Natalia Patratskaya - Pearly woman. Prose in English

– And the blood? Where so much blood on the Jura?

– Yura fell from the couch and hurt himself on a bottle.

– Why is Alla a girl?

– You, man, give! Alla wakes up, you ask her why she is a girl, and now go to bed yourself. The nurse will look after you. Ha, why is Alla a girl? Nobody ever asked me that, and, satisfied with the exposure of the incident, Ilya withdrew, taking with him a bottle of champagne.

Pasha lay down on the sofa and fell asleep. Bella slept in her room, she had a dream, as if she were a white butterfly and was flying across the sea…

Storm clouds gathered in the sky. Lightning lit the fifth building, it began to rain. Belated travelers fled through the puddles, flying into the hull wet.

It was the third morning from the date of acquaintance. Outside the window the sun was shining, it called its rays to the sea. Bella woke up, turned over, began to recall the events of the past day, going to the beach. Alla came with the guys. The sand after the night rain was still wet.

“We all got poisoned with champagne,” said Yura.

– Do you have anything with Alla was not? – asked Pasha.

“Tell me everything, but I didn’t open Alla like champagne,” Yura answered with a hint of irritation, looking at Alla from head to toe.

– What are you talking about me?! – Alla worried. – I am fine.

“It’s good that everyone is whole,” Bella concluded. – Where is your neighbor?

– What other neighbor? – Alla asked and looked at Yura.

“Girls, we deceived you,” Yura began to say.

– Neighbor by number – fake duck, he is from a gang of the barmaid. “The neighbor forced me to buy champagne at the buffet at a high price, after that there was no boredom in building number five,” Pasha explained. – Here everything is by dachshund.

All four were silent. The sun was hot young backs.

– I offer a tour of the sea. Want to go today? – asked Pasha and covered a part of Bella’s back.

– when? – Yura woke up, lifting his head from the cards.

– After lunch. Girls, why are you silent? – asked Pasha, rising from the sand.

– How much is the tour? – Alla asked, dropping the edges of the hat.

“We will pay for the trip,” said Yura, collecting a deck of cards.

– We will go on a tour. Where do we meet? Asked Bella.

“We will meet on the quay,” Pasha answered, specifying the start time of the excursion.

White ship rocked on the waves. The public went through the narrow ladder inside the vessel. Two decks with seats for passengers waiting for vacationers. On the lower deck there was a buffet. The bulk of the people sat on the upper deck, over which there was a roof, but there were no walls. The wind was blowing passengers from all sides, but they could look in all four directions.

There was music. Pasha and Bella joined the public on the upper deck. Yura and Alla sat on the lower deck, closed on all sides. They were ready to look at each other.

Sea waves lapped on three sides of the ship, and on the one side could be seen the retreating village. Water, wind, sun – in stock. The audience after dinner was half asleep. Suddenly, everyone took turns raising their legs, the cries of women were heard. Under Pasha’s feet, a small, low, long dog ran a dachshund. Under Bella’s feet, the second dog spun around and ran free.

“Oh,” Bella just breathed.

“And here the dachshunds are running around,” said Pasha, sighing.

Dachshunds quickly descended to the lower deck. There were shouts of Alla and Yura. Apparently, they finally woke up. The audience spoke animatedly. A man in circus clothes appeared on the upper deck. He set the cabinet. Dachshunds ran up to him. Several rooms with the participation of two taxes amused passengers. Two identical boys of ten came. Dachshunds and boys synchronously completed the number. The audience rejoiced.

The ship went to the first stop.

– Dear passengers, we suggest visiting the factory of grape wines, you will pass by the vineyard, you will see the cellar, located under the ground. Wine can be bought at a reduced price, “the guide said loudly.

People grabbed bags and wallets. Pasha and Bella went ashore. The vineyard grew away from the sightseeing road. About ten meters the audience walked past the transparent hedge. A small factory of old red brick suddenly appeared in front of people. Tourists were shown how to store wine, offered wine tasting.

People, having tasted wine from plastic cups, were drawn to buy it in plastic bottles. Those who went for wine, took a few bottles in their strong bags. The rest took a bottle or did not buy anything at all. People noticeably cheered up.

Pasha bought two bottles of local wine. To the touch the bottles were slightly cool, and the number of degrees on the label did not scare. He took one bottle of Jura with Alla. Bella refused wine and bought herself a bottle of mineral water in the buffet and a couple of bags of chips for herself and Pavel. He quietly drank the whole bottle of cool wine. She drank the water.

“Bella, it means that we don’t just pay for the girls, you’ll work out a ticket for this tour for me,” said Pasha, sharply drunk, through his teeth.

“You drank a lot of wine and forgot that you and Yura promised to pay for Alla and me,” bella outraged with undisguised surprise.

– What more! And the champagne! Do you know how much it costs?!

– I’ll pay you for the trip on the boat! I’ll send money by mail!

– By yourself, my dear, you will pay. Now there will be a stop, we are leaving on it, and on the way back they will take us away.

“All right,” Bella agreed, frightened.

At the next stop, Pasha took his gym bag and went down the ladder to the shore. Bella came down behind him. They both ended up on an empty beach among coastal trees. At that moment, there were no pearl beads around Bella’s neck; they were left to lie on the window-sill next to the peacock feathers.

White ship sailed. Pasha spread the familiar beach cover. And quite unexpectedly, he began to tear Bella’s clothes.

– Pasha, I will take off my clothes. I’m in a swimsuit.

– And I did not sunbathe you called! I don’t need your swimsuit!

Pasha took off his clothes, standing in front of Bella in nudist clothes. She saw a naked man for the first time in her life. She was terrified. And he tried to rip off her swimsuit. Bella began to fight a slippery and nasty man!

– Pasha, do not! Do not, Pasha!! I am begging you!!! Bella shouted, holding onto her swimsuit, protecting her body from the man’s arrogant hands.

– Enough of your virginity for me alone. I will not let you go! Bella, you are mine! And I will be your first man! All my life I wanted to be the first! Can you imagine what a pleasure it is! There has never been such happiness in my life! – shouted Pasha.

She wriggled with all her strength, trying to strike the man with her fists. He twisted her hands, closed his lips with a kiss, trying with his whole body to make movements unfamiliar to her. This last movement for a long time he could not. She began to beat him with her free hand. He was angry, lifted her shoulders. She twisted! He got angry and threw the girl on a rocky beach. She went limp with her whole body and was silent from the unreality of what was happening with her eyes closed from resentment and pain.

– Bella, I love you! I want you so much! Wake up, love! Shouted a sober man on a lonely, deserted beach.

And in response to silence. Pasha got dressed. He was bored and scared. He thought, “What if Bella died?” I looked at the girl’s body. He wanted to run away from the body prostrated in the sand. He looked around: on the one side the sea, on the other steppe.