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Zoya Ivanovna decided to go out to the dacha. The season had not really begun yet, but she was eager to at least do something around the house. She had always loved spending weekends there from early spring until late autumn, and now, with spring dragging on for far too long, she simply could not … Read more

From the very start of the day, everything seemed determined to go wrong. Marina, usually organized and careful, kept dropping one thing after another: her coffee almost spilled over the brand-new clean tablecloth, her apartment keys vanished somewhere in the depths of her bag, and when she finally found them, she nearly slammed the door … Read more

Vera walked up to the fourth floor, trying not to spill the herbal tincture Grandma Gulfiya had prepared in a small glass jar. In her sports bag were massage oil, towels, and a notebook where she recorded every change in Stepan Gennadyevich’s condition. She had started the treatment course three days earlier and was already … Read more

Darya ran across the station square faster than Olympic champions. Her heels clicked against the asphalt in a frantic rhythm, and only one thought spun through her head: “Please, let me make it!” The business trip to Yekaterinburg was important. It was her first serious project after her promotion at the advertising agency. To fail … Read more

Rita woke to the barely audible crying of her daughter. Half-asleep, she glanced at her phone. Half past six in the morning. It was still dark outside; December had been especially gloomy this year. Stanislav was sleeping with his arms spread out and did not even stir at little Masha’s whimpering. “Stas,” she whispered, nudging … Read more

Anfisa stood at the stove, dreamily thinking that right now she could have been sitting in a cozy little restaurant on Pokrovka, eating a delicious warm salad with goat cheese and drinking expensive wine, instead of conjuring up fifteen portions of Olivier salad. She could have put on a beautiful dress, painted her lips, and … Read more

— Nastya, are you serious? Fourteen million! That’s a whole fortune! I’ve never even seen that kind of money in my wildest dreams! Her sister squealed with excitement so loudly that Nastya involuntarily smiled. Eva had always been emotional, but this time she was clearly overdoing it. — Keep it down! — the woman hissed, … Read more

Valentina signed the last document and leaned back in her chair. Outside her office window, rows of sewing machines could be seen. Their small women’s clothing factory was operating at full capacity. After major Western brands left Russia, orders had tripled. Domestic stores were literally lining up for their products. Five years earlier, she and … Read more

They had gathered the way they always did, for the kind of occasion that practically organized itself: Valentina Petrovna’s sixtieth birthday. To be honest, Svetlana had thought about finding an excuse not to come. Too many clients. Accounting not finished. Or simply, “Sorry, I’m sick.” But Mikhail had looked at her with such guilty, puppy-like … Read more

“You’re not the one in charge here.” “Either your mother is not moving in with us, or there will be no wedding,” Ella said, surprised at how calm her own voice sounded. Sasha stood by the kitchen window as if a draft had pinned him there. His phone was still in his hand. On the … Read more