Chapter 18

There was much merchandise today, the salespeople could not manage to receive the goods and serve the customers simultaneously, and Konstantin had to help them a little. From the very morning he had not wanted to go to work. It seemed to him that between going to work and remaining at that station in the village, there was no particular difference. "This is the last week"—with this thought he had been consoling himself for four days already.

He entered his office. He had much work; the received merchandise had not been priced. And on top of that, he still needed to tally up the unofficial income and expenses for the week and month. To compose the official abbreviated financial report for small enterprises. He priced the merchandise, but gave no importance to the rest. Kostya had brought with him his manuscripts for his second book. Only the last chapter remained to be edited. He reread it and knew that something needed to be added, but what exactly was not yet clear; nothing came to mind.

The mobile phone rang:

"I am now unemployed," came Henry's sad voice.

"Henry, you always bring surprises, what has happened again?" Kostya asked calmly.

"Oh, nothing special. Anyway, what are you doing this evening, shall we go to a café?" Henry proposed.

"Yes, we can, but I won't be drinking, it's not the time and not the mood," Kostya replied, for some reason sorting through in his mind the scientific news and discoveries he had recently read.

"Nobody's asking you to, you'll have coffee, and I might have beer, since it's come to that, alright we'll call each other this evening."

"To hell with this work," thought Konstantin, tossed his book into his folder, and headed home. At home he finally edited his book. And now before him lay his two completed books. "Bliss... like a weight off my shoulders, now I can fully devote myself to creating the society," thought Kostya and took out a thin notebook in which were all his plans for the realization of his conception. The notebook was almost entirely filled with writing, numerous arrows, names and addresses of government institutions, old and new scientific discoveries, names of renowned scientists. All of this was contained in this notebook in a chaotic order comprehensible only to Kostya. He added to it certain changes and, taking his phone, dialed Henry's number.

"So you still haven't changed your mind about founding that society?" Henry asked, sitting down at a table in the café.

"I think I shall never change my mind," Kostya answered sharply. "Well, so what's with you, why are you unemployed?"

"It's all elementary, staff reductions," Henry reported.

"I see, and what..." Konstantin was interrupted by a phone call. "Hello Elizabeth," Kostya answered, smiling at the phone call.

"Hello, what are you doing?" Elizabeth asked, having guessed that Konstantin was with Henry.

"Nothing special, sitting in a café, and what are you doing?" Konstantin posed the ordinary question, still not quite understanding why Liza had suddenly called.

"I'm a bit bored, sitting at home alone. My boyfriend is on a business trip," Liza answered.

"A plot reminiscent of one of many anecdotes," Konstantin said jokingly.

"Please, I wouldn't be calling you then," Liza said, understanding the joke, "anyway, I invite you to visit."

"Wait," Kostya asked, and without hanging up, addressed Henry, "Liza here is inviting us over, shall we go to her place?"

"We can," Henry supported the idea.

"Well then?" Elizabeth asked impatiently.

"Alright, we'll come over. By the way, we have something to tell you," Kostya informed Liza.

The friends met as though there had been no long separation between them. There was much that needed to be told. After all, since they had visited Henry in the psychiatric hospital, this was the first time they had gathered. Elizabeth made food for her friends. Against his will, Konstantin nevertheless acknowledged that it was delicious.

"And Henry fell under staff reductions," Konstantin reported, after thanking Liza for dinner.

"And what do you think you'll do?" Liza asked Henry.

"Either I'll find another job, or I'll go to the village to my father," Henry answered in an uncheerful voice, "but actually my examination session is starting now, so I won't think about it for the time being."

The friends reminisced about their past adventures. Elizabeth told them a little about how she was getting on living with her boyfriend. Konstantin particularly liked the part where Liza mentioned that there were quarrels between them. The apartment in which they had now gathered was rented by her boyfriend. The consciousness of this was not much to Konstantin's liking, but it was worth it to simply communicate with Elizabeth now in a friendly atmosphere.

"Well, we should probably be going," Kostya said, rising from the armchair.

"Where are you hurrying to? Let's watch some film, we haven't seen each other in so long, you can even stay the night. I have to work tomorrow too, in the morning we'll all go our ways," Elizabeth stopped the friends.

"I essentially have nowhere to hurry to anymore at all," Henry added.

"Alright, a film it is," Kostya agreed.

Without watching the film to the end, Henry and Liza fell asleep. Konstantin lay beside Elizabeth, not permitting himself to sleep, but also not disturbing her slumber. "This is unbearable. She is at a distance of several centimeters, and at the same time an insurmountable space divides us," Kostya thought during his sleeplessness. A couple of times he resolved to end his torment, take Henry and go home. But he understood that this would not repeat itself, and did not hasten to interrupt his sweet suffering. He simply lay beside her, breathing in the scent of her perfume. "This is all wrong, this is her boyfriend's apartment, I cannot sleep here," Kostya grew angry at himself. This thought utterly crushed him. He rose, abruptly woke Henry, informing him at four o'clock in the morning that it was time to go home. Then very gently woke his sleeping beauty. The drowsy Elizabeth bid farewell to her friends and closed the door behind them.

The friends were approaching the house. Henry turned to Konstantin, and still half-asleep himself, quietly uttered: "I agree, come what may. You are right, we have nothing to lose." Kostya heard Henry's words and silently nodded his head.

It seemed Kostya had scarcely closed his eyes when a phone call woke him.

"Have you seen what time it is? You just had time off! Where are you? Where is the financial report? Have you seen the cash book, there's error upon error. A month has passed, and the cashier still understands nothing! And if the tax authorities come, will you pay the fine?" the voice screamed in the receiver. Kostya listened patiently to everything, and then said in a weak voice:

"Yaroslav Vladimirovich, I strongly recommend you change your tone, I am not your slave and never have been..."

"What?!..." the employer began to grow angry.

"That is firstly, and secondly I no longer work for you, my resignation is on my former desk," and in the same quiet voice he finished the conversation, "do not call me again, goodbye." Konstantin hung up.