JOSEF: Ma daj mi pomači stekuti čizle …[10]

Hamilton hesitates, takes a few steps in Josef’s direction –

The door handle jiggles.

Hamilton goes to the door and opens it.

LAMB: Thanks, it’s not easy with … (raises the mug and two styrofoam cups in his hands, puts down the coffees) I bet you couldn’t get him to shut up, eh?

Hamilton notices that Josef has stopped fussing with his boot and pretends like nothing happened.

HAMILTON: Actually …

LAMB: He said something?

HAMILTON: Yeah, a few things but I / didn’t understand –

LAMB: The whole ‘ne-chu-vi’ business?

HAMILTON: No. Other things.

LAMB: Huh. Strange that to you, he would … you know. Talk.

HAMILTON: Yeah. (beat) Well, maybe not, actually.

Lamb raises an eyebrow, as if to say, ‘Do tell.’

HAMILTON: I’m pretty sure Lavinia was under Communist rule. He’s definitely old enough to have lived through it.

Lamb shrugs.

HAMILTON: The police weren’t exactly, you know, guardians of the peace. A lot of people there still have trouble trusting any police for that very reason.

LAMB: He doesn’t know you’re not a cop.

HAMILTON: I don’t exactly give off a ‘law and order’ vibe.

LAMB: (smirks) Nope.

Lamb takes the two styrofoam cups and hands one to Hamilton.

LAMB: Well, if he’s spooked by cops, he picked the right night: it’s a damn ghost ship around here.

Lamb hands the other coffee to Josef.

JOSEF: Vola.[11]

LAMB: What?

JOSEF: (hand over his heart) Vola.

HAMILTON: Is he saying ‘thank you’?

LAMB: Maybe. (repeats the gesture to Josef) Vola?

JOSEF: (hand over his heart) Vola.

LAMB: I guess this qualifies as progress.

JOSEF: Vola.

LAMB: Yeah, okay, now wait ’til you try the coffee.

(to Hamilton) Hey, so how come you know so much about Lavinia?

HAMILTON: My colleague. Whenever we complain about things here, he goes off about ‘back in my day.’

LAMB: That must get annoying.

Hamilton nods.

LAMB: (sips his coffee) Holy fuck this is bad. (points to Hamilton) Don’t drink it before I make you sign a waiver.

Hamilton chuckles and sips his coffee.

HAMILTON: That is … unspeakable.

Lamb goes to Hamilton and takes his coffee.

LAMB: And I put four sugars.

The two men chuckle. Lamb turns to take Josef’s coffee –

Josef sips his coffee, nods, and continues to drink it.

LAMB: Communism must’ve been worse than I thought.

Lamb throws Hamilton’s coffee in the garbage.

LAMB: You a hockey fan?

HAMILTON: Not really.

LAMB: Oh no, of course, it’s … soccer, right? No. ‘Football.’

HAMILTON: My parents were from Birmingham, so I was a de facto Villa fan.

LAMB: ‘De facto’ … You always talk Greek and stuff?

HAMILTON: It’s Latin, actually.

LAMB: (smacks his forehead) Latin. Right. Duh.

HAMILTON: Oh God, I didn’t mean –

LAMB: Just pullin’ yer leg.