“Just a different one. You can’t be a prison guard to the one you love. You can inspire them. Alternatively, you can deprive them of everything that could help them grow and...” she paused, searching for the right words, “and make their own decisions to be responsible for themselves and their loved ones. But what could you expect from a twenty-year-old girl just out of college?”
“True.”
“So I’m sorry but it’s all your fault, Phily.”
Oh. That was quite a turn-around. So typical of my big sister.
“If you’d come to your senses a couple of years earlier, everything would have been fine now,” she said. “Which means you're a dickhead.”
“I know.”
“It’s probably a good thing that you didn’t have a kid,” she continued pensively. “Children shouldn’t suffer for their parents’ mistakes.”
“You might be right. Listen, how about dropping in on our parents, say, on Saturday?”
She laughed. “Can’t see why not! But let’s do something useful for them. I suggest we bring them some deli and some decent groceries.”
We spent some more time discussing the details and then parted friends. I decided against telling her that I’d quit my job. She wouldn’t have understood.
Alik wasn’t at home. I moved freely around the place, stacking up all my things by the wall in the lounge. A faint smell of tobacco seemed to linger in the kitchen. He must have smoked in the morning on the sly, letting the smoke out of the window while he’d had his morning coffee.
As I waited for Sveta, I sat in the kitchen and read while I drank my coffee. Richie was lying comfortably by my feet. Boris lay spread out on the chair opposite.
Time flew as I read. The doorbell rang. Richie barked and ran out into the corridor.
“Richie!” a girl’s voice called from behind the door.
I answered it. A tall lanky sun-tanned girl stood in the doorway next to a bespectacled man — apparently, her father. He was a bit older and taller than myself.
Richie groaned his excitement. He launched himself at the girl and laid his paws on her shoulders trying to lick her face. The girl was emitting the cutest of squeaking noises.
“Hello,” her father said. “Are you Phil?”
“In person. Come in, please.”
The man stepped inside. “I’m Andrei. Sveta, take Richie and come in the house.”
Both entered and closed the door behind them.
“Go through to the lounge,” I invited them just in case they wanted to talk to me. “You don’t need to take your shoes off. I’m leaving this place in half an hour.”
The man just couldn’t help himself anymore. He eased his daughter away, grabbed the dog’s head and started stroking it, repeating, “Richie, good boy, you’re back with us now... good boy, clever boy!”
Sveta looked up at me. Her eyes welled with tears. Unable to restrain herself, she flung her arms around me. I very nearly hugged her back but stopped myself just in time. I didn’t want her father to misconstrue anything. So I just stood there stock still with my arms pressed to my hips.
“Thank you so much for finding him and for looking after him!”
Something wet brushed my neck. The girl was almost as tall as myself.
“Well, that’s enough! Sveta, let Phil go!” her father commanded in a mockingly stern voice, then turned to me. “We’ve had him since he was a puppy, you know. Sveta used to bottle-feed him. He was so funny — clumsy and awkward...”
According to my interface, both were perfectly happy. I was happy for them too. And for Richie, of course. Still, I felt so sad. For me, the dog was firmly associated with a particular stage in my development. He'd come into my life just when I’d needed him the most, alleviating my solitude and keeping me company on my jogs in the park. He'd helped me quite a few times, too: once when I’d tried to sell my computer to that idiot and again the other day when I met up with those hoodies.
“You promised me a puppy, remember?” I asked.
“Of course. We’re going to do something about it pretty soon, too,” Sveta’s father said. “We’re about to put him out to stud. We already have a suitable bitch for him.”
As if sensing he was about to leave me, Richie laid his head on my knee and licked my hand by way of good-bye.
Immediately, I received a message about my improved Reputation with both father and daughter. Interestingly, I’d received the same exceptionally high number of points with both — 60 pt., no less — jumping straight to Amicability and earning me 120 XP.
Still, that was something I only realized later when they’d bidden their goodbyes and left, promising me to regularly share Richie’s photos and videos.
The bitterness of parting with him was slightly sweetened by yet another message,
You’ve received 1000 pt. XP for performing a socially meaningful action!
XP points left until the next social status level: 8970/11000
Soon the removals men came. They expertly packed all my stuff into boxes, sealed them and loaded them into their minivan.
I asked them to wait downstairs while I made one last round of the apartment where Yanna and I had spent the biggest part of our marital life. I thought about all our happy moments together — because we’d had quite a few — and our arguments even though I couldn’t remember any of them properly. That’s just the way our brains work. We tend to forget the bad stuff.
I left a note for Alik in case I couldn’t get through to him on the phone,
Hi man,
I’m gone. Make yourself at home and don’t deny yourself anything.
The food is in the fridge. The rent expires on June 12.
Call me when you want,
Phil
I spent the rest of the day unpacking in my new place. As I was hanging my clothes in the wardrobe, I tried them on. It looked like I might need to have a complete makeover. My pants were falling off me. Even with a belt they looked baggy. My shirts were already too tight across the chest, threatening to rip all the buttons off the moment I spread my shoulders.
