Maybe hewasthe most handsome in town, and I should have known better because men like that—men with good jobs—didn’t stay single. He would have every girl who would pass as a supermodel anywhere else purring on his lap. He was onlyintrigued with me because I didn’t give him my number. Men love challenges, and when he got my ‘yes,’ there was no reason to keep trying.
I knew enough bastards like that. Every New Russian with their bright sports jacket and gaudy rings had the same attitude, although most just skipped to the part where they flashed a roll of dollars. And he tried that, didn’t he? Showed me the Mercedes and let the cashier keep whatever absurd amount of change came from paying for tea with a bank note. Tried to get into my good graces with Chekhov. He…
…admitted the Mercedes wasn’t his.
No. If I wanted to go out with someone like that, there was plenty of opportunity when Elena inevitably dragged me to one of her non-dates with guys she met at the Manhattan Club.
I didn’t need these problems.
I had had enough already. It was cold, and they turned off the heat in the offices, so I had to wear my coat and gloves the entire day. It happened every winter, but that didn’t make it any less miserable. To add to that, there was talk of wages being withheld and everyone was panicking. People were always panicking, but what could we do if we had to go a month without them? I had enough saved up so I could pay the bills for Mama and Maxim, but for how long?
We rounded the corner and shouldered through a crowd waiting at the bus stop past a couple of young guys sitting on the stairs. They catcalled us, making kissy faces and promises their anatomy couldn’t keep. Who raised them? Neither I nor Elena reacted. When you hear it daily, the novelty wears off.
“Come with me tonight. Maybe you can meet someone who owns a cellphone and won’t forget to call you,” Elena said. “There are some good guys out there who can take care of you,and it’s not just talk and temper tantrums.”
I could take care of myself, but she knew that and this was just bait to invite another eye roll.
“What is tonight?”
“Just some friends. Lyosha and Dmitri want to go to the Manhattan Club because the place now serves this‘veesky’they like.”
“I don’t know,” I said, knowing I had no intention of going. Those were her secret friends, and I wondered what fib she’d tell her parents when she inevitably didn’t come home that night.
“Oh, come on,” she said. “Don’t be so stubborn, it’s not good for you.”
We stopped where the sidewalk split off. The hospital with its many green-painted windows towered above us with pigeons waiting like gargoyles on the eaves. I could almost smell the iodine.
Even this early, crowds stood shoulder to shoulder on the other side of the doors. At least Elena had job security and would continue getting her nurse wages if the worst were to happen.
“Alright, well, I love you and hope you reconsider,” she said. “If you do, I’m off at five and Dmitri is going to pick me up by the pharmacy around the corner. Meet us there?”
“I’ll think on it,” I said, and we hugged briefly before she went inside and I continued on my way. The hospital wasn’t far from the Administrative Building, so I didn’t have a long walk if I decided to join her later on to mend my bruised pride. Which I wasn’t considering. At all.
People rushed past me and unapologetically stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Vendors unloaded their large,checkered bags full of goods from the backs of age-thrashed vans. The benches that weren’t broken quickly filled up with the elderly, and stray dogs sleeping underneath. A typical morning, but something felt off.
There is a distinct tap at the back of your brain when things aren’t as they appear, even if your conscious self can’t place it. My steps sped up, but not terribly because the heels rubbed against my toes, and there was only so much I could do not to wobble on the cracked cement.
And then I glanced him.
The man walked six to seven meters behind me. He wore a wide, gray coat and anushanka—a rounded fur hat covering his ears—with his lower face concealed by a blue scarf. It could have been a regular anyone, but I got the impression he pushed through the crowd to stay at that distance, and my stomach turned.
“Yekaterina Petrovna, good morning,” someone said, startling me into nearly tripping. The speaker was a uniformed man who worked on my floor, and I was grateful when he offered to escort me to the building.
Before the doors fell closed, I glanced back, but lost the man in the crowd.
* * *
The work day proved especially tedious. There were endless requests and fifteen trips up and down the stairs to deliver documents and exactly two coffees. My mood soured enough that I thought of Elena and her offer. Inevitably, I gave in.
She squealed as I came into view, and thankfully did not gloat because I was one rice-sized moment away from turning around and getting on the 9A bus to take my butt home.
“I’m so glad you came!” she said, taking my hand. There was the red lipstick that said she also put on a scandalous dress in the bathroom at work. Behind her, a red BMW pulled up onto the curb.
The window rolled down, and a man with big ears sticking out from under an Adidas beanie leaned out. “Lenka! Let’s go, come on!”
“Ever the gentleman,” I muttered, and Elena took hold of my arm, dragging me to Dmitri’s car. We fell into the backseat, and I had to admit the warmth inside was welcome after the frigid walk, even if the cologne and stale cigars weighed it down, permeating the leather.
The man in the front passenger seat twisted around. “Is that Katya?”
