I've Had Steady Work

It is two weeks in a row now that I have had steady work. This is no small matter; and that it does not involve robbing or killing is also noteworthy. Every morning I go to a nearby market and wait outside for Zayed Al-Fulani to arrive in his ramshackle, orange Citroen. I am able to hear the sound of Zayed's car backfiring from blocks away, so I am never in danger of missing him as I pass the time browsing the market. It is an old-style market, which means it is entirely outdoors and most of the animals are still alive. There are shouts in my direction enticing the purchase of rugs, chickens, chicken parts, and used mobile phones. The mobiles attract my attention most mornings, as I have a small fantasy about coming across one which still contains the names and numbers of those individuals known to the original owner. Were I to discover such a phone I imagine purchasing it, then working through the day with it tucked safely into my jeans pocket, barely paying attention to the task at hand whilst running over and over in my mind those first moments alone with the mobile upon my return home in the evening. Of course, I could never call any of the names on the list, there has been no service in Baghdad since the start of the occupation (really, I can't figure on how this stall-keep ever sells one of these devices), but I would move through the list, assigning faces, and personalities, and lives to the names and numbers. Ah, such a thing is a waste of time. To be idle in such a manner is disgraceful, and surely no way to improve one's lot in life. I am saved from the dilemma, for today at least, by the sound of Zayed approaching the market. The Citroen pulls up to the curb, and Zayed, from inside the car, beckons for me to get in. I climb inside, and we're off to work.