"Perceiving the Big Wide World" "Chief!" "Wait, chief!" "Look here, chief." "The speed, the comfort, the enhanced cross-country maneuverability!" "Both fore-and-aft position and tilt of the seat can be adjusted!" "Just take the driver's seat, grab the wheel - and you'll feel the vibe of good old "Zhiguli"!" "My friend - look!" "Fellas!" "We're gonna pull you out!" " Got a rope?" " And you?" " No." " Hey, do we have a rope?" " A rope?" " Yes, a rope!" "What an immense joy this is." "We're building a huge factory." "We're building a huge city." "Houses can be big, houses can be small, but it doesn't really matter." "The most important thing in the world is a happiness that is genuine." "They don't make it at factories, even the best ones." "And if, by chance, you're happy to love someone, then you need nothing else." " I looked at you and got scared." " Am I that ugly?" "You look a lot like her." "Especially from the back." "And who's that ugly woman that looks like me from the back?" "It was when..." "I was still learning to drive with an instructor and... you see, a clutch and a break pedal are connected, if I don't press it, the instructor will." "So there's a car ahead and a cyclist, and then that woman looking just like you, runs out from behind." "I know I must hit the brakes," "I know it in my head, but I can't do it, and there's a car ahead and a cyclist..." "And then a woman jumps out from behind." "Looking just like you." "I know I must hit the brakes, but I can't." "I know it in my head, but I can't... and there's a car ahead and a cyclist." "What did he say?" "That he must hit the brakes, but he can't." "What?" "The brakes, but he can't do it." "Does your leg hurt?" " Who, me?" " No, it's okay!" " Fine?" " It's fine." " Will it hold?" " Yeah." " Can he turn it around?" " One second." "Hey, chief, can you turn your wagon around in the meantime?" "Where's my girl with dark eyes..." "In Vologda, in Vologda..." "Careful, he's gonna start." "Don't yank it!" " Let's go." " Go where?" "Look at the clock." "We're late." "Oh well, hop in." "What the hell you're always laughing about?" " Too late, Lyuba." " Whatever!" " Where's she going?" " Hey!" "I'll hitch-hike!" " Lyuba!" " What?" "!" "Come back here right now!" "Miss, which direction are you going?" "Chief." " Where're you driving?" " Why?" "If you're going that way, we'll come aboard." "Come in, I'm going the same way." " Are you going or not?" " Go ahead." "We have an activist here." "An activist!" "My name is Lyuba." "Mikhail." "A handshake doesn't mean the hand is yours now." "So don't overdo it." "Zikunov Nikolai." "Any questions must be addressed to me first." " Lyuba." " What?" "Let me sit by the window." " What for?" " I don't like it in the middle." " Well, me neither." " Come on." " I don't want to!" " Stop being a baby!" "Stop pushing me!" "All right." "Much better now." "So anyway, these guys go fishing." "Despite the clouds in the sky, can you believe it?" "And then the rain starts, like a shower!" "Ten guys, all around the car, all wet and barefoot." "That's when I come in." ""Chief!" "Dear!" "Help us out!"" "Pulled 'em out in hour and a half." "The whole slope was in trenches." "I caught loads of them, like fish!" "My machine was a beast!" "Three axles: front axle, rear axle, driving axle!" "Pulled out 23 cars." " You said 50." " No, Lyuba, 25." " You said 50." " No, 26" " Still 50!" " Okay, 30." "You said there were 50!" "You said it yourself!" " There were 40." " Okay then, 40." "How do you like that, Chief?" "Another one was near Kuban." "We were driving..." "Why did you stop, Chief?" "Hey, we need to go!" "We're in a hurry!" "Try this clay, father." "I'll bring you more from the fourth pit." "Bye, father." "Is he your son?" "It's a form of address." "For a modern man, a plane flying in the sky or a space rocket, taking off right on the screen of his TV, has become, comrades, a habitual sight!" "But how many people these days have actually seen the potter work?" "Look at you, mouth wide open, like in a museum." " That's right." " What did you say?" "He says you're right." " I'm always right." " That's right, you're always right." "Listen everybody!" "The brigade of dressers has come to salute you!" "...Now everyone move aside" "My heart sings, I'm a bride!" "Houses can be big, houses can be small, but the most important thing in the world is a happiness that is genuine." "They don't make it at factories, even the