Give or take a day. For the pleasure of spending one more day at home, I'm returning by plane, to Zadar. Bringing reserves of tobacco and a bottle of vodka, plus my praktika and flash. The plane, unfortunately, leaves early in the morning, so it's still dark when I'm at the airport with her and dad.
Not too crazy about going back to barracks too early, I decide to spend the day roaming Zadar - walking the streets I know so well. Not trying to go to Borik, though, I'd probably be spotted by some MP, and while technically not doing anything wrong I still could get into trouble, specially with the bottle in my bag, or at least they could spoil my day.
So I find a place to eat, and sit at the pier reading Sirius, latest issue, basking in the sun. Two girls come to share a bench with me - local girls, of course, no tourists in december. I dare them to guess where is my tobacco made, and they have no clue. I show them the bag, where it says "Tvornica duhana Zadar" - and they have even less clue, they didn't even know there's a tobacco factory in town. They go and an older man comes to keep me company, some Rudolf Grandić. Surname sounds a bit weird, but he pulls out his ID - and he has a hat (check hats) on his head. Never saw that before, nor later. How did you do it? He wouldn't say, but was obviously pleased with the effect he made on me.
Later in the afternoon I get to the bus, the same station as where we arrived for that vacation in 1965. Station is a bit shabby now, and there's no stewardess like we had then, eh.
I arrive in Šibenik at near dusk, catch some fast food and perhaps a beer somewhere, and take the long walk down the railroad track (not the sidewalk by the main street above it, not to run into any MPs again), greet the guard and then greet the guys with the bottle. It being a sunday there's even fewer officers than usual, only the dežurni. We all have a sip or two of the vodka (I specifically opened it when everyone's around, so nobody gets too much) and go to sleep.
The next day, Elvir finds the bottle... The remainders, probably the lower two deciliters, were given to the younger guys (the october class, we're three months ahead of them) and they didn't have the presence of mind to take the bottle to the dumpster. He gives us, in the classroom, an oration on the responsibility and what if the enemy found out and tomorrow they print the nasty details in Corriere de la sera... And then he asked each one of us "did you bring the bottle". Well if that's what you want... yes I did bring the bottle, but its finding its way to you is not my doing at all, so "Comrade lieutenant, what - of course not!", looking him straight in the eye, body firmly at attention, sound firm and loud. If you want to do something wrong, do it right...
Around this time Dudek uttered the memorable „how beautiful this tree is... not a single leaf on it“. We had enough of sweeping the leaves.