Boomerang of Happiness - 19

In about a week after Anna started working, Colonel Grushevsky came to visit Alex at the station in the afternoon and said almost immediately after the greeting, as if he needed to unload this off his shoulders, “I’m sorry, Alex, but I’ll have to let Anna go.”

“What?” Alex asked, shocked. “She just started working!”

“Exactly, and she already managed to alienate the entire accounting department.”

“What do you mean? How?”

“Well, they complain that she talks too much and distracts them from working with her non-stop chatter and gossip.”

“C’mon, Gena, like they work there so hard!” Alex exclaimed, quite baffled. He did not notice exactly when he started to call Grushevsky by the shorter informal version of Gennady, but it was a sign of their deepening friendship and trust. “You know that all they do in any accounting department is talk.”

“Well, apparently, Anna talks over and out-chats everyone. They also complain that she is arrogant, and thinks she is smarter than everyone else.”

“Arrogant??? My wife? Are you sure we are talking about the same woman? Chatty, I can agree, but arrogant? She is kind and respectful with everyone.”

“Not according to my accounting staff. I really don’t know what to do in this situation.”

“Please don’t fire her. I can’t imagine what she will do if she stops working and idles at home again.”

Grushevsky furrowed his brows, thinking. “I can understand how difficult it will be for you. But I can’t have my entire accounting department complain to me every day, you know how women are. They can make your life unbearable when they are unhappy. I’ll have to think about what I can do.”

“Thank you, Gena” Alex said, “And if I can do anything, let me know.”

“I’ll tell you what, let’s have a picnic at our house next weekend. I’ll invite everyone. Perhaps if we all get to know each other better, the women will get along.”

“That’s a great idea,” Alex exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically. “It will give us a chance to spend time outside our apartment as well. How can I help with the arrangements?”

“Do you have a good marinate recipe to make shashlik? I have everything for it but it never comes out right for some reason… too tough and chewy…”

“Are you kidding me? My father made the best shashlik in the world, and he taught all of us how to do it. I’ll be happy to share the recipe!” Alex was getting excited about making shashlik, a famous version of barbeque that originated in the Caucasus and spread all over the Soviet Union.

“Great, all I will need to do then is to think about entertainment,” Grushevsky said, also getting excited. “Your being so multitalented, do you play a guitar, by any chance?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Alex said humbly. “I haven’t played in years, though…”

Grushevsky noticed sadness washing over Alex’s face but decided not to ask why. Instead, he said cheerfully, “Excellent, I play a little too, maybe we can make an ensemble.”

They discussed the details for the picnic a little more, such as who will bring drinks and other food, and then Grushevsky suddenly asked, “Tell me, how does it work?”

“How what works?” Alex asked, having lost Grushevsky’s train of thought.

“Your marriage? You two seem so different.”

“Well, maybe opposites attract?” Alex said evasively.

“Maybe, but how do you stand her chatter? It would drive me nuts!”

“Oh, I simply don’t focus on it. Tune out mentally. Kinda like radio in the background.”

“I don’t know how you do it, man. Doesn’t bother you at all?”

“Nope.”

“Well, I guess she found herself a perfect match,” Grushevsky chuckled. “Do you love her?”

“Hmm,” Alex hesitated.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, man, I’m sorry I asked.”

“No, it’s not that. I really don’t know if I love Anna. When we got married, I thought I was falling in love with her, but now I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean, falling in love when you got married? Isn’t that kinda backwards? Aren’t you supposed to fall in love first and then get married?”

“I guess. It’s all so complicated, Gen.”

“Again, if you don’t want to talk about it…”

“No, no, I’m actually glad you asked. I don’t have anyone to talk about this here… all my people are too far away…” Alex said, thinking of Andrey and his mother.

“Well, I’m all ears,” Grushevsky said. “Want some beer? I happen to have a couple of bottles in my car.”

“Would love to. But how about work? It’s only 3 pm.”

“It’s already 3 pm, man. Normal people start wrapping up their workday at this time. But not crazed geniuses like you! Just take a break, like it’s Friday,” Grushevsky said, heading out for his car.

“But it is Friday,” Alex mumbled to himself, looking around his work room.

When Grushevsky came back with the beers, Alex already laid out on his small make-shift table some smoked fish and what was known as “sausage cheese” in the Soviet Union – a strange-looking pale yellow softer cheese product packed like a thick sausage. No one knew what it was made of but it was quite tasty, especially with beer. They sat down, opened their beers, and Alex started his tale with “Years ago, I was madly in love with another woman.”

Grushevsky turned out to be an exceptionally empathetic and understanding listener. When Alex finished his life story with “So, I really don’t know if I’m in love with Anna. And now you know why,” colonel looked into Alex’s eyes and said, “Wow, man, that is complicated indeed.”

“Yeah, sometimes I feel I’m stuck,” Alex said.

“But in a way, it’s also so very simple,” Grushevsky suggested, as if countering himself out loud.

“Yeah? How so?”

“You still have no kids, man. Divorce will be easy. When kids come along, it will be much more complicated.”

“I can’t divorce Anna, it’s out of the question.”

“But why? If you are not sure you love her and feel stuck already, I don’t see how it will get better for you.”

“I am committed to Anna, promised to be with her for the rest of our lives. I guess I’ll have to work on it harder, try and love her more,” Alex said.

“It’s a two-way road, man. Does she love you as much as you think she does? Or is it just the pressure, she just wanted to get married because she was getting old?”

Alex noticed that Grushevsky rarely referred to Anna by name. A clear sign of resentment, he thought, and said, “You are just like my brother Andrey and his wife, they also pressed me, asking if Anna loves me.”

“It’s because we care, man. If you don’t love her and she is with you for convenience, this marriage will be a committed torture for you,” Grushevsky said.

“She tells me she loves me,” Alex said. “Not so often recently, but mostly because I guess I was too hard on her pressing her to find work.”

“And here we are back to work,” Grushevsky said, smirking. “Full circle. Well, at least I now know I can’t fire her, for your sanity, but let’s see what happens. Let’s do that picnic!”

To Part 20

Back to Part 18