best ones." "And if, by chance, you're happy to love someone, then you need nothing else!" "Because..." "Because no one has invented anything better than that!" "I wish you happiness!" "I wish you happiness and true love!" "I wish you happiness and true love." "Do you love me, Kolya?" " Love is a temporary..." " What?" "Love is a temporary passion, you know that." "I know that, Kolya." "But I don't want to know that." "Nobody loves anybody. ...kis-sing!" "What a speech!" "Did you hear that?" "We prepared so hard, we came all the way down here, and you're going away already!" "Dear comrades, brides and grooms!" "Kis-sing!" "Take your seats in the cars, please." "Dear comrades!" "Brides and grooms!" "Please hurry up!" "The komsomol wedding is over!" "The wedding is over." "Please take your seats in the cars." "Hubba hubba, ding ding, don't forget the wedding ring!" " Kis-si-ing!" " ...don't forget the wedding ring!" "Is that some kind of commission - to congratulate the newly-weds?" " What, mine?" " She's just sharing experience." "He's right, I'm sharing my experience." "I'm always right." "Yes, you're always right." "Hey, friend." "Why is your face so unmemorable?" " And now?" " Are you out of your mind?" "!" "Now, now, calm down, Kolya." " You must be new here." " I am." "Yeah, that figures." "We'll see." "He's gonna build a city, a tractor plant together with us..." "How do you know that we're going this way?" "Lyuba told me, while you were screaming "Kis-sing!"" " Oh, "Lyuba"?" " Lyuba." " Okay, Lyuba, move over." " Why is that?" " Because I like to sit in the middle." " Well, me too." "I said move over!" "Stop shouting!" "Why are you shouting all the time?" "!" " I want to sit with him!" " I want so sit with him too!" " Sit with me!" " I don't want to!" "Now, you..." "I'm not calm, but my brother is." "He's a bit younger, but can lift a 100 kg barbell just as well." "He made a heroic deed once, now he's dong his time." "How strange, it's the first time I hear about your brother." "Not all at once, Lyuba." "Gotta leave something for the next life." "There's the club." "Our Galya plays there." "To tell you the truth, it's nearly impossible to drive my brother mad." "He takes after me." "So anyway, he's going home after training." "And hears: "Help!" "Help!"" "This is the situation:" "Thirteen guys are fighting." "Well, they counted them afterwards." "And a woman is running around." "What would you think?" "He figures:" "they must be beating her husband." "He couldn't know it was just a drunken brawl." "He warns them:" ""Guys, I have the 1st rank in Sambo"." "They didn't hear him." "Didn't listen." "There were thirteen guys and thirteen ambulances." "The 14th car picked him up." "It was police." "He was trying to be a gentleman, and she testified against him in court!" "He's doing his time now, wishing to come here, on the site." "Good for him." "He's gonna build a city," " ...a tractor plant..." " I'd advise that." "Let him discover himself." "So, Lyuba?" "What do you think?" "Why do you keep asking me?" "Well, you gotta have some opinion." "Your word matters here." "So?" "By the way, my brother..." "He's older, of course." "He'll be 36 soon." "He wanted to be a pilot, but became a submariner." "He had this very beautiful curly hair... but now he cuts them." "Because he's under water most of the time." " He looks like you a little bit." " Who, me?" " Me?" " No, him!" "I can't say in what way, but he resembles him." "Maybe not so tall." "Hey, Lyuba." "Do you, by any chance, have another brother," " ...who looks like me, eh?" " Lately, we..." " Among your pilot-submariners?" " Lately, we we've been plastering an underground concrete reservoir." "Did you look well?" "The air is so heavy there." "And the dampness..." "You can almost feel the pressure." "And... when I think of... him, there, under water..." "All that sea above him..." "Especially when they're under ice..." "So scary..." "I thought you were missing one finger." "But I told you where he is." "He sails over the seas, the coldest ones." "It can be months till he steps on land or sees the stars." "He's a submariner." "And he's so quiet, so calm." "A wonderful man." "Any girl would be happy with him." "But he got..." "Or, better to say, she got him." "And he loves her madly." "I tell him: "Silly, love is a temporary passion."" " Life is also temporary." " That's what he says." "And I tell him:" ""Nobody loves anybody"." "And what