TE23 Double Feature

The President Shop

Vesna Mari ć

jackets, or pierced the sides of their hats. Women pinned their silk scarves with them. Ruben explained to his customers how the President signed in Cyrillic in order to show that both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet belonged to the Nation’s people, that he loved both with equal merit. “Our people must always stick together,” Ruben would neer fail to add. But most people came in to take a look at the gold bust. It sat behind the counter and most of the time was covered with a cloth the color of moss. Mona often thought it was as if the bust was a secret, set deep in the north of the woods of the shop, a mysterious, radiating spot. In the afternoons, the hot ball of the sun bounced against the windows and landed inside the shop, turning the apples in the bowl into globes of gold. The afternoons were when Ru ben used to pick up one of his books and read out important quotations. Rosa and Mona knew that this was the time to be quiet and listen. 291

gold, was made by the country’s most renowned sculptor. There was no possibility of putting a price on its immense value, which was both material and sentimental, for the Nation and for Ruben. The bust was not for sale; Ruben was its steward. The Nation had rewarded him and Rosa with this gesture, for their service to the country as Partisans, and the hard work they’d been doing for decades promoting and keeping alive the President’s work and image, after Ruben had injured his back once and for all, lifting the heavy tools in the factory, where he had worked as a machinist. THe President Shop was wood paneled, honey colored and light poured in through large windows. The long counter had a glass top; beneath sat pins and badges adorned with the Pres-ident’s signature and various interpretations of his likeness. There were miniature flags of the Nation, flecked with small red stars. Customers came in, purchased them, and stuck them into the lapels of their

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