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— “Valya! Valentina! What’s wrong with you?” With each passing second, Boris’s loud voice grew quieter and quieter. Within a minute, the woman could no longer make out her husband’s words. She couldn’t hear or see anything at all. After an emotional conversation, Valentina suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed. She came to when her husband … Read more

— “Just look at that body line, that deep cherry color!” cooed the manager, smoothly running his hand along the glossy curve of the fender. “This isn’t just a car, it’s a feeling. Japanese assembly, top trim. You’ve made the right choice.” Inna didn’t hear him. She stood beside it, her palm resting on the … Read more

— Yana, will you drive Mom to Aunt Vera’s? She’s been getting ready since morning, leave around ten. The words fell into the kitchen’s silence like pebbles into a still pond. Yana didn’t turn around. She kept looking out the window at the courtyard flooded with morning sun, where a sleepy janitor was lazily chasing … Read more

“Lyuda, here’s the thing… Mom’s jubilee is in two months. Sixty.” Vitaly’s voice sounded behind her—loud, deliberately cheerful, brimming with the self-satisfaction of a man about to bestow happiness on someone. Lyudmila didn’t turn around. She sat at her desk in the living room, which looked more like mission control. A big monitor glowed with … Read more

— Mom, what’s wrong? Nikita walked into the kitchen, drawn by a sharp, medicinal smell that overpowered even the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Marina Gennadyevna sat at the table, deliberately slowly dripping a dark liquid from a bottle into a faceted glass. Corvalol. Her battle standard, her shield, her weapon. She didn’t look … Read more

“Polina, hi! We bought the tickets—we’ll be at your place in a week!” Masha’s voice—her husband’s sister—was thick as honey in the receiver and rang with open, almost childlike excitement. At that moment, Polina was standing on the narrow balcony of their two-room apartment, hanging up freshly washed laundry. A warm June breeze pleasantly brushed … Read more

Yana parked the car in the courtyard and turned off the engine. It had been a hectic day—two wedding hairstyles in a row, a capricious bride who changed her mind three times, plus the regular clients. But the register was ringing, and that was encouraging. The salon she’d opened two years ago was finally bringing … Read more

Maria stood motionless by the window. Three weeks had already passed since her husband Andrey left home. Fifteen years of life together had been reduced to two terse words in a note: “Forgive me. I’ll help.” A sharp ring at the door made Maria tense. On the threshold stood her mother-in-law, Irina Petrovna. “Come in,” … Read more

Marina and Pavel were celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary. After making a Napoleon cake, Marina hopefully reminded her husband of their long-standing dream. “Pasha, do you remember how you once promised to take me to Paris for our thirtieth?” she asked. Without looking up from his phone, Pavel handed her a velvet box with a … Read more

After her workout, Vika hurried home—she’d promised her husband she would make ukha, the fish soup he loved. When she walked into the apartment, she saw her husband, Leonid, sitting in the kitchen drinking wine. “Wow, so you’re drinking solo, huh… Lyonya, couldn’t wait for me? Let me at least make a snack…” “No need. … Read more