Ramila's phrase after I told her about my meeting with Dimitri was vivid and nerve-wracking. However, it could only be repeated in decent society with prepositions and interjections.
I sat in the kitchen, climbing on a chair with my legs, and mindlessly chattering with a spoon in my tea. I felt like a rag doll.
“ You know, it's probably a good thing that everything turned out this way," she said calmly.
I looked up at her in bewilderment. What could be good in what happened? The man I love turned out to be a pig. And I found out about it, when nothing can be fixed.
“ Are you laughing?” I asked in a shaky voice.
For the first time all evening I wanted to cry.
“ Imagine if you had given birth to a child by him," Ramila suggested.
I immediately did what she told me to do, and tears ran down my cheeks.
“Maybe that's the reason? I wanted to wait.”
“ Don't talk nonsense!” Ramilya burst out.” No man has ever managed to bind anyone with this. Yes, maybe he would have gotten married. But then he would mock her all his life. You bet, the calculating predator had bound him hand and foot. Ruined his life! And a wedding is no indicator of fidelity and happiness. He would've kept on going.”
" Listen to you, there are no good men in this world."
" There are a lot of good men. But women love assholes."
Having stamped on both men and women at once, Ramila grabbed my glass and threw the cooled tea into the sink. I leaned back in my chair, not the least bit upset. My food wasn't good today, and I couldn't even swallow a cookie. Just the sight of it made me sick.
" So Dimitri didn't see you, and that's good. See, I was right about you getting a job at this office."
" Dimitri's the manager, and I'm the secretary."
" Dimitri's a jerk, and you're an asshole. The secretary is the closest person to the boss. You'll be with him for twelve hours. Helping him. Cover for him. And as a result, he'll treat you better than the rest of us. Imagine the controversial question, "who gets the lucrative assignment?" And you say, "Julia's more responsible," and that's it.
" Am I gonna get fired? " I suggested sarcastically.
" They'll listen to you," Ramilya said.
I, deciding not to argue, nodded in agreement. I felt resentment in my soul. I loved him so much, and he was just taking advantage of me....
" So, Julia offered you an interesting job? So do it. Don't cry!"
As if confirming her rightness, the phone rang, notifying about a message in Viber. Julia wrote that she had sent me the documents to the post office. I sighed and showed it to Ramila, who immediately ran happily to my room and brought a laptop and a Chinese dictionary.
" Go ahead. Tomorrow you'll hand in the first batch of papers and get your praise. You really miss it."
Having stroked the lid of the faithful comrade, my laptop was already three years old, and it worked properly, I got into the mail. Julia was not stingy on the amount of materials. It looks like we'll have to sit till morning!
" Pour me some tea too, please," she asked, seeing that Ramilya was making herself a fresh pot.
After estimating the amount of work, I suddenly calmed down. Even if she couldn't get revenge, she could just get her life back on track. And the place to start was work.
I opened the documents and reference books sent to me and immersed myself in the text. The case progressed slowly. The text contained a huge number of special terms with which I had not familiarized myself before.
But I began to understand what exactly our company does. It provides support for foreign companies that have decided to develop the Russian market. It sounded beautiful, but in reality it is a huge amount of paperwork. And also in the ability to maneuver between the conflicting laws of the two countries, as well as the wishes of the client and the reality that the Russian market has to offer.
At half past eight I was already in my seat in the office. I had to come in early. I had to print out what I had done yesterday. I put the papers in folders and waited impatiently for Julie to arrive. In the evening I sent her a few translated documents, and the rest I decided to give her at the office. And after receiving enthusiastic messages of gratitude, I suddenly felt that I liked it.
To my surprise, however, it was the boss who showed up at the office first. He looked a little wrinkled, wearing yesterday's shirt and a day's worth of unshaven hair.
" Good morning," I greeted him cheerfully.
" Please, not so loud."
The supervisor disappeared into his office. I shook my head and searched my bag for aspirin. Andrew was not the kind of man who liked to drink a bottle. His body was unprepared, so the result was not long in coming. Putting the papers aside for the time being, I gathered a tray: a glass with instant aspirin, a bottle of mineral water and coffee, the latter I put just in case.
Knocking and without waiting for an answer, she entered. Andrew was sitting at the table, concentrating on massaging his temples.
" Aspirin, " I informed him and put the glass on the table.
Andrew , grabbing the glass, drank the contents in a gulp and leaned back in his chair. I doubt that it helped immediately. Rather, the anticipation of relief tried it on with reality. I froze, waiting for further instructions.
" Everything else after… " he said.
I didn't ask after what. It was obvious. First he needs to come to himself. I silently put the tray with mineral water and coffee in front of him and left.
