Chapter 7 "Yao Neiqi" IV

Four Four years have passed.Startsev's business in the city was already quite heavy.Every morning, he hurriedly saw the patients on Jiali Day, and then went to the city by car to practice medicine.Now he is not riding in a two-set carriage, but a three-set carriage with many small bells, and he can't get home until late at night every day.He had put on weight and was getting fatter, and he was too lazy to walk because of shortness of breath.Pantelaimon also gained weight, and the more he grew, the more he sighed sadly and complained about his life: the work of driving the carriage was very tiring.

Startsev went to all kinds of houses and met many people, but he had no intimate acquaintance with any of them.The words of the local residents, their views on life, and their appearance all irritated him.Gradually, experience told him: You can play cards, or eat and drink with the locals. At this time, they are calm, kind, and even quite intelligent, but as soon as the topic changes to something other than eating and drinking, such as talking about politics or science, Then they will be dumbfounded, or make an empty, stupid, vicious comment, so that people have to wave their hands and go away.Sometimes Startsev even tried to find some free-thinking locals to talk to, like humans.He said that, thank God, human beings are constantly improving, and that with the passage of time, human beings will one day abolish passports and the death penalty.At this time, the other party looked at him suspiciously with sideways eyes, and asked: "So, people will be able to kill people on the street at will?" Sometimes Startsev said after dinner and wine People should work, and life without work is impossible. Everyone thinks that this is accusing them, and they start to get angry and argue endlessly.In spite of this, the townspeople do nothing, they are not interested in anything, and it is almost impossible to think of anything to talk to them about.Startsev had to avoid all conversations and concentrate on eating, drinking and playing cards.Whenever he came across a certain family having a festive occasion and the host invited him to a table, he would sit down, look at the plate in front of him, and eat and drink in silence.The conversation during the dinner was uninteresting, unreasonable, and boring. He felt angry and excited, but he said nothing.Because of his stern expression, his eyes fixed on his plate, he was nicknamed "The Arrogant Pole" by the townspeople, even though he was not a Pole at all.

He never took part in such entertainments as plays and concerts, but he played "Went" every night for three hours at a time, with great interest.He also has another pastime, which he gradually fell in love with unconsciously: every night, he took out the money he earned from going out to the doctor from his pockets. Some of these yellow, green and green bills smelled of perfume, and some It smells like vinegar, some smells like smoke, and some smells like fish oil.These bills were stuffed randomly in various pockets, sometimes amounting to about seventy rubles.When he has accumulated hundreds of dollars, he will send it to the credit union for survival.

During the four years that Ekaterina Ivanovna was away at school, Startsev visited Turkin's only twice, but at Vera Iosefovna's request to treat her migraine of.Every summer Ekaterina came back for vacation, but he never saw her once, somehow by accident. In this way, four years have passed.On a quiet, warm morning, a letter was delivered to the hospital.The letter was from Vera Iosefovna to Dmitry Yaonecch.The letter said that she missed him very much and asked him to come to relieve her pain.There is a postscript at the bottom of the letter: "I also agree with Mom's invitation. Card."

Starter thought it over and drove to Turkin's in the evening. "Oh, hello, welcome!" Ivan Petrovitch greeted him with a smile on his face. "Pongrudje!"① ① "Pengru" is the transliteration of the French "Hello", and "Jie" is the suffix of the Russian verb.This nondescript language is meant to be amusing. Vera Iosefovna was much older, and her hair was gray.She took Startsev's hand, sighed mockingly, and said: "Doctor, you obviously don't want to pay me any attention. You never come to our house. I am too old for you. But now a young one has come back. Maybe she will be lucky."

And what about Kotik?She had grown thinner, paler, prettier, and more slender.But she was Ekaterina Ivanovna, and not Kodyk: she had lost her former youthfulness and innocence.There was a new expression in her look and manner now—an expression of timid regret, as if here, at the Turkins' house, she were a guest. I haven't seen you for over a year! "As she spoke, she handed Startsev her hand, visibly flustered. She looked at his face attentively and curiously, and continued: "You're getting fatter!You're tanned and stronger, but overall not much has changed. "

Even now he still likes her, likes her very much, but there seems to be something lacking in her, or something more - he can't say exactly what it is, but it prevents him from having the same feelings as before .He didn't like her pale face, her new look, her faint smile, and her voice.After a while he didn't even like her clothes and the armchair she was sitting in, nor did he like the past when he almost wanted to marry her.He thought of the loves, fantasies, and hopes that had thrilled him four years ago, and he felt uncomfortable. Everyone drinks tea and eats desserts.Then Pola Iosefovna read her novels aloud, about things that would never happen in life.Startsev listened, looked at her beautiful white hair, and hoped that she would finish reading soon.

