Chapter 1

“You can’t force me to marry such a fool again,” it sounded in my head every time I sorted through family photos, and my eyes fell on cards with the image of Artem Kursky. Former husband.Everything was very banal, like a bone gnawed by a yard dog.One bright day (although I considered him the worst at the time) I had a headache, a chill began and, having taken leave early from work, I came home and saw him walking around the apartment in his shorts. At the sight of me, Artyom’s eyes widened, and having learned the reason for my early appearance, for some reason he began to stubbornly call to the kitchen to drink tea and generally spun around like never before, even helping to put on slippers. But somehow I didn’t feel like drinking tea in street clothes, so I decided to change it to a house dressing gown. Unusually dismantled at this time of the day the bed surprised, but it was not up to it. As usual, we always see and hear what is better not to know. And now the silicone strap of someone's bra, peeking out from under the bed, caught my eye. The owner of this funny thing was found in my closet with outerwear.“No other way,” I said with a sneer and stared at the shameless blonde, busty girl, squatting between a Mouton short fur coat and a down jacket. From my appearance, the guest backed away, from which only her knees and the dress that she pressed to herself were visible. - Get out, both of you. And pulling the blanket out of Artyom’s hands, she poked at the door with her index finger. Hysteria, she caught up with me much later and alone, and then like crazy I threw off all his things, including a laptop, a razor in a bedspread. And having tied it in a knot, she personally dragged him to the door, dragging this dowry across the floor, despite his protest and request to listen.- What can you tell me intelligibly. Or did it just seem to me? - I said, blowing on the curl that fell on my forehead, trying my best not to show how disgusting and sick I was, but somewhere on the way to tears.- Lika, don't be so old-fashioned. You are sick, and I need a discharge. And if it’s really important for you, then this won’t happen again, - Tyoma tried to hug me with his arm and attract me with the way they look at an unreasonable child, - I just didn’t think that it would hurt you so much. Bunny, do not be offended, well, I'm sorry.-I! You! Not a bunny! - I escaped, and I kicked with force on the assembled knot of Artyom's things, - do I have long ears or slanted eyes? And here I happened to hear those words that were remembered every time, as soon as my eyes saw a photograph of my ex-husband. Or maybe throw them away, why such a memory is needed, and cross out several years of marriage?Chapter 1“Like, do you think we can have a rest,” Katrina’s friend said thoughtfully, stretching out her slender legs on my new sofa, which I bought after I threw out the bed on which Artem tumbled with his girl, “you have a divorce, let long-standing, which means it’s still stress. I have a florist diploma obtained by heroic efforts. What do you think, huh?In fact, Katya and I have been friends since school, or rather since the tenth grade, when she and her twin brother Vsevolod moved to our city. We got along right away, and Kat turned out to be very smart and as a result earned a gold medal, and Sevka was so-so, although he finished without triples. They entered the same university, only in different departments, but according to the well-known saying "Love is evil, you will love a goat", this fatal animal also met my misfortune. Like many victims of Cupid, I rushed headlong into the whirlpool of adulthood and, having moved to the correspondence department, without listening to the advice of my parents and proudly refusing the offered help, I went to work, because the needs of a student are the same, and a married woman is different. My positive memories, impressions generally faded after the divorce , even though it took place about two years ago, and because the idea of a friend seemed very entertaining. And here is the result I am twenty-eight years old, but in the near future you will not lure me into marriage and a roll. And what did you not see there? Therefore, I really liked Katrina's proposal.“In a couple of weeks I have a vacation, and maybe we’ll really go somewhere,” leaning against my friend, I dreamily closed my eyes. The sun, the sea and we... so independent and purely relaxing from everyone.- Well, I always knew that Anzhelika Vasilyeva is a real person. Maybe somewhere a sanatorium or a recreation center, eh? Let's see our calm exotic. There Pine Forest, for example, on the shore of the lake, in the forest. And if we get bored, we’ll go to some nearest store, we’ll do rural shopping. I don't like the south, you know, and I never lasted longer than a week.- Yes, I agree, where to go from the Petrovs, - I rolled my eyes, because the seashore disappeared with lightning speed, never materializing. And I also have nothing against relaxing on the shore of a reservoir, if only I don’t see Kursky, otherwise lately he has again begun to flicker on the horizon and talk about forgiveness, and also with a request to let him live in the next room, like from me won't lose.