Julia flew into the waiting room at the same time as me. Swaying on her impressive heels, she took in more air, ready to burst into a tirade of gratitude. I was ahead of her, pressing my finger to my mouth. The girl obediently exhaled.
" Andrew has a headache, " I whispered. " And until the aspirin did not work …"
" Oh! Why?"
I shrugged my shoulders indefinitely. I didn't plan on giving away my boss's secrets. There was a reason he showed up earlier than half of the staff. Now he'll come to his senses, assess his appearance and go home to change. Although a man like Andrew should have a spare shirt with him. You never know!
" All right. Give me a hand, please. I need to write a letter to the partners."
Julia made huge eyes. I laughed quietly. Those who have never seen a computerized hieroglyphics layout won't understand. The characters are written on one key, four at a time. It's hard to tell the difference between half of them when you're not used to them.
" Leave the letter, I'll dial, " promised her.
" You're awesome! I love you!"
Julia handed me a thin opaque folder and rushed off. Hiding behind a ficus tree, I checked my makeup and, after making coffee for myself, returned to my desk. The main boss's reception area turned out to be the quietest place in the universe! I don't know about the deputies, but no one came in here.
About an hour later, Andrew called me in. He looked much better, even changed his shirt. I, trying to keep my distance, put in front of him the documents collected for signing and a separate folder prepared by me personally.
" You have a meeting tomorrow. Everything is ready for it, " I informed the boss.
Andrew was distracted from the papers and looked at me carefully.
" I forgot to ask, are you married?"
" No, " I answered dumbfounded.
I didn't expect such a question. Why would he be interested in the details of my personal life?
" Okay, " nodded Andrew . " There will be a conference in St. Petersburg on Saturday. I'm glad that you have no plans for the weekend, and you can accompany me. The hotel is already booked, we'll leave on Friday. You can go."
I just nodded and went out to the reception area. But I didn't expect such a turnaround. It turns out that if I don't have a husband and children, I don't have plans for the weekend either! Besides, who takes a secretary who has been working for a few days with them on a trip?
Feeling that I needed to share and consult with someone, I grabbed my phone and ran to the bathroom to talk without interference. Experience told me that it was better to discuss a person behind his back when he was not around. And the neighboring office under the designation "far away" fell somehow weakly.
Having jumped out to the stairwell, I went down one flight and immediately turned back. Dimitri stood in the corridor and hugged the girl. Climbing a few steps, she tried to listen to his conversation.
" You don't give me enough time, " the girl said capriciously.
" I work, " Dimitri was naturally surprised.
" At night?"
It became clear to me that he was talking to his wife. It seems that their family life was marred by his inattention. By the way, there is such a peculiarity in Dimitri's behavior. At the beginning of the relationship, he was very attentive. Sometimes it seemed to me that he read my mind. But when our relationship became strong and stable, and I couldn't breathe without him, he became distant. No, in the moments he spent with me, even if only on the phone he was so gentle.....
" I've gotten a job, I don't want people to say I married you for a career. I will achieve everything on my own."
Dimitri spoke in a confident and unbending voice. Just a couple weeks ago I would have believed in his words unconditionally, but now it was funny. The girl whispered something fervently. I didn't eavesdrop any further and went back to the waiting room. The more I learned about him, the more disgusted I became. How could I love him?
The interesting thing was that I couldn't find a decent excuse. Betrayal killed love, and the brain kicked in. But so far he'd only wondered how blind I'd been.
I spent the whole day thinking about the stupid things I'd done in my life. Secretarial work was the most boring job in the world. The phone didn't ring very often, the visitors were mostly couriers who dropped by a couple times. And the boss seemed to have decided to sleep in, since he only called me once all day to let me know he was leaving.
I was home by eight o'clock, exhausted by the road, I walked up to our house without looking around. So I didn't notice the festivities right away. Neighbors, who jumped out of their houses, were frantically putting out the fire. I rushed to us and almost crashed into Ramila, who had come out of the house in a tiny robe, but with a huge bucket of water.
" What happened?"
" Idiots surrounded us!"
Ramila ran to the neighboring plot, and I rushed after her. The picture I saw was more pathetic than scary. A huge fire was burning in the middle of the neighbor's plot. When I looked closer, I realized that it was firewood prepared for the winter, but unused. A man in underpants, an alcoholic T-shirt and rubber boots was running around the fire. He didn't even try to put anything out, the neighbors were doing it. The curiosity of the situation was that the fire could spread to any house standing nearby. A strong gust of wind was enough to carry the spark.
Ramila splashed a bucket of water on the fire. The flames, hissing mockingly, continued.
" Damn fool! " The friend fawned over the man and ran back.
I agreed with her wholeheartedly, rushing back, going to join our rescue.