"A man who can't write a novel is not necessarily mediocre," he thought, "a man who can write a novel and can't hide it is stupid." "Really not bad..." said Ivan Petrovitch. Then Ekaterina Ivanovna played the piano loudly and for a long time.After the song was played, everyone thanked her for a long time and praised her full of praise. "It's a good thing I didn't marry her," Startsev thought to himself. She looked at him, apparently expecting him to invite her into the garden, but he was silent. "Let's talk," she said, coming up to him. "How are you doing? What's the news? How's it going? I've been thinking about you these days," she went on excitedly. "I've been wondering I wrote to you and wanted to visit you in person at Jali Day. I decided to go, but then I changed my mind-who knows how you treat me now. Today I am waiting for your call with such agitation. Come. For God's sake, let's go to the garden."

They came to the garden and sat down on the bench under the old maple tree, just as they had done four years ago.It was dark all around. "How are you doing?" asked Ekaterina Ivanovna. "Nothing, as usual," Startsev answered. He could no longer think of what to say.The two fell silent. "I'm very excited at the moment," said Ekaterina Ivanovna, covering her face with her hands, "but please don't mind me. I'm very happy when I get home, I'm very happy to see you all, I Not yet used to it. How much to remember! I think the two of us will go on and on about the morning."

Now he saw her face and shining eyes up close.Here, in the gloom, she looked younger than she had been in the room, as if her face had regained its old childishness.In fact she did look into his face with innocent curiosity, as if wanting to take a closer look and understand this unfortunate man who had loved her so passionately and tenderly.Her eyes were clearly thanking him for his love.He also remembered everything about the past, with all the details: how he wandered in the cemetery, and how he returned to his apartment exhausted in the early hours of the morning.He suddenly became sad, how regretful his past feelings were!The passion within him flickered like a spark.

"Do you remember when I took you to the party at the club?" he said. "It was raining and it was dark..." The passion in his heart is burning, he wants to tell his depression, complain about the helplessness of life... "Ah!" he sighed, "you asked me how I was doing, what can we do here? No way. We grow old, we grow fat, we fall. Days go by, life slips by, lifeless , no impressions, no ideas.... Making money by day and going to clubs by night, surrounded by poker fans, drunks, and hoarse-voiced people, I can't stand it. What's the good in that life?" "But you have a job, and you have a high purpose in life. You used to talk about your hospital. I was a little queer at the time, thinking I was a great pianist. Now all the ladies are playing the piano, and I'm playing too, with Everyone is the same, there is no difference. I am a pianist, just like my mother is a writer. So naturally, I didn't know you at that time, but when I came to Moscow, I often missed you. I just miss you You are alone. What happiness, what happiness, to be a local doctor, to help the suffering, to serve the people!" Ekaterina Ivanovna repeated affectionately, "I miss you in Moscow. When I was with you, I thought you were so perfect, so sublime..." Startsev thought of the joy of drawing many banknotes from pockets every evening, and the passion in his heart was extinguished. He got up and wanted to go back into the house.She took his arm. "You're the nicest person I've ever known in my life," she went on. "We'll see each other a lot, won't we? Promise me. I'm not a pianist, and I've known myself for that, and in your I will no longer play the piano in front of me, and I will no longer talk about music." They entered the house.Seeing her face in the evening light, seeing those sad, grateful, inquisitive eyes fixed on him, Startsev felt uneasy, and thought to himself again: "It's a good thing I didn't marry her." He got up to say goodbye. "According to Roman law, you have no right to leave without supper," said Ivan Petrovitch, seeing him out. "Your attitude is almost vertical. Come on, show me," he said to the parlor in the antechamber. Wat said. At this time, Pava was no longer a child. The young man with mustache put on a ridiculous pose, raised one hand, and said in a sad tone: "Die, you unfortunate woman!" All this made Startsev angry.He got into the carriage, looked at the dark house and garden, at this place he had cherished so dearly, and immediately remembered everything—Vera Iosefovna's novels, Kotik's roaring piano, Ivan Van Petrovich's wisecracks and Pava's posturing made him wonder what would happen to the city if the most talented family in town were so mediocre? Three days later, Pava sent a letter from Ekaterina.The letter reads as follows: You didn't come to see us, why?I am afraid that your attitude towards us has changed, and I am terrified to think of it.Only you can reassure me, come on, tell me you're all right. I must talk to you. Your Ye Tu He read the letter, thought for a while, and said to Pava: "Honey, you go back and say that I'm busy today and I can't go. Just say that I'll go in two or three days." Three days passed, a week passed, and he never went to the Turkins'.One day he passed by there, thinking that he should go in for a sit-down, even for a short while, but on second thought...he still didn't go in. He never visited the Turkins' house again.