caught Anna red-handed; and here she crept, the crafty serpent, getting what she deserved.
“How did you find me?” Lyushin asked.
“My Ministry pays your expenses,” Alexey answered.
“Let’s drink to that!” With irrepressible self-assurance, the physicist gestured toward an unoccupied chair.
“I must speak to you alone,” Bulyagkov replied, glancing sidelong at Anna.
“Don’t we have all day tomorrow at the Ministry for that sort of thing?”
“I was just about to leave,” Anna interjected.
“Imagine, this is Comrade Anna’s first time in the Ukraina,” Lyushin said, switching to a conversational tone.
The waiter appeared behind Bulyagkov. “Your coat?”
“I’m not staying,” the Deputy Minister replied.
A second waiter came up, pushing the serving cart. A silver platter was laden with steaming slices of meat, dressed with a greasy sauce and garnished with bay leaves and bilberries. The waiter began to distribute the portions.
“I’d rather not eat,” Anna said.
The waiter paused with uplifted serving utensils.
“Please fetch the comrade’s coat,” Bulyagkov said, indicating Anna.
Whatever was behind Alexey’s sudden appearance, she didn’t like the way decisions were being made on her behalf. “Maybe I’ll have a little taste, after all,” she declared.
The waiter placed a plate in front of her, and for the second time she laid her napkin on her lap. Then she cut herself a piece of meat.
“We were discussing The Open Ear, the TV program,” Lyushin said, trying to get a conversation going. “A nerve-racking interview. The subject was too much for the woman who moderates the show. She was in over her head.”
Upon hearing this assertion, Bulyagkov took a seat. “You talked about your project on television?”
“Perhaps a bit, in a popular-science sort of way.”
Anna saw the two exchange looks.
“The Minister will want to hear details from you tomorrow,” Bulyagkov said.
“I have the documents with me.” Lyushin stabbed his fork into a morsel of venison, brought it to his mouth, and chewed. Meanwhile, Anna, inexplicably ravenous, cleaned her plate.
“I’d like to go through the papers with you,” said Bulyagkov, unbuttoning his coat and leaning back.
“Now?” Lyushin patted his forehead with his napkin.
“How are you getting home?” Alexey asked, tapping the back of Anna’s hand.
“On the subway, naturally.”
“Don’t be silly. Anton will give you a ride.”
“And what about you?” She didn’t understand his sudden change of mood.
“I’ll be here for a while yet. I’ve got some things to do.”
“The three of us!” Lyushin said with a laugh. “Like the Three Musketeers! We should all go to a bar.”
Bulyagkov gazed at him with cold eyes. “Comrade Anna surely has to get up early. And as for you, Nikolai, you’d best go to bed soon so you can sleep off your liquor.”
“I find Moscow even more provincial than Dubna,” Lyushin said with a sigh; however, when Anna stood up and accepted her coat, he didn’t protest. “It was a pleasure, Comrade,” he said. “Too bad we didn’t have more time together.”
“Thanks for the invitation.” She wrapped her scarf around her head.
After he’d walked a few steps with her in the direction of the exit, Bulyagkov observed, “I believe you should thank the Ministry for Research Planning.”
“I’d rather go home on the subway,” she announced. The moment alone with him was disagreeable to her. Halfway to the door, he took her hand, squeezed it, and turned back without a word.
As she hurried over the richly patterned carpet, Anna tried to make sense of her departure. Had Alexey, insulted and offended at having found her with Lyushin, thrown her out? Had he turned up at the Ukraina only to speak to Lyushin, or had someone tipped him off about her? Anna went through the revolving door and into the cold night air, which hit her like a blow.
When Alexey returned to the table in the alcove, Lyushin was studying the dessert list. “Let’s go.”
“I’ve got a craving for something sweet—”
With unaccustomed violence, the Deputy Minister struck the menu out of Lyushin’s hand. “You’ve had enough sweets for one evening.” Like a dog only now perceiving the possibility of a beating, the physicist rose to his feet. Bulyagkov made for the steps to the mezzanine, where the elevators were. By the time the double doors split open, Lyushin had caught up with him, and they stepped into the elevator together. “Have you completely taken leave of your senses?” the older man barked as soon as the doors shut. “I don’t care whom you choose to meet. But inviting Anna to this place was stupid and dangerous!”
“You can’t believe that I asked your girlfriend here—”
“Shut your mouth.” With a gesture, Bulyagkov directed Lyushin to