"Gorky Film Studio" " Tanya!" " Oh, Fedya!" "You put on a dress for a very special date," "You look quite grownup in every way." "Only yesterday you were my schoolmate." "What will you become to me today?" "We can't wait to leave the school forever," "And it doesn't occur to you and me" "That this moment won't be repeated ever," "Nor another graduation will come to be!" "DIFFERENT FORTUNES" "Screenplay by L. LUKOV, Ya." "SMOLYAK" "Directed by Leonid LUKOV" "Director of Photography M. KIRILLOV" "Production Designer P. PASHKEVICH" "Music by Nikita BOGOSLOVSKY" "Lyrics by N. DORIZO" "English Subtitles by T. Kameneva" "Cast:" "Tanya Ogneva" " Tatyana PILETSKAYA Fedya Morozov" " Yu." "PANICH" "Ognev" " L. SVERDLIN His wife" " O. ZHIZNEVA" "Sonya Orlova" " Tatyana KONYUKHOVA Stepan Ogurtsov" " G. YUMATOV" "Morozova" " A. VOITSIK Sergeychuk" " V. DOROFEYEV" "Zubov" " S. BLINNIKOV Vera Zubova" " V. USHAKOVA" "Head of Personnel Department - K. SOROKIN" "Party Secretary" " V. SANAYEV" "Roshchin" " B. FREINDLIKH His wife" " L. MAKSIMOVA" "Since early years to grow up we were impatient," "Hastening the school days in their tide." "For our childhood to get appreciation," "One has to leave it once and for all behind." "As I try to recall the past most carefully," "A disturbing thought is vexing me:" "Parting with my childhood irrevocably," "I may so part with you, never to see!" ".." "Why work at a plant?" "You write poetry, you got to enter a literary college." "All youths go through a malaise of writing verses." "It's like measles, you got to get over it and forget." "So you're going to leave?" "Don't we have enough plants in Leningrad?" "I can't leave." "I have to see every day..." "White nights, the embankment." "And..." "Such girl as you, Tanya, was born to be loved." "And I'm already in love, Styopa." "With Fedya?" "Well, he's a good boy, a jolly boy." "Very good." "You think I'm not as good?" "You find me boring?" " Styopa!" " Look!" "You're crazy!" "Crazy!" " Well?" " Well what?" "I told you honestly, as my best friend." "If a girl offers you friendship, then it's hopeless." "It's late, I got to run." "Don't be angry, okay?" "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "It's good dreaming in the early morning, isn't it?" "Sonya?" "I can't believe that our childhood is over." "And it's time to think about the future." "I'm already trying to solve an arithmetic problem." " What's better - five or ten?" " Meaning what?" "Meaning this." "You study in college for 5 years." "You acquire a specialty, but only theoretically." "You come to a factory, and before you become a real engineer, you'll have to add another 5 years of practical work." "Wouldn't you better do it the other way round?" "That's what I decided: to work and study at an evening department." "And you'll gain 5 years." "Thanks for the support." "You really pleased me." " If I did, you must dance." " I don't dance." "Don't lie, I know you did." "Yes, I did." "But only once in my life." "And only for one person, but there were no witnesses." "Or there weren't supposed to be any." "Were you spying?" "I was." "You think too much of yourself, and you shouldn't ." "As though Styopa Ogurtsov is the one and only." " But Fedya Morozov is much better!" " Sonya." "I've never thought you could be so coarse." "Leningrad" " Novosibirsk" "Styopa, listen to your aunt." "Forget about this ticket and stay." "Sorry, we are almost late." "We attended the day performance." "I would've never left, if only because of the Kirov Theatre." "And I approve of him." "I even feel envious." "Why don't you kiss each other?" "Everybody does it at the station." "I'm a friend, too, am I not?" "I hope you'll learn to kiss there." "Well, good luck." "I had no idea that Styopa was so weak-willed." "Giving up his native city for the sake of some aim he set himself..." "Save your pathos for a public meeting." "As for the aim, he went not towards it, but from it." "You mean yourself?" "No, no, blooming mills, open-hearth furnaces." "How can you make fun of your friend in this way?" "I'm not making fun of Styopa, but of your copybook maxims and slogans." "You're talking to me as if you're at a public meeting." "It sucks." "Tanya dear!" " Excuse me." "Sonya?" " Yes, Sonya." "What a surprise!" "How did you get here?" " I bought a ticket." " I see." "What do you see?" "Just one thing." "I've hardly left and I'm already missing her." " Not too late to jump off the train." " That wouldn't change anything." "Try it, maybe this way you'll touch her heart." "Goodbye." " But you've got the ticket." " Just to the next stop." "I wanted to show my sympathy, as a friend." "Goodbye." "Tanya!" "You're wrong, my name is Sonya." "Excuse me." "Tanya!" "Tanechka!" "Let's agree never to quarrel again." "I realized that sometimes it's useful to quarrel." "Right." "We did and the next minute I was missing you, looking for you." "And I almost burst crying, so much I wanted to see you immediately." "Look, guys, they're kissing!" "Kissing in the street in full daylight!" "What's wrong about it?" " You're crazy." " Tanya." "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" " We have nothing to hide." " What do you mean?" "Your mother already knows it." "What did you tell her?" "Nothing." "She just took a look at me and understood everything." "So it's no longer a secret to your mother, either." "No." "And it's good." "You're crazy." "Tanya!" "Dear Tanya." "I got the news only yesterday, so it was too late to send a telegram." "Sorry." "My heartfelt congratulations to you and Fedya." "I wish you a happy..." "I wish the newlyweds a happy family life." "It's two years now..." "It's almost two years now that I've been working at the plant." "I'll never forget my first day here." "They received me as one of the family." "And right away, will you believe it, I was appointed a steel founder." "Sparks of fire all around." "But I wasn't scared at all." "Will you stop it, Styopa, for God's sake?" "I can't go to sleep." "What are you doing there?" "Creaking with your pen." "What are you writing, eh?" "What... what..." "An article for the wall newspaper." "I study at the evening college." "As you can see, I'm not lagging behind." "You're sophomores, and I am, too." "I work and study, and don't feel any tiredness." "Yes, I'm not going to hide anything." "I met a girl here." "She's a little devil, just like you." "Beautiful, and even intelligent." "I live in a separate, splendid room." "Already managed to buy furniture, books and even a rug." "They say it's an Uzbek rug." "So I don't regret at all having left Leningrad." "Leningrad." "That's about all, I guess." "Best regards to your spouse." "Sounds funny - " spouse" ." "He puts " spouse" in inverted commas." "What cheek." "Deduce: " He used to be just Fedka the dude, and now a spouse."" "It's quite another thing." "That's what he writes:" "I'm kidding." ""I'm kidding, of course." "Give him my love." "Once again, I wish you two all the happiness in the world."" "The bus!" "Let's run!" "Oh, shit!" "Anything else there?" "That's it." "Give it to me for a sec." "There's also: " Shaking your hand, Styopa."" "May I see it?" "Anyway, he's a jerk." "Didn't even sent a 'hi' to her." " Don't start this." " I'm not saying anything." "Say what you like, but Styopa's doing great." "He's already got an apartment." "You don't get it, do you?" "He's lying." "He made it all up." "He has no apartment, and it doesn't go well with his work, and he got no girl." "Don't you understand?" "Fedya!" "Fedya, the bus!" "Shall we