Lenka's wise mother called such guys "chests". By analogy with a large heavy chest, which is both inconvenient to carry and a pity to throw away. Such a chest had been hanging around Masha's neck for several years.
She was still a schoolgirl, he was a couple of years older, tall,
dark-haired. It seemed that all these years he had been waiting to meet
her, and she was preparing to become his only and desired one. The
meeting was like a spark that fell on dry leaves, and the cold December
wind immediately fanned the flame. The day they met seemed to her the
happiest day of her life, because now she was loved, and he never tired
of telling her about it. It didn't matter that her beloved, in search
of the meaning of life, was in no hurry to pursue a career and did not
study anywhere, but he read a lot, knew a lot and was a wonderful
home-grown philosopher. Sasha lived with his mother in the central
area, and his mother was never at home. What else could young people in
love wish for?
Time passed, Masha grew up. She studied at the university, worked
part-time in a foreign company. At work there were beautiful clothes,
expensive cars, a new circle of acquaintances. And in the small kitchen
of Sasha's apartment there were still the same cigarettes - quarrels -
hours-long conversations, and again cigarettes and quarrels.
- So what if he doesn't do anything and is constantly broke? - Masha
thought more than once, - but he loves me more than anything in the
world and can't live without me. How can he live without me? When
Lenchik suggested going to the mountains for the winter holidays, to
relax and unwind from the exam session, Masha agreed without thinking.
Spending two weeks away from her parents seemed very tempting!
Two handsome student guys arrived that same day, but they seemed to
know everything about this place. And they were happy to protect the
girls from the advances of the locals. Time flew by in the company of
new friends, Masha called her beloved every day. - We met some great
guys here! We're having so much fun! - she said. - Oh, come on, silly,
we're just friends.
And indeed, Oleg was not Masha's type at all - she liked fiery,
temperamental brunettes, and he was a blue-eyed blond, calm and
friendly, which is rare in itself these days. Only his height was tall,
"suitable". Without any pretensions, absolutely in a friendly way,
during those holidays the guys had fun from the heart, as Masha had
never had fun before - picnics, excursions, walks one after
another.
Two weeks came to an end and the guys changed their tickets to go with
their friends. Another evening, and night, and how they didn't want to
part! On the train, the friends didn't sleep all night, played cards,
drank wine, laughed, but the laughter was a little sad. Resort
friendship is good, but often ends in nothing, or almost nothing. For
example, with birthday and New Year's greetings, - Let's meet, oh, how
cool it was to see you, let's meet more often - and all this in the
best case... Usually, everything gradually fades away... Masha knew all
this and understood, so she was nostalgic in advance, leaning on Oleg's
shoulder.
- Hi, it's Oleg! Remember how we met on vacation? - a familiar and at
the same time new voice sounded. - How about a meeting with the old
team? And her fingers were already rushing to dial Lenka.
- Can you imagine, the guys showed up and want to see us! That evening
Oleg kissed her for the first time, first a friendly peck, and then
pulled her closer. The room spun, the sounds died down, it seemed the
guys were even more surprised than Masha. When she opened her eyes, the
room was empty - Lenka and Andrey quietly went into another room and
clinked glasses there.
And then everything developed in an increasing manner, only seeing
Sasha became more and more difficult. In the iridescent dynamics of the
new relationship, there was no place for him, once so dear and
close.
- He can't live without me, how can he live without me? - Masha
tormented herself before another rare meeting. Explaining everything as
it was meant hurting him, and she didn't want to do that at all. She
often remembered Exepurie and his famous "We are responsible for those
we have tamed." At the same time, in order to meet less often or refuse
meetings altogether, she had to wriggle out of it, each time coming up
with urgent matters. The worst thing was that she had to wriggle out of
it in exactly the same way with Oleg, who also felt or suspected
something, without showing it for the time being. And this despite the
fact that Masha had known since childhood that it was better to remain
silent than to tell a lie, and then... - Oh, I've gotten myself into
trouble! - she thought.
One day, curled up next to Oleg on the couch in front of the TV, she
realized that she simply couldn't give up on this man, she felt so good
and comfortable with him. Based on her previous relationships, she
could already judge this. All that was left was to wait for him to
understand this too. And it's unknown how many days-months-years such
torment would have continued if fate hadn't put everything in its
place. When Oleg was seeing Masha off from a concert on an autumn
evening, they met Sasha on the way. It was golden autumn, and the
leaves were rustling underfoot. They said hello and walked on, and
everything was clear at a glance and, thank God, that time nothing had
to be explained. Then there were phone calls, meetings, grievances,
conversations, persuasion, and it was a great pity, but something very
important that existed between them was gone and it was too late to
change anything.
***** Masha named her son Alexander. Many years later she learned that
5 years after her wedding Sasha got married, for some reason on her
birthday. By chance, probably.
First published in the magazine "Liza" No. 32/2007 from 04.08.2007