Fedorov saw Tatiana and Gleb enter the dressing-room together, but Svetlov soon came out alone and he didn’t look happy, one might even say that he was extremely puzzled.

“Gleb, come in, we need to talk”, Mikhail motioned to the open door of his office.

“The boss is going to knock some sense into me now”, grumbled Svetlov to himself, but, putting on the most benevolent of smiles, he entered the open door.

“Gleb, I know I have no right to interfere with your private life, but you are too young and inexperienced. I’m afraid that you are still not familiar with some of life’s copybook maxims. Sit down and listen to what I’m going to say. You are too young; you’ve still got all your life to live. I respect your talent and your intellect, but I’d like to warn you about the consequences of the hasty marriage to the woman you don’t love. Whether you will be able to live together or not is not the most important thing in life. If you get sick of each other you’ll just run apart, it’s no big deal. But, just imagine… if you have a baby. A family is not only a man and a woman who eat and sleep together. The purpose of a family is procreation. And this is the meaning of life, which is still beyond your reach.” Fedorov put all his actor’s talent and soul into this eloquent speech. He was looking at Svetlov, trying to understand whether he had managed to knock some sense into him.

One had to do justice to Gleb. He was listening very attentively to the speech of his mentor and rival in his fiancee’s bed. Fedorov stopped talking. Gleb was silent for a while, then he turned around with his whole body and began rapping out the words, trying to sound as calm as possible.

“Don’t you understand that I can’t stand back? I promised to marry her and I will! This is the problem. If she renounces the marriage, it will be her choice, not mine.”

Gleb shook his head apathetically. His morning elation had gradually melted away, leaving only a bitter regret and a bunch of autumn leaves behind the window, which the warm wind was tossing and throwing around lazily. Svetlov stood up, still looking in Mikhail’s eyes, and abruptly left the room.

When the door behind the young man closed, Fedorov gave vent to his feelings and even banged his hand on the table, “what am I to do with these stubborn mules? I’ll have to take more radical actions.”

The old railway platform at Ivanovo station reeked of wet dust, mold and engine oil. The passengers with their baggage were leaving the train cars and heading for the Station Square. The autumn drizzle rippled the puddles, washed the remaining leaves on lime-trees with stale moisture, and smudged gray brown dust on the yellow walls of the old railway station. The water trickling down the building wall made a black crack in the corner of the building come to life. The piece of plastered wall was becoming increasingly wetter and looked ready to crash down onto the people bustling below.

After a very successful move to Leningrad, Nelly had to return to her mom in Ivanovo, where nothing had changed. The squelching water under the feet of people complimented the melancholy music of the autumn rain. Nelly breathed in the soggy air and felt her shoulders chill under her wet coat. She was freezing; a headache had been torturing her since the night. The girl readjusted the bulky bag on her shoulder, and lifted the heavy suitcase which was standing in the puddle. Her feet were totally wet through and her hands were numb with cold. She cast a furtive look at Victor, her new husband. He was moving fast by her side and seemed to be ignoring her completely, pretending to be a total stranger. Everything had been going so well. They could stay to live in Leningrad in a separate apartment, but Victor was dismissed suddenly due to poor health and Nelly was dismissed with him.