go?" "Oh, it's always like this with you." "Yes..." "If I tried to tell somebody, they will laugh at me and won't believe it." "Our daughter got married without telling her parents about it." "Mommy!" "They write in newspapers only about divorces." "Not funny." "Mom, what do you want from me?" "I didn't sleep all night, preparing for my exam." "I'm still feeling nervous." "What happened, for God's sake?" "Nothing special." "Only I wish that at your old age your own daughter never do this to you." "All right, I was wrong." "What do I do now, ask for forgiveness or leave?" "Try thinking not only of yourself." "And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, right?" " Oh, Tanya..." " Tanya what?" "Where's that bloody "Technology of Metals" ?" ""Technology of Metals" ?" "What's going to happen now, Tanya?" "I'm with you, as before." "Nothing has changed." "You'd better tell me where the " Technology of Metals" is." "What do you mean, nothing's changed?" "You've got a husband." "Where's he?" "Where?" "I'm asking you: where's your husband?" "Where?" "With me." "You're here." "And where's he?" "At his home for now." "Come on, what's the matter?" "Where could that "Technology of Metals" be?" "When are you going to live together?" "When we get an apartment." "Isn't there enough room for you here?" "I want my own apartment." "Your own?" "Easier said than done." " Here it is." " Right." "Thanks." "It's better to live like this than to feel like a tenant." "All right, go on living like this." "Maybe it's the reason I got married." "I don't want to be a dependent." "Come and drink your coffee." "I'm 21 and I have to think about the future." "If there's no apartment, my husband must work to get it." "And you want to invite him here, with everything provided for him." "Calm down." "Don't you see?" "He's no older than you, and he needs some support, too." "Oh, I may be late for college." "Your breakfast." "Good morning, Daddy." "Tanya..." " Having your exams?" " Yes." "Drink your coffee, Tanechka." "Here's your dress, don't forget your book." "Tanechka, Tanechka, Tanechka..." "I've always been saying that you're a great actor." "Not as good as your daughter." "She cried again: oh, mommy." "She isn't having an easy time either." "Like mother, like daughter." "And when was I shedding tears, I wonder?" "Whenever you wanted to move me or avoid an unpleasant discussion." "What is it?" "Not bad yet." "Leave me alone." "Hasn't got enough character." "What can we do about it?" "First of all, we have to find Fedya." "And when are you going to do that?" "As soon as I close the balance sheet," "I'll try to find that husband of hers." "And what will be your family's bottom line by then?" " What?" " Did you try to add it up?" "And what do you want?" "Getting them divorced?" "No." "I want you to get smarter." "It's as difficult as inculcating in your daughter a sense of attachment." "You should get some sleep, my dear." "Why?" "In the middle of the day?" "Why not, if the dark night is too short for you?" "Go home and sleep, for 5 hours, no less." "You don't recognize your in-laws?" "Nikolai Kapitonovich?" "I'm sorry." "Hello." "How are you?" "Is this Academician Veselov's car?" " Yes, I'm his driver." " I've guessed it." "Why do you almost never visit us?" "Actually, my dear son-in-law, we hardly know each other." "It's ridiculous." "Did you happen to be by Veselov's house just by chance?" "No." "For a purpose." "I was looking for you." "Something happened?" "Is it about Tanya?" "Tanya?" "What about Tanya?" "Oh, I see." "Tanya found out that I work as a driver, and she resents it." "Why should she resent it?" "She's ashamed of me, I guess." "And why are you so afraid of Tanya?" "It's because I love her so much and don't want to upset her." "That's good, but you mustn't indulge any whim of hers." "No, Tanya needs a different kind of husband." " Why, Nikolai Kapitonovich?" " Why, why..." "You should know that her worst enemy is her egotism." "Fedya!" "How wonderful!" "Come on in, please." " Thank you." " Didn't I tell you?" "Take yourjacket off." "Too bad Tanya isn't here." " Fedya hasn't got much time." " I got four hours!" "Four twenty, I'm marking time, exactly, I've got a Moser." "What's this?" "It stopped." "You didn't wind it up again." "Lenochka, we must give Fedya something to eat and put him to bed." " No!" " Yes, yes!" "We didn't come empty-handed, Lenochka." "Wait, where's that..." "Ah, here." "Come on." "Lenochka." "We'll have a drink and a bite." "And then sleep." "He needs a rest." "I don't want to sleep." "We have agreed, haven't we?" "Yes, of course." " Come in the dining room." " Come on, come on." "Sit down." "They placed big hopes in me." "But the wunderkind turned into a nomenclature chief accountant." "Yet, my clarinet used to sound at the head of a detachment." "As a youth, I was very shy and taciturn and could make a declaration of love to Yelena Semyonovna only this way." "Kolia, enough of that." "See what I've been reduced to?" "So, my dear son-in-law, we have to enter into an alliance of husbands." "I've talked to Tanya." "You must live at our place, by all means." " Please help yourself." " Thank you." " I'll make a bed for you." " Thank you." "That's enough, enough." "Well, Fedya, cheers." "To a man's strong character." "So that you didn't indulge your wife very much in everything." "It's all right." "Are you going to wash the floors?" "I need to make the car warm." "What car?" "What?" "What?" "Look out." " Whose ZIM is this?" " His." " But he's a student." " And a driver, too." " Tanya said he was giving lessons." " And lessons, too." "When does he study then?" " I don't know." " It's just outrageous." "Yes, outrageous." "He simply worships her." " Why does she let him do that?" " He keeps it a secret." "See?" "She has nothing to do with it." "Yes." "He says, if she finds out, she will leave me." "I don't believe it." "Even you never allowed yourself to do such things." "Mom!" "Quiet." "He's asleep." " Who?" "Dad?" " Fedya." "Fedya?" "!" "How did he get here?" "We met in the street by sheer chance." " It's just as well." "Fedya!" " Hush." "Don't shout." " He's tired." "He needs a rest." " He'll get it later." "Fedya." "What kind of people are you?" "Come on, wake up!" " Why are you turning away?" " Tanya!" "I found two rooms - on Nevsky and at the 5 Corners." "One costs 300, the other 400, but it has a telephone." "Good." "But for 300 would be better for now." "To deprive ourselves of a convenience because of some miserable 100 rubles?" "Four hundred is what I'm getting for two pupils." "So we'll take a third one." "I miss the lectures as it is." "They summoned me to the dean's office." "They may expel me or withhold my stipend." "You wimp, they're just threatening." "Who will dare expel you, with your abilities?" "And the room is right downtown." "Shall we take this chance?" "You're trying so hard, as though we are to live in Leningrad forever." "I'm not going to any other city." "How come?" "Next summer we're to go for practical work." "Not necessarily to the sticks." "We could try and stay in Leningrad." "I love thee, Peter's own creation, I love thy stern and comely face." "To a metallurgist, it's more interesting at the Magnitogorsk Works." "What kind of a metallurgist am I?" "Can you picture me standing at an open-hearth furnace?" "What made you enter this college then?" "A diploma." "If you don't get it, I'll explain." "So we're taking the one with a telephone, right?" "I really don't know what to do." "After all, it's extra 