How I Stayed in America (Part 8)

The sheep bleated nonstop in the game. I even figured out what kind of game it was. Age of Empires. I found out specifically to never have anything to do with it. I do not play computer games. I hate them.

I was laying on my bed, waiting for the evening to finally dress up and go out to dinner. At some point, we even went shopping, and while I was hanging out in some boutique, my husband returned with a gift: “I want you to put it on, when we go to the beach”. It was a swimsuit. A swimsuit similar to the outfit of the actress Raquel Welch — from the movie “Million Years BC” — made of fabric that mimics the animal skin. Even now, when I have lived with my husband for over 17 years, I never cease to ask myself: what’s in his head? It is likely that the inability to comprehend the impossible is the key reason for our long-lasting union.

That evening, I put on a creamy silk Chanel bodycon dress. Only recently, I realized that I could still wear it now: it still fits me in size, however, it got burned in a fire. It’s a shame that there are huge memories behind so many material things. Although, in fact, it is the memories that shape our past. Any material investment only helps us to have these memories. Memories are worth investing in. The right investment in memories defines our present. Healthy and beautiful present. Therefore, as soon as we had a lot of money, we invested almost all of this money in memories and continued to do so as much as possible. For example, we have one tradition. Once a year, our whole family travels to the island. We spend two weeks there. This is not an uninhabited island, but quite a civilized one, with good restaurants and boutiques, and… a soccer field. So, this football field is the main reason for our trips there. During this time, all our friends, acquaintances, and comrades come to the island, and we play soccer there every day. It has been like that for about 10 years. There is nothing more entertaining and charming than watching your and friends’ children grow up together. When our kids grow up, they will definitely remember this soccer field. They might even forget the name of the island, but the emotions from the game will remain as one of their brightest memories.

That evening I was sitting in a restaurant at the Byblos Hotel, looking fabulous and pregnant. I reminded myself of a swollen rose, which was about to bloom. In fact, I really liked myself, and I think my husband  liked me too, but the honeymoon was onerous for him. First of all, he was not used to taking long rest. Second, he never rested with a    woman, well, except for Natalya Nikolaevna (his basketball coach). Third, all these Saint-Tropez were not his vibe at all. It was too “mature” for  him, too bourgeois. It was too formal for Andrei. He is an ordinary guy from St.Petersburg, who grew up in a sports boarding school and went  to the camp in the Boksitogorsk region. The prime restaurants, the lazy walks around the Place de Lys, and the Hermes store were unattractive  to him. Nevertheless, we still bought two Hermes beach towels. I told  him that we wouldn’t be allowed to enter Pampelonne without them. It might seem surprising yet it is true: Hermes beach towels only get    better over time. They tend to fade a little, however, they tend to obtain such a fashionable vintage look. And then it seems like it’s not the first time you came to the azure.

I remember the first time I came to Saint-Tropez. It was 1995. Then, out of all the Russians, only Olga Slutsker was on the azure. Incidentally, I met her there by chance. Back then, I was studying in London, and during the weekends, wealthy young people drove to Saint-Tropez by car. I was invited there by my American boyfriend; he said that we will live on the boat, if I do not mind. I didn’t mind at all. We flew by plane, and at Nice airport we got on a helicopter. Those were the days when scheduled helicopters for 8 passengers flew and landed in the port.

Later on though, such flights were canceled. Nowadays, you can still take the helicopter, but you cannot sit in the port, and you would have to pay for the whole helicopter by yourself. It was more accessible then. By the way, some people say that Saint-Tropez is not the same anymore. Previously, any student could afford to come there for at least a couple of days, but as soon as the Russians “got a hold of this pipe”, the chic and unbearable lightness of being suddenly ceased to exist.

Saint-Tropez has become an unaffordable luxury. Anyways, our  helicopter landed in the port close to the “boat” of my American boyfriend. The “boat” turned out to be nothing more than a motor   yacht with comfortable cabins. However, for a couple of nights I slept on the deck under the open stars. I knew that very soon this sky should be mine. This is what I want to look at throughout my life — a warm starry sky.