Galina stood by the window and watched Viktor stride toward the neighboring entrance. Again. For the third time that week. He had some kind of little toolbox in his hands.
“Where are you off to?” she shouted from the balcony.
“To Alina’s! Her outlet’s acting up!” he waved and disappeared into the stairwell.
An outlet. Of course. Galina snorted and slammed the balcony door. In thirty-five years of marriage Viktor could barely change a lightbulb in their own apartment. And now—suddenly he’s an electrician.
The phone rang. It was her friend, Lusya.
“Gal, did you see?”
“See what, exactly?”
“Your man trundled off to the young one again. First thing in the morning.”
“He’s helping, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh, helping. And did you know she bought a new dress yesterday? Red, tight.”
Galina gripped the receiver tighter.
“So what?”
“Nothing. Just saying.”
“Lusya, I’m busy.”
“Sure, sure. Just—y’know. Don’t close your eyes completely.”
Galina hung up and sat on the couch. Don’t close her eyes? She hardly slept as it was lately. Viktor had retired three months ago and since then it’s like he’d snapped his leash. The gym, new shirts, a trendy haircut. And now—fixing outlets.
She got up and started dusting the shelves. Her movements were sharp, angry. The little figurines rattled with her fury.
She wasn’t stupid! She saw perfectly well what was going on. Alina—pretty girl, twenty-seven, unmarried. Works in some office, dresses stylishly, smiles at everyone. And Viktor strutted around her like a young rooster.
And what about her, Galina? A doormat? Thirty-five years washing his clothes, cooking, raising the kids. And now, in his old age, he decides to feel like a macho?
The door banged. Viktor was back.
“All set!” he announced cheerfully. “Changed the outlet, even tightened the kitchen faucet. The girl offered me tea, but I refused.”
“Aren’t you clever,” Galina said evenly.
Viktor looked at her closely.
“What’s with you?”
“What do you mean, with me?”
“I don’t know. You’re… strange.”
“Everything’s fine. Go wash up for lunch.”
He shrugged and headed to the bathroom. Galina stayed in the middle of the room, thinking. What should she do now? Make a scene? Get openly jealous? Or…
Or handle it smarter.
Over dinner Viktor talked about news from his former job. Galina nodded and murmured in the right places. All the while she was thinking—how to handle this situation.
“Listen, Alina’s a pretty girl,” Viktor suddenly said, spooning himself some potatoes. “Educated. Works at a bank.”
“Uh-huh,” Galina replied.
“And handy around the house. Her apartment looks like a picture. Everything neat, pretty.”
“Vitya.”
“What?”
“By any chance, are you in love?”
He choked on the potato.
“What are you talking about? Love? I’m just helping someone.”
“Of course. Helping.”
“Gal, why are you getting worked up? She’s our neighbor. Lives alone. Naturally men help out.”
“Do you help the other neighbors too?”
“If they ask.”
“And do they ask?”
Viktor fell silent and focused on eating. Galina watched him, feeling the boil inside. Did he really think she was stupid? That she didn’t notice his new swagger, how he started grooming himself, how his face lit up whenever she mentioned Alina?
“I’m going to see Lusya tomorrow,” she said.
“Go. I might drop by Alina’s. She asked me to hang a shelf.”
A shelf. Good Lord, what kind of shelves does this girl have—new ones every day?
In the morning Galina got up early and started baking a pie. Apple, with cinnamon. The very one Viktor always praised. Only today, the pie wasn’t for him.
At eleven she saw Viktor leave the house with a drill in his hand. Of course. The shelf.
Galina waited half an hour, dressed in her best, took the pie, and headed after him.
The doorbell. Alina opened the door in house jeans and a crop top. Beautiful, she had to admit. And young. Very young.
“Oh, Galina Petrovna! Hello!”
“Alinochka, hi. May I come in?”
“Of course, of course! Please!”
Men’s slippers stood in the entryway. Viktor’s. Galina smiled.
“Is Viktor Semyonovich here?” she asked innocently.
“Yes, he’s hanging a shelf for me. Vitya, your wife’s here!”
