Read Online A Million for Eleanor: A Contemporary Story on Love and Money by Danil Rudoy - Free Book Online

he didn’t even know what element has the heaviest atoms.”
    “Did you talk to him?”
    “Of course. After that he started to give my sister lower grades.”
    “Richard, you’re a grotesque misanthrope!”
    “I hate people only because they don’t deserve a better attitude. Give me a republic run by a philosopher, and I will love its every citizen.”
    “What if there are no artists among them? You’re contradicting yourself, Mr. Socrates.”
    “I don’t. Literature and philosophy are two sublimations of the necessity to create. The only difference is the goals they pursue: literature brings beauty into the world, and philosophy tries to make beautiful the world itself.”
    “Why, then, did Plato banish poets from his ideal city?”
    “All he wanted was to get rid of mercenary bastards who composed false praises. In those times poetry was the main type of mass media shaping public opinions as much as television does today. And, as it always happens, the freedom of speech quickly grew into the freedom of lie.”
    She didn’t say anything, and for a while he stared at the road, tapping on the steering wheel.
    “You know, I really missed this,” he said suddenly.
    “What?”
    “Such dialogues. Did you notice we talk just like we always used to?”
    “ You do: I simply react.”
    “No, your contribution is greater. You give me inspiration and don’t put any limits on me.”
    “What limits?”
    “Intellectual indifference. You really are perfect for me. You have always been so indifferent to me romantically you could lend me all of your intelligence. Your presence made me ponder finest philosophical matters, and I knew I could voice any conclusion without fearing to face your prejudice. Imagine, though, what would others think if they overheard us?”
    “That you should be locked up as soon as possible?”
    “I’m not talking about the facts. People would think they’re reading a novel. No one would believe this conversation happened in real life, yet we never talk otherwise. What would always happen in college when we ate together and had others join us? Those you weren’t involved with, I mean? They all would fall out of the talking within a minute because no one could keep up with us.”
    “Is it really that much of a problem to find someone to talk to?”
    “Depends on what you want to talk about. My disadvantage is that I spend most of the time with people who consider themselves rich. You have no idea how disgusting they are. They all think they are the most precious things that ever happened in the world and won’t realize their worthlessness even on the deathbed. And, on top of everything, they honestly take themselves for good people.”
    “You consider yourself better than they, don’t you?”
    Her voice betrayed sarcasm, but he anticipated the question.

“Of course. Compare me to a man who killed his wife’s lover. Has he done a bad deed? Absolutely. But is he as bad as a psychopath who kills for fun?”
    “How many people did you kill?” Eleanor said suddenly, this time taking him by surprise.
    “Why? Are you afraid I will kill you ?”
    She didn’t reply.
    “Don’t you know that I always keep my word even when it is easier not to?” he continued after a little pause. “I have promised the money would become yours upon giving a consent, and it’s yours. I wouldn’t even touch the valises, but your place wasn’t safe, and you’d find them too heavy to carry. Speaking of which: do you know how much a million dollars weighs?”
    “No.”
    “Remember, once we ended up in the same class on macroeconomics? I still don’t understand what we were doing there: a philosopher who read half the European literature in the original, and a philologist whose favorite writer was Plato.”
    “The only thing I remember about it is that I wrote the final exam until three a.m. and still nearly failed it.”
    “I almost did, too, although I was the first one to submit it. Do you recall