Following me, a burly woman flew into our plot, in whom I could hardly identify my neighbor on the right. This time she was wearing a plush bathrobe and carrying a huge skein of rubber in her hands. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a hose, just catastrophically wide in diameter.
" Come on, help me!"
The two of us quickly unwound the hose. I with one end stood in a fighting stance at the fence, going to water the fire. My neighbor hooked the other end to the faucet and opened the water.
The hose shuddered and hummed suspiciously. I was alarmed; I had never heard water make such a sound before. Seconds passed, and still no pressure.
The water rushed out like a geyser, hitting the fence. I fell on my back and let go of the hose. It danced around, splashing everyone with water. I jumped up and tried to grab the hose. A neighbor decided to do the same, and we collided on the approach. I collapsed to the ground, the neighbor snorted contemptuously. She was an indestructible rock holding the water pressure, directing it in the right direction. True, she had several targets, the fire and its culprit.
When she was done, she turned off the water and proudly walked away, leaving the firemen to deal with the arsonist. I was left sitting on the ground in a puddle of mudd.
" Impressive, to say the least," Ramilya commented.
I hooked and pulled myself up off the ground and wandered into the house. Why wouldn't this hard day full of surprises end?
After a sudden hose shower in the bathtub, I soaked for about an hour. I had to literally scratch the dirt out of my hair with a brush. And here's the most amazing thing, if you make a natural mask and diligently rub it into your scalp to revitalize and nourish the bulbs, about half of it stays dry. And if you fall on the ground and get doused with water, it's like you've gotten a lamination.
So I cleaned myself up. I got into a tracksuit, as it turned out, neighbors can quickly and effectively diversify life, and there will be no time to change clothes. I went to the kitchen. The suspiciously familiar smell of something spicy beckoned. I hope my nose is not deceiving me and Ramila is making mulled wine.
" You know what the saddest part is? You'll have to live side by side with these people for years to come," she said sadly.
" Maybe it's not so bad?"
Ramila looked at me skeptically. I lowered my eyes. We've only lived here a week, and the neighbors have already revived our life. They're running around our yard, or trying to burn it down!
While Ramila was stirring the potion of soothing, I made sandwiches. Dinner turned out to be peculiar and far from proper nutrition, but tasty. Sometimes you have to indulge yourself. After thinking, I sliced some cheese and opened a jar of olives.
Having poured the drink into half-liter high mugs, we sat down at the table. It was under the hot wine with spices that I told my friend about the upcoming business trip. The longer I thought about it, the more I did not understand the motives of Andrew .
" Great! " Ramilya was excited. " Is he handsome?"
" Who? " I did not understand.
" Andrew ."
" Mr. Roberts , " I added. " So…"
Feigning indifference, I introduced the boss, a tall, statuesque brunette with green eyes. And that's just the beginning of his virtues, to everything else he is also smart. He's just predictable, judging by Camille. But he always smelled nice, his perfume, obviously bought not in Russia, with dignity silent about the number of zeros in foreign currency in its price tag. Oh yes, without a doubt, you can't pass by such a thing. Only after some time, I'm allergic to handsome men.
" So he's handsome," Ramilya said.
" He's not my type," I said.
" Well, we've already seen yours," Ramilya said skeptically.
" You know, when I came to the interview, there was a whole corridor full of models, and I was chosen. What does that say?"
" That they birch trees? " Ramila suggested.
I shook my head and, carefully scooping up the "brew" with a tablespoon, drank my mental torment. Unlike my friend, I had another theory. Against the background of beauties with legs from the ears, I was a natural gray mouse. And Ms.Adams was looking for a secretary who would work, not dream about the boss. And if fantasies wander into her head, the boss will not want to realize them.
" But if that's the case, you probably shouldn't overstep your bounds. This business trip will be a test. Whether you can stand the test of his beauty and charm or not. You need to pack your things. "
And not in a way that makes it look like you're ready to jump into bed with him, even though you'd rather be on the table with your boss. You have a different mission for this company.
That's where I totally agreed with her. I didn't have a normal job in my employment history. I had to be able to hold it for a couple years. And ideally get a promotion. Rendezvousing with my boss didn't fit into that plan.
" But, you know, it's time to get out of the "mousey mouse" mold, too. There will be other men there," Ramila added unexpectedly.
I grimaced. After the betrayal of my beloved, I was not ready to let someone into my life.
" Hey, neighbors!"
There was a knock at the kitchen window. We shuddered and turned at the knock. A burned-out neighbor loomed in the yard. This time he looked almost decent: in sweatpants and an open turtleneck, but in the same alcoholic T-shirt. He looked about forty years old. His blond, long uncut hair fell over his eyes, and his face was framed by a beard that would only scare a barber.
