“ The following night and every night since then, up until the death of his wife, the baker would meet the police officer at 8:30 p.m. near the corner of Street 57 and G-8 a block from his bakery. Eventually, their meetings became as much a routine for the baker as awakening at sunrise when the mullahs called the faithful to prayer. The baker was never late for their nightly rendezvous. In fact, he looked forward to seeing the police officer in the same way he anticipated talking to his regular morning customers. They asked one another about their families, shared the latest gossip about so and so politician or Bollywood movie star, wondered how much longer winter would last, and argued about their favorite cricket teams. The baker considered himself a customer of the police officer. And as his customers paid him daily for his bread, the baker paid the police officer nightly for his protection.
via (via planningtheday)
