Nikolay Lakutin
It was almost there. A play for 4 people. Comedy
Action 2
Scene 1. Ah, what are you, what are you…
Oleg and Nina's apartment.
The same scene, Nina is still paired with Danil. It's as if she wakes up from a momentary turbidity, pushes Danil away, more afraid for her feelings, and not for him, which is certainly reflected in her behavior and facial expressions.
Nina (excitedly, stammering, confused in words and thoughts). I am.... you… Well, you… Well, what are you, you… scared… you… Such a whole rush. I'm right even… somehow… Well, you know.
Danil (with a cautious grin). Hmm… It seems that I understand something…
Nina is embarrassed, behind careful glances and smiles she tries to hide her embarrassments and moods incomprehensible to herself.
Nina (excitedly, stammering, confused in words and thoughts). No… no. No, no, I'm not talking about that at all.
Danil (with a cautious grin). Then what about?
Nina (thoughtfully). About what? A.... m.... And I myself forgot what I was talking about…
Danil smiles. Does not press. Passes, sits down at the table.
Danil (calmly). Ning, let's eat something? Here you have cookies, I heard, the vaunted are served on weekends.
Nina (recovering from her inner turmoil). Oh, yeah. Sure.
Nina runs up to the table, starts fussing, caring.
Nina (fussily on the ground of excitement and confusion). Here, here you try…
Nina serves cookies, tries to take care of the guest.
Nina (fussily). Now I'm going to get a knife, I need to cut the cake.
Nina seems to run away, but Danil stops her with a remark.
Danil (calmly). Nina! Don't fuss. I don't want any cake or sweets. And I can't say that I really want cookies.
Nina (thinking). M…
a little pause. Everyone is thinking about what happened.
Danil (calmly). Better get a couple of glasses. I shouldn't have bought wine…
Nina goes for glasses.
Danil opens the wine.
Nina is coming back. Puts down the glasses. Danil pours. Nina sits down opposite, takes her filled glass.
Nina (in a calm, slightly guilty voice). What shall we drink to?
Danil (deeply, deeply). For loneliness!
Nina does not drink, she sees that Danil has not yet expressed the whole idea. Gives him the opportunity to do it.
Danil (deeply, deeply). Come on, Nina, let's drink to loneliness in a couple. It doesn't matter if people live in an official marriage, or in a civil one… Someone is just dating… But, nevertheless, there is some kind of a couple. And in these couples, for some reason, sooner or later loneliness grows from somewhere. To be honest, I don't want to raise a glass for him, but it seems to me that God himself ordered me to drink to this!
Nina (philosophically, trying the toast on herself). You can't argue with that. Then don't clink glasses!
Danil (sadly). Without clinking glasses!
They drink. They eat cookies.
Danil (having tasted). M … and the cookies are not bad!
Nina (appreciating the wine, not yet moving away from its aftertaste). Yes, wine, by the way, too!
Danil (approvingly). Yes! I know how to choose wine, that's a fact. Unfortunately, there are no women.
Nina (after a short pause, with cautious interest). Is it that bad?
Danil (frankly, with warmth). Can't you see for yourself?
Nina (after a short pause, with cautious interest)… I just… I think you are… It's not always like that.
Danil (frankly, with warmth). Not always. Usually things are much worse.
Nina (surprised). Oh…
Danil (with interest). Uh-huh… Well, what about you? Happy with Oleg?
Nina tries to answer "yes" seemingly mechanically, but something stops her. She tries to formulate a thought, but time is passing and it is not on her side.
Danil (seeing difficulties with the answer). Clearly, in general.
Nina (as if justifying herself). No, Oleg is very good, don't think about it…
Danil (warmly, with understanding, calmly, interrupts). I know that Oleg is very good. But I asked you about something else… and… it seems to me… You answered quite clearly.
Nina falls silent. Does not argue, does not defend himself.
Nina (holding out an empty glass). Splash some more.
Danil pours.
Nina immediately sips, takes a candy, has a snack.
Nina (sadly). Mode of life… It's a scary thing. Such experienced family ships are stranded, which is amazing. Are you asking about happiness? What happiness there is. We live by the knurled… As everyone. You know, it seems to me that if I, or Oleg, had some more or less option, plus the slightest infatuation, then our marriage would have immediately broken up.
Love and respect? Don't know… Sometimes, we find out about his presence to each other too late. Now the relationship that we have, I would not call love and happiness, I would call it tolerance. Yes, perhaps. We tolerate each other, and that's how we live. A long time ago, we no longer burn for each other with some feelings worthy of voicing.
Danil (calmly, judiciously). Wow, how great everything is with you. We ran out of patience a long time ago. Irka is tired of putting up with my quirks, I'm sick of her antics. And you know… At some point… It seems to me that we have become indifferent to each other. We didn't care who had what was going on in their lives. Something's going on, and that's fine. That's how we live… For some reason, we are not getting divorced. Probably – laziness.
Nina (surprised). Listen, no, wait! Judging by what I've just seen between you two, you're far from being indifferent! You've got sparks flying in different directions!
Danil (with mockery and emotion). Do you think it's because we love each other so passionately?
Nina (cautiously). No?
Danil (calming down). I'm begging you… This is so that it is not boring to live. I'll tell her nasty things, she'll tell me… So slowly, you see, you'll pass the day. Well, there's another day, again everything is in a circle. Our family life is about in this direction and flows. Nothing interesting, kind, bright.
