Andryush, have you seen my blue scarf? The one you gave me last New Year?» Marina carefully sifted through the clothes in the closet, pretending to be deeply concerned about the search.
«Check on the top shelf, behind the boxes,» Andrei called out from the kitchen. «You put it there after the last… business trip.»
Marina froze. She heard a strange intonation in her husband’s voice. Or was it her imagination? Over fifteen years of marriage, they had learned to catch the slightest nuances in each other’s voices. But they had also mastered the art of pretending not to notice anything.
«Found it!» she exclaimed joyfully a minute later. «Indeed, behind the boxes. You have a remarkable memory for such things.»
«Professional habit,» Andrei smiled, entering the room with two cups of coffee. «A long-haul trucker can’t do without a good memory. You have to remember all the routes, all the turns, all the stops…»
«And all the excuses,» Marina added mentally, but aloud she said something completely different:
«Imagine, they’re sending me on a business trip to Petrozavodsk. Right before New Year! The management insists on my personal presence, they say the annual report needs to be closed before the holidays.»
She diligently packed her suitcase, avoiding looking her husband in the eyes. In reality, there was no annual report. There was Igor—a regional manager from Nizhny Novgorod, whom she had met three years ago at a corporate event. Since then, they had met every few months under the pretext of business trips.
«What a coincidence!» Andrei sat on the edge of the bed, handing his wife a cup of coffee. «And I need to go to Kazan. Urgent cargo, the client demands delivery by the twenty-ninth.»
Marina barely smiled. She knew there was no urgent cargo. There was a phone, forgotten by her husband in the kitchen three months ago. There were messages from a certain Nastya, a dispatcher from Kazan. There were photos, which Marina had scrolled through before putting the phone back in its place. Since then, she knew exactly where her husband really went, choosing routes through Kazan.
«How long do you plan to be on your business trip?» Andrei asked casually.
«I think I’ll be back on the twenty-ninth,» Marina replied. «Need to get everything ready for the holiday. And you?»
«I’ll try to be done by the twenty-ninth too.»
They looked at each other and smiled. Each knew the other was lying. Marina had a room booked at the Zarechie Hotel until the thirtieth, and Andrei planned to spend a few days with Nastya at her country house.
In the evening, they sat in the kitchen, drinking tea and discussing plans for the New Year. The conversation flowed easily and naturally—they had learned over the years to maintain the appearance of a perfect family.
«Maybe we should invite your parents for the holidays?» Marina suggested.
«They’re going to my sister in Sochi,» Andrei shook his head. «And yours?»
«My brother just had a baby, they’re going to him in St. Petersburg.»
Both felt a relief—no need to invent additional excuses for the relatives…
In the compartment of the express train, it was warm and cozy. Marina settled by the window, took out a book and a blanket. There were ten minutes left before departure. Outside the window, figures of hurrying passengers flashed by, snippets of conversations and announcements from the dispatcher could be heard.
«Excuse me, is this your bag?» a female voice rang out from the corridor. «It seems to have been left at the entrance to the car.»
«No, mine is with me,» a male voice replied, sounding vaguely familiar to Marina. «Let me help you find your compartment.»
Marina froze. That voice… It couldn’t be! She slowly raised her eyes from the book just as the compartment door opened.
Andrei stood on the threshold. Next to him—a young woman in an elegant beige coat. Marina immediately recognized her as the same Nastya from the photos on her husband’s phone. In reality, she was even more beautiful—tall, slim, with wavy red hair and expressive green eyes.
For a few seconds, all three of them silently stared at each other. Time seemed to stretch this moment into infinity.
«What a meeting!» Marina was the first to break the silence, trying to speak calmly, although her heart was ready to jump out of her chest. «Weren’t you supposed to go to Kazan?»
«I…» Andrei nervously shifted his gaze from his wife to Nastya and back. His face reflected a whole gamut of emotions—surprise, fear, confusion, shame.
«The route changed at the last moment,» he finally managed to say.
«And I thought you had to drive a truck,» Marina smiled with her lips only. «Urgent cargo, you said?»
At that moment, a tall man in an expensive dark blue coat peeked into the compartment.
«Sorry for being late,» he said. «Marishka, I was delayed at a meeting…»
Now it was Andrei’s turn to be surprised. He immediately understood who this man was.
«Igor,» the newcomer introduced himself, surveying the strange company. «And this is…»
«This is my husband, Andrei,» Marina said calmly. «And his… colleague?»
«Nastya,» the redhead introduced herself quietly.
At that moment, the conductor looked into the compartment:
«Your tickets, please. We have some confusion with the seats.»
All four simultaneously extended their tickets. The conductor carefully examined them and shook her head in confusion:
«Strange, but all of you have tickets for the same seats. This sometimes happens before the holidays, the booking system glitches. We’ll have to seat you in different compartments.»
«No need,» Marina suddenly said firmly. «Let’s all stay here and talk. I think we have something to discuss. No one objects, right?»
