The New Year, since childhood, is presented to us as a time of miracles and wish fulfillment. And even as adults, we stop believing in Santa Claus, we ourselves become Santa Clauses for our children and grandchildren. And even though it has been raining for many years on the new year, even, even ... yes, a lot of things are changing in our lives. But still, the smell of a Christmas tree and tangerines, the roar of firecrackers and firecrackers, the flashing of garlands, the glitter of tinsel, the tinkling of toys, the clinking of glasses ... all this makes the soul strings tremble, overwhelming us with some kind of childish anticipation of the holiday.

I love this time. As if we were not thrown through life last year. I believe that in the coming - everything will be much better.

And I don’t care that I divorced my wife, thank God, even though they have not given birth to children in three years, although ... let it all remain in the old year.

The last six years, we celebrated the new year with my institute friend Romka Niklevich at the dacha, first a big and noisy company, then four of us, he and Yana and I with Oleska. Then they had a son, Vitka, and there were five of us, a daughter Mila was born the year before last, and we celebrated the last new year as the sixth.

Last year I lived in Moscow or on the road between Moscow and Voronezh.

With the closest friend, Romka, they called each other three or four times ...

I

25.12. Nn years

I glanced at the instrument panel and saw that there was less than a quarter of the gas in the tank.

To my right flashed a sign "Lipetsk - 30 km" with an arrow to the right and across the bridge. The lights of a brightly lit gas station appeared ahead, I began to slow down, turned on the turn signal, drove onto the landing, and stopped at the first speaker. At the gas station it was deserted, suddenly, from somewhere in the darkness, a tanker man jumped out, in a greasy quilted jacket and pants, and headed for the car.

I silently nodded to him, and showed my palm with spread fingers and went to the gas station.

In response, he also nodded, and deftly clutched at the gun with "95th" gasoline.

- Good night, Sveta - I read on the badge of the girl behind the cash register.

- Hello. - Dry and officially she answered.

- “First”, “ninety-fifth” thirty liters.

- OK, anything else?

“Yes,” I said, and at that moment a mobile phone rang in my pocket, “one second.” Ale, listen. - I turned into the microphone.

“Hello, Forest Heart,” a voice from the other side was weary, we were drunk. And I didn't even recognize him right away.

- Good ... What can I do? ..

“With what you want, you can, this is what we and the Nekrofom remember from the institute.” - Another more sober, but less familiar voice sounded from the tube.

“Yeah, so I’m not mistaken, Nekrofil is the institute's nickname of Niklevich Roma, and who is the second?” I thought.

“But seriously? ...” I asked.

- Stas, where are you? - Again, the voice of Roman.

- At the gas station near Lipetsk, I'm going home.

- And come to us. We are sitting here so well ...

- Where?

- Yes, at my home.

- Is it convenient? - I looked at the clock on my left hand, half past ten in the evening.

- Yes, we are here together. Come, I'll tell you everything. - In the tube there were short beeps.

- Yes, Sveta, two bottles of brandy, a glass of coffee. - I turned to the saleswoman and got into the wallet for money.

Three minutes later, frantically pouring fire coffee into himself, he jumped into the driver's seat of the car, started it and pulled it off. Driving with a clear excess of speed, on an empty road, braking only in front of the cameras. A hundred kilometers from Voronezh I flew about 40-45 minutes, and an hour later I had already stopped the engine in the yard of the nine-story panel.

Ran around the corner. Aha The small, but round-the-clock pavilion “Visit Products” obviously worked and several local “bukharikas” gathered around it.

I bought cognac oranges, tangerines, dates and lemon. Dumped it all in the package, and ran to the entrance.

I pressed the doorphone button, but no one answered there.

"Or late, or for the additive went." - I thought

At that moment a girl came up to the entrance, opened the door.

- Goodnight. - I said and slipped into the porch behind her.

At this time, in my bag two bottles of "Peat" with four asterisks on the label weighed heavily.

Together we went to the elevator, I pressed the button. The doors opened instantly. The girl came in first, I followed her.

- Which floor? - I asked gallantly.

- Fifth. - She said, looking at me with tired eyes.

- Do not believe me too. - I smiled, pressing the button.

The elevator stopped, I jumped out first, and walked to the familiar door. He pressed the bell button, knocked on it with his fist, strongly, weighty, and again pressed the bell.

And at that moment I felt a breath behind my back, turned around. My fellow traveler stood in front of me, and looked into my eyes, holding the keys to Romkina’s door. I recognized them right away, on the keychain - a small round "Christmas tree", carved from a piece of beech in practice, I have the same on the keys.

“Ah ...” I swallowed convulsively and asked. - Roman Niklevich lives here?

“Here ...” She paused. - Yana Niklevich lives, - another pause, - and Roman, too, lives here.

- And you? - I breathed a sigh of relief.

“And I live here,” she smiled.

“I am Stas, Roma's schoolmate,” I finally got the keys out of my pocket and showed her my little Christmas tree as a password.

- Hedgehog? - She asked.

- Actually, Yapishenko, but this is also possible.

- Nastya. - She introduced herself and opened the door. - Come on in.

“Thank you,” he stepped into the wide hallway, turned on the light, “hadn’t been here for a year, but nothing has changed.”

“Well ...” she said blankly. And she went to the back room, which was previously considered nursery. - Come on in.

“Well, well,” I thought. And he went to the hall.

A coffee table stood in the middle of the room, there were several plates on it, a bottle of KiNovsky five-year-old, two brandy glasses, and an ashtray.

Putting Cognac on the table, I headed to the kitchen, taking with me the dirty plates.

Passing past the former office, looked into it. Now the nursery has moved here.

- Nastya! - Slightly but surely I knocked on the door and it opened.

The girl had her back to me, in some thongs, and the first thing that caught my eye was a black mole, right in the middle of the left buttock.

- Yes! - She said, turning her head in my direction.

- Can you take a second? I'm sorry! - I jumped out and closed the door behind me.

- I will leave now.

... In front of me was a beautiful young girl, in short shorts, tightly fitting a small elastic ass, and a white T-shirt the size of so three or four more than her. Long blond hair, falling over the shoulders, and in front, and behind, from under which ears are teasing, but a little strangely. And all the same tired gray-green eyes.

- Did you want something?

- Yes, if you do not mind, enter me briefly in the course of what is happening.

- It's simple ...

- Sorry, I still allow myself to drink. - I said, and quickly brought a bottle of my Trophy from the hall. He took two cognac glasses from the bar and poured two fingers in both. I took out dates from the package, opened the package and moved it to the interlocutor. - Tell me.

- Six months ago, Roma was expelled from work, while he was looking for something new, they lived on Yankiny maternity, that's all. You understand how it is. And then I turned up, they offered me a room to rent, not expensive, but also a penny in the house, and we live. - She paused.

I watched as I cut a lemon. I grabbed a glass with my right hand, with my left hand I fished a date from the package.

Goofy. We drank.

- It's clear. And specifically now what is going on here?

- Roman, found some kind of work, but it’s not shaky, he has been working for three weeks, he has been sitting at home for a week.

“I see,” I nodded.

He opened the bottle and splashed another throat.

- Well, the day before yesterday, Jan and Milena were hospitalized, that's okay, just an annual examination.

- I ...