“An overdue loan payment? What loan?” Zinaida pressed the phone between her ear and shoulder, trying with her free hand to catch the cash register log as it slid off the desk. “Credit agreement number seven-three-four-eight, dated November twenty-second of last year,” the woman’s indifferent voice droned in the receiver. “Issued in your name as … Read more
“This area is for VIP clients; you’re not allowed in here,” Igor hissed at me, his fingers digging into my forearm. They were cold—like the look he’d been giving me for the last ten years. I silently stared at the heavy velvet rope blocking the entrance to the fireplace lounge. There, in the soft light … Read more
Granny Anya drank some sour milk, said her prayers, and got ready for bed. Her knees ached worse than usual today. The alcohol rub didn’t help, and she’d run out of ointment. Ah, look what she’d come to. Her eyes barely saw, her back was twisted with pain, her knees throbbed. And when would God … Read more
“I’m pregnant,” I said, and a smile spread across my face all by itself. Kirill, standing by the window, froze. He didn’t even turn around, but in the glass I saw his shoulders tense. I was waiting for a hug, joyful shouting—anything at all, but not that strange, rigid stillness. “Me too,” Lena’s quiet … Read more