“Hello, I seem to be a little late.”
“No, that’s right. I just came up,” Alex answered, and even more embarrassed, hugged Lucy around the waist. “You look great!”
It seemed to him that he had done something wrong and, perhaps, she had joked at him. Alex wanted to see himself from this moment. Suddenly he realized his mistake, he had to buy flowers. “This mistake can be corrected,” thought Alex and boldly said:
“You know, we’ll walk to the square.”
“With pleasure,” answered Lucy and took his arm.
There was a flower market on the market square, where Alex planned to buy flowers. In the street there was a crowd. At 6:00 p.m. everyone was in a hurry from work. Alex took out a pack of cigarettes and smoked eagerly.
“What to talk about? Even there is no one to consult with. And why, in the end, not to tell Lucy one of the books read recently?” Alexey reflected. He was fond of military memoirs and detectives.
“Lucy, do you like detective stories?” Alex asked as politely as possible.
“Yes, I do. I have read the whole Conan Doyle. I even have his complete works.”
Alex realized that according to the detectives, Lucy was more educated, than he and it was pleased, that they had the same tastes.
The road to the square seemed to Alex very long, but there was a lady alongside and this fact brightened up today. He came on a date right from work and felt a little tired. When the light breeze blew in his direction, he sensed that Lucy was emitting a fragrance of good perfume. “Maybe even French ones,” Alex decided.
At the entrance to the market, next to the kiosk “Seeds” was a bright blonde with vases filled with armfuls of peonies. Alex chose five barely begun to blossom white and pink buds. Luce really liked the bouquet, and she looked at the guy with tenderness, feeling that he was the person with whom he could share his sorrows and cares.
He also longed to meet a good, smart, pretty girl. Following the voice of reason, he realized that Lucy was the only one about whom he secretly dreamed.
“Let’s go to the cafe,” Alex decided. “We’ll have a snack and have a drink of juice. I am immediately after work and did not have time to go home to eat. I will pay.”
Offer to drink beer Alex was afraid that Lucy would consider him an avid alcoholic.
“May be it not worth?”
“What nonsense! If you do not want to eat, I’ll order ice cream. Do not you like Popsicle? Especially it is such a heat.”
Alex was right; it was tedious and uninteresting to walk around the streets for a long time. So, the proposal was almost adopted, as by silence he realized that Lucy was ready to agree.
“All right,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “Come on!”
They went to the cafe “Arabella”. A small, extremely clean room was located on one of the busy streets.
“Of course, it would be better to go to a restaurant,” he said.
In his pocket he had only five hundred rubles, and going to a restaurant with this amount was just silly. Lucy knew “Arabella” for a long time and repeatedly visited with her friends. There it was possible cheaply and satisfyingly to eat, sit, talk, listen to music, throwing a coin in the jukebox.
Lovers of strong, spirits were not interested here, as the menu was full of only dry wines and juices. They came here to pass the time. As a rule, this ordinary cafe visited the same people. It was a sort of private youth club.
“It’s good that we came here,” Lucy said, crossing the threshold of the establishment. “Perhaps later, Olga and Irene will appear here, and I will introduce you to them.”
“Do you like it here?” he asked, looking around the room.
“Yes, I do, because I often visited my friends here,” answered Lucy, as she understood that they had chosen the right place to spend time.
“How many respectable personalities,” he continued.
The couple passed between the tables and took a place close to the window. They were served quickly. Alex ordered an entrecote, a salad of tomatoes, Lucy – two bottles of beer. Conversation again went about work.
“Over the past year, I made two business projects. One of them was introduced into production, and with the second there was a delay. The production manager believed that it was necessary to wait, to check all the pros and cons of the new method and only then to put his ‘agree’, ” he talked about his complicated relationship with the production manager.
Alex, in his youth, was impatient to see the fruits of his labor in the business as soon as possible. In Lucy, as in a young specialist, he saw his supporter.
“You know, Lucy, it’s great that we met. I really want you to enjoy our production. We have our own hostel on the banks of the Volga. We can get tickets there, if you want, we’ll go to the next Saturday for two days.”
“No, I’m traveling with friends to the Crimea,” she stressed her independence.
“Very sorry. We’d have a nice weekend there. You can get there on the river boat.”
“Will you wait for my return?” she smiled coquettishly. “I will go to the plant, will go in the camp site as a full member of the team.”
“Come back soon. I’ll miss you, patiently waiting for your return. Write my address and call, I’ll meet.”
Lucy liked the nice guy’s care. She felt like a child next to him. Well, if he wanted so much, she did not mind. However, Lucy has become unaccustomed to any excessive guardianship.
They did not stay in the cafe for long. At nine, Lucy hurried home, citing a headache. He did not want to leave. The music evoked pleasant memories, but she insisted, and they left. At parting, they agreed that Alex would come at the day of departure.
For a week she got ready for the journey, prepared everything she needed, did not even forget to put a notebook in her suitcase with the verses of her friend called “Illumination with Love”. She gave her to read and evaluate when they were resting with Yuri in one company at the cottage. The girlfriend studied at the Faculty of Philology and by lucky coincidence with Lucy in views.
They exchanged telephone numbers, found many common acquaintances and topics for conversation, but they saw each other rarely. Lucy often re-read one poem and again began reciting herself, remembering her former friend, marveling at the name:
Wanderer
Like white clouds,
A wanderer swims along the wave’s bounds.
He forgot peace and sleep.
An eternal wanderer in life he is steep.
Years pass, but again
The harsh truth does not in vain.
He had been forgotten and thrown by all.
Let the violins echo drawl.
The singer is cruel, cold and wavy.
But his bright face is forgotten.
The crown of thorns was heavy.
Forever he will be doting.
Anxiety, doubt, sadness trotted
And passed for him without a trace.
He is only an observer from the distance.
With longing was