does he say?" "He says nothing." "Is he in the north now?" "Sometimes I think about him, sailing there, under ice, like a seal, like some kind of walrus in the Arctic." "And I think: "I haven't seen him for so long"." "I almost wish he got sick or something happened to him, not too serious, of course." "I would nurse him, sit close to him, take care of him..." "Okay, sweeties, who's gonna take care of me?" "Feed me, water me, do the washing?" " Did you buy this?" " Yeah, so what?" "Don't so-what me, you're talking to a senior." "You don't know how to pick cucumbers." "This one's bitter." "Latina style." "The waltz tap-dancing!" "Tap-dancing with a pause!" "The sea dance!" "Better." "Lyuba!" "Why don't you get married?" "I'll be good to you!" "Marry who, you?" "Well, not really necessarily." "There's a man drinking milk." "You can see he's a good man right away." "Wanna see a good man?" "Look out the window!" "Why are you always playing the fool?" "A fool's not the guy catching fish in the sky, a fool is the guy who helps him." "Thank you." "Hey man, do you tap-dance?" "I can teach you." "I was thinking," " ...why is he making clay pots?" " Clear off, Lyuba." " So?" "Or are you afraid of heights?" " Because milk is sold in a bottle," " ...or in a carton." " I said, lay off!" " Is it a fear of heights?" "Huh?" " So why the clay pots?" "Why?" " It is just a hobby." " I said, lay off!" " Stop doing that!" " It is called "a fear of heights"." "How's he going to sell them?" "He doesn't have a horse, does he?" " He doesn't have a horse!" " I don't know..." " ...but I agree with you." " Really?" "Please." "I don't have time." "And I don't have a leg." "Misha!" "You got dirt." " What'd he say?" " That he doesn't have time and a leg." " Who's that?" " Didn't you know?" "He's the head of the drama club." "Gave up everything, came here for her." "Now she's scolding him for that." " He's jealous." " Too bad for the hat." " Brush it and it'll be like new." " There, he threw it again." "They love each so much." "Maybe even too much." "Don't look far, when you're shortsighted!" "Got it?" "Did I make myself clear?" "Yes, you did." "Good." "...and the passers-by wonder on this rainy day, why do I look so merry." "And so I'm playing my accordion In Vologda, in Vologda..." "In the house with a carved palisade..." "Where's my girl with dark eyes..." "Repeat." "Foreman Sidorov to see the chief engineer immediately." "Look over there." "Misha!" "Misha!" "Misha!" "Misha!" "Misha!" "Misha!" "Mi-sha!" "Mi-sha!" " You and you..." " It's not me, it was her joke!" "You're both little rascals!" "Hello!" "Hello!" "Hello." "I saw a dream." "I was playing with a box of matches." "I set a house on fire..." "no, a corner of the house." "And I'm waiting for it to kindle." "And then I put it out." "And then I set it on fire again." "And put it out." "And I really want to see it burn, but I'm afraid." " You don't want it." " Why?" "I'm serious." "About marrying, either Nikolay, or Mikhail." "So anyway, I set it on fire." "Yes." "Wait." "So I set it on fire." "I'm standing there, looking at it," "And my brother comes to me and says: "Lyuba..." "Lyuba!" "Have you seen Sorokina?" "She's must pick the costumes for the drama club." "And I must send the rest." "Sorokina!" "The hats!" "Everyone!" "...it pleased heaven to try me a second time;" "I did not withstand the test, my weak heart was again conquered by that familiar voice..." "But you were unhappy, and I sacrificed myself," "I have fathomed all the secrets of your soul" "No one else can be so genuinely unhappy as you, because nobody tries so hard as you to convince himself of the contrary." "You won't love her, will you?" "You will love me!" "Farewell..." "We are parting forever, yet you may be certain that I will never love another." "There is something unique in your nature, something peculiar to you alone, something so proud and unfathomable." "In no one is evil so... attractive." "In no one's glance is there such a promise of bliss." "Farewell, farewell!" ".." "So strange, Lizaveta..." "Where did your corset go..." " Don't." "Leave that." " I like milk, don't you know?" " No, you don't." " I love milk more than life!" " I do." " No, you don't." " Give it back." "Give it back!" " No, I won't." " Give it back!" " No!" " Kolya, give it back, please." " Nuh-uh." " Put it back!" " Wha-at?" "What did madam just say?" "You've never drunk milk in your life." "Right." " Right." "I