Galina was sitting in the kitchen with a newspaper spread out in front of her, working on a crossword puzzle. Her pencil moved lightly across the little squares. Seven letters: “the ability not to react to irritation.” “Patience.” She wrote it in without even thinking. After twelve years of marriage, patience was no longer an … Read more
Tamara Sergeyevna set two cups on the table, one for herself and one for her husband. Gennady sat across from her, twisting a napkin between his fingers. One look at his face was enough to tell her that he had rehearsed this conversation beforehand. She knew the habit well. Whenever Gennady was preparing to say … Read more
Dmitry stood in the middle of the room with his feet planted wider apart than usual, as though he were about to deliver a speech to a packed auditorium. Anna sat on the sofa with an open book resting on her lap. Without looking up, she turned a page. “I want a divorce,” Dmitry said. … Read more
Marina set a plate in front of Igor and sat down across from him. He ate while scrolling through his phone. She had grown used to this long ago—to a silence that brought no peace, only indifference. “Igor, I have to go away for another professional development course next month. For ten days.” “Again?” He … Read more
“This apartment is obviously far too big for you alone. Three rooms! We’ll exchange it for something smaller. I’ve already thought everything through.” Oksana slowly lowered the porcelain teapot onto the table. The hot tea nearly spilled across the spotless white tablecloth. What had begun as a perfectly peaceful Sunday lunch had suddenly taken a … Read more
Tamara Ilyinichna slammed her palm down on the kitchen table so hard that the teaspoons rattled pitifully against the cups. She sat perfectly straight, as if she had swallowed a ruler, wearing her usual silk blouse, her hair styled with immaculate precision. “My son was registered in that apartment for fifteen years. He has every … Read more
“I gave Mom the keys to the country house. Let Slava and his family stay there for a while. Some fresh air would do them a lot more good right now,” Denis said casually as he spread butter over a piece of toast. Anna slowly lowered her coffee cup onto its saucer. The sharp clink … Read more
“Vera, Slavik and I worked out the menu for my anniversary. It comes to 140,000 rubles. The restaurant is respectable — The Golden Vine. We won’t be embarrassed in front of the relatives. Transfer the money today, otherwise the manager will cancel the reservation. And please, none of your usual stinginess this time! It’s my … Read more
The voice of Nina’s sister-in-law rang out so loudly and sharply that Nina’s hand jerked, and she accidentally deleted an entire row of mature trees from the landscape plan. A blank green patch suddenly appeared on the laptop screen. Nina sighed heavily, pressed the shortcut to undo the mistake, and slowly turned toward the person … Read more
“I’ve been thinking, Marina dear, and I’ve decided that we should give your bonus to Slavik for his birthday. He’s turning thirty, after all. That’s an important milestone. And he’s just short of the money he needs for professional DJ equipment.” Marina froze in the middle of the kitchen with a frozen chicken in her … Read more