"Date" Preparation

A short, balding man plops his chubby fingers deep inside a tub of hair gel, greedily shoveling it onto his near-naked head. He directs the few precious oily hairs on his scalp into position with a round purple finger before carefully surveying the result in a grubby mirror. He looks over his shoulder to the kitchen. A subtle orange glow, muffled by a pair of heavy curtains, reveals a table modestly set for two. A small plastic flower waits in a water-filled vase. The man looks back to the mirror. He exhales loudly into his cupped hand before pressing it hard against his face, violently sucking the sweaty air up his nostrils. He casts a repulsed look at his reflection before retreating from the dusky room. Now brandishing a fistful of orange tic-tacs, he squats before a small, whirring computer. The large man appears to be huddled over it for warmth in the dim light. He closes an online chat window and retrieves an email reading, “Importation time 7pm. Pier 37”. He surveys his partially buried watch face before hastily jogging back to the mirror. Whipping a shirt from a haphazard pile he navigates its buttons over his round body, through his thick, grey chest hair. He heaves the final button in place and quickly squeezes a hand into his pocket. It emerges with a pair of vouchers, reading, “10% off 2^nd meal. Thai Palace”. He gazes up to meet the eyes of the short, sweaty man in the mirror, who smiles before heaving himself out the door.