" What do you want? " Ramila snorted, opening the window.
" I just came to apologize. I didn't know you'd already arrived."
The man's logic was strange. That is, if he knew that the house was inhabited again, would not have set fire to the wood?
" Well, apologize, " "allowed" Ramilya.
" Wo!"
The neighbor shook a colored shabby bag and… climbed through the window. Ramilya recoiled, and I jumped up. No one had ever come to visit us like that before. The neighbor threw the bag on the table and introduced himself:
" Mathew."
" Ramilya, Rina."
Unexpectedly, my friend responded, approvingly squinting at the bag, which in fact turned out to be full of smoked fish.
" I smoked it myself," Mathew said proudly.
" Have a seat," Ramilya almost purred.
Smoked fish was her weakness. She consumed it in immense quantities and drank it with sweet tea. To me, it was a terrible combination. The guest did not talk himself into it, and sitting down at the table, he grunted approvingly, taking a mug of mulled wine. Being in some shock from unexpectedly formed neighbor's meetings, I snatched my phone without looking and answered the call.
" Hi, " Dimitri said hello.
" Hi," I answered muffled.
My heart sank somewhere in my stomach and fluttered. I must have changed my face, because Ramila immediately looked up to see who was calling me. When she saw the contact, she hissed angrily. We had agreed on the train that I would not answer his calls.
" For some reason I can't reach you. I miss you very much," Dimitri went on the offensive.
I kept silent, because I knew who was the only one of us missing, and who was living life to the fullest and had even started a family.
" Where did you disappear to? Why are you silent? " Dimitri asked, without waiting for an answer.
" I'm here."
I couldn't pull myself together. The words were stuck in my throat. They were backed up by sobs, which I was ready to burst into tears. My head was like a balloon, it was going to blow away.
" Someone important is on the phone," Mathew said.
" Yes, it is," Ramilya snorted.
" Who's that there? " Dimitri asked suspiciously. " A man? Did you get another one? Is that why you don't answer my calls?"
" Why? " I got angry.
" I'm working for our future! And you!"
I couldn't believe my ears. He's trying to make me jealous?! I was sitting at home like a fool, daydreaming. and now he's accusing me of cheating on him!
" It's the neighbor! " I enlightened him.
" Oh, yeah?!"
" Well, yes! " I confirmed it with a challenge.
" I've got it all figured out, it looks like I'm in danger of catching a scene from a cheap joke!"
" Vaudeville," I corrected him.
" Are you laughing? Honey, if I came home, would you at least let me in?"
I didn't say anything, desperately fighting myself. To start sobbing into the phone was to bring myself down even lower. We'd meet at the office sooner or later. It's a miracle we haven't crossed paths yet.
" Tell him we're waiting for him, and we'll make pies, his favorite! With meat! " Ramila came to my rescue
" With cabbage. Dimitri likes cabbage, " I corrected him.
" What kind of man doesn't like meat? " muttered the neighbor.
" "The best," Ramilya grinned. " Tell me, I'm already running to the market for cabbage. Or better to the fields, I'll take it from a private citizen, just in time for his arrival and I'll turn around."
Now Dimitri was silent, listening to our argument. I tried feverishly to think of something to say to him. When Ramilya and Mathew laughed, Dimitri hung up.
I sank down in my chair and stared dumbly at the screen.
" Should I call him back? " I muttered.
" He'd call me. He's in dire need of you right now," Ramila snorted.
" What's that? " I didn't understand.
" He badly needs your part of the money for the mortgage," she said.
Unfortunately, she was right. In my mind I understood it perfectly well. But that didn't make it any easier. I finished the contents of my glass in a gulp, said goodbye to my neighbor and went to pack my things.
I decided not to take too much with me, so I pulled out a small gym bag and packed two suits, one dress, and a pair of shoes. The clothes had to come from Ramili's closet. That made it a little embarrassing. If it wasn't for this trip that couldn't be turned down, I would have gone to the mall on Saturday and bought my own. The tutor didn't need business suits. Oh, and for the past few years, I've only bought things out of necessity. When things that had fallen into disrepair couldn't be darned without a mark.
" Are you going? " Ramila asked. I nodded. " Ta-dam!"
My friend pulled out several tubes of paint from behind her back.
" Now we'll do your head. Since we can't fix the contents, we'll fix the outside. Please!"
I frowned skeptically, then sat down resolutely. It was reckless to entrust my hair to a manicurist. Though it wouldn't be any worse than it is now.
Ramila stirred the paint with inspiration and made the first stroke. Judging by the number of bottles used, she was a professional. I sincerely hope my hair won't fall out after it!