Five

Mikhail woke up and didn’t immediately understand where he was. The apartment definitely wasn’t his, but then last night came to mind, and he calmed down. A minute later, he got up from the couch and wandered to where the kitchen was supposed to be. A very pleasant smell came from there, and a few seconds later, upon entering the room, Osipov realized that these were pancakes. And not the kind they make in America, but Russian, “real” ones. - Good morning. - Hello. — Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. Go wash yourself for now. Down the corridor and to the left. Indeed, the bathroom was right there. Misha bent over the elaborate sink, turned on the cold water and put his face under the stream. The drowsiness went away immediately. After drying himself with some white towel, the man went back to the kitchen. Milena was already putting breakfast on plates. - How many pancakes do you need? - Well, probably three. - If you’re not full, I’ll give you five. They sat down at the table. The girl cooked beautifully, the pancakes turned out divine. Especially with sour cream. He hasn’t eaten like this for a long time. Having finished the meal, Osipov went to the sink, put his plate there and was about to wash it, but he was interrupted. - I’ll wash it. - OK, thank you. It was delicious. — My grandmother taught me to cook. She made it even tastier. - Um, I guess I’ll go. - Don’t you want to stay a little longer? - Sorry, I need to get ready for lessons. Milena laughed. - You’re not a schoolboy! - I’am a teacher. - Ah, got it! Okay, I don’t dare detain you. But maybe we can exchange numbers? - Come on. And, this… Contact me if anything happens. The girl just laughed at Osipov’s awkwardness. - You too. I’ll call you as soon as I can arrange your meeting with Peskarev. - Thank you. See you. - See you. *** Misha quickly flew home. It seems that some child noticed him, but he did not pay attention to it. Having changed his clothes, Mikhail went outside again and went to his favorite park. It was spring then. It was still a little cool, so Misha pulled the collar of his coat higher. A beautiful view met his eyes. Nature blossomed. Flowers were already growing here and there. But in summer it is even more beautiful here. Misha knew this. And for the first time in all his visits to this place, he drew a parallel with his life. Especially lately. He was desperate. He thought that his friend had become a traitor. But now everything has changed. Now he knows that Roma is an honest person, that he is loyal to the Motherland and honors their friendship. And Misha is ready to fight. How nature is ready to fight winter. Spring is victory over death, over suffering. A new life begins. Yesterday’s conversation gave Mikhail new food for thought. He found out exactly who was denigrating Roma, and he had the opportunity to get to know this scoundrel, get to know him, and identify his weak points. This was understandable. The question remained: should Roma be involved in all this? I don’t even know. I don’t want to stress him out. But he can help. He knows the psychology of people. We need to visit him again. We need to find out the situation. On the same day, Osipov called a friend. - Hello, Rom. - Misha?! Glad to see you. Something happened? - No, I just thought, would you like me to come to you next week? - Want! Can you do it on Saturday? I understand that on other days you are busy. - Okay, let’s go on Saturday. - I’m already waiting. *** On Monday, Misha almost forgot to tell his class about the excursion. Fortunately, I didn’t forget. Tuesday morning was spent getting ready. Some boy was late, a girl thought she had lost her phone, two guys almost got lost… But, in general, the excursion went well. Even Osipov was interested. All the way back we discussed what we saw and heard. The rest of the working days were uneventful. Everything went as usual. At exactly noon on Saturday, Misha crossed the threshold of a friend’s apartment. He looked very tired, bags under his eyes “decorated” his face. But when he saw Mikhail, he beamed and rushed to hug him. Strange. He lost a lot of weight. It wasn’t all that great, but now… Something happened. We need to find out urgently. - What’s happened? - Slack at work. - And to be honest? - Can not say. - Okay, shut up. - Shall we go to the living room? - As you say. As soon as they reached the sofa, Roma collapsed on it. Misha looked at his friend with concern. He explained: - Very tired. I haven’t slept for the second day. Kostylev looked at Mikhail with such an unhappy look that he immediately understood: he must not involve Roma in all this. Misha must cope on his own. - Can you cook dinner, Mish? Otherwise I have nothing… - Yes, sure. What do you want? - Don’t know. What are you good at? - Will you have some stew? - Yes. You will find everything you need in the refrigerator. Mikhail went to the kitchen, leaving his friend in the living room. Thoughts about Roma still haunted him. That’s bad. I need to go see him again this week. Otherwise it will completely wither away. What’s happening to him? Maybe he found out about Peskarev’s actions? We need to ask. You can call Milena. About forty minutes later, dinner was ready, and Misha called his friend into the kitchen. He didn’t appear right away. Slowly, staggering, he entered and sat down on the nearest chair. Osipov put the plates on the table and sat down opposite. They started eating. - Rom, tell me everything. - Don’t worry… I’ll really get better soon… Everything will be fine. - Rom. - Is it true. - OK. Does this have something to do with Peskarev? - A little. He is trying to persuade the American government not to enter into a treaty with me. And Russia really needs it. - It’s clear. Eat. In the end, it was noticeable that Kostylev was eating through force, but still eating. Having finished, he stood up. - Thank you, you cook well. Should I go take a nap? - Certainly! - Goodbye then. If you don’t stay, I have second keys, you can take them on the nightstand. - Go. Left alone, Misha left. When he finished, he went to his friend’s bedroom. He was already asleep. After sitting on his bed for a while, he quietly got up, got dressed and left. *** The first thing Mikhail did when he got home was to call Milena. - Hello, Mish. - Good afternoon. When was the last time you saw Roma? - Day before yesterday. And what happened? - How did he feel? - I was tired. But not just to look terrible… - Today or tomorrow go to see him. - Has he gotten worse? - Much. - Okay, I’ll visit you today. - Yes, by the way, how is it with Peskarev? - Oh yes. There will be some sort of banquet next week. He will be there. In fact, that’s what suits him. This is what I came up with: you and I are similar in some ways, hair color, for example. - And what? - We can pretend to be brother and sister. People don’t know a lot about me, but I do have a brother, although he’s in Russia, but who cares! Basically, pretend to be him. Got it? - Yes good idea. - We’ll discuss the details later. I went to Roma. - You don’t have to rush. He’s sleeping. - Sure? - Absolutely. Listen, did you tell him about the reason for your coldness? - Yes. And we reached an understanding. - This is good. Now he needs help more than ever. And it’s emotional. Come see him more often, okay? I will try too. - Understood. Okay, let’s call you. - Bye. Having finished the call, Misha put the phone aside. At least something makes me happy. I can get to know the enemy. But now we need to go to Roma more often. You can’t leave him alone.