14 Comments
User's avatar
nibbins the cat's avatar

It's always a pleasure to find a new episode of this one hads dropped- I'm still at a loss as to where its going though. Nicely done.

Portia's avatar

Meow, Nibbins, I mean Hello! I'm making it up as I go along, my dear feline writer. I'm asking for trouble, I know...

Jeffrey Streeter's avatar

All good glorious fun - with magical moments like the sunset "not being for me any more".

Portia's avatar

Thanks, Jeffrey, you always flatter me!

Jeffrey Streeter's avatar

No flattery, just honest praise.

Portia's avatar

OMG, I'm going to burst with pride!!!

Gianni Simone's avatar

I started this installment thinking about spycraft and finished it thinking about impossible choices. That's quite a journey for one walk through the Summer Garden.

And the transition from cozy samovar evenings to "here are three packs of condoms" was one of the sharpest tonal pivots I've read in a while. Didn't see that coming.

Portia's avatar

Ciao Gianni, grazie mille del commento, like e restack! A spy story is really about the impact our choices have on our lives, and how life often steers on an unexpected path.

Larisa Rimerman's avatar

Oh, dear, you are so chivalrous describing that apartment.... I guess, I missed the point, when and why Brit appeared in the story. Da, we still remember, how Pushkin took Eugene Onegin for walks in the Summer Gardens.

Portia's avatar

Hi Larisa, the Brit was mentioned in the very first chapter of this story, and then we meet in the second. He's also on the train and at the Big House.

I know you find many parts unrealistic, but I'm not writing a KGB novel, rather a coming of age/love story in 1980s USSR. Thank you, as ever, for reading and commenting!

Chen Rafaeli's avatar

very cool! thank you as always, dear Portia

(I would make a very lousy spy. it's a pity, in a way, but maybe not. I have a funny story of 15 min of being "undercover". That's when it became glaringly obvious.)

Portia's avatar

Thank you, dear Chen! I'm curious to hear this story. I'd make a terrible spy too, I am unable to tell lies (and not for lack of trying) and I talk too much.

What to read if's avatar

The Summer Gardens look beautiful. Hope you're going to give a twist for our heroine in her glamorous fur hat...

Portia's avatar

Thanks for the lovely comment, WTRI! The garden comes into its own in Spring and Summer, but it's still beautiful in Autumn and Winter, although they cover the sculptures with wooden cases, against the cold.

I'll do my damnedest to keep my readers entertained, but I'll try not to torment my heroine too much.