Arbuzov A. N

Time passes. Valya and Sergey gave birth to twins - Fedor and Lenochka. Sergei advises Valya to go to school and then work. He believes that for happiness a person needs his business to be at least a little better than himself.

July thirtieth. A very hot day. Sergei takes a towel and goes to the Angara to take a dip. On the way to the river, he meets a boy and a girl who join him: the children go fishing.

Meanwhile, Victor comes to Valya. He still cannot forget her and suffers a lot. Valya loves Sergei. Suddenly, their friend Rodik comes and tells that Sergei drowned. A boy and a girl who were fishing turned over on a raft. Sergei saved them at the cost of his life.

After the death of Sergei, his entire team decides to work for him, and give the money to Valentina. Against one Victor. He believes that this should humiliate Valya. Valya, however, accepts the money. Then Victor accuses her of dependency. He loves Valya and wants her to keep her human dignity. He tells her the same thing that Sergei once said: that she should go to study and work. He invites her to join them. Valya agrees. A new feeling for Victor seems to be emerging in her, although she is in no hurry to admit it. Sergey's voice wishes Victor Bon Voyage in life.

Cruel Intentions Drama (1978)

The action takes place in the late 70s. our century. Moscow. House on Tverskoy Boulevard. Kai Leonidov lives in a spacious three-room apartment. His mother and stepfather are abroad, they left for a few years, so he lives alone. One day, the girl Nelya comes to his apartment. She is nineteen years old. She, having arrived from Rybinsk, did not enter the medical institute. She has nowhere to live, and her friends sent her to Kai. She promises if Kai will let her live here, clean and cook. Kai is twenty years old, but he is already tired of life and is indifferent to everything. Parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but Kai left the institute, he draws. Kai allows Nela to stay.

Kai is often visited by his friends Terenty Konstantinov and Nikita Likhachev. They are his age, friends from school. Terenty left his father. The elder Konstantinov also often comes to Kai, calling his son home, but he hardly talks to him. Terenty lives in a hostel and is not going to return home. Nelya comes up with a nickname for everyone: Kai calls Boat, Nikita - Bubenchik, Terenty - Openok. Nikita starts an affair with Nelya. He looks after every girl that appears in his field of vision. Nelya scares him that she will take and give birth to his daughter.

One January evening, Mikhail Zemtsov comes to Kai. it cousin Kaya. He is thirty years old, he is a doctor in Tyumen. In Moscow, Mikhail travel. Mikhail talks about his work and life in the taiga in general. He is married. He recently had a daughter. Nelya tells him that she also wants to become a doctor, that she worked as a nurse in a hospital. Mikhail says that if they had such a nurse in the hospital, he would make her rich. Leaving, Mikhail tells the guys that they live dimly, do not see life with its joys.

Early March. Western Siberia. The settlement of the oil exploration expedition. Misha and his wife Masha are in the Zemtsovs' room. She is thirty-nine years old, she is a geologist. Just ten weeks ago, their daughter was born, and Masha is already bored. She cannot live without her job, which is why, as Mikhail says, three ex-husband. Masha is burdened that Mikhail can be called to the hospital at any time of the day or night, and she has to sit alone with Lesya. Enter Loveiko, a neighbor of the Zemtsovs. He is thirty-eight years old, he works with Masha. Loveiko says that the area in Tuzhka, where they worked, is called unpromising. Masha wants to prove the opposite to everyone, but she has a child in her arms.

At this time, the door opens, Nelya is standing on the threshold. She is very surprised that Misha is married, she did not know this. Misha does not immediately recognize her, but then he sincerely rejoices, because "there is no one to guard his patients." Nelya wants to stay with them until autumn, so that she can again try to go to college.

Moscow. Kai's apartment again. The guys always remember Nelya. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, without leaving an address, without saying where she was going. Kai painted her portrait and considers it his only good fortune. Nikita thinks that Nelya left because she is expecting a child from him. Unexpectedly, Oleg Pavlovich, Kai's stepfather, arrives for only two days. He brings him gifts and a letter from his mother.

The settlement of the oil exploration expedition, the second half of July, the Zemtsovs' room. Masha and Loveiko are going to leave for Tuzhok. Nelya brings Lesya out of the manger so that they can say goodbye, but Masha does not want this: she "said goodbye yesterday in the manger." Misha is summoned to Baikul. Nelya is left alone with the child.

Mid August. Zemtsov's room. Misha and Nelya are drinking tea. Nelya tells him her story. She ran away from home after her parents forced her to have an abortion. She wanted to run away with her "boy", but he drove her away. Nelya asks Misha to marry her. Misha replies that he loves Masha. He "guesses" Nele on the palm of his hand. He tells her that Nelya loves another: he offended her, so she left. Nelya agrees. Misha says that everything can be fixed if the person is alive. And suddenly reports that Masha left them. Nelya asks him not to believe it.

