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But the machinations of his carefully prepared correction-
plan graphically demonstrated that comrade Podlogar did
not know his daughter at all, despite his conviction over
the years that she was his favourite. This infamous
snoop, who the local hooligans used to justifiably dread,
never took seriously the hereditary stubbornness that he
had passed on to Dusha, though stories of it had been
circulating for long enough. Podlogar’s plan had been to
force Dusha’s Ljubljana landlord with a report since, like
so many landlords, he had never registered the fact that
he was subletting his apartment. So Dusha was kicked out,
and Dushan might’ve thought that she would have
slumped down on a street corner, before humbly sulking
home to daddy. But instead, she went straight to the
train station and waited, for the last time, for the green
train. Carrying two small suitcases, her stubbornness
dictated the rest of the story – she was determined never
to return to her father’s village, not even for a Sunday
lunch. She rode off towards the lights of Pula, believing
that this very evening, her lieutenant would be waiting for
her with a rose in his thorn-scratched hand, on Platform
2, and for the last time. But as luck would have it,
Lieutenant Nedelko, on the very evening that should
have been the most special of his young life, failed to
remember that it was Thursday. Thursday evenings saw a
special ritual at the Karl Rojc Barracks. Around seven,
Colonel Neven Barac, fresh from the shower and anointed
with smuggled Italian cologne, set out for dinner at the
Fisherman’s Shed Restaurant with his mistress, Zhana. The