Still, that could wait, especially because I was planning to embark on a prolonged weight training marathon starting next week when I wouldn’t have to work for Ultrapak any longer. The possibility of a complete Regeneration or Foresight wasn't something you could pass up in favor of a career, no matter how smooth or brilliant.
And once that out of the way, I would embark on my ultimate idea. I had to start a socially meaningful business. You can’t take on every skill under the sun which was why I couldn’t count on them for any extended leveling. I’d have to engross myself in social work with those who needed it, performing more quests and raising my Reputation with as many people as possible.
But that was next week. Now I had three days to sort out any unfinished chores.
The tasks I’d already performed today had earned me another 900 XP:
- leave the old apartment keys with Romuald “Alik” Zhukov;
- return Richie to his owner Ms. Svetlana “Sveta” Messerschmitt;
- downsize
Interestingly, “Downsize” had been updated to just “Move to my new apartment”.
Yanna called in the evening. She didn’t bother to say hello. “I’ll come straight to the point,” she said. “Tomorrow ten o’clock at the registry office.”
“I’ll be there,” I said.
She hung up. I stood there listening to the dialing tone.
Before, I might have given her a piece of my mind. Like, I didn’t want to be talked down to and all that. Now, however, I saw no point in it. I said I’d come, that was well enough. The tone doesn’t mean anything; the message conveyed is what matters. The speaker might be tired or sick; they might not have time for protracted conversations. So the tone they use doesn’t really mater. Only the message itself.
After my conversation with Yanna, I got ready for a run. This part of the city was new to me. Rich wasn’t with me anymore. If the truth were
known, that made me a little anxious. I also wanted to explore the neighborhood and do a bit of shopping.
I ran out of the back yard onto the street and around the block. I couldn’t help thinking about my first jogging session the night Yanna had left. Just like now, I’d run along unknown streets and side lanes rediscovering places I never knew existed in all of my thirty-two years here. And I’d been born here! So unlike the virtual Azeroth where I used to know every nook and cranny.
While I was running, Alik called me to ask how I was settling in. Once again he thanked me for the lodgings.
“It wasn’t a moment too soon,” he said. “You understand that, don’t you? You’ve really helped me out. I owe you one.”
I went back home, cooked and ate dinner, then went to bed.
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. The first day of summer. The first sunrise in my new apartment. The boxing session. The divorce. My last day at Ultrapak. My first day without the Nicotine Withdrawal. And finally, meeting some old friends. I might have to give my weightlifting session a miss. There was simply no way I could fit it in.
I slept like a log. For the first time, no one disturbed me.
* * *
THE MORNING PROVED to be a bit hectic. To kick it off, the program hadn’t woken me up until almost 7 a.m.. Apparently, it had something to do with the proverbial sleep phases.
I hurried to get ready. Even so, I was a couple of minutes late for my boxing practice. Luckily, the coach was late too, so my tardiness went unnoticed.
My third practice gave me 5% to my hand-to-hand skill and 25% to my Boxing skill. My Stamina, Agility and Strength had also grown a little. And maybe that wasn’t everything. I simply didn’t have the time to monitor every possible improvement.
“You’re a quick learner,” the coach said almost grudgingly. “If it goes like this, I might send you to the district championship early this fall. Provided you keep this momentum up.”
Who, me? In the district championship? That was something totally new to me. It sounded admittedly cool.
From the gym I went directly to the registry office. Yanna wasn’t there yet, so I waited for her outside. After a ten minute wait I decided to call her.
“Oh, give it break! I’m coming now!” she snapped and hung up.
After another twenty minutes, Vlad’s Jeep pulled up at the opposite curb. Yanna climbed out of the passenger’s seat and crossed the road, heading for me. Vlad stayed in the car.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Yeah yeah. Good or bad, it makes no difference. Let’s get on with it. I’ve already spoken to all the right people and greased all the right palms. They’ll give us a simplified divorce. All the paperwork has been filled in already. All you need to do is sign it. Come on, then.”
She didn’t look so special. A bruised cheekbone was camouflaged with a thick layer of foundation. Her eyelids were swollen as if she’d spent the better part of the morning crying till her makeup had run, then hurried to reapply it and hadn’t made a good job of it. The lightweight scarf that covered her neck barely concealed some marks which looked as if someone had tried to strangle her.
“Yanna? You sure you’re all right?”
She cast a quick glance at the Jeep. “Let’s go now.”
Confidently she led me in the right direction and peeped into an office. “Can we come in?”
“One moment,” a female voice said from behind the door.
Yanna closed the door and leaned against the wall. She looked up at the ceiling and blew a loud breath. She looked sick and tired of everything.
I was a bit worried about her stats. She had several debuffs like Depression and Lack of Sleep. Her Mood was deep in the red.
I looked at her face, drawn and aged, the same face I’d loved to kiss. I felt sorry — not for her but for everything that hadn’t worked out between us. But then for her too. I had no idea what was going on in her life but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“Yanna, listen,” I tried to reason with her.