Vitya. Well now. Already “Vitya.”
Viktor peeked out of the room, his face confused.
“Gal? What are you doing here?”
“I brought a pie. For Alina.” Galina handed the box to the girl. “Thank you so much.”
“For what?” Alina didn’t get it.
“What do you mean, for what? For letting my old man feel needed.” Galina spoke with such sincerity that Alina was taken aback. “He got so down after retiring. And here you are—young, pretty, giving him attention.”
“I just… he helps…”
“Of course he helps! And that’s right. A man should be useful.” Galina sat down on the couch without being invited. “Otherwise he sits at home, grumbling. With you he turns cheerful.”
Viktor stood in the doorway, silent. His eyes were round.
“You know, Alinochka, maybe you should come visit us sometime?” Galina went on. “I’ll give you recipes. Family ones. For the future. Youth isn’t eternal, after all.”
“I… thank you, sure…”
“And really, it’s good there are girls like you. Caring ones. Not every girl would fuss over an older man.”
The word “older” landed like a slap. Viktor flinched.
“Galin, what are you doing?” he finally spoke up.
“What did I say?” Galina feigned surprise. “Is it bad that Alinochka is friends with you? You’ve been walking around positively glowing.”
Alina blushed and started picking at the hem of her top.
“We’re not… I mean we’re just…”
“Just friends, of course!” Galina clapped her hands. “I’m not thinking anything bad. My Vitya is a good, reliable man. Any girl would be glad to be friends with him.”
“Would you like some tea, Galina Petrovna?” Alina offered weakly.
“With pleasure! Vitya, go finish that shelf. Alina and I will have a heart-to-heart.”
Viktor darted back into the room like a rabbit into a burrow. The drill howled with renewed vigor.
“Sit down, dear.” Galina patted the couch. “Tell me how things are at work. At the bank, right?”
“Yes, at a bank.”
“Good salary?”
“Well… decent.”
“Thinking about getting married?”
Alina set the cup on the table and looked out the window.
“I think about it, of course.”
“And rightfully so. Just don’t drag your feet. Time flies. How old are you—twenty-seven?” Galina sighed. “At your age I’d already had Vitya.”
“Vitya?”
“Our son. Viktor Viktorovich. He lives in St. Petersburg now. Has a family, kids. We’ve got grandkids, can you imagine?”
Alina nodded. Her face showed she hadn’t known the neighbors had grown children.
“And our daughter’s in America. Married too. She’ll be visiting soon to show us our granddaughter.” Galina sipped her tea and smiled. “We’ve been together thirty-five years, Vitya and I. We’ve been through all sorts—crises, fights. But here we are.”
“That’s… that’s good,” Alina mumbled.
“You know the secret of a long marriage?” Galina leaned toward the girl. “It’s understanding that family is sacred. And when someone tries to interfere…”
The drill fell silent. A hush hung in the air.
“I’m not interfering in anything!” Alina blurted out. “He comes on his own!”
“Of course he does. He’s a man.” Galina set down her cup. “And a woman should be smart. Know where the boundary is.”
“What boundary?”
“Between friendship and… everything else.”
Alina went pale.
“We’re not doing anything…”
“I’m not saying you are.” Galina stood and smoothed her skirt. “I’m just giving you advice. Woman to woman. From experience.”
Viktor appeared in the doorway with the drill in his hands.
“All done,” he said quietly.
“Good job, Vitenka!” Galina walked over and took his arm. “Alinochka, thank you for the tea. And for giving my husband your time. But we should go. Our grandson’s going to call on Skype.”
“Yes, of course…”
“Do try the pie. Family recipe. If you like it, come over and I’ll teach you how to make it. Useful once you get married.”
They stepped out onto the landing. The door closed behind them very quickly.
“Gal, what are you doing?” Viktor hissed.
“What am I doing?”
“Why did you say all that?”
“Say what, exactly?”
“Calling me an ‘older man’! Talking about boundaries!”
Galina stopped and looked at him.
“What, isn’t it true? You’re not an older man?”
