Crossroads. Chapter 6

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In the evening, Ilya invited his friends to the nearby Kibbutz ¹ “Merom Golan” in the restaurant “A-Bokrim”. Despite the traditional meat steak style for a cowboy’s restaurant, it was also famous for its best fish in the Golan. They took a taxi, deciding how to drink a chic snack. Ilya loved this place, stylized as a cowboy ranch with Americanisms, a drink that you don’t see everywhere, and a relaxed atmosphere that promotes a confidential conversation in an atmosphere of hum of friendly polyphony, under the unhurried country music of a live orchestra.





He peered into the faces of his friends, who, after the first toasts, engaged in catching in the biblical lake Kinneret and prepared in sophisticated ways with "barbel", "kineretan sardines" and "St. Peter's fish".



Each of them has achieved significant success in his business: Danik in New York - Chief Technology Officer (CTO) - Technical Director of Microsoft; Sergey - Director of Technology in the London office of "IBM"; Igor Beller and Chief Scientists at all - the main scientist - in the leading company, attracting all the advanced developments in the field of scientific research in various branches of medicine; Smolkin - VP R & D - Director of Development for the Google division in Toronto.



How to convince them to perform such an action, to break from these heights into perilous uncertainty? And does he have a moral right to such a conviction? Yes, and he himself, the leading developer of "Instaitek", a company with a worldwide reputation, the establishment of which he devoted almost ten years of hard work, to decide on such an act is very difficult. Not only you will have to think and answer not only for yourself, but also for them, for his closest friends, with whom he has gone through so much, you will have to answer if they decide to step into this virtuality.



The buzz of restaurant space, the mixing of close conversations of friends, music, the rustling of dancing couples. Wine "Margalit", tart, rich, they chose, imbued with a patriotic feeling for the local famous Cabernet Sauvignon. For a while, all this plunged Ilya into the memories of those years, when these guys, who were sitting with him at the same table now, scattered around their new nests, but he made his own, although it was not easy.



Hell! Love with this girl was hot, like an iron, and short, like his cord, and once the cord caught fire, unable to withstand the tension, and with its flame lit up the sad reality.



Hell was nervous, and this state of hers immediately passed on to him. She took his hands, and he felt that her strong palms, always so confident and knowing exactly how to behave, were wet.



- Ilyushik, my dear, you are the best of all men I knew.



Ilyushka was immediately rebuffed by the rumor that “of all”, but not because of this he needed to get ready to faint - it was further steeper.



“But, you see,” and Ada's voice returned to his primly-imperative imperatively-tough mood, “I, Ilyukha, still like girls more. These bitches, idiot, prostitutes ... - here she stopped and again switched to a pet: - Ilyushechka, what can you do? Nature, damn it!



Ilya with difficulty lifted the dropped lower jaw. He could not speak and didn’t really know what to do: laugh, break, or break something. There was only a mirror nearby, and to beat the mirror, a rational flashed among the raging waves of adrenaline - a bad omen.



Ilya drank for a week in the Nest pub, a traditional shelter for programmer-math plankton. Peel alternately with friends who did not interfere with him leaning against the cozy fate of the alcoholic. But he just got bored drinking. He had been friends with the owners of the establishment for a long time, and those, fulfilling his specific unusual orders for drinks, came to the discovery of such an intimate cocktail that later he became a chip of their pub and wore the name of the inventor in the menu ...



Ada went to Canada for a high position ... And at the same time - to marry (or get married?) On one of the contenders. In general, everything has improved over time with her, turned into a stable marriage with a serious young woman, two children, born alternately with both, their own home and full material well-being. They remained good friends, and Alla accepted her as a friend.



Alla



Ilyushka quit drinking, realizing: "This is not mine." Having flown over a fan of girlish dissimilarities, I didn’t stop at any one until, once on a quiet, cool evening, when returning to a rented apartment in Rishon,

a “vision” did not happen to him.



A girl with a dog, a white touching lump with a complex name West Highland White, walked towards it.



The girl smoked a cigarette in a long black mouthpiece. She was relaxed and distant, and Ilya, passing by, did not pay any attention. And he drew. Something in her face, in her walk, in the way she held her cigarette, turned him in the opposite direction of his movement. He smoked "Rothmans" and, through a filter not filled up to the mouthpiece, he recognized this brand, which is quite rare in Israel. Having caught up with a stranger, he did not find anything better than to ask:



- Girl, don't you give me a cigarette?