- Well, Sevka doesn’t need anything other than his auto repair shop, and he doesn’t have time to rest, again a new girlfriend, and it’s time for you and me to give our brain a smoke break just right.-No need to say. It boils simply and not only from the heat. As they decided, they did it, and two weeks later, having easily locked the apartment that my parents had left me, I left for a well-deserved rest, after warning them that if they get bored with life in the village, then I will not be at home. Of course, it was possible to collapse with Katya and spend these days with them, but I wanted something new, variety.The room we got was clean and bright, almost renovated. Overlooking the rather well-groomed shore of a huge lake that flows into the river. And although the outside of the holiday home looked like a faceless brick structure of the Soviet era, but inside everything turned out to be done pretty well, by my standards. Cafe, canteen, gym, outdoor dance floor, everything functioned, and the visitors were not only pensioners. A modestly equipped beach and a few tied boats on the shore looked pretty nice and I put a big plus in the column " Desire to ride on the water". We ate lunch with pleasure, because not every day someone cooks for you, sets the table, and you don’t have to wash the dishes at all. And then, having grabbed our swimsuits, along the trodden paths we were carried not to the central beach, but to the "Beautiful Distance", which was not slow to be found at a fairly decent distance from the main building. “Listen, I noticed it right yesterday, Kursky again doesn’t give a pass,” Kat said, diligently rubbing suntan cream on her toned stomach. “When I left you, it seemed to me that he looked out from around the corner.“He’s the best,” I stretched out on the bedspread, covering my face with a hat, “you know, how many times after the divorce I already thought, and what I found in him. I almost dropped out of university, can you imagine.“Are you serious,” the incredulous companion looked at me, “and if you had to, would you wash and keep him or something?”“Well, if not all the time, then yes,” I admitted to my friend. - If he fell ill or his business closed.- Ahh, well, if only for a short time, otherwise you can stretch your legs like that, - Katrina said and stretched out on the bedspread.- Imagine, at first he said that he realized that he was bored and all that, and yesterday he asked to live, so he saves up for something, and I just have a three-room apartment, and my parents are forever away.- You, I hope, are not stupid, - Kat's piercing eyes looked searchingly, even narrowed, like a cat's.- She said that I would let her live, - I did not have time to finish, as my friend's eyes widened noticeably, - but he will pay for the whole three-ruble note in full and in triple size. And Kursky, of course, refused.-Umnitsa, why in triple?-Equivalent to milk for harmfulness, - I said in a satisfied voice and again fell apart under the sun, preferring to feel like a piece of ice that pliably blurs from the warm rays. For an hour we swam, sunbathed, and then climbed into the water again, but Katya, attentive, heard distant conversations, laughter, and indeed, in a few minutes several young men with fishing rods passed by us.Opanki, what kind of mermaids swam into our clear waters, - said a short red-haired fisherman of about thirty years old, - maybe we’ll get to know each other, girls?“Maybe we’ll get to know each other, but not with you and not here,” the friend answered haughtily, defiantly turning away from him.- What a characteristic lady, - said the redhead, - not like a silent neighbor. - Fedor, let's go, stop talking, - one of the companions slapped the man on the shoulder, - you don't see, the girls from the men came to rest. The fishermen left, and Katya continued to listen, periodically glancing to where this funny trinity had disappeared.- I don’t understand, I don’t like something, and not even him, but what? - Said Katrina, collecting cream in a cosmetic bag, - maybe let's go?-Certainly. Listen, what are you doing with him? Well, I would throw a joke - in general, my friend had a phenomenal premonition, so I really trusted her.“I don’t know myself,” Kat shrugged her shoulders, showing that the topic was closed. - Wow, well, - said a friend after an afternoon snack, stretched out on her bed, - there is no need to run anywhere, there is no need to hurry. No credits, no assignments, just lovely.- Yeah, but what kind of diploma was it? In six months, who will you go to study? - I admired the ability and desire of a friend to constantly learn something. Let after higher education all the rest was for the soul, but it's so great.- No, as long as it's enough. Yes, and Sevka said that it was time to show what he had learned.-The Petrovs' parents had long ago left for some village, and the children were left here, but, nevertheless, even during the university years it was not noticeable that the brother and sister needed anything.- Katherine, sunbathing, lying around is good, but what are we going to do in the evening? Let's look at the "dances" about which it is written on the wall?