Nina sets her glass aside. He approaches Danil, takes him under his arm, lifts him up.
Nina (cautiously, unaccustomed to herself). Let's go for a walk. Something is somehow sick at Heart from all this… I don't want to sit in this den and howl about a hard life. I want to get some air. Shall we go?
Danil (getting up from the table, exhaling). Let's go!
Music!
Danil takes Nina by the arm and takes her away.
ZTM.
The music keeps playing.
The light turns on smoothly.
Irina and Oleg enter the same apartment.
The music stops and ends.
Irina (continuing the conversation she started with Oleg long ago). Oh, don't tell me. What have we not had with him over the years. Okay. What was, was. (Loudly, positively, addressing Nina and Danil). So what? Are we continuing the sabantuy?
Irina looks around the apartment, Oleg also does not observe his friend and wife.
Irina (thoughtfully). Sooooo! Interesting. (Loudly.) Guys! Where are you???
Irina goes to look for the kitchen, Oleg goes to another room. Both return with nothing.
Oleg (thoughtfully). Interestingly…
Oleg takes out his mobile phone, calls his wife.
Nina's cell phone rings right here in the room. Oleg finds this phone by the sound, picks it up. Throws off the call.
Oleg (disappointed). I see. I left my phone at home.
Oleg looks at the table, sees open wine, two glasses… He understands what's what, and these considerations do not please him.
Oleg (dissatisfied, about the situation). Soooo…
Irina is taking out her mobile phone at this time. Danila dials, the phone to his ear.
Beeps are heard.
They don't pick up the phone.
Irina throws off, calls again.
Beeps again.
They don't pick up the phone.
Irina throws off.
Irina (relatively calmly). My goat doesn't pick up the phone either. I didn't miss you, then.
Oleg (still in his thoughts, "slowing down"). Neeee somewheresafe… I mean, didn't you miss me? And, in the plan – for you?
Irina (positively). Yeah.
Oleg (relatively calmly). M…, clearly. And you're on it?
Irina (positively, mysteriously). And I…
Irina mysteriously approaches Oleg, mysteriously smiles at him, hugs him.
Irina (gently). And I've missed you.
Oleg is in shock. He hesitates a little, but then breaks out of Irina's embrace, runs away to a safe distance.
Oleg (nervously, excitedly, at a loss). You… what are you doing?
Irina (playfully). Why? Others are over there, and that's nothing, but we are what… Is it worse than the others?
Oleg (nervously, excitedly, at a loss). Yes, what others? What others?
Irina (calmly, feeling comfortable and confident). Oleg! Wake up. Well, look around you. What are you? Really, you don't understand anything? My hubby and your wife sat here, had a drink, well? Then everything is clear.
Oleg (nervously, excitedly, at a loss). What is clear?
Irina (calmly, feeling comfortable and confident). Let's go to a quiet place, what else. We would have caught them here with you. And who needs it.
Oleg (nervously, excitedly, at a loss). What are you? You think they're there…
Oleg gestures the process of copulation.
Irina (skeptically). No, damn it! They walk around the park there, eat ice cream, and have a conversation about the cultural and philosophical trends of modernity, while maintaining a two-meter distance between themselves.
Oleg is straining. His gaze becomes angry.
Irina (reassuring, seeing the anger growing in Oleg). Calm down, Lord. Just like the first time, by God.
Oleg (nervously, excitedly, at a loss). What do you mean?
Irina (calmly). Oleg! How many years have you been living with Nina…
Oleg begins to remember.
Irina (convincingly). Remember the last time you had a passion with her! So that everything plays and boils! To over the edge! Well? Remember?
Oleg tries to remember such moments. He keeps quiet. But it's all clear.
Irina (convincingly). That's the point. Do you think that Nina's attitude towards you is different? Of course, she's cheering herself up somewhere on the side. And this is normal! Any other person would have done the same in her place.
Oleg (gruffly). Not everyone! Yes, my wife and I may not be as wonderful as we would like, but she is a very good person inside. In a spiritual, higher sense, she is a treasure! I found this treasure at the time. And I really appreciate it and protect it!
Irina (with a sneer). A treasure, you say… Well, don't be surprised that you are entitled to only 25% of it. Actually, that was what needed to be proved.
Oleg (gruffly). No, it's different with us. Don't judge everyone by yourself.
Irina looks away.
Oleg understands what he has said. He's embarrassed.
Oleg (apologetically). Sorry, I… I didn't mean to offend you. So, blurted out on emotions. It's just really kind of weird.
Irina (surprisingly calm). Everything is fine. You're right, I'm not the most loyal wife. But I don't really hide my true nature behind all kinds of masks. What there is, there is. But it's me. And most people hide it. So you'll see, everyone seems to be diligent family men. Husbands are great, wives are smart. Families as families. Everyone is a chin chinarem! And dig deeper – everyone is cheating on each other. Everything. Hiding, deceiving. They go to different tricks, but they change. (Philosophically.) And they do it right!
Oleg (indignantly). I mean, right? I, for example, do not cheat. So what am I, then, a fool?
Irina smiles, walks with the gait of a panther towards Oleg.
Irina (slyly). Don't worry, I'll talk some sense into you now.
An increasing background music sounds.
In a smooth blackout, there remains a determined Irina, rapidly reducing the distance to Oleg, and Oleg, who is either at a loss, or in some kind of broken determination.
The music stops.
ZTM.
