Marina looked at Viktor Sergeevich, and her heart filled with the familiar feeling of bitterness. Her attitude toward this man had remained unchanged — cold and filled with the realization of his true nature. Once, in a past life, she had been the mentor of this aspiring doctor. Even then, it was clear that he would turn out to be an average specialist, but he didn’t even try to improve. His indifference to the profession irritated Marina, and she didn’t hesitate to express her opinion. The reprimands she gave were never unfounded — they were always well-deserved. And now, look at him: he had grown fat, like an old sack of potatoes. His stomach barely fit under the table, and his face wore the smugness of a man who had achieved everything not through talent, but through connections and time.
— Marina Andreevna, — he began, leaning back in his chair like a king on a throne. — Let’s skip the pleasantries, we are adults here. I would never have hired you, but I’ll make an exception. Do you know why? To feed my ego.
His words cut through the air, but Marina just gave a sad smile. She knew he was right, but she wasn’t going to show her pain.
— Quite right. You’ve always been a smart woman, — she retorted, maintaining her composure.
— Moreover, no one will hire you as a doctor, of course. You probably won’t even manage to get a job as a nurse. But I can offer you a job as an orderly today, — Viktor grinned unpleasantly, showing all his yellow teeth.
— Well, I didn’t really expect anything else, — Marina replied, internally shrinking with humiliation.
— How did you think it would be? With your resume, you should be thankful for this.
— Thank you. When do I start?
— Find the head nurse, she’ll explain everything. All the best, Marina Andreevna.
Marina tried to walk out of the office calmly, though inside she was boiling. She really wasn’t being hired anywhere. Neither in her specialty nor for any other job. And all because of the seven years she had spent in prison. Seven long years for killing her husband.
The story was banal, unattractive, and long since settled. Marina loved her job. She gave it much of her time, and her husband didn’t like that. He wanted all the attention to be focused solely on him. At first, he hurt her with words, then began beating her every time she was late for work, with each instance growing more violent. Gradually, Marina turned into a jittery hysteric who was afraid of her own home.
One day, when her husband had gotten too violent, she grabbed the first thing that came to hand and struck him in the head with all her strength. It was a frying pan. A good, heavy, cast-iron one. Marina always liked quality cookware.
No one, including her lawyer, believed that such things were happening in her family. Her husband was a respected man, helped animal shelters, while opinions about her had recently changed drastically. Marina had never told anyone that her husband was beating her. It was too shameful. However, her nervous breakdowns at work didn’t go unnoticed.
In the end, she served her sentence from start to finish. When she was released, there was nowhere for her to go. Her husband’s relatives, naturally, took their apartment. Thank God her aunt took her in, but immediately warned that she couldn’t live with anyone for too long.
— I can’t live with anyone for long because I’ve spent my whole life alone. You see, Marina, I like you, but I’m not used to having neighbors. I have this here, and that there. If you move something, and I don’t notice it, it’s already uncomfortable for me. We’ll just fight. Not because there’s a reason, but because neither of us will be able to live this way.
Marina understood that her aunt was absolutely right. She was even grateful for her honesty. She promised to figure something out. She needed work. Any work, really, just so she wouldn’t be a burden on her aunt. And then, she would keep looking and would definitely find something.
Almost no one remained from the old staff at the hospital. As Baba Zina, who had worked there as an orderly for thirty years, confided in her, everyone had left because of the tyrant and embezzler who had driven them all away.
Marina smiled: — Baba Zina, you’re being too harsh. I think he’s just a little silly and self-centered.
— It’s not harsh. You’ll see for yourself when you work here. My God, what’s happening in the world? We don’t have enough doctors, and a good one is reduced to being an orderly. It’s horrible!
Baba Zina grabbed her bucket and went to mop the floors, muttering and occasionally crossing herself.
Marina Andreevna worked for only a week, but she already understood how right Baba Zina was. The hospital was a complete mess. People brought medicines for their relatives. Patients came to the hospital with their own bedding. As for the food they served in the cafeteria, she didn’t even want to mention it.
Marina didn’t understand one thing: is it like this everywhere now, or just here? She struck up a conversation with one of the doctors. He wearily waved his hand: — Things aren’t sugar anywhere now, and here, it’s the worst of the worst.
