4
Pascal was waiting for me in the café on Pushkin Square. He sat right by the window and saw me as I was approaching the café. He waved cheerfully. Damn him… damn him to hell.
By then I had dropped Max off at his relatives’. We agreed to reconnect on the phone after lunch and meet up again later. Max wanted to tell me something. I know what his talks led to. We would have to move around the city and drink at every stop. And then, as soon as he took a drink, he would start dialing his old hometown friends now living Moscow. And they’d be happy to hear from him. And even if they weren’t happy… they’d still come. Saying no to Max was impossible.
I felt as though I shouldn’t have treated Max like this. To hell with his beard… No, the beard was awful, but the way I behaved… Anyway, it wasn’
