“Your turn,” my mother-in-law said, sliding the 132,000-ruble bill toward me. I silently put on my coat and left the restaurant.
Inside a black leather folder lay a bill for 132,400 rubles. The waitress, wearing a polite yet completely empty smile, placed it precisely between Lena’s plate and her mother-in-law’s half-eaten tartare. Thirty people were seated around the table. The air was thick with heavy floral perfume, cognac, and roasted lamb. Galina Ivanovna dabbed her lips […]
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