— Why, Pavel Ivanovich? What makes us different? When I worked here, there wasn’t such chaos.
— Well, Marina Andreevna, you need to steal when there’s something to steal. But when there’s nothing to take, and you still want to, this is what happens.
— Yes, you’re not the first person in this hospital to talk about theft. And why is everyone silent about it?
— You want to bypass the management and file a complaint? That’s foolish. No one has any proof, and chaos is everywhere now. I wouldn’t be surprised if the higher-ups don’t even remember what they’ve allocated and when.
Marina found out that now hospitals had sponsors who provided funds for various needs. She also found out that one such sponsor was currently in the hospital, in the most luxurious ward. They were preparing everything specially for him. He had a personal nurse. Basically, everything to make sure he didn’t find out how bad things were in the rest of the hospital.
But, as the nurses said, he no longer cared about what was happening, because he was dying. The doctors were trying, switching from one medicine to another, but he wasn’t getting any better.
As Baba Zina said: “Poor man, he’s a good guy. He used to chase Viktor around for no reason, and now look, he’s lying there himself.”
Marina asked: — If he has a lot of money, why doesn’t he go abroad for treatment?
— Well, Marina Andreevna, it’s like he’s given up on himself. He doesn’t want anything, doesn’t care about anything. And he’s not even that old. I’m not exactly sure, but he’s definitely not fifty.
In the evening, after the night shift, Marina decided to go see this millionaire. She was very curious. She was interested in something else, not the dying man.
The thing is, back in university, she and her classmates had been working on a cure for this very disease. Slowly, those who were reflecting and experimenting dropped off. By the time everyone had gone off to work independently, only Marina was still working on it.
Of course, she couldn’t push the research forward on her own to the point of testing, but she still returned to it periodically. There was nothing supernatural about it. It was simply a matter of calculating the proportions of different drugs precisely, forming a volatile mix that worked in the right direction. But no testing had been done on anyone, so no one knew about side effects.
— May I? — Marina quietly asked, opening the door to the ward. Her voice was barely audible, but there were traces of tension in it.
The man turned his head, his gaze heavy but not lacking interest: — Yes.
Marina entered, carefully sat on the edge of the chair, and looked closely at the patient’s face. Everything matched. Every symptom, every detail — just like in the textbooks they had once studied in depth.
— How are you feeling? — she asked, trying to hide her anxiety.
He smiled, giving her a thoughtful look: — How do you think? You’re not a doctor, are you?
— Well, not right now, — Marina replied, internally preparing for the next question.
— What do you mean? — the man raised his eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
Marina smiled, even though her heart was pounding with foreboding: — I’ll probably tell you my story so you won’t think worse of me than you already do.
The man’s eyes flickered with interest: — Well, now you have me curious.
For twenty minutes, Marina told him everything — from her arrest to working as an orderly at the hospital. She hadn’t spoken this much in the past ten years, and her tongue seemed to be moving faster than she could think.
When she finished, the man exhaled deeply: — Well, that’s a story worthy of a novelist. So, how is it working under Viktor Sergeevich?
— What do you think? — she retorted, trying to stay calm.
He sighed: — Ideally, I’d kick him out with a broom. But… let others handle that.
— Why not you? You see what’s happening here, — Marina cautiously asked.
— What I see suits me just fine. But I would like to know — you didn’t just come to me for no reason? To complain about the management?
— Oh no, not at all. I’m not complaining. I don’t even know how to explain it, but, well…
Marina hadn’t talked so much in recent years. She was getting tired, feeling her tongue go numb. The man nodded toward the nightstand: — There’s water over there. It’s really interesting. How long do the doctors give me? A month?
— About that, — she lowered her eyes, feeling her cheeks flush. — Sorry.
— Don’t apologize, I’m an adult. Of course, I want to live. But if your medicine doesn’t help, how much time do I have left?
— I don’t know. It may not help, but it shouldn’t kill you. That’s what we all thought and think.
— Well, I’m not losing anything. Nothing at all. But I have a tiny, tiny chance. How long do I need to take it?
— Just three times, with a week’s interval.
— I agree. What’s needed? Money?
