- Well, how's the bath? All is ready? - deliberately fun asked Stas into the phone, - At six we are with you! Did not forget?

- All is ready! We wait! - Zhenkin's voice joyfully sounded in the receiver, - Only beer is from you.

- Beer is also ready, do not worry. We are already leaving. See you.

Stas dropped the call and shoved his mobile phone into the narrow pocket of his jacket. “I hope, my friend, the meeting will be fruitful,” he thought, stretching his arms and grabbing heavy bags of beer and snacks, which painfully slammed his narrow hands into his palm. A blizzard was circling on the street, so the hood that was thrown over its head was immediately torn off by a sharp gust of wind, and when Stas went to the car, it looked like a huge Santa Claus with a shock of white hair on his head. Red down jacket only added similarities. He shook himself off quickly, fell on the seat and slammed the door behind him. Katya turned to him a pleased face.

- Well, how? bought it? She asked in an angelic voice.

- Bought! - answered Stas through his teeth and started the car. We drove in silence. Kate always smiled a mysterious smile, as if remembering something. Roads swept thoroughly. The stream of cars moved through the streets of the city with a snail's speed, stirring small loose snow with protectors. Before the new year, there were only two weeks left and the streets were already burning with colorful garlands and glowing neon balls. We got to Zhenkin’s house only forty minutes later. Stas parked the car on the parking lot carefully cleaned by the owner and turned off the engine. Somewhere at Katie's feet, beer bottles quietly clinked.

- Stas, let's just do not disappoint! - Kate said seriously, - Do not spoil everything with your emotions.

Stas just threw a sly look at his wife and, throwing a hood, jumped out of the car. Clumsily pawing along the slippery path, the young couple reached the wooden log-house of the bathhouse, from the chimney of which the pleasantly smelling blue-gray smoke was already rushing. Stas pulled the handle on himself, letting cold and small snow flakes of a blizzard into the warm room of the dressing room.

- Finally! - redheaded Eugene pounced on them, - I already waited!

He happily embraced Stas and modestly kissed Katerina in the rosy cheek:

- Annie is waiting for you at home. But do not expect that we will soon release your steam room! - he slyly winked at a friend and pointed to a full package of beer bottles.

- And why is Anka waiting at home? - immediately Stas was indignant, - Let him come, we will take a steam bath together.

- together? - for a moment, Eugene was confused, glaring at Katya.

Stas was closely watching the reaction of a friend and barely restrained an evil grin.

- Of course, together! Otherwise we will hang here until the morning, and then I will hear from her again, - he nodded at the hushed wife with a nod of the head.

“Well ... okay,” Zhenya shrugged. “Then I will call Anya.” Get undressed for now.

- Well, where did he scuff you here? - with an inappropriate smile, Stas asked his wife when the door closed behind Zhenya.

- Is it important for you to know? - Katerina sternly answered, unbuttoning her long jacket, - Dear, focus better on tonight, why remember what was before.

- No, I'm really interested, - Stas continued to calmly take off his outer clothing, - The room here is small. Do not particularly turn around.

In the dressing room appeared snow-covered Zhenya.

- Whew, well, sweeps there. Your car has already begun to turn into a snowdrift, he said out of breath.

- Where's Anya? - recalled Stas.

- I promised to come soon. On Skype there communicates with someone. Well? Who is the first in the steam room?

Katerina favorably offered men the primacy, and she took up the simple table setting.

- I am glad that this time you managed to get out! - said Zhenya, sitting down on a wooden canopy.

- Yes, the last time it turned out somehow was not good, - Stas naively shrugged his shoulders and splashed a bucket of hot water on the hissing stove.Scorching steam with an elastic wave passed over the backs of the guys, causing them to crouch lower. The air was filled with the persistent smell of eucalyptus.

To get away from the shameful topic of the past, Zhenya hastily started a conversation about the fishing planned this summer. Carried away by conversation, steamed friends rinsed with cold water, and went into the waiting room. Katya, wrapped in a large terry towel, was lonely bored with a glass of beer in her hand.

“Well, finally,” she said indignantly, “maybe it's really better for me to go to Anka, and are you going to steam up a male company here?”

- What more? - Stas objected too sharply and eagerly grabbed an icy glass of beer. He drained it in one gulp, and, catching his breath, added, “Go warm.”

Offended pursing her lips, Katya rose from the table and disappeared into the steam room.

- Have you quarreled or what? - Zhenya carefully asked, refilling the glasses.

- Why do you think so? - Stas pretty sprawled in his chair, legs spread wide.

- You talk to her somehow through your teeth.

- Do not mind it. She gets me at times. You do not have this?

“It happens ...” Zhenya sat down in the next armchair, and my friends clinked deafly with big-bellied glasses.

Soon the snow tinsel again burst into a warm room and on the threshold appeared Anya wrapped in a men's jacket. She shook off the snow and looked at her friends with a smile.

- Here I am. Hi, Stasik!

- Hi, Annie. Why are you lingering?

- Yes, I did not expect to go to the bath. I thought you yourself here somehow, and we gossip with Katka at home.

- Come on, we agreed that we would be together, - Stas turned to his friend, - listen, I brought excellent French cognac for the occasion. Let's put off this beer for now.

Anya took off her pea coat from her shoulders and carefully made boots into a corner of the room.

- I adore cognac! - She giggled, pulling her sweater over her head, - be sure to leave me.

- Of course, we will, - Stas was devouring his eyes with the girl’s slim, bare tummy, - you can join us right now. Zhenya, where are the glasses?

- No, now I better join Katyukha. Frozen.

She pulled off her wool gaiters and, wrapped in a towel, disappeared into the steam room.

- Well, what did you open your mouth? - Zhenya laughed. - I don’t have glasses here. Finish your beer, we will pour cognac into mugs.

A steam hiss and a female screech were heard from the steam room.

“It was my father-in-law who gave me five years ago,” Stas proudly said, uncorking a bottle of brandy, “real French.” For a special occasion.

- And what is the special case today? By the way, what will be the snack?

- Why bite?

Friends gladly made several sips of a noble drink.

“It's just great,” Zhenya squeezed his eyes from pleasure, “never drank that.” And the truth is, you can not snack.

Pleasant burning heat immediately filled the body, enveloping the head with carefree bliss.

- So what are we drinking for?

The doors of the steam room opened and Katya and Anya jumped out of the steam in the clouds, their faces reddened.

- Well, where to drink without us? - the hostess jokingly shouted at the guys, - Come on and give us a little bit.

- But for them and drink! - pointed at the girls Stas, - And not by a bit, but by a lot.

Anya laughed and joyfully jumped on her knees to her husband, inhaling with pleasure the brandy aroma from the bottle. Katerina also intended to settle down on her faithful, but Stas immediately defiantly moved, freeing up a place next to her.

- Mmmm, what chic! - sipped a glass of Anya, - but without a snack, I will not. Let's slice lemon?

Cognac quickly twisted heads in the heady mist, and the tension that prevailed in the company quickly passed. Katya still climbed onto Stas' hands and gently wrapped her arms around his neck. When a little less than a third was already left in the bottle, Zhenya said that now was the time to take a steam bath for real. And while the guys were shouting at each other with oak brooms, the girlfriends were talking about theirs.

- And you do not have feelings of deja vu? - suddenly said Katya, running her finger along the edge of the glass goblet.

- You ...