Nine Pounds an Hour

(Ewa and Santiago sit in a rented car in London, with three bags in the boot.)

Ewa: There’s an Underground station right there. One change, twenty minutes, and we’re at the square.

Santiago: And then we carry the bags up the stairs.

Ewa: You mean I carry the bags up the stairs.

Santiago: Your bag is books. My bag is camera equipment. Equipment is heavier.

Ewa: Where do you think we’re going to park? It’s the middle of the city.

Santiago: There’s always parking. You just have to want it enough.

Ewa: That’s not a fact. That’s a feeling.

Santiago: I predict fifteen minutes.

Ewa: I predict a very expensive afternoon.

(Fifty minutes later, in a car park two streets from the square.)

Santiago: See? Parking.

Ewa: What’s the price?

Santiago: … It says nine pounds an hour.

Ewa: Two Underground tickets were six pounds fifty. Together.

Santiago: But our bags came in the boot, like adults.

Ewa: We drove past this street twice.

Santiago: Three times. The first time was for the view.

Ewa: Tomorrow we take the Underground.

Santiago: Tomorrow it’s going to rain, and you’ll thank me.