see now." " You don't like milk!" " You don't like it do you?" "Do you?" " That's right, dear, I don't." " You don't." " I don't." "What matters is that everyone knows what's going on." "But you don't like milk!" "You never drink it!" "That's right." "I've never drunk milk." "See that?" "One tears out a bottle of milk from the hands of the other!" "How could it happen in our time, that one person," " pulls out..." " You can take mine." "Let's go home." "We're in the second shift tomorrow." "Bye, girls." "Don't be late." "Hush, little baby, don't say a word..." "Where are you from?" "Where were you born?" "I'm from Zhitomir, and you?" "I'm... from town Krasnyi." "It's on the Volga." "Ever heard about it?" " I heard, but never been there." " No?" "It's a beautiful town." "My friend, don't hesitate." "I will guard him, meanwhile, you get dressed." "My friend, don't hesitate." "I will guard him, meanwhile, you get dressed." "Do you want to try?" " I don't know how." " It's simple." "You blow it one way, breathe in the other." "Try it." " I got a lipstick." " It's alright, I have a handkerchief." "Oh?" "Okay, let me try it." "Let me show you." "Here." "See this letter?" "Breathe out three times." "Next, breathe in." " Hear that sound?" " Yes." "Then blow again, once." " Play it all at once." " Yeah, yeah, wait." " Ah, I got it!" " Got it?" " Yes." "Wait." "Wait. "My friend..."" "Wait a second." "No." "Wait." " "My..."" " Three times, blow." " "My friend..."" " Now, breathe in." " Would you like to be a pilot?" " No." " And a submariner?" " I used to be." "Only I sailed on the surface." "It smells of sea." " Who would you like to be?" " This wheel's alright." "I can't do without a car." "Besides, they won't take me as a pilot." "Why is that?" "We're the builders." "The earth is our floor, the sky is our roof." "But now, comrades, when we have BCI, when we have created our own base of construction industry," "(BCI!" "BCI!" ") we're not so dependent on the vicissitudes of fortune!" "I know better than anyone else here what it means to have a new workshop, a new house, where you can live, work and be happy!" "Do you understand me?" "To be happy!" "That's right!" "Got it?" "On behalf of the drivers, I congratulate all the painters, plasterers and everybody else!" "Reflect upon that, comrades." "That's right!" "It is hard to express our feelings at this day," " At this hour." " At this hour!" "We've come here to build a pl a city, a tractor plant!" "The production of our plant will go to every kolkhoz and sovkhoz!" "We're constructing a plant, and the construction educates us!" "It is impossible to express in words..." "It is impossible to express in words how much we have learned here, how much we have discovered and how happy we are to have come here on the assignment of Komsomol to join the ranks of leading builders!" "And we, on behalf of our brigade, pledge ourselves to work even better on the next assignment!" "Girls!" "Why did you decide to come here?" "Because mother sent us!" "She told us to go because..." "She told us to go, she said, here it's more interesting!" "Mommy!" "Mommy, is that you?" "Mom!" "I can't hear you!" "Can't hear you!" "He-ar!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "I'm fine!" "Yes, I'm fine, fine!" "And Vera too!" "Let me through, please." "Please!" "Let me through, I need to say something!" "I said I need to say something!" "Is yours private?" "Well, mine is public affair!" "Four tickets, please." "Thank you." "Yes!" "Yes, many of them!" "Yes, there are!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "Of what we were talking about!" "Yes!" "There are many!" "Don't you underst..." "Many good-looking guys, I said!" "Many of them!" "No, no!" "No, no marriage until I fall in love!" "...But not with my heart..." "No, no marriage!" "For some weird reason, the Chinese can't keep still" "Listen, you." "What're you always smiling at?" "What're you always smiling at?" " Want me to tell you?" " Tell me?" "Why don't you listen to what I tell you?" "We get along, me and Lyuba, got it?" " We get along!" "Hear?" " I don't." "You'd better shout so that everyone can hear." "Okay, wait." "I see we're both hot-tempered." "For some weird reason, the Chinese can't keep still." "The Chinese have decided to play a game with us." "All right then, all you Chinese thugs, you'll get what you were asking for..." " Hi!" " Hello, Vera." " Hello." " Are you Vera?" "Perhaps." "Anything