“I… well…”
“Sixty years old. Grandkids. A pension. Is that young, in your book?”
Viktor said nothing.
“And the part about boundaries is true too. There’s a family—there are boundaries.” Galina started up the stairs. “Or did you think I don’t understand what’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on!”
“Of course not. You’ve only been running to that girl for a month and a half. Fixing outlets, hanging shelves. And glowing with happiness.”
They reached their own door. Galina took out the keys.
“Vitya, we need to talk. A serious talk.”
At home they sat across from each other at the kitchen table. Viktor drummed his fingers on the tabletop and stared off to the side.
“Talk,” Galina said.
“About what?”
“Everything. What’s going on. Why you need that girl.”
Viktor sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.
“I don’t know, Galya. I really don’t.” He looked up. “I retired and felt… useless. Old. And she smiles, thanks me for helping. And I…”
“And you what?”
“Felt like a man again.” Viktor flushed. “I’m an idiot, right?”
“An idiot.”
They were quiet for a while.
“Do you have any idea what it was like for me?” Galina asked. “Watching my husband run to a young girl? Hearing the neighbors whisper?”
“I understand.”
“Not true. You don’t.” Galina stood and turned on the kettle. “If you did, you wouldn’t have been running over there.”
“I didn’t do anything bad!”
“And what counts as ‘bad’? Fucking her?”
“Gal!”
“What, ‘Gal’? You think that’s the only kind of cheating?” She turned to him. “What about the time you gave her? The attention? The way you beamed with happiness around her, and with me your face was sour?”
Viktor lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Not enough.”
“What else?”
“Promise me you won’t go over there anymore.”
“I promise.”
“And if she asks for help, you’ll tell her to call building maintenance.”
“Fine.”
Galina poured tea into two cups and sat back down.
“You know what hurt the most?” she said calmly. “Not that you went to her. That you took me for a fool. You thought I didn’t get it.”
“I didn’t…”
“Thirty-five years, Vitya. I see right through you. When you lie, when you’re hiding something, when you’re upset.” She took his hand. “And when you fall for young girls.”
Viktor squeezed her fingers.
“It won’t happen again.”
“We’ll see.”
“It really won’t. I was so ashamed today… when you called me an old man in front of her.”
“Aren’t you an old man?”
“An old man,” he admitted. “And married. And an idiot.”
“Finally got through to you.”
They drank their tea in silence. Then Viktor asked:
“What now?”
“Now we keep living. But with new rules.”
“What rules?”
“First, no secrets. Where you’re going, with whom, why—you tell me honestly.”
“Okay.”
“Second, if you want to feel needed—find a proper activity. Volunteer work, a club, something. Not young girls.”
“Got it.”
“And third”—Galina smiled—“you’re going to pay me compliments. Every day. I’m a woman, too, by the way. I want to feel beautiful, too.”
“You’re already beautiful.”
“Not enough. Say it more often.”
Viktor nodded.
“What about Alina?” he asked.
“What about her? She’s a smart girl. She got the message. I bet she won’t invite you over again.”
“Yeah. After your speeches about an ‘older man’…”
“At least it was the truth,” Galina laughed.
The next day she ran into Alina at the store. The girl flushed and tried to duck into another aisle, but Galina called out to her.
“Alinochka! How was the pie? Did you like it?”
“Very tasty, thank you.”
“Want the recipe?”
“No, thanks. I… I’m not very good at cooking.”
“You’ll learn. There’s time.”
They stood in awkward silence for a moment.
“Galina Petrovna, I wanted to say…” Alina began.
“You don’t need to say anything, dear. It’s all fine.”
“Really?”
“Really. Vitya and I talked it all through. He won’t be coming over anymore.”
“I understand.”
“And you find yourself a young man. Your age. Someone who’ll not only fix outlets but build a life with you.”
Alina nodded and hurried off.
And Galina bought groceries and went home to cook dinner. For her husband. Who now knew the value of family, of himself, and of young neighbors. And who, most importantly, had understood—Galina is not someone to trifle with.
