Alexander's

I need the suit by Monday evening

I’ve lost weight and the trousers were a bit on the short side to start with, so my suit had to be changed.

Sure if you come by on Monday between four and six in the afternoon it will be ready.

So on Monday I left work extra early and a quarter to six I was standing before the tailor. Actually that’s not true. I was not standing in front of the tailor. I was standing in front of the closed shop doors of the tailor — looking at a totally dark and deserted shop window with my suit locked inside.

Tuesday was a holiday and on Wednesday I need to leave around 6:00am to catch my plane. There was no chance I’d get the suite in time — and of course I didn’t have a spare suit with me.

After a bit of swearing into my nonexistent beard I decide to call my boss.

Just what kind of experiment am I looking forward too?

Well …

The only suit I could borrow in Vienna was my brother’s. Not only is he much stronger than I am, it’s also a very fashionable evening suit he bought for going to proms.^[1] Definitely not as bad as some of my hats from Japan, but still not something appropriate for work.

There had to be another solution.

Hey Gernot can I borrow your suit? Sure when do you need it?
The train takes just over 3 hours, so I can be at your place in about four.

One of my new colleges at work told me that my small hand luggage compatible trolley would become my second flat and it’s true. By now only my laptop is an even closer companion.