can happen." " Well, are you Vera?" " Well, what does your heart tell you?" " Vera?" " Well, what do you think?" " What do you think?" " What a coincidence!" "Are you Vera?" " They're so alike!" " Are you going?" "I don't have the time." "And a leg!" "Hey, why do you always say that you don't have a leg?" "Accidents happen on the road." "It's inevitable." "...to guard the border..." "Like the colour?" " Where?" " There, that zhiguli." "A camouflage." "You're right." "You can crush it and not even notice." "When I buy one, I'll buy myself an emerald car." "It's a camouflage too." " Married?" " No." "Good for you." "Why shouldn't I sing Why shouldn't I hum..." "Me, I've decided to get married." "It's time." "It's getting too lonely at home." "Can't stand it." " Understand?" " Yes." "Go on, sing." "A wife means order and comfort at home." " Know what I mean?" " Yes, I know." " Since my house..." " Main thing is, I trust her." "She has a mind of her own." " Know what I mean?" " Yes, I know, I know." " You from Grigoryevsk Institute?" " That's right!" "I know one guy there, he's bought a zhiguli recently." " Vovka Dyatel." "Know him?" " No, but I know, I know what you mean!" " Stop here." " Relax, I'll drive you all the way." "You seem familiar." "You have a memorable face." "Not like another guy here." "I tell him, "I'm gonna break your legs"" "You know?" "And he says:" ""No, you won't, because I'm already missing one"." "Hear that?" "Is that cheating or what?" "Know what I mean?" "Yes." "Galya!" "Galya." "Vera and Zoya." "Vera and Zoya." "Vera and Zoya." "Vera and Zoya." "Right." "One, two, three, four..." "Lyuba!" "Lyuba!" "Lyuba!" "You think I can't see through walls?" "What was that speech that you were rehearsing?" " When?" " When I was pulling you out." "Oh." "I don't remember." "I forgot." "This one. "Houses can be big, houses can be small, but it doesn't really matter." "The most important thing in the world is a happiness that is genuine." Yes." ""They don't make it at factories, even the best ones." "And if, by chance, you're happy to love someone," " Then..." " ...then you need nothing else." "Because no one has invented anything better than that." "I wish you happiness and true love."" "Good evening!" "Good evening." "Could you come with me, please?" "Please." "I've opened it, but I'm afraid I'll get electrocuted." "I know I won't get electrocuted," "But I'm still afraid that I will." "A letter..." "You've dropped a letter!" "I don't need it anymore!" "What is it?" ""My beloved friend," "I want to talk to you about something different... this time." "You and only you can understand me." "You seem to unite so marvelously all the contradictions." "I can be frank with you, because you're far away." "Love is a simple and enigmatic feeling." "It is limitless precisely by its limitations." "Its density opens a whole new world in one little point." "Love gives to mortals an illusion of immortality." "My beloved friend, why, why should we love someone?" "Good or bad, but why him?" "Is there a man corresponding to the magnitude of love?" "Love is a property of the soul, love is state of the soul, not connected to its subject, not proportionate to what caused it." "Love is a mountain that arises from nothing." "And when it disappears, there is an immense hole at its place." "Why, my beloved friend, why?" ".." "Your voice." "What?" "It's like a stream." "Gotcha." "You can't escape, my dear." "What's that, where's your combat training?" "Are you having an overhaul?" "What is this, a garage?" "Who do you think you are anyway, huh?" "You think you're someone special?" "Do you want to get married or something?" "I do." "I can do that." "It'll be no trouble at all." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I'm a simple guy." "You can tell me." "You can tell me anything!" "Attention, drivers!" "Those who haven't passed the medical examination please do so till the 15th of September." "Attention, drivers!" "Those who haven't..." "Hey!" "What kind of scissors is that?" "Wait, wait!" " What did you cut with it?" " A wire." "That surely won't make things easy for me..." "Hey, let me cut your hair!" "Girls love guys with a haircut." "And the direction too." " Do you know how?" " Me?" " Well, do you?" " Sure, Misha, once or twice." "Hey, Misha, what happened to your leg?" "Three years ago, a tank caught fire on a bulk plant." "Tanks with gasoline all around..." "I hop into the