“Because,l replied the foreigner, squinting up at the sky where black birds darted silently in anticipation of the coolness of the evening, “because Annushka has already bought sunflower oil, and not only bought it, but soilled it too. So that meeting will not take place.”
(Now a common expression, Annushka has already spilled the oil!)
Fifteen minutes later, Ryukhin sat huddled in total silence over a plate of carp, drinking glass after glass of vodka, understanding and admitting to himself that nothing in his life could be repaired any more, that all he could do was to forget.
