Rodion. Yeah. And the same to you!
Rodion leaves. Golyshkin goes to his office and walks nervously from corner to corner in the dimly lit room, thinking about something. The phone rings. The spotlight beam snatches out Myshevsky with a mobile phone in his hands.
Myshevsky. Good morning professor. Am I too early?
Golyshkin. Oh, that’s okay, Mr. Myshevsky! In fact, I haven't even gone to bed yet.
Myshevsky. Are you still thinking about my offer?
Golyshkin. You are right.
Myshevsky. So, have you made a decision?
Golyshkin. I’ve already told you – I am a philosopher, not an adventurer.
Myshevsky. I don’t like adventures either, as any serious businessman. But now it’s quite a different case. It has nothing to do with adventure. This time it has to do with gold. Oh, how it smells, professor! Much better that your favorite jasmine… Do you remember a legend about the falcon and the raven? It is better to live thirty years, eating fresh blood, than three hundred years, eating carrion.
Golyshkin. Maybe you are right.
Myshevsky. In that case… take a decision, professor!
Golyshkin. Give me another half an hour.
Myshevsky. What for?
Golyshkin. Only half an hour. And then I'll call you back. And I will definitely say yes or no.
Myshevsky. Good. Thirty minutes are not three hundred years.
Golyshkin hangs up. The spotlight beam goes down and Myshevsky disappears. Golyshkin dials the number again. The beam snatches Olga out of the darkness.
Olga. Oh, who is there so early? Just don’t say that you’ve dialed the wrong number!
Golyshkin. This is professor Golyshkin.
Olga. Stalver Udarpyatovich, is that you? Did something happen to you?
Golyshkin. Olga Alekseevna, sorry for my early call.
Olga. That’s okay… Anyway, I had to get up. The working day at our clinic starts at eight a.m., oh, dam it all! Go, tell me, what's happened to you?!
Golyshkin. You haven't come to see me for ages…
Olga. Oh, so that's the point!
Golyshkin. So, I thought… I just wanted to ask… Did I offend you somehow, Olga Alekseevna?
Olga. Oh, don’t worry, Stalver Udarpyatovich. I’m just having a lot of work these days. Besides, you don’t need the nurse aid any longer.
Golyshkin. And what about tonight, after work? Not as a nurse… But as a friend… If you let me put it like that.
Olga. What for? To discuss eternal problems? It’s so boring, Stalver Udarpyatovich! We have already talked about it. Your philosophy is immortal, unlike me, unfortunately.
