🥇 Easier Than It Seems. 20

By popular demand — the continuation of the book 'Easier Than It Seems.' It turns out that almost a year has passed since the last publication. To save you from re-reading the previous chapters, I made this linking chapter, which continues the plot and helps quickly recall the summary of the previous parts.

Sergey lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling. He planned to stay like this for about five minutes, but an hour had already passed. The longer it went on, the less he wanted to get up.

Tanya sprawled lazily on the couch, with a laptop on her lap. She paid no attention to her husband, and only the clicks of the mouse could be heard. A quick, sharp click – left button. A dull, longer one – the wheel click. The Internet.

Is it possible not to notice a husband lying at your feet for a whole hour? Unlikely. Even side vision should capture some deviations from the usual picture. So, she is deliberately ignoring him. I wonder how long she can hold out.

Sergey took a heavy, drawn-out breath. He dramatically covered his eyes with his palm and let out a quiet moan. He slightly lifted his fingers, glanced at Tanya – no reaction.

— Tanya… — Sergey dragged out, still keeping his palm over his eyes.

— Did you cry? – Tanya detached from her computer. – Well, go ahead, hang up your snot.

Sergey jumped up abruptly and looked at Tanya intently. Her face was calm, with a slight smile. She was ready to listen.

— I’m tired of it. I think I’ll quit.

— Quit? Why?

— Well, it's complicated… — Sergey started.

— How are we going to pay the mortgage?

— What does the mortgage have to do with it…

— What do you mean? – Tanya widened her eyes, and Sergey mentally crossed himself. – Are you crazy? What are you even thinking about?

— I'm thinking that I got into all this for no reason. – Sergey said seriously and as calmly as he could.

— I've told you about this for a long time, but you think you're so smart. You don't listen to your wife, you poke your nose where it doesn't belong, and then you whine like a sad girl.

— What? What girl?

— An ordinary, whiny, delicate girl.

— Delicate lady. – Sergey corrected her.

— What kind of lady are you? – Tanya scoffed. – Ladies walk in lacy dresses, with umbrellas and a volume of Byron. And you’re lying on the floor in torn shorts, a dirty T-shirt, and snot under your nose. And you whine about how hard it is for you.

— Okay, forget it…

— What should I put where? You know, Sergey, I'm sorry, but you're just acting like a childish fool. Fine, you didn't listen to me, decided to take initiative, got involved in some project. But now that you're in it, stop whining! If you're scared, don't do it; if you did it, don't be afraid.

— Genghis Khan?

— I don't know, maybe... Nadia has that status on her social network. And don't forget we have a mortgage. And remember, dear, I can't work right now. Once I finish my studies, I'll work, just like you. Studies have to be paid for too. And if you forgot, let me remind you – it was a joint decision. You pounded your chest and said you'd manage both the mortgage and my education. Surely you haven't forgotten that I also worked and earned not much less than you?

— Well, I have a reminder... — Sergey felt that the conversation was taking a more constructive turn, and he began to smile.

— What reminder?

— You, my love. You remind me of everything.

— What would you do without me? — Tanya smiled too. — So, come on, wipe your tears and get to work. Figure it out, find a solution. You can always quit later.

— What do you mean? You just said we need to pay the mortgage!

— Well, I'm not a fool, Sergey, do you think...

— I never thought that!

— Well, sure, tell me. Right now you're sitting here thinking – that hysterical girl, I'd like to punch you. But I'm just speaking the truth. You love to float in the clouds, solve some virtual problems, and worry about someone looking at you sideways at work.

— If only that were the case...

— If only what? Come on, just for laughs, tell me what happened to you, poor thing.

Sergey fell silent. The situation was unusual – Tanya had never been involved in the details of his work before, and he could ramble about problems, grievances, and difficulties, knowing that he wouldn't have to explain.

— So, to make a long story short... — he began after a couple of minutes. — We're having chaos with the inventory in the warehouse.

— Are they stealing?

— No, unlikely. The parts are too illiquid, too specific; you can't sell them here. All customers are thousands of kilometers away, extracting oil. They're not stealing. It's just a mess with the accounting. The program shows one thing, and the warehouse shows another. Each inventory reveals huge discrepancies.

— And what's the problem then? — Tanya frowned. — If they're not stealing, what difference does it make what's in your program?

— Churchatov doesn't like it. He says the warehouse is his money. He kind of knows that all the money is in place, but never knows how much there is. The managers are also suffering…

— They are also suffering? Like you, lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling?

— No… They are having difficulties in their work. A client calls and asks to ship a hundred bushings. And the manager simply doesn't know how many bushings there are. The program says – three hundred. He goes to the warehouse – and there are twenty. Because production took some, but it wasn't reflected in the program.

— Okay, I understand that. Let's move on.

— Well, I volunteered to fix this situation.

— Why? – Tanya started to say. – Ah, well, we already discussed this. You volunteered, so you volunteered.

— So…

— Wait. – Tanya raised her hand. – Let's determine right away: do you know how to fix all this?

— Well, there, uh… I mean, I think that…

— Do you know or not?

— Are you, like, the prosecutor or something?

