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tickets in those days cost about a ruble or a ruble fifty, and they could have sat up in the students’ gallery, in cheaper seats, but usually chose parterre. That was expensive. Two rubles was an average worker’s pay for an entire day.
    He was charmed by her behavior. She was different from other girls. Even her manners were different, and the way she dressed with taste. The apartment where she lived with her aunt and uncle had high ceilings and large rooms and a decent foyer. He remembers he was shy when he came to her apartment, but then Aunt Valya came out and invited him into the living room, and it was easy to talk to her. She was very sociable.
    When he finally proposed to Marina, she said, “Let’s wait a bit.” But he was ready to get married. He was working at night as an orderly in the emergency ward and was earning about 150 rubles a month, more than a doctor—which is why he couldn’t date Marina every night; he was working too hard, and doing it in order to be able to have a nice time with Marina and later set up housekeeping. They could have rented an apartment somewhere. Valya said that they could live with her, but he wanted to get his own place.
    Usually, he would come home with Marina after a movie or a concert and stay about fifteen, twenty minutes before he left. He remembers that Valya’s husband, Ilya, seemed terrifying to him when first they met. He was tall, lean; he had a long nose. Colonel Prusakov. Yet, when he opened his mouth to talk, he was a kind person. However, in that first moment, Sasha felt small, and a little afraid. After all, he knew where the Colonel worked, and Sasha was afraid of the Organs. He thought KGB and MVD were both called the Organs, but then KGB and MVD were mixed up in his mind. And this Uncle Ilya was so tall and gaunt. Perhaps he understood Sasha’s fear, however, for when he started to talk, he was easy, and did not speak in a prosecutorial tone but in a normal, human voice. Sasha had a feeling that they treated Marina very well. Of course, Ilya wasn’t around much, but their home was not without his presence.
    When Sasha would come by to take Marina somewhere in the evening, Valya would say, “Sasha, no later than eleven o’clock.” They were just like parents. In fact, at first he thought they were her mother and father.
    On the other hand, he had very little understanding of Ilya’s occupation. How could a young man understand what went on in the Organs? He knew it was something to be afraid of, and Ilya was high up; there were stars on his epaulets. So at first, Sasha was not only scared of Ilya but, as a result, he was a little intimidated by Marina. Afterward, when he came to know Ilya better, he could see Marina without fear. In truth, he didn’t want to know what Ilya did—didn’t care whether he was a warden of prisoners or an administrator of a factory.
    He did ask Marina once, and she said, “It’s better not to know.” In those days, to someone like himself, KGB and MVD were one and the same: a big, dark spot.
    Sometimes Marina would try to tell him something about her past, but he would stop her. He was not interested. Then her aunt tried to tell him, but Sasha did not consider it dignified to engage in such conversations. Now, he thinks Aunt Valya wanted him to know the story of Marina’s past because she was afraid that if somebody else told him, it could prove hurtful.
    He does recall that he came to Marina’s home after she did not show up for a date, and Valya made tea, and they talked, and were very much aware that Marina was not there. Valya began to speak of Leningrad and the conditions of life then for Marina, and Sasha said, “You know, I am not interested. For the future, I want to have her as my wife. So I am not interested in what is past.” Then Marina came in, and Valya said: “I told Sasha about you.” And Marina, as if she had been expecting this, was very cool to Sasha. After that, it was as if she were trying to