100 rubles." "Don't get upset, Tanechka." "We'll think about it, okay?" " I'm late to see Academician Veselov." " What do you need him for?" "Well, you know..." "All right, I won't hide it from you." "His grandson, my pupil, is waiting." "See?" "Another pupil." "And you're counting every kopeck." "Tell me, are we taking it?" "Or not?" "All right." "What can I do with you?" "You should've said so right away." "I'll call you tonight." "Nikolai Kapitonovich." "I beg you, don't tell Tanya." " About what?" " About..." " No, no." "The alliance of husbands." " Thank you." "Mom, you can congratulate me." "I'll get out of here any day now." "So get out, as soon as possible." "Go away." " Kolia." " Shut up!" "Mommy!" "Tanya, it's the first time in our life." " Hello." " Hello." " Are you the head of the personnel?" " Suppose I am." "And I'm Sonya Orlova from Leningrad." "Does everyone in Leningrad enter an office as though it's a cloakroom?" " I'm sorry." " All right." "Have a seat, please." "It's all right." "I want to work at your plant." "What can you do?" " Back in..." " Leningrad." "I worked as a lab assistant in a steel shop." "And what made you leave such a beautiful city?" "Excuse me, but it's personal." "Have you been fired with a reprimand or without?" "It was my own decision to leave." "Suppose it was." "You brought any references?" "Of course I did." " Excuse me." " And they're surely positive?" " Of course." " Yes, or you wouldn't have shown it." " And a job, too?" " Whatjob?" " Have you brought a vacancy?" " I don't understand." "And I don't understand you." "Everybody wants to go to Moscow and Leningrad." "And you the other way, and even at your own will." "I want to work at your plant." "I've got no vacancies." "Where are you going to live?" "I'll agree to a dormitory." "You will?" "Great!" "You got a bed in a dormitory?" " Styopa!" " Sonya?" " How come?" " I just arrived." "I don't understand anything." " Do you know her?" " We were in school together." " It's not good." " What's not good?" "Displaying your affections in my office." "Sorry, we haven't seen each other for so long." "Have your reunion party in the hall." "But I've come on business." "I can't talk to two people at once." "Styopa, I'll wait for you outside." "I'll take them." "Go." "I'm studying at the evening college." "Good for you." "But I'm being transferred to an evening shift." " What do I have to do with it?" " You're the personnel department." " You got your shop chief." " Zubov turned me down." "Can you guess why?" "Let me tell you..." "How old are you?" " Twenty-two." " Sit down." "It's all right." "At your age, you have to go all the way up the promotional ladder, and you want to fly up like on a magic carpet." "What nonsense are you talking?" "You don't get it?" "Take, for instance, the scales." "Who's on this side?" "Zubov." "And you're here." "As soon as you begin to outweigh Zubov, you'll be kicked like some fluff..." "And Styopa goes flying." " Now I got you." " Good for you." "So you advise me to give up the idea I'm proposing here." "If you got ears, you heard what I was advising." "Don't be blind and look forward." "Very smart, I can't deny it." "And if you deny, I'm a local here." "I haven't fallen from the moon either." "So some people better not think that I'm going to give up like this." "Listen, Ogurtsov, I'm not Zubov." "Behave yourself, this is my office so far." "Exactly, so far." "Steel shop Party Committee." "It's good you came." "We badly need lab assistants." "Lab assistants?" "Oh, you came right from the station." "Here's the key." "No, I don't need it." "It's all right." "I'll stay at the dormitory." "And I live at foreman Sergeychuk's ." "We fight together and live together." "I'll tell you all later." "I'll find you tonight." "Will you be at the women's dorm?" "Not at the men's one, of course." "What?" "Petrunin, I'm coming to you." "They say you need lab assistants." "I don't know what they say, but I got all openings filled, and the dormitory isn't made of rubber, it can't stretch." "I came here to work, and I'll get a job." "And you will find a bed in the dormitory for me." " I like you." " And I don't like you." "Drink it, it'll get you warm and won't do any harm." "It's pure stuff." "I've never tried it." "I'm scared." "You'll get warm." "Just a little bit." "I see you're not of the timid kind." "One..." " There you go." " It's not that bad." "Good for you." "Now eat." "You must be a daring sort." "She wanted it, and she did it." "You should learn from her, Vera." "Instead of harping on and on - to Moscow, to Leningrad." "And Sonya came here from there." "I don't want to go there for fun." "I want to study." "She keeps saying:" "I want to study at a medical school and be a doctor." "Soon there will be more doctors than there're patients." " Hi." " Ah, Pyotr Petrovich!" "I'm telling you, it's a small world, indeed." "What do you know!" " So you know each other?" " Of course we do!" "She was just making fun of me." "Give her a job!" "What do you need a dorm for, if you're related to the Zubovs." " You're wrong." " You're good friends, then." "Wrong again." "We just met." "You're so used to questionnaires - what and why." "That's my job, I'm in charge of personnel." "Why did you leave Leningrad?" "Got yourself into a mess there?" "For you, everyone is in a mess, only you are a sweet daisy." " Better drink, coming from the cold." " That's a good idea." " Be well." " I will." " Come on, eat." " Thank you." " It went down well." " And when did it not?" "Right, have no complaints so far." "But others do complain about you." "You mean Sonya Orlova from Leningrad?" "But I got a sharp tongue, too." "Whenever someone touches me on a raw spot," "I fight back like hell." "You've got a temper like Styopka Ogurtsov's ." " Why are you trying to scare me?" " Our guest may be hurt." "Why?" "Do you know him?" "He's my friend." "Let's not hide it, even more than a friend." " So what?" " Nothing." "I see vodka but no merriment." "How come?" "We were just speaking of Ogurtsov." "Why?" "His girlfriend has arrived, visiting with you." "His girlfriend visiting me?" "Which Ogurtsov?" "Your Ogurtsov, who else?" "You can have him, I'll even pay you if you take him." "No, thanks." "Well, partner, shall we play a game of preference?" " There's no quorum." " They'll be here any minute." "Let's get acquainted." "I'm Yegor Petrovich Zubov." "Sonya Orlova." "Sonya Orlova." "And what does Ogurtsov have to do with it?" "He's my best friend." "Dad, I invited Sonya to stay with us, she just arrived today." "Wait." "Some friend you've chosen for yourself." "I don't envy you." "Can you say anything bad about him?" "I can't say anything good either, and that's it." "I don't want to hear even one word about him in my house." " Why?" " For the same reason." "I've known Styopa since childhood." "And we don't want to know him." "That's all." "Excuse me, if you don't like what I'm saying..." "Thank you for your hospitality." "I'll leave." "Hey, come back, girl." "Sonya, that's your name, right?" "You're not going anywhere, don't do anything rash." "Ogurtsov isn't worth your staying out in the cold for him." "Sit down, we're going to eat Siberian dumplings." "Hey, friend, got a smoke?" "You got a smoke?" "I don't smoke." "Is this the composer Roshchin's car?" "How do you know?" "Everybody knows him." "You brought him to a banquet?" "Maybe it's a banquet, but very private, for two persons." "You mean, with his wife?" "I didn't attend their wedding, but I would marry this girl