She visibly tensed up.
“Firstly, please forgive me,” I said. “I haven’t lived up to your expectations. I behaved like a lazy pig. I had no ambitions. All I could think of was the game.”
Her Interest seemed to stir a little. I didn’t need an internal interface to know that. You can’t just live with somebody for several years without learning to pick up on their vibes. Before we’d begun to draw apart, we used to be as one.
“No, I’ll never forgive you,” she said. “But carry on.”
“Secondly, I’m very sorry we have to part ways like this. There were many good things between us, especially during the first couple of years. Remember how cool it was? Do you remember our nights on the balcony when we’d open a bottle of wine with a knife and fork until we finally bought that stupid bottle opener? Remember?”
“Oh, give me a break,” she said, unable to conceal a smile. “What kind of family man were you if you couldn’t even afford a bottle opener?”
“At least I was one hell of a rogue, no? Do you remember how we used to shine in the arena? We were the gladiators! Remember how we screamed and yelled when we finally got a title?”
Her drawn face softened.
“Remember our first kiss?” I said. “You winked at me at our first clan meeting. And then you allowed me to take you to my place.”
“I was so stupid! You used your high position in the clan to seduce a gullible young girl!”
“And remember when we had nowhere to go so we went to your place for the night?” I said. “That was when we’d already started talking about the wedding. And your mom walked in on us in a particularly inopportune moment. Remember?”
“I remember everything better than you do if you absolutely need to know!” she snapped. “We had some good moments, you’re right. But what next? Don’t you understand you’re going downhill? At least you’ve finally found someone to employ you. At thirty years old, you’re still like a child. All you can think about is eating, sleeping and playing your wretched games! You have no ambitions whatsoever. For you, life is one big joke.”
“I understand you very well,” I said. “And that’s the third thing I wanted to tell you. I know where you’re coming from. I don’t hold any grudges. I suggest we stay friends. Or at least buddies. If one day you need my help, I promise I’ll be there for you. You only have to say the word.”
I decided not to tell her about any of my recent achievements. It might have looked like empty bragging in an attempt to fix things. Especially because my so-called achievements weren’t so much to brag about, really. All I’d done is managed to attain the levels of an average human being, and even that with the help of the mysterious program.
Yanna’s large eyes welled with tears. She stepped toward me and clumsily tried to give me a hug but stopped and proffered her hand.
Ignoring her handshake, I scooped her up and pulled her toward me. “Everything’s gonna be all right. Don’t cry. Things will work themselves out.”
We just stood there, locked in an embrace.
The office door opened, letting out a woman with a child. The female voice called,
“Next, please!”
Reluctantly Yanna eased herself away from me and wiped her tears. She hooked her arm through mine and led me into the office.
Less than an hour later, we left the building as former partners. Even though I’d been expecting this to happen, my heart still hung heavy, no matter how hard I’d been trying to assure myself and all the others that I didn’t love my ex-wife anymore.
“Bye,” Yanna dropped, hurrying to Vlad’s Jeep.
“Good luck, girl,” I whispered.
My logs opened on the Divorce task, updating it:
Task Status: meet up with Yanna and file for divorce
Task completed!
XP received: 500 pt.
+15% to Satisfaction
I paused, waiting for the bout of Satisfaction to subside, then went to
Ultrapak. I wanted to end my last day with them on a really good note. I spent all afternoon visiting new clients and selling their products until I’d worked my way through my entire list. In total, I’d closed seven contracts that week not counting the unfinished one which I handed over to Marina as soon as I got back to the office.
Pavel was out. As I waited for him, I shot the breeze with Cyril, Greg and Marina, promising them to stay in touch and take part in Cyril’s birthday party soon.
Then I remembered my resolution to write for at least half an hour every day. I appropriated Cyril’s laptop, opened a new Word document and jotted down a quick vignette, filling a couple of pages with my thoughts on marriage and divorce. I saved what I’d written and paused thinking whether I had something else to add to the subject. I didn’t, so I published it in my blog. After a few minutes, comments and likes started flooding in.
Just then, Pavel entered the office. I deleted my work and closed the laptop.
He listened to my report. He must have already scratched me off his list of workmates because he was quite curt when he wished me good luck and sent me to the bookkeepers for my dues.
They paid me almost 300,000 rubles[35] for the days I’d worked, including bonuses. That should have been more than enough to last me a while. Now I could afford another month of boxing training, pay the rest of my rent for the first trimester, buy a new laptop and still have enough money to live for a month or two. I’d already given some thought to what I was going to do later. Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth worrying about. As long as I had my health, I’d find some way to make money.
Having finished with that, I checked on Vickie but she was still sick.
So stupid of me! Old habits die hard. I could have simply checked her position on the map.
I bade my last farewells to my friends. Marina didn’t even try to conceal her sorrow. She urged me to call her whenever I felt like it. I then said good-bye to all the others, paid my respects to Daria — our Instagram-inspired receptionist — and left the building to see my old friends.
Restart (Level Up Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 42
