«Andrew, have you seen my blue scarf? The one you gave me last New Year’s?» Marina carefully sifted through the items in the closet, pretending to be very concerned about her search.
«Look on the top shelf, behind the boxes,» Andrew called from the kitchen. «You put it there after the last… business trip.»
Marina froze. There was a strange intonation in her husband’s voice. Or was it her imagination? Over fifteen years of marriage, they had learned to catch the slightest nuances in each other’s voices. But they had also mastered the art of pretending not to notice anything.
«Found it!» she exclaimed joyfully a minute later. «Indeed, behind the boxes. You have an amazing memory for such things.»
«Professional habit,» Andrew smirked, entering the room with two cups of coffee. «A long-haul trucker can’t get by without a good memory. You need to remember all the routes, all the turns, all the stops…»
«And all the excuses,» Marina added silently, but aloud she said something entirely different:
«Imagine, they’re sending me on a business trip to Petrozavodsk. Right before New Year’s! The management insists on personal attendance, they say we need to finalize the annual report before the holidays.»
She meticulously packed her suitcase, avoiding looking her husband in the eyes. In reality, there was no annual report. There was Igor — a regional manager from Nizhny Novgorod, whom she had met three years ago at a corporate event. Since then, they had met every few months under the guise of business trips.
«What a coincidence!» Andrew sat on the edge of the bed, handing his wife a cup of coffee. «And I need to go to Kazan. Urgent cargo, the client demands delivery by the twenty-ninth.»
Marina barely smiled. She knew there was no urgent cargo. There was a phone, forgotten by her husband in the kitchen three months ago. There were messages from a certain Nastya, a dispatcher from Kazan. There were photos, which Marina had scrolled through before putting the phone back in its place. Since then, she knew exactly where her husband really went when he chose routes through Kazan.
«How long do you plan to be on your business trip?» Andrew asked casually.
«I think I’ll be back on the twenty-ninth,» Marina replied. «We need to be ready for the holiday. And you?»
«I’ll also try to wrap things up by the twenty-ninth.»
They looked at each other and smiled. Each knew the other was lying. Marina had a hotel room booked at the «Zarechye» until the thirtieth, and Andrew planned to spend a few days at Nastya’s country house.
That evening, they sat in the kitchen, drinking tea and discussing plans for New Year’s. The conversation flowed easily and naturally — over the years, they had learned to maintain the appearance of a perfect family.
«Maybe we should invite your parents for the holidays?» Marina suggested.
«They’re going to my sister’s in Sochi,» Andrew shook his head. «And yours?»
«My brother had a baby; they’re going to him in St. Petersburg.»
Both felt relieved — no need to invent additional excuses for the relatives…
In the cozy warmth of the train compartment, Marina settled by the window, took out a book and a blanket. There were ten minutes left until departure. Outside, figures of hurrying passengers flashed by, snippets of conversations and announcements from the dispatcher were heard.
«Excuse me, is this your bag?» a female voice called from the corridor. «It seems to have been left at the entrance to the wagon.»
«No, mine is with me,» a male voice replied, sounding vaguely familiar to Marina. «Let me help you find your compartment.»
Marina froze. That voice… It couldn’t be! She slowly lifted her eyes from the book just as the compartment door opened.
In the doorway stood Andrew. Next to him was a young woman in an elegant beige coat. Marina immediately recognized her as the same Nastya from the photos on her husband’s phone. In real life, she was even more beautiful — tall, slender, with wavy red hair and expressive green eyes.
For several seconds, all three silently looked at each other. Time seemed to stop, stretching this moment into eternity.
«What a meeting!» Marina was the first to break the silence, trying to speak calmly although her heart was ready to jump out of her chest. «Weren’t you supposed to be going to Kazan?»
«I…» Andrew shifted his gaze between his wife and Nastya, looking confused. A whole range of emotions was reflected on his face—surprise, fear, bewilderment, shame.
«The route changed at the last minute,» he finally managed to say.
«And I thought you were supposed to be driving the truck,» Marina said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. «Urgent cargo, you said?»
At that moment, a tall man in an expensive dark blue coat peered into the compartment.
«Sorry for being late,» he said. «Marishka, I got held up at a meeting…»
Now it was Andrew’s turn to raise his eyebrows in surprise. He immediately knew who this man was.
«Igor,» the newcomer introduced himself, surveying the strange company. «And this is…»
«This is my husband, Andrew,» Marina said calmly. «And his… colleague?»
«Nastya,» the red-haired beauty quietly introduced herself.
At that moment, the conductor peeked into the compartment:
«Your tickets, please. There seems to be some confusion with the seats.»
All four of them simultaneously extended their tickets. The conductor carefully examined them and shook her head in confusion:
«Strange, but you all have tickets for the same seats. This sometimes happens before the holidays; the reservation system glitches. I’ll have to reseat you in different compartments.»
«No need,» Marina suddenly said firmly. «Let’s all stay here and talk. I think we have things to discuss. Nobody objects, right?»