Marina blushed: — I need to buy the medications. They’re not very expensive, but, as you understand, I just don’t have the money right now.
— Give me your phone, — he reached out with a trembling hand for her screen.
Ten minutes later, Marina’s phone pinged. Alexander, the millionaire, had transferred the money, and she said goodbye: — Then I’ll see you tomorrow?
— Yes, I’m back on the night shift.
In the evening, Marina was greeted by a delegation in Viktor Sergeevich’s office. He didn’t even let her speak: — What were you thinking? I hired you out of pity, and you…
— Oh, I was such a naive fool. How could I trust someone who just got out of prison? I barely convinced our sponsors not to send you back to prison. Be thankful people are kind. You steal the medicines we’re allocated money for, and then sell them! You’ve left the sick without treatment. Get out of the hospital now! I’ll fire you for this.
He shoved her out of the office without letting her say a word. Tears welled up in her eyes. Marina rushed to her small room, but stopped. Alexander was waiting. What if he could help? Maybe he’d fix things.
She rushed into the ward, pulled out the bundle from her pocket: — We have only a few minutes.
— Wait, what happened? Did you cry?
— It’s a long story. Your sponsors probably grabbed Viktor by the throat, someone must have complained. And he quickly pinned it all on me. Said I stole and sold the medicine. Took everything out of the hospital.
Alexander widened his eyes: — This is nonsense! One person can’t carry that much and sell it!
— We don’t have time. If they see me here, they’ll just throw me out the window. Give me your hand. Don’t be scared. Just don’t be scared.
She slowly administered the medicine, praying no one would stop her.
— At first, you might feel a bit nauseous, but in a couple of hours, you’ll feel better. Remember my address: Luvovaya, 27. Exactly a week from now, you need to get the next shot.
Marina ran out of the ward just in time. She had just closed the door to her little room when a whole delegation appeared around the corner, led by Viktor. They were headed to Alexander’s ward.
They didn’t stay long. Alexander was feeling unwell. When they came out, Viktor spoke with undisguised sorrow: — Not much time left for our dear patient.
The next morning, Viktor Sergeevich was the first to return to the ward: — We need to prepare everything. Take tests. Death is coming soon, so we need to get everything documented to avoid any questions.
He entered the room and froze. Alexander Grigoryevich was sitting on the bed, drinking tea. It had been a month, if not more, since he had been able to sit up.
— Hello, Viktor Sergeevich.
— H-hello, — Viktor rubbed his eyes.
— Well, don’t be so nervous. Could you send an orderly, or better yet, an attendant? I’d really like to take a shower, but I can’t manage it by myself.
Viktor nodded silently and rushed out the door.
Marina paced back and forth. It had been exactly a week since she gave Alexander the injection. What if he didn’t come? What if he forgot the address?
Her aunt couldn’t hold back anymore: — Marina, sit down, stop pacing. You said yourself he’s a serious man, a businessman. If he forgot the address, he can find it and return to the hospital. So sit and wait. And pray. What if it’s gotten worse? Then they’ll put you away for twenty years. Why did you even get involved in this?
Her aunt barely finished speaking when a car stopped right in front of the house. The man behind the wheel jumped out and opened the passenger door to help someone out.
— It’s him! Auntie, it’s him! He’s walking on his own!
Her aunt smiled. Though she tried to seem serious so Marina wouldn’t think about staying with her, she increasingly found herself thinking that living alone wasn’t as good as living with her niece. She made lunch, everything was clean, and they hugged, talked, and listened to each other.
— I see. You’re doing great. Well done.
After the second shot, Alexander stayed with them for a few hours. They drank tea and talked. By the time of the third shot, he came in the morning and stayed until the evening. He told them how Viktor had been kicked out, and how things were changing at the hospital.
In the evening, as he was leaving, he asked: — Marina, can I invite you to a restaurant?
— Did you forget something? I’ve been sitting!
Alexander smiled: — When I was a kid, I used to steal lunches from my classmates’ backpacks.
Marina looked at him in surprise, then laughed: — Well, in that case, of course, yes.
And her aunt, hearing this, bowed her head in her fist: — Thank you. Good Marina, deserves happiness.
