Read Online Love Is Never Past Tense... by Janna Yeshanova - Free Book Online
Authors: Janna Yeshanova
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him, promptly dissolved into nonexistence …
It was long past midnight, after they’d wandered the streets of the falling-asleep Odessa, when they sat down on a small narrow bench on a lonely side street. The dark green mass of the trees completely hid them from the light of the lanterns. Janna stretched her legs, playing with the tips of her shoes. Her feet were small, not matching her height, which gave an aristocratic flair to the line of her foot. The miniature shoe and thin ankle would look graceful from under the folds of a long dress at some ball, a hundred and fifty years ago. A tall, shapely figure with a deep décolleté would be irresistible. Languid eyes and a wide, white-toothed smile would battle any suitor on the spot. Serge imagined himself as the duelist shooting away each contender. The right to possess such a woman is not cheap, and it is necessary to work hard to receive this right.
“This is my groom!” The phrase rung like a bell and was echoing in his brain. What drivel! The thin young man with long yellow hair looked like a chick that just hatched from an egg. He jumped a little bit around and landed in the embrace of a magnificent lady. And turned into her husband! It was simply a fairy tale about Ivanushka-Durachok. 21 Serge clapped his knees, then got up and started walking back and forth. He was going to tell her that he felt very good with her, and that he had no desire to separate from her now, or in the future. He considered that spending two days with such a girl was already a great success in his life. He was glad and, maybe even happy, though he imagined poorly what it meant to be happy with a woman. He was grateful to her … But instead of telling her all this, he told an absurd joke about a flock of metal files which flew to the South, and one did not make it because it had no handles. Then he told her about the crocodile that crept over the railroad tracks. A train ran over him and the crocodile ascertained that his butt already arrived. Then Serge understood that he would not say anything about his confused feelings to her. And what for? The night was young, and he could kiss the chic young lady next to him if he wanted to—and if he didn’t, then he wouldn’t. Enjoy the moment—it may disappear. Why stir yourself up with vast reflections? Are you feeling good?—Good!
There comes such an easygoing feeling, and not because you are in love and you have love in return, but because you are not burdened with anything. The brain is free from cares. And you too are free, and you can choose to leave at any minute. And you can choose to stay …
Serge remained. Like a cavalryman, he straddled a bench and … My God! His excellent Azerbaijan trousers burst directly on the seam, actually splitting his trousers into two pants legs. Janna, hearing the sound of ripping fabric, roared with laughter. And when Serge showed her the ripped butt, she slipped off the bench, and filled the silence with loud laughter. Laughing, they tied her suede handbag to his waist so that it hung behind and covered the breach.
Certainly, to dangle in the streets in such attire was not desirable. Serge looked at the time, and it was half past two in the morning.
“Do you intend to go to your George?”
“Why not?”
“So do you feel like going there?”
“No. What are you offering?”
“To go to my place.”
“Then, let’s go …”
Serge was stupefied. Actually, he did not count on such an answer, and now the thoughts in his head were chasing and replacing each other: night, a bed, a sofa, two rooms. In one room, his cousin slept with a child. In another one—him. There was one bed, and on it he slept—that means …
They stood at a dark entrance, and Serge, thief-like, slowly opened the doors. In the apartment, there was a dead silence. The only sound came from the kitchen faucet, where water dripped like the ticking of a water clock. On tiptoe Serge made his way to his room, through it—to
It was long past midnight, after they’d wandered the streets of the falling-asleep Odessa, when they sat down on a small narrow bench on a lonely side street. The dark green mass of the trees completely hid them from the light of the lanterns. Janna stretched her legs, playing with the tips of her shoes. Her feet were small, not matching her height, which gave an aristocratic flair to the line of her foot. The miniature shoe and thin ankle would look graceful from under the folds of a long dress at some ball, a hundred and fifty years ago. A tall, shapely figure with a deep décolleté would be irresistible. Languid eyes and a wide, white-toothed smile would battle any suitor on the spot. Serge imagined himself as the duelist shooting away each contender. The right to possess such a woman is not cheap, and it is necessary to work hard to receive this right.
“This is my groom!” The phrase rung like a bell and was echoing in his brain. What drivel! The thin young man with long yellow hair looked like a chick that just hatched from an egg. He jumped a little bit around and landed in the embrace of a magnificent lady. And turned into her husband! It was simply a fairy tale about Ivanushka-Durachok. 21 Serge clapped his knees, then got up and started walking back and forth. He was going to tell her that he felt very good with her, and that he had no desire to separate from her now, or in the future. He considered that spending two days with such a girl was already a great success in his life. He was glad and, maybe even happy, though he imagined poorly what it meant to be happy with a woman. He was grateful to her … But instead of telling her all this, he told an absurd joke about a flock of metal files which flew to the South, and one did not make it because it had no handles. Then he told her about the crocodile that crept over the railroad tracks. A train ran over him and the crocodile ascertained that his butt already arrived. Then Serge understood that he would not say anything about his confused feelings to her. And what for? The night was young, and he could kiss the chic young lady next to him if he wanted to—and if he didn’t, then he wouldn’t. Enjoy the moment—it may disappear. Why stir yourself up with vast reflections? Are you feeling good?—Good!
There comes such an easygoing feeling, and not because you are in love and you have love in return, but because you are not burdened with anything. The brain is free from cares. And you too are free, and you can choose to leave at any minute. And you can choose to stay …
Serge remained. Like a cavalryman, he straddled a bench and … My God! His excellent Azerbaijan trousers burst directly on the seam, actually splitting his trousers into two pants legs. Janna, hearing the sound of ripping fabric, roared with laughter. And when Serge showed her the ripped butt, she slipped off the bench, and filled the silence with loud laughter. Laughing, they tied her suede handbag to his waist so that it hung behind and covered the breach.
Certainly, to dangle in the streets in such attire was not desirable. Serge looked at the time, and it was half past two in the morning.
“Do you intend to go to your George?”
“Why not?”
“So do you feel like going there?”
“No. What are you offering?”
“To go to my place.”
“Then, let’s go …”
Serge was stupefied. Actually, he did not count on such an answer, and now the thoughts in his head were chasing and replacing each other: night, a bed, a sofa, two rooms. In one room, his cousin slept with a child. In another one—him. There was one bed, and on it he slept—that means …
They stood at a dark entrance, and Serge, thief-like, slowly opened the doors. In the apartment, there was a dead silence. The only sound came from the kitchen faucet, where water dripped like the ticking of a water clock. On tiptoe Serge made his way to his room, through it—to
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