– Sorry, the Doctor is busy right now.
"I'm sorry, I…"
– So, Vera Klimova. The Doctor has already signed the documents for your discharge.
"I just wanted to say thanks and say goodbye."
– The doctor has a consultation right now, I'm sorry, you can't see him.
Vera had already turned to leave when the communicator on the secretary's desk asked for two coffees in the voice of the chief doctor.
"And juice, please, I need fresh juice," the voice on the speakerphone said with a loud laugh.
– Daria, bring two coffees and fresh orange juice, please.
– Of course, Doctor.
– Vera? – the secretary has already left the table and addressed the girl, – Can I help you with anything else?
"No, no, thank you. Tell me, who is in the Doctor”s office now?
– This is closed information, – Daria shrugged her shoulders and danced to make coffee and fresh orange juice on perfectly long and straight legs for her boss and Arina, Oleg's wife.
Vika made herbal tea with berries, put the tray on the small coffee table, and sat down on the sofa next to Vera.
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Are you going to be silent for a long time?" What happened?
– Nothing. All right.
Vika nodded and went into the hall.
"Where are you going?" Vera got up weakly from the sofa and threw off the blanket, shivering, although there was no temperature.
– Home.
– Vika, wait, and tea?
Always temperamental and cheerful friend exploded like a bomb:
– Tea? What kind of tea, Vera? You're in a clinic, you've had fainting spells, surgery, and abortion, which, by the way, is not listed in this statement. It's listed in the history of your medicine cabinet. What the hell, friend? Are you a normal person? Why don't I know anything?
Vicka's green eyes burned with righteous fire. She was standing in the corridor in one boot and an unbuttoned raincoat. She was angry, brave, and beautiful.
"Vic, I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you, it's embarrassing and painful.
"So I'm a stranger to you?"
– No, not a stranger, sorry, – Vera sighed and trudged to the sofa, she took the cup and took a small sip, then resolutely took a deep breath.
Vika listened with her mouth open, still sitting on the sofa in her raincoat, her boot in her hands, having forgotten to take it to the corridor. Vera told about Oleg, about their secret affair, which lasts more than a year, told about the abortion, about travel, about calls from his wife, meeting, and events of the last days.
Twilight faded into the late evening, and then into the night. The girls were sitting on the sofa, one occasionally crying and falling silent, while the other only nodded sympathetically and shook her head.
Vera finished her story and covered her face with her hands. She felt ease and lightness as if a heavy stone that had been pressing her to the ground fell from her shoulders. A secret affair with a married man was no longer just her secret.
But for some reason, Vika was more interested in his wife’s charitable actions than in Oleg.
"Vera, dear, this is not the worst thing, believe me. We all make mistakes. You're still young, but I'm five years older than you, and I once slept with a married man.
Vera looked at her friend gratefully. She knew that Vika was telling all this to comfort her, but saint Vika, the mother of an equally fair four-year-old beauty daughter and the wife of a famous Moscow lawyer, could not be….