myself." "Is she beautiful?" "Top rate." "A green coat, a green dress." "Even her scarf is green." "And herself is like a young fir tree." "I know that fir tree." "Isn't her name Tatyana Nikolayevna?" "You'd better ask this someone else, pal." "Very good." "Whose romance is this?" "It's mine." "No, it can't be." "You and a romance." "See how low I've fallen?" "Why you didn't come my way before," "You so young, you so yearning," "In those years of mine that long had gone," "In those years fresh and vernal?" "Now my head has grown silver-white," "What can I do about this plight?" "Why on earth I came to meet with you" "Only now?" "In the midst of my contemporaries" "I forgot how long was my life." "You've reminded me of this today," "You so young, you so lithe." "Only one thought is on my mind:" "I lament that past spring of mine," "Which had passed, never to come again," "Without you." "How fearful my grayness is" "Of your dark, pretty curl." "You appear to be younger still" "When I am near you, my girl." "Future dates we must not intend," "Our fortunes are different." "You will be my last and only love," "And my pain." "Excuse me." "Why all of a sudden..." " You think I didn't get whom you meant?" " You did?" "You said it yourself, how low you have fallen." " You silly girl." " I'll try to get smarter." "It was just a joke." "I've always looked at our relationship as a joke." " Oh, really?" " On your part." "Didn't you understand anything, and just caught at an accidental word, with which I tried to screen my embarrassment and uneasiness?" "And how can I screen my embarrassment in front of your visiting friend?" "Why did you take me to this hotel?" " I didn't think about it." " You think only of yourself." "Let's finish our quarrel in the car." "Your chauffeur knows too much as it is." " I'll take a cab." " All right, let it be a cab." "Tanya!" "You told him my house number?" "I don't remember." "I don't want to get out here." "Let's drive to the corner." " Now drive away." " I'll see you to the door." "No." "I'll call you." "Shall we go?" "No, I can't ." "Look for another cab." "Here." "Tanya, wait!" "Wait, Tanya." "Tanya!" "Wait." " Who is it?" " Me." "As if out of thin air." "Come on, let's run." "Wait, we need to talk." "Couldn't you choose a better weather for it?" " We'll talk at home." " We got no home anymore." "Are you drunk?" "Where have you been?" "With whom?" "Stop clowning." "Have it out, hurry up, it's raining." "Will you please explain what all this means?" " What are you talking about?" " About your composer." "It's stupid and ridiculous." "Roshchin is Dad's friend." "I've seen him no more than once or twice in all this time." "To be jealous of him of all people, a fifty-year-old man." "You have such a low opinion of your wife." "Stop lying, Tanya." "I know everything." "Is it a crime that he gave me a lift?" "It was I who drove you." "You're raving." "How can you laugh seeing tears in my eyes?" "Tears?" "All the city is flooded with such tears." " Tanya!" " What?" "Tanya." "Tanechka." "You'll be very sorry about it." "Oh God, you're soaking wet." "What made you walk in such weather?" "It's Kostya's day off, and as luck would have it, not a single taxi." "Really?" "It's all right, Masha, I'll do it." "You look so embarrassed as though you came from a date." "But why?" "Yes." "I wanted to ask you." "Why did you write a romance all of a sudden?" "What's wrong about it?" "Nothing wrong, but you threw it into a wastebasket." "So I threw it away, and there's nothing to talk about." "I think you shouldn't have thrown it away." "A very emotional tune." "Although it's your first romance, you wrote it with great feeling." "Why you didn't come my way before," "You so young, you so yearning," "In those years of mine that long had gone," "In those years fresh and vernal..." "It's nonsense." "No, it's serious." "You shouldn't have torn it." "It's a good work." "I'm tired of you giving me marks." "Good, bad..." "I'm just sick and tired." "Who else but me would tell you the truth?" "You will hear sweet lies that would appease your vanity and pride from those who don't love you." "Tell me, what did he beat me for?" "Yes, let him answer in front of everybody." "Why do you keep ringing?" "What are you whispering about there?" "Carry on with the meeting, will you?" "I don't know how to carry on with this meeting." "You know what we're discussing." "You don't get one on the mug every day." "Sorry, Tanya." "And who did it?" "Fedya, the most peaceful man in the college." "And the incident is so improbable." "A beloved wife handing in a complaint against a beloved husband." "I can't conduct such a meeting." "You're the secretary, so you conduct it." "Why are you at a loss?" "We've got a complaint." "There's no other way but to carry on." "Fedya Morozov, why don't you say something?" "Comrade Morozov, we don't know anything." "You hit her, but why?" "You can't remain silent on this matter." "Don't be a coward." "All right, comrade Morozov, the meeting demands that you answer." "We're listening, Fedya." "Speak up." "Yes, it's my fault." "Only mine." "How did it happen?" "Why?" "What for?" " Explain it, Fedya." " Right." "Comrades, comrades." "I shall explain, comrades." "Tanya, think about yourself." "Stop whispering." "Comrades, I have no secrets from you." "You see, suddenly Morozov feltjealous." "And who do you think was the object of his jealousy?" "It's just ridiculous." "A man who could be my grandfather." "And where did he choose to sort it out?" "In the street, under the rain." "If you could only see that melodrama." "With such an expression of emotions." "He said he even had tears in his eyes." "I wanted to sidetrack it to a joke." "It was raining, and I said it was not tears but raindrops." "And suddenly, for no reason at all, he began to beat me brutally." "I'd like to ask you: what for?" "Oh, how rotten you are!" "For these words, beating is too good for you." " What's the matter with you?" " I'm all right." "You look down in the dumps." "Maybe you're sick?" "Mother, you're asking about my health every other minute." " I don't recognize you." " Have I grown gaunt, too thin?" "No, you've just turned rude." "I regret very much having been tender and submissive, in a word, a milksop." "Who hurt you?" "Sounds funny, " hurt" me." "I'm not a child." "I was married." " Why " was" ?" " Mother, may I have a rest?" "Don't worry, time is a good doctor." "You two will make it up." "You can't understand." "Tell me." "I've always understood you at a word." "Do you smoke?" "They nearly expelled me from the Komsomol organization." "What for?" " I hit someone, beat someone." " Whom?" "Tanya?" "It's impossible." "I did." "How could you?" "How could you do such a scandalous thing?" "You've gone mad!" " You know why I did that." " I don't even want to know." "And you said you'd understand me at a word." "How can one understand that?" "You asked me to share it with you, to open up my heart." "You're just like everybody else!" "Fedya!" " What an outrage!" " Absolutely!" "I'll call up a meeting of tenants." "Dad." "Who's there?" "Wait." "Who's there?" "Excuse me." "It's me, Fedya." "Silence, Anchar!" "Who's there?" "Excuse me, it's Fedya." "Take the dog away." " Who?" " Fedya." "You?" "How dared you to have come here?" "I'm sorry, Nikolai Kapitonovich." "And I, the old fool, thought you were a good man." "Serious, young, new." "And you beat your wife." "I was wrong, but..." "No buts." "Believe me, I'm very ashamed of myself." "That's why I've come." "You