She laughed first, then, realizing the absurdity of the situation, he also cheered up, and they both laughed out loud when they saw with what amazement they looked at their West Highland White.



A year later, they had a wonderful boy, and after five more, a wonderful girl.



Smolkin was the first who could not stand it and returned to the conversation, which everyone had been carefully postponing, realizing that the result of a two-hour conversation with Ilya in a cozy gol zimmer should be some important decision - a decision that could change their well-being. They drank wine and ate fish, hiding all the growing tension in anticipation of this proposal, hiding nervous excitement behind the merriment of toasts. And Smolkin, the most simple-minded and impatient soul, shot like a champagne cork:



- My head can burst from the number of ideas that it is possible to unleash, having such a base for development!



He glanced at those sitting nearby and surprised that he was not stopped, he continued, getting more and more excited:



- After all, we can screw such plots for this game! Imagine, for example, go through the pages of Georges Simenon or Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, finally. Or, for example, I would like to steal the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre - and I would have succeeded! How much can you attract people?



Danik stepped in, waiting for Smolkin to reach for a mug:



- Yes, there is a lot of things to post here. Educational programs: a teacher can simply take children or students to historical places as close to reality as possible.



- And, - added Igor, - travel business! For them, this is simply a fantastic find: "And today we will visit the Roman baths, the famous baths, in the company of patricians and their girlfriends."



- Yes, this is not for schoolchildren, - Danik laughed, - this is quite for you and me! In these terms, the Romans ... - and he looked in the direction of two girls dancing in the middle of the hall to the quiet music of the orchestra.



Igor picked up, interrupting Shevinsky who was carried away by the contemplation:



- They decayed so perversely that they destroyed their empire.



- You want to say that these terms are useful to reduce today's patricians so that they do not repeat the mistakes of the former? - all laughed.



“There was plenty of room,” continued Illya, “and commoners, so that we can well indulge ourselves with this luxury.” It remains the smallest thing - to create a company and take up this dream seriously.



There was music; while the orchestra rested, the musical installation worked. Sinatra sang "My Way".



Ilya took a pouch of black velvet out of his pocket, and four gold signet rings poured out onto the table.



- This is my gift to you in honor of the anniversary of the university, well, also for listening to my idea, and it looks like it impressed you. On each ring your initials.



The guys dismantled the seals, trying on their fingers, surprised to find that the size satisfied everyone. But the intrigue was ahead, and everyone understood it, so thanks were hanging on everyone’s lips waiting for the final.



Smolkin spoke again:



- Swedish, do not pull the cat by the tail! Express, finally, what is your vision of our actions.



Ilya called the waiter, and he brought a pre-cooked bottle of Pierre Croizet La Carafe XO with a wide neck to their table. The waiter took out the ground glass stopper, and Illya threw his ring on cognac.



- Who is with me, lower your seals in this cognac, and we will open it again when the start of this case is given. If I remain alone in this bottle of a noble drink, I will still take care of this and will not reproach you for anything: this is a huge responsibility, and it is not easy for me to suggest that you take this step. I'll go out for a smoke while you think about it.



He managed to make only a few puffs before Sergey’s hand fell on his shoulder:



- You have been waiting for.



At the bottom of the bottle, except for his seals, were all four rings. Ilya felt hot drops of sweat running down his back. He did not know what to say, he just got up and, bypassing everyone, firmly embraced everyone, silently, with meaning.







Summed up Smolkin:



- All guys, no snot, arbeiten, arbeiten un disciplines! Now we need to see a plan of action. You, Swedish, he probably already has. How is the “Alice in Wonderland”?

In order not to fall into the trap,



To not get lost in the dark



To never go astray,



To land in the right place



Draw a map on the map.

And all in chorus picked up their favorite childhood song:

Even if there is talent,



In order not to upset, not upset,



In order not to destroy, but to build,



To increase, double and triple,



We need a very accurate plan.

It wasn’t enough without snot: when it was time to disperse, Smolkin hung on Cohen:



- Swedish! - Smolkin stopped Cohen at the mirror, which reflected the faces of all five! “Have you seen what a genius looks like?” Here he is! - and Smolkin patted Ilya on the head of hair, - an ordinary sympathetic genius!



They rolled out onto the street on a cool Galilean night and said goodbye, agreeing to see tomorrow for dinner and discuss further further seriously.



Next chapter



1 * Kibbutz - agricultural commune in Israel.