truck." "It's not mine." "I drive to the gates." "They're locked, so I ram through to the street." "There are people, cars, shops... and I'm on fire, like a dragon." "What else is there to do?" "I see a waste area." "I turn, drive the truck into the middle and hop out." "I'm running off, and then it explodes!" "And suddenly - bam!" " it cuts my leg off under the ankle." "How did you ever get your license in GAI?" "They're people too, they can listen." "Come to think of it, you're a hero!" "Yeah, and my left foot." "They should give you a reward!" "What've you done?" "It looks like a shrub." "It's only first impression." "Don't bother too much." "It'll grow back." "Hair grow back quickly." "Don't worry." "It looks fine to me." "Only a little here..." "There you go!" "How're you doing, girls?" "Are you in the school of young workers?" " No, you must know maths!" " We're afraid!" "You're afraid of maths?" "What else?" " Exams!" " Afraid of exams?" " And physics?" " And physics too!" " And gymnastics?" " No, not gymnastics!" " Are you afraid of me?" " No!" "Nothing to be afraid of." "When I was in the technical school, we always had appetizers:" "bread, salo and a glass." "That's true!" "Good night." "I've seen your man, by the way." "Roaming like an elk." " When?" " Just now." "Where?" "Come out and see." "Hey, Lyuba." "Let's go see the sights." "What a pain in the ass." "Hey, Vera!" "Prepare the arguments for the subject in question!" "Done!" "He always talks to you." "I've noticed it!" "Our days are running by, disappearing into the dark." "Nothing will get them back." "But once again sounds, getting closer to me," "This day, this hour, this garden." "Sounds emerge from the depth," "A bright thread of music stretches out." "Past days come to life again." "Far, far away the spring takes us." "When all of sudden, in silence, it sounds from the window." "And once again, we live in a magical land," "And the air is filled with light." "And childhood comes back to me," "For ever, and ever." "How wonderful is the blossom of the spring" "Quietly flows the day's shining," "The world opens up to me again," "Far, far away the spring takes us." "When all of a sudden, in silence, it sounds..." " Hey, girls!" " You could've come sooner." " Happy new house!" " Who'll stay here?" " I will." " Huh?" " Me, Galya." " Okay, sit here, guard this." "Okay." " Listen, Lyuba." " Yes?" "I did a little deed the other day, or so people say." "What?" "My dress?" "Is it beautiful?" "Wha-at?" "Lyuba, the baggage!" "Okay, I see." "I got it, Lyuba!" "I got it." "Oh!" " Hello, Misha." " Hello, Lyuba." " Let me take it upstairs." " No, thanks." "Sit here with me." "Sit here, guard it with me." "Here." "I made it myself." "He says it's curved, defective." "I like it." "Misha did you come here on this site by chance?" "Me too." "Do you have a prosthesis?" "I do." "Give me your hand." "Daddy, which floor are we gonna live?" "When I first saw you, my heart pinched right away." "And it still... pinches." "So, where've you been?" "What've you seen?" "Heard anything interesting?" "Well, I was walking just now..." "Turns out, it's autumn." "How did you notice that, genius?" "For a driver autumn means skidding one every road." "But I looked - and it's so beautiful." "And it's mystery who'll admire it and for how long." "By the way, an average life span in the country is 70 years." "The average temperature in the hospital is fine." "Heard that?" "Hey." "People have decided to put you in charge of the drinks." "Be a friend, fetch us something." " Me and Lyuba, we have to go." " Go where?" "What do you mean?" "We need to queue up." " Queue up where?" " Where we have the longest queues." " For the zhigulis!" " And the grocery store!" "You're taking me to the grocery?" " Forward." " Forward?" " Furniture store." " Next." " Only the police is left!" " The police?" "No, go back a little." "What are you, moving furniture?" "Forward-back, forward, back." "So what is it, Misha?" "He means registry office, Lyuba." "Is it what you wanted to ask?" "We need to line up." "Do you know how long people stand there?" " Main thing is to queue up." " The main thing?" "Yes." "I meant to ask you long ago..." "Why didn't you?" "Did you think I'd refuse?" "No, I didn't." "Or maybe I did." "Misha..." "I don't really have a brother." "I never had." "Hey, Vera." "What time does the canteen open?" "I don't know." " Huh?" " I don't know." "The nerves are on edge."