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So, how much did you manage to click today?” Sergey’s voice from the hallway was rough, soaked in street-cold and fatigue. “Come on, quit playing with your toys—I’m hungry.” Marina didn’t answer. She only pressed the headset tighter to her ear, eyes fixed on four faces divided by thin gray lines on her monitor. Her […]

Since you bought that damn boat so you could take your buddies fishing on it, I’m not going to sit at home either! My daughter and I are going to Turkey on our own, and you can live with your friends and that boat from now on!” Lena said it to her husband the moment […]

Chris, bring more beer—and hurry up. Can’t you see people’s throats are dry!” Artyom’s voice—deliberately loud and coarse—cut through the drone of the TV and the drunken laughter of his buddies, Lyokha and Stas. They were sprawled on the couch, the entire floor around them littered with empty bottles and crumpled napkins. Everything about Artyom […]

Mom, well, not so abruptly. We need to prepare… yes, I understand we can’t drag it out, but you know Ksyusha. You can’t just swing the axe with her—you have to be careful, gradually…” Ksenia froze in the hallway, the key still not fully turned in the lock. Dima’s voice—her husband’s—came from the bedroom, muffled […]

“What is this?” The question came out quietly, almost lifeless, and dissolved into the warm, humid air that still smelled of minty shower gel. Marina stood on the threshold of the living room, wrapped in a large white towel. Water dripped from her hair onto her shoulders, but she didn’t feel it. All her attention […]

“I saw your ‘poor’ mother myself yesterday—walking briskly down the alley with her friend, laughing at the top of her lungs. And today, on my birthday, she’s suddenly at death’s door? How convenient!” Larisa was a Scorpio. Not just by horoscope, but in her very nature—prickly, closed off, intolerant of hypocrisy and falseness. She was […]

The Earrings!” the mother-in-law snapped. “The ones I gave you for the wedding. Take them off. Right now.” “Lyudmila Borisovna, I… I don’t understand,” Kristina began. “Why are you—” “Just take them off,” the woman cut her short. “They’re my earrings. I changed my mind about giving them to you. And I want them back.” […]

Marina stood by the window with a cup of cold coffee and watched the rain. The drops drummed against the glass as monotonously as her thoughts had been circling in her head for the past three weeks. Three weeks since Igor packed his things and left. For Lena. For her best friend Lena. “Mom, is […]

Sergey slammed the door and exhaled. That was it. He’d taken him. Legally. The court had sided with him—so it must be the right thing. Dima’s briefcase stood by the refrigerator, his jacket was lying on a chair. The boy stared at the floor and stayed silent. “Dim, well? You hungry? We’ll eat properly now.” […]

Galina pulled her keys out of her purse and froze on the threshold. Her heart was pounding with anticipation. For three days she’d suffered through those professional development courses, thinking only about home. About Sasha. When the last lecture was canceled, she didn’t call anyone. Let it be a surprise! “I wonder what he’s doing […]