shouldn't even talk to him." "And you shut up." "Kolia, you have almost nothing on, you're going to catch cold." "And close the door." "If you're cold, go away." "Let me talk to the man." "I feel especially guilty before you." "Let's go in and talk, Fedya." "No, thank you." "I almost don't remember my father, and when I came into your house..." "I see you really love Tanya." "And I don't want to see him." "Tanya." "Close the door, Tanya." "Go away." "Go away, Tanya." "Good evening, Maria Yakovlevna." "Let's go, son." "Let's go, you're not loved here." "Maria Yakovlevna." "He had the cheek to come and explain." "Yes, I agree with the Komsomol." "You're really rotten." " Kolia..." " I'm ashamed to look people in the eye." "Well." "We've read his application, questionnaire and recommendations." "We did." "We discussed it." "Everything's in order." "Let's vote." "There's a motion to admit Ogurtsov to the Party." "I mean, as a candidate to the Party." "Who's in favor?" "One, one..." "Two." "Four." "Who's against?" "Four, too." "Fifty-fifty." " What about you, Petrunin?" " Me?" "I'm the fifth." "That's it, we've covered the agenda." "Just a minute." "How should we understand this?" "Understand as you should." "No, I don't see how I should understand it." "You must submit to the majority, and that's all." " No, that's not all." " What else?" "And what Ogurtsov is going to tell his comrades?" "Why wasn't he admitted?" " Right." " For what?" "Why did you spring up as though you're delivering a report?" "I believe that with his disposition it's too early to join the Party." "I read the Party program and statutes, and I read Lenin, too." "So what?" "There's nothing there about disposition when admitting to the Party." "Speaking of disposition, Stepan has just the right one." "I meant his behavior." "Here you're right." "His behavior isn't so good." "He doesn't leave some big shots in peace." " What?" " You heard me." "Disposition, behavior." "Look what you've piled up here." "Why should I be quiet?" "The boy came to the plant from school." "It's been hardly 3 years, and he's already a team leader." "And a good leader!" "I wish everybody were like him." "Here he is, for everyone to see." "Yes, we see too much of him." "There's a name for it, you know." " What name?" " You know it." "He's impertinent, can't hold himself in hand." "Why do you divide all into the pure and the impure?" "Come on, try and whitewash yourself." "As though you're a saint, with angel's wings on yourjacket." "Now we've got into discussion again." "I think we have already voted." "That's it, the meeting is over." "No, I won't let anyone out." "Well, who was right?" "Now you see what he is like." "And you wanted me to burst into tears and beg you, please admit me?" "The right to be in the Party can't be begged out." "He got it at last." "I know what you were saying here about my character." "For some, the truth is more than they can stomach." "And why would the truth be so bitter for us here?" "We produce 103 percent each month." "Yes, 103 percent, and that's every month for years." " For three years in a row." " That's not true." " We had 1 12 percent, too." " When?" "I don't remember, but we can get that information from the police." "Why the police?" "They registered when Yegor Petrovich bought a car." "Wait, what are you talking about?" "When you wanted a new 'P obeda' we raised the production to 1 12% ." "And after you bought the car, we slid down back to 103 percent." "Though we got new furnaces at the plant." " You mean Zubov is a self-seeker?" " Why be so extreme?" "But there's some Italian, that is, double-entry bookkeeping." "We produce not as much as we can, but as much as we want." "We keep 9 percent in our pocket, just in case." "Bringing such a man to the point of tears!" "As long as we're talking about this, let's come to some agreement." "I've always said and I'll repeat it again." "You may complain to the director, Central Committee or newspapers." "But as long as I live I won't let anyone drag my shop backward." "Does the new technology we're proposing mean going backward?" "Go on." "I've been waiting for almost 60 years for a teacher like you." "And here he is, at last." "Go on, teach me." "All our models, boxes, flasks and plates are outdated." "Hence the warped casting and detail allowances." "You get A plus." " I'm serious." " Me, too." "The details go to other plants, where people begin to sweat over them." "That's their problem." "To finish our details, it takes them not minutes, but hours." "They invent special cutting tools to finish off our defects." "In this situation, both them and us get bonuses." "No one ends up a loser but the state." "Just look at this statesman!" "He cares about the whole country!" "Who entrusted you with this, your schoolteacher?" " I already forgot what they taught." " Too bad." "What's the temperature?" "One hundred..." "And two." "One hundred and two, girls." "Oh, girls, you don't know anything!" "What's up?" "Give me some tea." "So you came down with flu?" "I've told you to go see a doctor." "C'mon, tell us what happened." "The boy is going down the precipice." "You know how much I love Ukrainian sausage." "And our shop has a day off." "But it's too far to go to the district center." "So I happen to be passing by a snack bar." "To hell with conventions, I think, why not drop in and buy it from them." "And whom do you think I see there?" "The boys from the steel shop." "They're already so drunk that may start singing any minute." " Try to guess who's the ringleader." " Doesn't matter." "He wasn't admitted to the Party and may be thrown out of the shop." " Yet he makes it even worse." " Who are you talking about?" "No offence, but I can tell only Sonya about it." "You don't believe me?" "I give you my word, it was Styopa." "Styopa." "Sonya?" "Take a seat, please." " We are... well, you know." " I can see." "This is Sonya." "My friend since childhood." "Styopa, let's leave." "What do you mean, leave?" "And what about us?" "You're breaking up a company." "Let's go, I beg you." "Wait, what's it all about?" "You're no relative of mine, nor my wife." "I'm more than a relative." "You got nothing to do here." "You think we're alcoholics?" "Styopka's in the dumps, so we had a drink or two." "Don't we have the right?" "Come on, aren't you ashamed of yourselves?" "You might have taken your Komsomol badges off at least." "Having a drinking spree here." "Who are you talking to like this?" "Are we some hooligans or what?" "You shut up." "She's my friend, understand?" "Don't shout at her." " And who are we?" " Your friend." "Because of some wench, you..." "She's not a wench to you." "I told you, guys, it's Sonya." "Go on, apologize." "I'm not pissed off." "He didn't say anything awful." "He did." "Apologize." "I insist." "She's not pissed off." "I'm sick, I got the temperature." "One hundred and two." "It may even be influenza." "Let's go." "Guys, those who're in favor, please raise your..." "Glasses, right?" "C'mon, let's go." "Are you ashamed of me?" "Don't talk nonsense." " Wait." " What?" "You're sick, and I'm thinking only of myself." " Let's go see the doctor." " It's late, Styopa." "I'll wake up anybody for you." "You don't believe me?" "I do." "We do." "You've already woken me up." "Good evening, Ivan Romanovich." "What's the occasion for his being in such a merry state?" "Well, I..." "Because of disappointment, I guess." "Nursing your hurt?" "I'm sorry, sorry." "Ivan Romanovich, I'm sorry." "Wait." "This way you may get me drunk, too." "It