Trafika Europe 2 - Polish Nocturne

proof. Who would be easier to break, Petri or Merja? Women were often tougher, especially when it concerned their children. What if I were to approach Merja as my real self, Hilja? I waited to see if she’d come in for the night shift, but she did not appear. A pretty young coworker said she would be back at work the next day. “So Santa’s fallen for Merja?” she teased, and I clutched my hands to my heart dramatically. This wasn’t the first time I’d acted at acting. In the final weeks before Christmas the department store stayed open till nine. It was quarter past nine when I took the elevator toward the ground floor. The customers had already left and the elevator was empty. I was terribly tempted to take off my hot wig right there. Luckily I didn’t, because at the P2 level the elevator stopped. Petri stepped in. “So, Santa Claus,” he said, as the elevator jerked and came to a stop, “looks like we’re stuck between floors. My, my, after closing it can take quite awhile before they get the elevator running again. I hope you aren’t claustrophobic. Now take off the stupid disguise and we’ll have a face-to- face talk, man to man. Or shall I take it off myself?” Petri whipped a knife from his pocket, one from the souvenir department. I backed to the corner of the elevator, trying to feign fear.

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