Chapter 4: Sign

He appeared unexpectedly, the forgotten prince of his school years.

Yulia Sergeevna was enthusiastically adding up the numbers at the agency, Zakhar sent a text message that he was late and promised to drive up as early as possible to discuss the details of the previous evening at the fitness center, the day was tending to sunset, gently flowing into evening twilight.

While waiting for the boss, Julia took a nap in a high chair, the long-awaited call came out of a half-doze, but it was not Zakhar, it turned out to be a wrong number.

An almost forgotten voice sounded on the phone. Novel. An accident or a pattern, Julia did not figure it out, the cheekily bold, hoarse, recognizable voice of a man chilled to the bone.

This is exactly how a schoolgirl once liked a Novel, a young man who dreamed for decades, a first-grader girl in love with him.

Julia has loved “bad boys” since childhood, but the carpet of fate has prepared another bizarre pattern - marriage, family, children, work and worries, obligations, society, rules, prohibitions, everything that recently burned in the candle fire.

Julia prepared to complete her vicious celibacy and go all out, either sin affected, or the substitution of feelings for a soul tired of loneliness, but the woman felt with her body that it was time to stop mourning her fate, fear, finding no reason to be even more afraid, began to die, the autumn forest swallowed the last suffering and on night walks the winds took away the remnants all doubts.

The autumn-winter day turned into an hourglass into twilight, the woman habitually walked to the forest park, the leaves hissed under the snow, snowflakes comfortably melted falling into her palms. Julia was looking for a sign.

There was a low growl. A huge black Great Dane froze on the path. Julia looked into the distance in search of the owner, but finding no one, she was surprised, as she was surprised at the absence of her own fear, the thought flashed that at such a late hour, the dog, flashing yellow eyes, was standing without the usual overalls for a thin-haired dog.

Finally, Julia realized that the black dog was a protector. Not an enemy or a friend. A long-awaited sign. So it’s time and you can.

Julia, smiling at the Great Dane, walked confidently to the exit of the forest park and accelerated her steps at the turn into the city, a familiar melody sounded from the speaker of a car parked nearby. The words came back to me:

A snowstorm is spreading

Outside my window

I can’t believe it

That it’s not just the two of us

Covered with snow

My street

All snowflakes have been dropped

We were in a hurry...

That’s Roma. One chance in a thousand. A long-forgotten but familiar echo of a happy past, abandoned in the recesses of memory, with foolish hopes, undisguised deception, but Julia would remember this later, and now the body was coming to life, the body wanted to. Smart books say that gestalts should be closed.

Together with the snowflakes, the last doubts about the correctness of actions disappeared. Julia knew that she would go to visit tomorrow after work.

Roma

Snow-covered, beautiful in her autumn, Julia appeared on the threshold of Roman’s apartment, the anticipation of a date added devils to the look, the woman exuded the sweet smell of French lilac.

Roma was preparing to meet with a forgotten youth, the kitchen smelled delicious of hot steak with oranges and coffee, the conversation of two old acquaintances dragged on past midnight, remembering childhood, school, mutual friends, friends, moved to the leather sofa in the living room.

Roman, an aging but still attractive widower, was surprised, even confused at first, but his natural self took him out this time.

Roma has a confident and authoritative voice, simultaneously gentle, affectionate, attractive timbre. Alive. The man flirted knowingly.

Meanwhile, in the clouds, Cupid with Cupid’s arrows was measuring steps for a point shot.

A meeting forty years later, like a shootout in the 90s, a magical play of shadows, light touches through clothes, an accidental glance, - two people bared their feelings towards each other - gently caressing their shoulders with lips, palms stroking their breasts, sinking lower, trembling – a harbinger of passion pierces the body, the man’s movements are becoming bolder.

Julia answered with a smile, but was in no hurry to open up, she needed time to burn out the old bridges, the old cuckoo clock struck midnight.

Perhaps that’s enough for today, the purpose of the unexpected meeting - the game of two bodies - has been achieved, not succumbing to the temptation to continue, Julia silently called a taxi, and like Cinderella, afraid of losing the carriage and the crystal slippers of a free woman, rushed off into the saving darkness.