was the first time in my life." "Tell him." "No, I never expected this from you." " Maybe I am..." " A fool." "I'm notjustifying him, of course, but one can understand him, too." "Such an awful thing has happened." "Styopa, wait a bit." "I'll bring you some kvass and you'll feel better." " It's alright, Sonya, all right." " Of course it is." "Right?" "Wait till I'll go to see Zhukov himself, the Party Secretary." "And I'll tell him everything." " Well, go ahead." " Go ahead with what?" " Tell it." " I'll tell the right person." " I am the right person." " Why?" "Because I am Zhukov." " Did you hear him?" " Styopa!" " What?" "Really?" " Really." "Sit, sit." "I know you, but I didn't recognize you." "You wouldn't recognize your own aunt now." "What?" "Is she here?" "We'll call her up and she'll box your ears." "I've meant to go and see you for so long, comrade Zhukov." " Wanted to invite me to a pub?" " No, of course not." "I let myself do it for the first time in my life." "Tell him." "That's true." "Vladimir Sergeyevich!" "Welcome, welcome." "Why are you here?" "Because of your new method." "We're so glad." "Drink some kvass, Styopa." "You'd better give warm milk to this child." "That's much too much." "And why do you bend to the first gust of wind?" "That's how we were brought up." "We went to the same school." "Tell him." "I don't know what she's going to tell, but I heard some say that Ogurtsov is a troublemaker, others, on the contrary, praise him, saying he's a fighter, an innovator, a restless soul." "And I will say that I've never expected to see you in this state." "So there can be no serious talk between us now." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." " Goodbye." " Goodbye." "I'll be right back, Styopa." "See what happened?" "Yes, it's all over now." "What is going to happen now?" " What's your name?" " Sonya." "What's going to happen?" "He'll sleep and get sober." "This is the first time with him." "It's obvious." "It can happen to anybody." "Everything happens in life - the first glass and the first cigarette." "So you're not angry at him?" " I'm no saint, either." " And he got so upset!" "Wait." "Listen, Yegor Petrovich, is that you who wrote this book?" "Why do you ask?" "Don't you see?" "Zubov." "Yegor Petrovich." "Look, Yegor Petrovich, did you write this, too?" "To my best pupil and adversary...." " Adherent." " Oh yes, sorry." "Look only forward, Styopa, may my experience be yours." " Zubov." " So what?" "Styopa read your book very carefully, and you..." "I wrote it." "You?" "It can't be." "It's written here, on page 35..." "Using special materials when casting calls for new precision technology." "This technology will provide for minimal allowances on the cast details." "You wrote it yourself, and now you're resisting it?" "Let me see it." "Oh, damn, who asked him?" " Asked whom?" " Sinichkin." "Who is that?" "The man from the editorial office." "It was him who wrote this." "Everybody considers you a man of advanced views, but it turns out that the innovator is not you, but a Sinichkin." "He wrote it from my words." "So it was your idea?" "At last Petrunin has got it." "Of course, it's yours." "So you are to answer for the 90% of the plan not only as the shop head, but also as the author of the idea, for which Ogurtsov and Sergeychuk are fighting against you." "A very curious situation, I would say." "See what a case we've got, Petrunin." "You could stamp him as a pseudo-innovator, an inflated figure, a phony, and so on." "By the way, I wanted to make sure, have you got a technical education?" "With the Party word, I'm doing much more here than any engineer." "The shop is growing, it doesn't need speeches, it needs knowledge." "I'm trying to go along." "You are, but, unfortunately, lagging behind." "I'll demand that this issue be put on the Party's agenda." "It's already on the Party's agenda." "Goodbye, Yegor Petrovich." "Take care." "Well, Yegor Petrovich, what do you know!" "Good evening." "For some it's good, for others not very good." " Something happened again?" " Nothing special." "Too bad, pal, you're short of three tricks in this game." "So you must fight and win it back." "Eating borsht?" "They demanded Sergeychuk's personal file from me today." "A very cunning old man." "I told you to throw him out of the shop together with Ogurtsov." "Alright, enough of that." "All right?" "No, not all right." "He's got all the trumps - seniority and experience." "Word is around the dorm that Zubov is finished, got too haughty." "In a word, intrigues." "And you should repay them in kind." "They say one word, you say ten." "Styopka got drunk once, you say he's an alcoholic." "He is one minute late for work, you pin absenteeism on him." "He lives at Sergeychuk's , that's nepotism." "A slightest hitch with the plan, you cry wolf." "It's simple, I know." "Why are you so worried, dinning into my ears?" " First, we're old friends." " And second?" "And second, there's no hiding it, tomorrow I may get in a mess, too." "But they lend an ear to Zubov even in Moscow." "There're 5,000 people at the plant, but I've chosen you to be my friend." " Out!" " It's high time." "You're just a lousy bastard, taking advantage of any commotion!" " Is he drunk or what?" " No, I've sobered now." "You wanted to win my soul in a preference game?" "You're overdoing it." "I'm still in charge of personnel." "What kind of man are you?" "In what hole have you been hiding for 40 years?" "Everybody's bad, only he's good!" "Out!" "Alright, but the question is still open." " I hope I don't disturb?" " No, no." "Why did you send me Sergeychuk's personal file?" "I wanted to remind you of his background." "In the Party since 1920, three decorations, an innovator." "You even memorized it?" "And they say there's a hitch with the plan in the steel shop." "Zubov is finished, they say, got too haughty." "Zubov just stumbled, and you think he fell." " What do you mean?" " Just that." "You want to finish off your best friend with my hands?" " What friend?" " Zubov." "I'm not some piece furniture here to be listening to this." "Furniture is decorative, it pleases the eye." "So you're no furniture." "What are you driving at..." "Mom!" "What happened?" " Remember Styopa Ogurtsov?" " No." "My school friend, with a forelock like this." "Remember now?" "No." "Just listen to what they're writing about him." " Criticizing him?" " No, not at all." "A young Party member, Ogurtsov, and his foreman, Sergeychuk, have worked out and introduced a new method." "Then goes the technology." "Here, listen." "Ogurtsov is finishing college while continuing work." "He's getting on in life!" "Just listen, Mom." "These days, on the invitation of the students and faculty of the Leningrad Metallurgy Institute," "Ogurtsov is to deliver a lecture on his new method." "He was madly in love with me." "And I was a fool." " Isn't he handsome?" " Just an ordinary boy." " Just look at this." " Well..." "Isn't he?" "I must write him a letter." "I think they'll give him a decoration." "And may appoint him the director." "Why are you leaving for Leningrad do suddenly?" "You know it, the institute wants me to come." "When did you get the invitation?" "But you decided to go only now." "You read Tanya's letter to everybody but me." "Not everybody." "Only to my friends." "And they advised you to take a plane, not a train, to Leningrad." "Judge for yourself, we're well off, we study and work, and she..." "What about her?" "Getting Fedya into a scandalous situation?" " We don't know who was