Victor. Well yeah Aren't you in a hurry yourself?
Anna. No, it's a day off.
Victor. I just… You never know. Good.
Anna. No, no, it's okay, don't worry.
Pause.
Victor. My sister called. He says Thomas is acting like silk these days. I don't even know.
Anna. Motivation works!
Victor. Absolutely. Have you talked to this neighbor of yours, Julia, about my nephew yet?
Anna. I'm going to visit them today and talk to them.
Victor. What if she's already busy? Or just won't want to?
Anna. With a foreigner? Won't he want to? Where will it go. I think that as soon as she hears the name Thomas, she will at least be curious. And there it's a small matter. And she doesn't have anyone.
Victor. Well, then… Let's see what happens.
Anna. We'll see.
Pause.
Anna. And…
Victor. What?
Anna. No, I don't think it's worth it.
Victor. Well, what is it?
Anna. I wanted to ask how you came up with the idea of going into business, how you realized yourself in it, but then I thought you'd decide — I'm interested in your income.
Victor. But you're not really interested?
Anna. They are interested, but not primarily.
Victor. And what's the first one?
Anna. A… m… okay, let's talk about income first.
Victor smiles shyly, begins to understand something.
Victor. About income… Come on, about the income, okay. (He remembers with nostalgia). Before becoming successful, I managed to get burned many times. About working for someone — I didn't have such a thought in my head initially. Only for myself. Only their own businesses, their own implementations. But there was no experience and knowledge then. He believed in various slogans about successful projects, bought franchises, joined businesses that were made for only one purpose — to raise money from naive youths. I found investors, started a lot of things, but eventually failed. I found it again, I lost it again. Then, much later, I realized that no one would come into my life to give something, just to take it away. I also realized that you can't earn or win all the money, but it's very easy to lose it. With this understanding, he stopped chasing money, began to study financial literacy, the mechanisms of interaction not only of business, but also of life in general. And slowly something began to work out. It seemed that all the components for a successful honest business began to take shape in front of me in the most favorable way. I did not set a goal to become the richest and most influential. There is no such goal even now, but living comfortably, protected from a financial point of view — in general, it turns out.
Anna. Understood. Yes, it's interesting… Well, then, everything is fine with you, everything is great— fine.
Victor. Not quite.
They exchange glances.
Victor. You know, sometimes it feels like I'm standing at the crossroads of three roads. Do you remember how in the epics. A hero, a stone, inscriptions on it.
Anna. Yes, yes, of course. There are, I remember, several interpretations, in different fairy tales in different ways. I remember this: To go straight — not to be alive, to go to the right — to be married, to go to the left — to be rich.
Victor. Yes. Only the inscriptions on my stone are somewhat different.
Anna. What are they?
Victor. If you go to the left, you'll get in the face. If you go to the right, you'll get a punch in the face. If you go straight, you'll get punched in the face. And don't stand here for a long time, or you'll get in the face right here!
Anna smiles modestly, understands what is being said, nods.
Victor. I'm not complaining, don't think about it. I have success and certain results, but I get punched in the face all the time.
Anna puts her hand on Victor's arm, while it is still more support than a manifestation of feelings.
Anna. I have a feeling that every person meets with such a stone on their way of life. And repeatedly. We get "In the face" stably and systematically, but we still need to go. It's necessary while it's going.
Victor. They should…
be silent. They exchange glances. They think about their own things.
Anna removes her hand. She worries that she did something stupid with this gesture.
Victor. And what about going to the right — to be married? I'm thinking about it… Shall we take this road?
Anna looks at Victor suspiciously.
Anna. And… I'm sorry. I…
bite my lips, get nervous, sigh.
Anna. Let's go through, I mean… You mean together? In the sense that you and me?
Victor is silent, looks attentively at Anna, who continues to be nervous.
Anna. Have you asked me to get married now?
Victor. I think so.
Anna. Uh. (Sighs, exhales heavily). Suddenly.
Victor. I'm shocked myself.
Anna. So think about it. Phew. I was already in a fever. This is a serious question.
Victor. It's too late to think, the word is not a sparrow, it's my own fault, it serves me right. So what do you say?
Anna is nervous, sometimes she looks into Victor's eyes, trying to understand how serious his words are. He thinks for a few seconds.