She looked at her husband. Something akin to relief flickered in his eyes.
«Indeed,» he agreed. «Since fate has brought us all together in one compartment…»
Igor and Nastya exchanged glances. Doubt was evident on their faces, but they didn’t object.
The conductor shrugged and left. The train slowly started moving. Four people, connected by invisible threads of lies and secret meetings, were left alone in the cramped space of the compartment.
«So,» Marina leaned back in her seat. «We have four hours ahead. Maybe it’s time to speak frankly?»
The first few minutes in the compartment were oppressively silent. The clacking of the wheels counted the seconds of awkward silence. Igor took out his phone and pretended to read his emails. Nastya nervously fiddled with a pendant on her necklace. Andrew looked out the window at the passing winter landscapes. Marina flipped through the pages of her book, not really reading.
«How long?» she suddenly looked up and asked, staring at Nastya.
«Four years,» Nastya quietly replied. «We met when his truck broke down near Kazan.»
«And you?» Andrew looked at Igor.
«Three years ago, at a corporate event in the city.»
«Interesting,» Marina smirked. «Turns out, we both started looking elsewhere around the same time.»
«And what were you looking for?» Igor suddenly asked. «You seem to live well enough…»
«Well enough,» Andrew nodded. «Exactly that. Too well. Like clockwork. Get up, have breakfast, go to work, come home, have dinner, go to sleep. Day after day, year after year.»
«I was missing emotions,» Marina confessed. «Once, Andrew and I could talk for hours. Then our conversations dwindled to discussing bills and plans for the weekend.»
«And I was missing understanding,» Andrew added. «Marina never asked how the road was, wasn’t worried if I was late…»
«Because I knew where you really were,» Marina interrupted him. «I saw messages from Nastya on your phone three months ago.»
«And I found a receipt from the ‘Zarechye’ hotel in your purse,» Andrew countered. «And photos with Igor on your phone.»
«And all this time you kept silent?» Nastya asked in surprise.
«What is there to say?» Marina shrugged. «Dear, I know you’re cheating on me, but it’s okay, I’m not sinless either?»
«It was easier to pretend nothing was happening,» Andrew added. «We were well set up. Everyone had their own life, their little joys…»
«Little joys,» Marina echoed. «And the big ones? Remember, we dreamed of buying a house in the country? Getting a dog? Traveling together?»
«I remember,» Andrew replied softly. «Every time I pass by cottage settlements, I think about it.»
«And every time I see ads for house sales, I imagine how we could be living there…»
Igor and Nastya exchanged glances. Suddenly, they felt like outsiders in this conversation.
«You know,» Nastya began slowly, «Andrei and I never talked about the future. Only about the present.»
«And Marina and I didn’t either,» Igor added. «Probably because deep down we understood: these relationships had no future.»
«Do we have one?» Marina suddenly asked her husband, looking at him. «A future, I mean?»
Andrei was silent for a long time, looking out the window. Then he turned to his wife:
«Remember how we met? You missed the last train, and I offered to drive you on my old ‘nine’.»
«I remember,» Marina smiled. «It even stalled halfway, and we spent three hours on the roadside, talking about everything under the sun.»
«Exactly. We could talk about everything. And then… we just unlearned how to.»
«Maybe it’s not too late to learn again?» Marina asked quietly.
At that moment, the train began to slow down. The first lights of Nizhny Novgorod appeared outside the window.
«I’ll go,» said Igor, standing up. «Marina, I’m sorry, but I think it’s better for you not to come anymore.»
«And you forgive me, Andrei,» Nastya added. «Perhaps we all need to stop before we go too far.»
On the platform, Marina and Andrei stood silently for a long time, watching Igor and Nastya walk away. Passengers hurried by, porters clanged with suitcases, announcements sounded.
«Shall we go home?» Andrei finally asked.
«What about your cargo in Kazan?»
«There was no cargo. Just like your annual report.»
«I know,» Marina took her husband’s hand. «You know, I saw a great house for sale in the Istrinsky district. Two-story, with a plot. And you can keep a dog there…»
«A big one?» Andrei smiled.
«Very. And there’s a garage there for your truck.»
They bought tickets for the next train to the city. On the way, they talked—a lot, sincerely, like in the first years of acquaintance. About the foolish things they had done. About how they were afraid of losing what remained. About how they really missed each other all these years.
Six months later, they really bought that same house in the Istrinsky district. They got a German Shepherd. They began to spend more time together. Marina sometimes met Andrei from his trips with a homemade dinner, and he learned to ask how her day went.
They realized that in fifteen years they had become more to each other than just spouses—they had become a family. They became close people who could forgive, understand, and start anew. And that turned out to be more important than any fleeting passions.
And that strange and seemingly absurd encounter on the train became their family story, which they sometimes recalled, sitting in the evenings on the veranda of their new home. A story about how chance helped them find each other again and realize that the most important thing they had already found long ago. They just needed to learn to appreciate it.
