“Irina Viktorovna, we’ve got another incident at School No. 7. The shop teacher drank the machines away and wrote them off as ‘obsolete’,” the young secretary said, placing a folder on the polished desk. “Not ‘drank away’—‘lost due to negligence,’ Lenočka. Learn to phrase it so a person can be fired with a lifetime stain, … Read more
Ol, is yours on a business trip again?” – Pavel, a colleague, caught up with Olga as she was heading to the bus stop. – “Maybe we can sit in a cafe? Have your favorite cocoa, talk a bit, since it’s always just ‘hello, goodbye.’” “Sorry, Pash, I can’t today. Ignat promised he’d be home … Read more
Sweetie, take Lenochka with you to the south,” the mother asked her older daughter to take her younger sister on the trip. “Mom, your Lenochka behaves too boldly. Besides, I’m going with my husband, why do I need an extra woman there?” Vika snapped. “But you are sisters. And you are older, you should help … Read more
Lately, Valentina had been extremely unlucky. Absolutely everything seemed to be against her. Her husband left her for another woman, and she couldn’t recover for a month, never even suspecting that such a thing could happen to her. Eventually, she survived, burying the pain inside herself, having trusted him as she trusted herself. Just when … Read more
So, the surgery is necessary?” Konstantin looked at his wife. Ulyana was clearly agitated and couldn’t make a decision. On one hand, the situation required urgent action; on the other, she was afraid to leave her husband and mother-in-law. “Maybe we should postpone it? At least for a month?” “You know I got a quota. … Read more
Returning from work, Marina witnessed a young man trying to snatch a woman’s purse. He was subdued and taken to the police station. There, she gave a statement and was soon released, asked to stay in town to later testify in court as a witness. Finally, Marina crossed the threshold of her apartment. For a … Read more
If grandstanding could be turned into electricity, my husband would be powering a small metropolis right now. Stas invited everyone over “for a simple Saturday dinner”—said he missed them, wanted a warm family get-together. And I actually bought it: I set the table, put the main dish out, lined up the plates. Then I understood … Read more
Irina stood at the kitchen window, watching October leaves whirl in the air before dropping onto the wet asphalt. Ten-year-old Katya was fussing with her homework at the table, glancing at her mother now and then in the hope of getting help with math. “Mom, how do I solve this one?” the girl asked, … Read more
Olga woke up early, when dawn was only beginning to wash the sky outside. February twenty-sixth. Her birthday. Twenty-eight. It should have been a reason to celebrate, yet a strange unease had settled in her chest and wouldn’t let her breathe freely. Maksim was snoring beside her, sprawled across half of their narrow bed. Olga … Read more
The spoonful of soup froze halfway to Pavel Yegorovich’s mouth. Lidiya Semyonovna slowly set the bread box down on the table, and a crust of dark rye slipped from her fingers. Artyom felt the blood drain from his face. “You’ve got a pretty good place,” Marfa repeated, taking in the cramped dining area of … Read more