Chapter 1

6 years later

— And then he invited me to take a walk along the embankment — Inga sighs dreamily into the phone — And we talked for two hours about the stars ... and the sea.

“Oh my God, are you in love? I giggle, stepping onto a pedestrian crossing and squeezing between passers-by, trying not to hit anyone and not to screw up. Winter is different this year. At first it rained for two weeks, and yesterday it snowed, so much so that the equipment could not cope. Half of the city is on the roads, and half is hanging out in the emergency room ..

- You should have seen him: - handsome, tall, muscular, and most importantly - smart. Try it, don't fall in love with it.

You are telling me about some unreal man. Just curious what kind of instance it is.

- But take your skinny ass in your hands and come, you'll see for yourself. And grab Nyutka, otherwise I left two years ago, so we only communicate by video link.

Putting the phone to my left ear, I swing open the glass door of the minimart and, after letting my granny come out, I go inside. A pause hangs in the receiver, and then a hiss is heard for several seconds, mats and a displeased clatter seem to slip through.

-What are you doing there? I ask, picking up a red basket on wheels and going straight to the alcohol department. Today Igor and I have a long-awaited evening together. Mom herself offered to sit with her granddaughter, but I'm all for it. My love for my daughter is certainly endless, but time with my man is no less valuable and important.

- Yes, kapets, I dropped the phone on the tile. No, can you imagine, I'm sitting on the edge of the bathtub, not touching anyone, and then a peach flies up to me, and for no apparent reason, kaaak grabs my leg. He was lucky, of course, that he didn’t slam down the screen, otherwise he would have gone for castration. Hairy parasite! .

Peach is Ingin's cat, which she bought on Avito, like a red sphinx, and as a result, a hairy miracle grew up. Sweet, funny, but very dirty... Nyuta also dreams of a pet. For three months he has been pushing me for a dog. And who will look after her if I am at work all the time, and she is in the garden? I had to find an alternative and buy a hamster, which we now call Benjamin.

You'd better find a girlfriend for your peach. The guy is stressed, and you castrate. Even throws itself at people.

“Yeah, fig him in vegetable oil, not a girlfriend!”

“You are cruel,” I laugh and put white semi-sweet in the basket. Now I’ll take more cheese and fruit and you can go to the cashier.

“I'm just a strict mother. Okay, we're all about me. You better tell me how you and your surgeon are?

Just as I'm about to say we've moved in together, I hear a ringing voice that sounds very much like...

Igor?

Shaking my head sharply, I see only an elderly couple and some girl in a sable coat choosing bread. Hm, it must have seemed...

— Hey, why are you there, Chernova, fell asleep or what?

“Sorry—I grab a piece of maasdam, throw it into the basket, and fall silent again. I hear it again. “Listen, Ying, let me leave the store and call you back.

Without waiting for an answer, I switch off, and hiding the phone in the pocket of my down jacket, I squeeze in the direction of the bread racks, because it is from there that I hear ringing male laughter. Of course, I’m just going to make sure that I heard, but a bad feeling has already settled in my chest, and the closer I get, the more my pulse jumps and my heart rumbles insanely.

Two more steps, and I'm already between the rack with pastries and bread, near which there are two people. A girl in a sable coat and a man in a gray coat. I exhale with relief when I understand that this is not Igor. He is blond, and this one is red and too thin. I should hang out with my mom less and watch melodramas. In just a few minutes, I imagined such a picture that any screenwriter would envy.

“Zai,” the brunette whimpers, “I want shrimp and wine.”

“Let’s take it, of course,” a male voice booms, and at that moment a fair-haired crown in a black down jacket emerges from around the corner and, whispering something to his companion, kisses her on the lips. I watch all this with my mouth open, shocked by what is happening, and if it were not for some kind of aunt who pushed me forward, I would have been staring at these two in silence.

— Igor? - I squeeze out the name, already apparently a former man, and he immediately bounces off a sable coat, and makes such huge eyes, as if it wasn’t him who licked someone else’s mouth a minute ago.