wrong." " We know." "Everything she writes about him, you should apply to her." "How quickly did you betray your best friend." "And you were even quicker to betray me." "Sonya, you know how much I love you." "Do you really, Styopa?" "You're my best friend." "I got no one in the whole wide world but you and my aunt." "You think I don't know why you came here?" "So you think it's because of you?" "You're a perfect match for Tanya, you're as self-loved Narcissus as she." "So go to her, you deserve each other!" "Sonya!" "Sonya!" "Sonya!" "Remember how many letters you sent her?" "And she didn't reply a word." "But as soon as they printed your mug, Tanechka is right there." "Sent you a letter, all soaked with tears." "The worse one treats you, the better you are." "You can go not only to Leningrad, but wherever you damn well please!" "Sonya!" "Sonya!" "Believe me, Styopa, I'm so proud of you." "You delivered that lecture without a flaw." "And you look the same." "I don't lose heart." "One whacked person is worth two that are not." "And my ex did it very diligently." "Why are you so hard on the man you loved?" "Fedya?" "The man I loved?" "No, it wasn't him." "Who was it then, if it's no secret?" "You'll know soon." "Everything in its own good time." "Are you free tonight?" "On a business trip, you're free as a bird." "Then I'm inviting you to a ballet premiere." "Excuse me a minute." "Fedya!" "Hi!" "I see you're well and successful." "You don't want to talk to me?" "You'll get a lot of talk with a more interesting person tonight at the theatre." "Fedya, we haven't seen each other for ages." " The happy ages." " Fedya!" " Fedya." " Yes?" "Look who's here." "Why have you frozen like a statue?" "See who's here?" "Stop playing the fool, I'm not an ornament on a Christmas tree." "Friends, what's the matter with you?" "Really." "Friends!" "Ex-friends." "And ex-friends are worse than strangers." "I'm a simple man, I can hit you so that you'll remember your friends at once." "I'm off." "As they say, when two fight, a third one better not interfere." "Shall we have a smoke?" "Let's have a smoke, my friend, let's have a smoke, one for each..." "These cigarettes don't make you cough." " Give it to me straight." " Sure." "Tell me who sent you here?" "Just your misfortune." "I'm not some wretch and I don't need the help of a famous, most popular, lucky man." " Me?" " Yes." "Right." "So you're giving me the brush-off." "All right, that's it." "I've had enough." "Too bad I can't leave." "What?" "Your conscience is pricking you?" "No, it's just that your mother proved smarter than we are." "Oh, stop picking a quarrel." "We haven't even said 'hi'" "Offering your hand while tripping me up?" "Can you explain to me what's happened?" "I can." "Taking advantage of our breakup?" "Meaning?" "To whom did you go straight from the station?" "She herself came to meet me." "With flowers." "And you decided that I'm a tyrant and she's an innocent, insulted victim." "It's all right, time will pass and show." "It's not time, it's our life's passing." "High time for you to understand this." "You think she'll understand it?" "How long have you known Tanya?" "Since early years?" " Why?" " You don't know her at all." " Tell me." " You want it?" "Sit down." "I.S. Roshchin GREAT HOPES" "I think I just saw your wife." " Masha?" "Where?" " Over there." "I knew she wouldn't be able to stay home." "I couldn't be mistaken." "No, she's at home." "Unfortunately, she's ill." "You must be taking it very hard." "Yes, it's the first time in 20 years that she's not beside me." "I understand you very well." "Tanya!" "Now you got the proof?" "Tanya." "Styopa, why didn't you come?" "Or were you there?" "No." "We decided to take a walk through nighttime Leningrad." "A night walk of two bachelors." "Why?" "I'm married, he's going to get married, too." "To whom?" " Me?" " You and he." "I'm married to Sonya." "Didn't I tell you?" "No." "Congratulations." "And he?" "He was just telling me about his bride." "He's madly in love again, but wary." "She reminds him of you." "Tanya!" "Fedya!" "Let's go." "Yes?" "It's me." "Hello." "Where else can he be?" "Of course, just the two of us." "Yes, yes, dining and wining." "Celebrating the premiere." "Thank you." "Today, we got only sausage, potatoes and lemonade." "And let us, Masha, however well off we might be in life..." "Always celebrate our good moments only this way?" "Only this way." "Why talk about this now?" "In two days we're going to the registry office." "Don't you wish me happiness?" " A ready-made happiness?" "No." " What do you mean?" "Let's sit down, daughter, and I'll explain." "I'm listening." "No, sit down." "And let's for once talk quietly and seriously." "Wait a minute, Tanya." "You know, Tanya, at your age I had quite a few advantageous propositions." "But I had chosen your father, a junior clerk with a miserable salary." "No status, no apartment." "And step by step, year after year, we both were working for what he's achieved now." "And I'm happy, try to understand it, Tanya, that, together with father, I have the right for all this." "Roshchin is twice my age, and I just cannot start in life simultaneously with him." "Exactly." "Twice your age." "That's why you don't need to go through life together." "Now you found a new fault." "First you don't like my ready-made happiness, now it's my future husband's age." "He's nearly as old as your father." "Compared to him, your Fedya is just an old wreck!" "You'd better not mention Fedya!" "And it would be even better to put an end to this conversation." "Isn't it time for dinner?" "I'm hungry as a wolf." "Did you have a drink on your way home?" "Dad, let me smell your breath." "Ah, you're afraid to, aren't you?" " Dad, leave her alone." " Bad news." "At work?" "No." "It's about your composer." "What's about him?" " Haven't you read it?" " What?" "About Roshchin's ballet." "What about it?" "It was received with hurrahs." "I don't know, I wasn't at the premiere." "Do they really think it's a flop?" "As you know, I don't approve very much of your relationship." "But, knowing you, I want to give you some advice." "It's simply awful!" "No one has ever died from criticism." "The phone." "Maybe that's him calling?" " So what?" " What do you mean, so what?" "At this time?" "He may need your support." "To hell with him." "What?" "!" "Tanya!" "Tanya!" "Dad, Dad..." "Mom!" "Dad, Dad..." "Well, all right, all right." "Mom, it's Dad." "What happened?" "Yes?" "Oh, it's you." "I need to see you right away." "But where can we meet?" "It wouldn't look right at my place, and we can't meet at yours." "And I can't meet with other people around, I just can't ." "But we must meet." "All right." "In the square by the Opera House." " It's just awful!" "Awful!" " What are you talking about?" " About the review." " It doesn't concern me at all now." " But this is a disgrace!" " What's so unusual about it?" "Just read it." "Where is it?" "A familiar..." "and a kind of deja vu." "It's a direct suggestion of plagiarism." "I see." "Has it been proved?" "Absolutely proved?" "What are you going to do about it?" "Nothing." "Don't you understand that it may lead to your expulsion from the Composers' Union?" "You know what usually happens?" "Troubles never come singly." "I'm afraid someone even would think of writing a feuilleton." "Never mind, I'll be all right." "What are you going to do?" "I can be a conductor, if not a chief one, then a guest conductor." "If not in Leningrad, then somewhere in the provinces." "Can you get a position