— I'm an unhappy, young, beautiful woman whose husband decided to chew on some snot. So do you know or not?

— I know.

Saying this, Sergey felt the same way as he did on the first meeting with the owner when he also volunteered to do this project. His confidence in success did not come from reason, facts, or a plan, but from somewhere inside, intuitively, inexplicably.

— Really? – Tanya asked again.

— Really.

— So, how are you going to fix this?

— I don't know.

— So what do you mean?

— Well, like this. I know I can do it. I feel like there's nothing complicated about it. I understand it’s some little thing. And I'm sure I’ll find it.

Tanya looked closely at her husband. Her gaze became serious, like Churchatov's, when he was trying to figure out if he could trust this silly guy. After a few seconds, Tanya smiled, shrugged, and continued.

— Well, that’s clear. If you say you’ll do it – then you will.

— What do you mean? Aren't you going to ask for details?

— So why ask if you don't know them? You'll start pulling them out of your finger, rambling, using big words, some methods. You said you know how to do everything – I believe you. Just like with the mortgage. You said you could handle it – then you will.

— But you just...

— Someone has to bring you back to normal. I'm your reminder, you said it yourself. Otherwise, you've gotten lost in your imaginary problems, don't feel the ground beneath your feet. And you have nowhere to retreat, behind you… Your wife.

— Unfortunate, young, and beautiful?

— Having doubts? – Tanya asked somewhat too seriously.

— Lord save me from doubts… — Sergey dramatically crossed himself.

— Well, see. You need to act the same at work. Instead of whining about your problems. By the way, what problems are you talking about? I still don’t get it. If you know what to do and how?

— Well… I don’t know… People have started treating me worse.

— When have people treated you well? Tell me that? You always behave like some kind of jerk. You argue and get offended by everyone, over the slightest thing. Remember why you were fired from all your jobs?

— I was never fired; I always left on my own. – Sergey replied proudly.

— Why did you leave?

— Well, there were reasons everywhere.

— But the same reason always was – someone hurt little Sergey. And Sergey – let me remind you, since I’m the reminder here – is a skinny guy, and you can’t hurt him. Who's hurting you, baby?

— Oh, just forget it...

— No way, come on, my little cutie, let’s talk, we can cry together. Is Galya complaining about you to the director?

— Well, not exactly complaining… More like, telling tales.

— Oh, and did she write a little tale too? And you – in tears? Anyone else? The director probably called and scolded you? But you can’t scold Sergey, he has Gosha-Gogi syndrome.

— What?

— Well, Goga from "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears." Also a drama queen. Oh, you can't talk to me like that, or I’ll leave and start cryyyy-ing and drink-ing.

— He seems to be a positive character...

— Left a woman and ran away because she raised her voice – a positive character, in your opinion? No, he’s just a woman. A regular, hysterical, immature woman. Though, why do I keep saying woman... A typical, hysterical, immature man. Who runs away from problems instead of confronting them. Just like you.

— Me?

— You, who else? The moment something doesn't go your way – you run away from work. Galya complained about you – you ran away from work. What else do you have? Your buddy, what’s his name… Doesn’t matter. He probably did something dumb too, right?

— Yeah, he decided to betray me or something...

— Oh no! – Tanya raised her hands and dramatically flopped on the couch. – He betrayed you! How will you live? Quit immediately! Run, run from difficulties!

— I’m not running from difficulties, I just...

— You're lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, drooling, and talking about your womanly – truly womanly! – problems. Remember how schoolgirls talk? "And I'm like this, and he's like that, and I told him this, and he told me that..."

— Alright, what should I do?

— Just work on your damn project! It's obvious that people will judge you poorly! Even I, although not the brightest, but a young and attractive woman, understand this. You climb onto the pedestal – everyone looks at you. Make a mistake – they'll point fingers and laugh. They will gossip about you and your work, whisper, complain, intrigue, provoke, and make your life miserable. Just because you rose from the swamp. Each of them wants to rise too, but few dare to. And watching those who have risen is unbearable. That's why they try to pull you back down. You should also write about your project online – you'll receive so much criticism that you'll be busy cleaning it up.
— What should I do about all this? Well, about the people...

— Sergey, are you stupid? What did I just tell you?

— But they're trying to sabotage me...

— Then take that stick and shove it up their backside! Goodness, how can you be so... useless. Show your teeth. Or just ignore them, do the best you can with what you have, where you are.

— Is that also Nadia's status? – Sergey guessed.

— No, it's Roosevelt. You're planning to quit anyway – so work as if you're about to be fired. You have nothing to lose, no need to make friends with anyone, you have no one to fear. Just get this damn project done, if you can. If not – fine, you'll find another job. After all, you found this one in a week.

— Chosen.

— What do you mean? – Tanya was surprised.

— Well, there’s a shortage of programmers in our village. I had three offers, all with the same salary.

— Great! That means there’s nothing to fear. Just take it and get to work. Act like you already know you'll be fired.

— Like a samurai, maybe?

— What samurai?

— Well, samurai lived as if they were already dead.

— Let’s go with samurai... Oh no, wait! Don't die, we have a mortgage!

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