel with the beautiful view.
A month later, he invited her to dinner, first checking which day suited her. He did not promise it would be unforgettable. He arrived on time. As Maja put her bag beneath the table, she realized how much room there was for pleasure when she did not first have to make excuses for someone else's absence.