in Moscow?" "No, now only somewhere else... somewhere in Yuzhnosakhalinsk." " How can you joke about this?" " Will you go with me?" "I don't know, but in this situation it would look like an act of pity." "As though I threw in my lot with you only out of commiseration." "That would be humiliating for you, wouldn't it?" "So, to pity is humiliating, and to leave is commendable?" "Why?" "But when you're not here anymore, and I feel like seeing you, then, perhaps, I might come to you myself." "You're a little, but horrible predator." "Oh God, what a melodrama!" "Who's there?" "C'mon, who's there?" "It's me, Styopa." "Wait, you can't come in." "Why not?" "Just a minute." " Turn away." " I've already did." "Sonya." "I came straight from the plane." "See?" "Straight to you." "Well, so what?" "What do you mean, so what?" "Where're your girls?" "Where..." "At work." "Oh, of course." "Very good." "Well, Sonya..." "I was in Leningrad." "My congratulations." " I saw Tanya there." " I'm happy for you." "And I told her you were my wife." "Why didn't you tell her that you were Leo Tolstoy?" "I thought..." "I thought you were in love with me." "You thought so?" "Well, you were right." " So it's true?" " Yes, true." "Really?" "!" "Yes, it's true." "I was..." "Oh God, how much I loved you!" "How many tears had I shed into this pillow!" "But you looked at me as though I was a cupboard." "You didn't even regard me as a girl, just as a good pal to drink beer with." "Forgive me." "Only being away from you, I realized how much you mean to me." "As Yesenin wrote: " Being face to face, you can't see the real face."" "Don't try to drag Yesenin into that." "He himself loved, and was sensitive to a woman's love." "And you confided to me your unfortunate love affairs." "Oh, I'm so happy to have gotten rid of these feelings." " I'm so sorry about that." " And I hate you now!" "Styopa!" "Wait." "You don't understand anything." "I wanted to teach you a lesson, but I cannot." "What's the matter with you?" "Why this mood?" "I'm tired." "Yes, it's hard on you." "Whatever one might say, but they promoted you too early." "Styopa, no one can hear us now." "Tell me honestly, are you up to being deputy chief of the shop?" "She's finally done Fedya in." "What?" "Again?" "Fedya is seriously ill." "Here's a letter from his mother." "Styopa, we got to do something." "You, my good Samaritan." "Look, how much money have we saved for the furniture?" "Right." "We'll buy only the necessities and send him the rest." " Some Samaritan." " Why?" "What are you thinking about - your furniture or..?" "Sorry, it was really stupid of me." " You think he'll accept it?" " Of course not." "Think of something." "Where's all that cunning of yours?" " My cunning?" " No, mine." " Oh, Vera is going to Leningrad." " Right, she can do it." "She sure can." "Get the money." " What?" " Nothing." " Well, it's all right, all right." " Sure it's all right." "Go on, eat." "Excuse me, does Fyodor Morozov live here?" "Yes." "But he's seriously ill and sleeping now." " Are you his mother?" " Yes." "I'm Vera Zubova." "May I speak to you a minute?" " Yes, I'm listening to you." " I'm a friend of Sonya Orlova." " You know her husband, too?" " Yes, of course." "Let's think about how we can do it." " Be quiet, there's a sick man here." " We are all sick." "Don't pay attention to them." "What's it all about?" "Sonya and Styopa have sent some money." "How much?" "What money?" "I see he's got your character." " Do you know Fedya?" " No, but I've been warned." "Mother!" "Don't tell him about it." " What, Fedya?" " Mother, who's there?" "It's me." " Hello." " I'm Vera Zubova." " Are you from the institute?" " No." "I came to enter an institute." "Nice meeting you." "I'm a friend of your friends." "Sonya and Styopa?" "Though they warned me that you need a special approach." " But I decided to be blunt." " Go ahead." "Here's the money." "Do they think I'm an invalid, a helpless unemployed man?" "Tell them that I'm an engineer, I have a diploma." " Mother, show her the diploma." " I believe you." " Soon I'll be well, right?" " Absolutely." "I'll go to work and I'll be able to help them, not vice versa." " You're wrong." " Why?" "A man who can't appreciate someone's help, will never help himself." "You're an unusual girl." "Really?" "And you are not." "Anyway, send the money back." "They sent it to you, so you send it back." "And on top of all, you're an ungrateful man." "I didn't sleep because of this money, and he..." " Why didn't you sleep?" " I was afraid it'd be stolen." "You're so funny!" " What is it, Fedya?" " I had a stitch." " What's the matter with him?" " A serious heart ailment." "But how old is he?" " Didn't your friends tell you anything?" " No." "Drink it, Fedya." " Damn, a stitch again." " Never mind." "Drink it." "There you go." "Calm down." "Calm down, it's nothing." "The pulse is normal." "Be quiet, I'll be right back." "Can you make it at 10?" "Where're you going?" "Excuse me, I need the phone." "It's an emergency." "This is a communal telephone." "You must reckon with others." " Fedya has a problem with his heart." " I'm talking on heart matters, too." "Please, there's a pay phone on the corner." "Call an ambulance." "That's it." "Enough." "She came from the street and already ordering about." "Is this the hospital?" "Is she registered in here?" "Griboyedova Canal, 10, apartment 5." "A heart attack." "All right." "Mother!" "She went to a pharmacy." "Good morning." "You're still here?" "Good morning." "I spent the night here." " Why?" "Is it..." " Some 24 hours have already passed." "There was such a commotion here, an ambulance, doctors." "How are you feeling now?" "Good, thank you." "It's good being with you." "Only, please, don't laugh." "You scared the hell out of me." "Sit down." "Sit here and tell me about yourself, and in every detail." "I'm fine right here." " Well, it's time for me to go." " Stay with us." "I just arrived yesterday, I have to settle down." "Are you going to live in a hotel?" "No, the first 5 years only at the dorm." " You came here to study?" " I want to be a doctor." "So you've got your first practice." "Leningrad" " Novosibirsk" "You probably think you're going to the backwoods, right?" "I myself asked to send me closer to my friends." "And closer to Yegor Petrovich Zubov." "Really?" "You'll like him, and my mom, too." "I hope you'll be able to come to visit as often as possible." "And you, too, don't forget to visit your mother." "Fedya!" "Are you leaving?" "You going far?" " It's funny." " What?" "I just remembered how 5 years ago we were seeing Styopa off from this very platform." "What's so funny about it?" "We were just first-year students then." "Now you're already an engineer." "And I..." "I'm nobody." "You alone are to blame for it." "Yes, yes." "Me alone." "And I'm so alone that I got no one to give me advice." "I doubt that what I can advise will suit you." "Fedya, Fedya, wait a bit, wait!" "Wait." "Wait, wait." "You mean that we're very different?" "Life has proved it." " Fedya." " Coming." "Who is she?" " An acquaintance." " Just an acquaintance?" "The train leaves in a minute." "Goodbye." " Is that her?" " This is her!" "I won't even speak to you!" "Really?" "Then the only way is to write." "Oh, take this!" "See you soon, Vera!" "Too late, Tanya, too late." "Just for once I tried to listen to you." "It's too late." "As if he's the only man in the world." "What?" "I don't understand what so special he sees in her?" "Perhaps, a good person." "Am I not one?" "The End"