– Stay where you are, Svetlana! – Ludmila hurried up to stop her. How are you feeling?
Svetlana didn’t answer.
– Don’t worry; we brought all the snacks with us. We’ll stay here for a while, celebrate with you, and keep on going. Svetlana, please say something.
– I haven’t prepared anything, Lyudmila, – Svetlana answered quietly, not opening her eyes.
– Oh, we don’t need anything; we just came over to see you. I hope it is a good idea. To be honest, I didn’t want to bother you, but Vadim took an effort to talk me into that.
«What is going on with me? – Svetlana was puzzled. – It is not a right way to treat people who love and respect you. I have always been distant from my colleagues and people perceive me as an arrogant person. Some are offended by me, some don’t even talk to me and some treat me with coldness. Oh God! I have never noticed that before. I could not understand why all relatives and colleagues turn away from me; I am a good person and a good teacher. I feel so guilty right now! God, forgive me!
– I hope you are not offended by me; – Svetlana gave Ludmila a hug. – I haven’t given you a proper welcoming…
– Of course not! I totally understand that you are having hard time and it is not easy for you…
A tear ran over Ludmila’s cheek.
– Ludmila, I love you very much too! Probably, like one can love a sister. I am very sorry for my actions…
Svetlana shed a tear too, – more from happiness then from the disparity.
– Everyone misses you at school! You are being waited for, despite the holidays. Everyone is worried and concerned for you, – told Ludmila, mopping the tears off. She calmed down, inhaled air and said:
– As if I knew I would be crying. I didn’t apply any make up on, it would all be smudged off now if I did.
Svetlana didn’t answer – she was mopping the tears off.
– All right, I’ll go to set the table it is almost 11 pm…
Ludmila took another look in the mirror, fixed her curly fair hair, and charmingly smiled. She had impressive gray-blue eyes, beautifully shaped lips and accurate nose. «I don’t even need make-up»! – said Ludmila to herself. Standing up from the couch and leaving Svetlana by herself, she proceeded to the kitchen. She understood very well how low Svetlana felt at the moment…
– Would you like to sit here or in the living room?
– Don’t worry Vadim; of course we’ll sit in the living room as usual. Svetlana is all right. If you don’t understand, she is a different person now.
– All right Arthur, let’s move the table. Ladies need to start setting it up, time is running fast.
– We need to light up the New Year tree and turn on the video recorder. Are you planning to record the concert?
Svetlana didn’t want to stand up from the couch, but didn’t want to stay on it either. Stomach stopped hurting, so she enjoyed a feeling of wellness and tired to feel every cell in her body. Relaxed, she regulated her breath and listened her heartbeat. She was satisfied that she didn’t even have a fever. Energy was missing, but doing things slow helped. Svetlana got distracted from her thoughts by the kiss on the lips. She enjoyed it and, wanting more, moved closer to her husband.
– Are you going to change clothing, Svetlana?
She kissed him again and said:
– We are not going anywhere, so what for?
– Oh, I just asked for what you want.
– I want you to be near me all the time.
