Victoria opened the door to her apartment and froze on the threshold. Two suitcases stood in the hallway, and voices drifted in from the living room. Slowly, she slipped the bag from her shoulder, trying to understand who had barged into her home. “Oh, there she is!” came the familiar voice of Nelly Pavlovna. “So … Read more
Margarita rushed into the apartment, barely able to catch her breath. Three years of marriage had taught her plenty, but she still could not understand how her husband managed to turn every ordinary situation into a full-blown circus. Stanislav stood in the middle of the hallway with his arms folded across his chest, staring at … Read more
Part One. The Acoustics of a Confined Space The inside of the car smelled of expensive leather and cheap Shalimar perfume, which Tamara Pavlovna, Snezhana’s mother-in-law, appeared to have poured over herself from head to toe. The heavy, cloying sweetness mingled with the artificial scent of vape smoke that Izolda, Snezhana’s sister-in-law, kept secretly breathing … Read more
The apartment door flew open without so much as a knock. Svetlana had not even managed to get up from the sofa when Galina Petrovna stormed into the hallway, followed closely by her son, Alexey. Her mother-in-law’s face burned with such determination that she looked as though she had come to declare war. “Here’s what’s … Read more
Nadezhda’s apartment glowed with festive decorations. It was her birthday, and she had invited only the people closest to her: her father, her mother-in-law and her husband, Viktor’s sister, and a couple of friends. There would be no unnecessary guests and certainly no unexpected visitors. After what had happened at her mother-in-law’s birthday celebration, Nadezhda … Read more
Part 1. Symphony of Collapse “So, you’ve decided to leave?” her husband laughed cruelly as he watched her pack. “Don’t even think about coming back! Who would ever want you, you glorified test-tube scrubber?” Savva lounged in a vintage armchair upholstered in burgundy velvet. A glass of expensive aged cognac swayed lazily in his hand—the … Read more
Anton appeared in front of her by the office entrance as though he had been standing there all day, waiting. Tatiana had only just stepped onto the porch, adjusting the strap of her handbag on her shoulder. The evening was warm, and she had been thinking about tea with lemon and a little peace and … Read more
Sonya could only fall asleep on her left side, clutching a stuffed rabbit with one torn-off ear. Galina would sit beside her, stroke her hair, and count softly to twenty. Usually, by fourteen, the little girl’s breathing became steady, her eyelashes stopped trembling, and her fingers loosened around the rabbit’s paw. On that first evening, … Read more
Margarita Vasilyevna delivered the statement in an even, almost casual tone while gently stirring the cooling tea in her porcelain cup. She sat at the kitchen table with her back perfectly straight, displaying posture that seemed remarkable for a woman of sixty-eight. She was wearing an elegant cream-colored blouse purchased with her older son’s money … Read more
Just tell me the numbers. I’ll enter them myself! Why are you clutching that phone as though it were a bar of gold?” Tamara Vasilyevna demanded, stretching her hand across the dining table so forcefully that she nearly knocked over the gravy boat. “I urgently need to check what time my pharmacy order is arriving … Read more