RAECHKA: Take them away.
BORIS: But you need some refreshments for your guests today.
RAECHKA: No one is coming today.
BORIS: Why nobody? What about Tanya?
RAECHKA: She has found a boyfriend. She has less time for me.
BORIS: I have lost all my friends too. They die, take care of grand children, wives sick, different interests…
RAECHKA: Where is your Galochka?
BORIS: I’ve found that I’ve moderated my life. She was too active for me.
RAECHKA: You have neighbors.
BORIS: Raechka, all neighbors are Americans. With my poor English I can just greet them, and mention the weather. They are always in a hurry. I think you have the same problems…
RAECHKA: That’s life, I suppose…
BORIS: Your coffee smells good. Any more coffee left?
RAECHKA (taking a coffee mug and starting to pour): Black, right?
BORIS (accepting the mug): Thanks. The Doctor says I have to cut back on alcohol and caffein. Cutting back coffee has been harder. (Pause) Some years ago I understood, I can’t live as a hermit…
RAECHKA: But I can live alone…
BORIS: You said about my neighbors… It seems as if they are afraid of me… especially after what is happened this year…
RAECHKA: The Boston Marathon bombing?
BORIS: Yes. There is a feeling among Americans that Russia is behind some of these terrorist acts… starting with the assassination of Kennedy.
RAECHKA: Boria! You are so paranoid. That’s going too far…
BORIS: How do you explain that my neighbor John, quickly strides into his house whenever I appear? For days I wanted to tell him that Chechenia, while a part of Russia, is entirely different from Russia.
RAECHKA: Boria, you have become so boring that nobody wants to talk with you.
BORIS: No. I became vigilant.. Remember our old friends and how careful we had to be in choosing them?
RAECHKA: They could be only like-minded persons, who shared our political opinions about Soviet government or Stalin…
BORIS: We only talked with our friends at the kitchen table, where we had no phone… We had to take care about our safety…
RAECHKA: When we got together, what was our toast?…
BORIS and RAECHKA: “For the purity of our ranks”…
BORIS: All understood what it means. We all knew each other so well… All our party with friends were very friendly and joyfully…
RAECHKA: Except one…
BORIS: Do you mean your birthday party when Dima brought an acquaintance? What was his name?
RAECHKA: Alexander… He started to reminisce about the World War and “Father Stalin”… I added, that Stalin was having a nervous breakdown at the beginning of the war, and Molotov had to announce the German invasion over the radio…