- Why not. And in general, dear, since we came to rest, we will enjoy the local beauties. Well, what they will show us here, including dancing. I hope you and I will not have to dance together, and there will be more than two people. Katya is just a tough lady, and therefore she speaks without ceremony, but I got used to her, however, just like she did to me. We arrange each other, so to speak, without violating the comfort of communication. Yes, and if something happens to her, I will be the first (after Sevka, of course) to rush to help. This past winter, there was a case when I simply caught a cold, but I didn’t want to go for medicines at minus twenty. In general, an hour after the call from Kat, a doctor came to me, and two hours later there was a full set of cold medicines on the table. Many of our friends and acquaintances got married, some became a mother, perhaps that is why we still held on to each other, although it is easier for Katerina, she has a brother and a bunch of relatives, and I only have parents, really the best. In the evening, having decided that it was not worth conquering the people with our heavenly beauty, we dressed in a simple way, or rather jeans and T-shirts, especially since there were several people like that. The dance floor was located on the side of the main building, so there was no need to look for a path to it. Surrounded by trees in the form of a semicircle, it apparently once served both as an outdoor cinema hall and as a place for performances by local and visiting artists. The garlands flickering in the dark served as a decoration, and the music was still the same that habitually flows from the TV screens and radio channels. But the people, who decided not to languish, began to get acquainted. Older people sat aside and remembered how it happened at that time.Several children who arrived with their parents rushed about, hiding from each other, and one of the adults nevertheless danced, taking advantage of the moment, because they really came to relax, and in what way, this is a personal matter for everyone.“Yeah, it’s fun,” the disappointed friend drawled, drumming her long nails on her cheek. “Listen, the village is very close, let’s go, I heard that there is a cafe there, maybe it’s more fun there. - Do you think it's more fun? Let's go, - I supported her and we set off. I'm used to the fact that when the two of us men, first of all, they look at Katrina, a long-legged, slender brunette with luxurious hair, which she constantly collects in a defiant ponytail on top of her head. My persona is more modest, although I look good too. Not skinny and not full, but an average figure, blond hair just below the shoulders, a meter seventy tall, that's all the special signs. As now, rare passers-by initially looked admiringly at my friend, and then noticed me, as if surprised that there was someone else nearby. We saw the local cafe "Happiness of the fisherman" from afar. Finished with natural stone, it looked decent from the outside. Inside the walls are the color of baked milk, everywhere there are paintings, photographs in identical frames depicting fishermen and their catch, a steering wheel. The picture was complemented by a fishing net that hung in places instead of a dividing curtain between the tables.- Oh, girls, you can sit down with us, we are almost familiar, - the red-haired fisherman said at the sight of us, who prevented us from sunbathing no later than during the day, - you see, you yourself came.“Are you clinging to them again,” said the same man who took the molesting Fyodor away from us during the day, “or did you like it?”- Yes, I am, - the merry fellow muttered, seeing how we cheerfully proceeded past their table.There were not very many people, and one free table suited us perfectly.Listen, Katyun, and he has a crush on you, - I winked at my friend and poked her leg with a shoe. - Look, he doesn’t take his eyes off. - I feel that this will be my local colorful entertainment, - Petrova gave out and prepared to wait for the redhead to come up to us, because all the actions were in full view.- Allow me to invite you to dance, - there was a voice over my ear. A tall, dark-haired man with gray hair at the temples, about forty years old, stood beside me and held out his hand to me. Katya choked in surprise, because no one was expecting an attack from this side.“Do they dance here,” I said, looking around. Someone came in, went out, but none of those present did this.“We will be the first,” the stranger promised confidently, leading me to a small empty place, which really seemed to be intended for this. Fenced off by the same curtain stylized as a net, it was imperceptible from my place, but it clearly had no other purpose. Slow music, the absence of bright lighting over the patch did not help to relax at all, because there was an unknown person nearby, and the place was completely unfamiliar.- And you dance well. Arriving from a rest home? - My partner asked, never stepping on my feet, - yours sometimes drop in on us.- Yes, and you? - What a mysterious man. Not young, but he spends his evenings not at home, with his family. Or maybe not married. He asks, but did not introduce himself. - What is your name?- Sorry, I forgot. I am Sergei, the owner of this "Happiness," the man said smugly, "and Fedor liked you."