She looked at her husband. Something akin to relief flickered in his eyes.
«Indeed,» he supported her. «Since fate has brought us all together in one compartment…»
Igor and Nastya exchanged glances. Doubt was written on their faces, but they did not dare object.
The conductor shrugged and left. The train slowly moved from the station. Four people, tied together by invisible threads of lies and secret meetings, were left alone in the cramped space of the compartment.
«So,» Marina leaned back in her seat. «We have four hours ahead. Maybe it’s time to talk honestly?»
The first minutes in the compartment were filled with oppressive silence. The clatter of wheels counted the seconds of awkward silence. Igor took out his phone and pretended to read his mail. Nastya nervously fiddled with a pendant on her necklace. Andrei looked out the window at the passing winter landscapes. Marina flipped through the pages of the book, not really reading the text.
«How long?» she suddenly raised her eyes and asked, looking at Nastya.
«Four years,» the redhead quietly replied. «We met when his truck broke down near Kazan.»
«And you?» Andrei looked at Igor.
«Three years ago, at a corporate event in the city.»
«Interesting,» Marina smirked. «Turns out we both started looking for something on the side around the same time.»
«And what were you looking for?» Igor unexpectedly asked. «You seemed to be living normally…»
«Normally,» Andrei nodded. «Exactly. Too normally. Like on a schedule. Get up, have breakfast, go to work, come home, have dinner, go to bed. Day after day, year after year.»
«I lacked emotion,» Marina confessed. «Once, Andrei and I could talk for hours. Then our conversations dwindled to discussing bills and plans for the weekend.»
«And I lacked understanding,» Andrei added. «Marina never asked how the road was, wasn’t worried if I was late…»
«Because I knew where you really were,» Marina interrupted him. «I saw messages from Nastya on your phone three months ago.»
«And I found a receipt from the Zarechie Hotel in your bag,» Andrei countered. «And photos with Igor on your phone.»
«And all this time you kept silent?» Nastya asked in surprise.
«What is there to say?» Marina shrugged. «Dear, I know you’re cheating on me, but never mind, I’m not sinless either?»
«It was easier to pretend nothing was happening,» Andrei added. «After all, we were well-settled. Each of us had our own life, our little joys…»
«Little joys,» Marina echoed. «And the big ones? Remember, we dreamed of buying a house in the countryside? Getting a dog? Traveling together?»
«I remember,» Andrei replied quietly. «Every time I pass by cottage settlements, I think about it.»
«And every time I see house for sale ads, I imagine how we could have lived there.»
Igor and Nastya glanced at each other. They suddenly felt superfluous in this conversation.
«You know,» Nastya slowly said, «we never talked about the future with Andrei. Only about the present.»
«And Marina and I didn’t either,» Igor added. «Probably because deep down we understood: these relationships have no future.»
«Do we have one?» Marina suddenly asked, looking at her husband. «A future, I mean?»
Andrei was silent for a long time, looking out the window. Then he turned to his wife:
«Remember how we met? You missed the last train, and I offered to give you a ride in my old ‘nine’.»
«I remember,» Marina smiled. «It even stalled halfway, and we sat on the roadside for three hours, talking about everything under the sun.»
«Exactly. We could talk about everything. And then… then we just forgot how.»
«Maybe it’s not too late to learn again?» Marina asked quietly.
At that moment, the train began to slow down. The first lights of Nizhny Novgorod appeared outside the window.
«I’ll go,» Igor said, standing up. «Marina, I’m sorry, but I think it’s better if you don’t come anymore.»
«And you forgive me, Andrei,» Nastya added. «Maybe we all need to stop before we go too far.»
On the platform, Marina and Andrei stood in silence for a long time, watching Igor and Nastya leave. Passengers hurried by, porters clanged with suitcases, announcements sounded.
«Shall we go home?» Andrei finally asked.
«And what about your cargo in Kazan?»
«There’s no cargo. Just like your annual report.»
«I know,» Marina took her husband’s hand. «You know, I saw a great house for sale in the Istrinsky District. Two-story, with a lot. And you can keep a dog there…»
«A big one?» Andrei smiled.
«Very. And there’s a garage there for your truck.»
They bought tickets for the next train to the city. On the way, they talked—a lot, sincerely, like in the early years of their acquaintance. About the foolish things they had done. About how they were afraid to lose what was left. About how they had really missed each other all these years.
Six months later, they really bought that house in the Istrinsky District. They got a German Shepherd. They began to spend more time together. Marina sometimes met Andrei from trips with a homemade dinner, and he learned to ask how her day was.
They realized that over fifteen years, they had become something more than just spouses to each other—they had become a family. They became dear people who could forgive, understand, and start anew. And that turned out to be more important than any fleeting infatuations.
And that strange and seemingly absurd meeting on the train became their family story, which they sometimes recalled, sitting in the evenings on the veranda of their new home. A story about how a chance encounter helped them find each other anew and understand that the most important thing they had already found long ago. They just needed to learn to appreciate it.