End of September. Moscow. Evening. Guys are sitting in Kai's room. For the umpteenth time, the elder Konstantinov comes, and Terenty is just as cold with him. Suddenly a woman comes. This is Nelly's mother. She is in her early forties. She is looking for a daughter. The guys say that Nelya left and did not leave an address. Neli's mother tells that her husband is dying and wants to see her daughter in the end and ask for forgiveness. The kids can't help her. She leaves. Terenty believes that Nikita is to blame for Nely's departure. Kai says that everyone is to blame. They remember their childhood and wonder why they became so inhuman. Even Konstantinov Sr. suddenly opens up. He tells how he drank all his life, and when he came to his senses, he was alone.

October twentieth. Zemtsov's room. Masha came for one day. Nelya tells her how Mikhail died: he flew out to save a man, but because of an accident he drowned in a swamp. Now Nelya spends the night at their house, taking Lesya from the manger - “so that life is warm here”, she says that Misha loved her, Nelya, then she admits that she invented it to forget the other, and that Masha can be envied: such a person loved her! Masha leaves, leaving Lesya to Nelya. In parting, Nelya turns on the tape recorder for Masha, where Misha recorded his song for her.

Moscow. Beginning of December. Kai's room. Nikita and Terenty arrive. Kai says that Nelya has returned with her daughter. The girl caught a cold on the road. Nikita is out of his mind. Wants to leave. Nelya comes out of the next room with a girl in her arms. She says that she will leave when Lesya recovers, at least to her mother - she called after all. Nikita wants to find out who the child's father is, but Nelya won't tell him. He asks if he would like it to be his child? He pushes her away. Nelya is crying. Terenty invites her to marry him.

Last days December. Kai's room. Lesya sleeps in a new stroller. Nelya bought a big Christmas tree. Kai sorts out toys. Nelya again reminds her that she will leave soon. Kai doesn't want to believe it. Terenty dressed up as Santa Claus. Terenty's father brought Lesya a mechanical toy as a gift. The guys turn off the lights, spin to the music.

Masha suddenly enters. He asks where her daughter is. Nelya says that she took the girl away, since Masha left her, abandoned her. Masha takes her daughter and says that all the games, including her own, are over. leaves. Kai notices that the room has become empty. Nelya asks everyone for forgiveness. Nikita drives her away in a rage. Nelya is packing her things and wants to leave. Konstantinov senior asks Nelya not to leave, not to leave the guys, Nelya is silent. Kai slowly walks over to her, takes her suitcase. Nikita takes off her jacket, Terenty - a handkerchief. They lit the Christmas tree, turned on the tape recorder. Terenty calls Konstantinov his father for the first time and goes home with him. Kai dresses and goes out: he wants to look from the street at the Christmas tree in the house. Nikita and Nelya are left alone.

Alexey Nikolaevich Arbuzov 1908-1986

When contemporaries speak or write about Alexei Arbuzov, three amazing qualities of his personality and his work are always noted in one word or another.

Firstly, this is a rare ability to always remain a young soul, which manifested itself in everything: from freshness, immediacy of perception of life, when, according to I. Vasilinina, “rain is not an annoying hindrance, but one of the wonders of nature”, to the ability to dress in fashion; from a persistent interest in young people and helping young fellow writers to the ability to be in best sense modern, that is, open to all the problems that fast-running time poses in a given period, capable of capturing the spirit of the era, imbued with it and conveying it in the work.

Secondly, it is his organic theatricality, deep, coming from youthful years attachment to the theater, the subtlest knowledge of its laws, thanks to which Arbuzov's plays are always staged: they "ask to be on the stage." Some theatricality was characteristic of the playwright in life. Having been an actor in his youth, he, as I. Vishnevskaya writes, “has forever retained his inner artistry, the desire for acting, for reincarnation. Even things play next to Arbuzov: they turn from things for everyday use into a colorful theatrical scenery. His younger contemporary playwright V. Slavkin also spoke about the same property of Arbuzov's character: “He played in life. All time. And if there was no situation, he created a game situation around him.

Our studio was also his game ... He gathered around him people who were completely different from him ... Because he understood that the beauty of life is in diversity.

Finally, thirdly, they write about Arbuzov as a bright and benevolent person who knew how to sincerely rejoice at someone else's success, and they invariably note the humanity, warmth of his works, in which even negative characters are warmed by the author's understanding and forgiveness.

Life and creative way Aleksey Nikolayevich Arbuzov (1908–1986) was a long and full of events. He was born in Moscow, but early childhood moved with his family to St. Petersburg, where the life of his family was very unfavorable: the departure of his father from the family, the mental illness of his mother. Here he was caught by the events October revolution, which he recalled much later: “The strongest impression was the capture of the Winter Palace in October 1917, which I observed as a boy. This event affected my fate and the fate of my family. started new life. I was left to myself ”(Theater. 1986. No. 2). At the age of eleven, he was left alone, wandered and even ended up in a colony for the difficult to educate. The guardianship of his aunt changed little in his life, but the theater played a saving and decisive role. “Having been brought up by my aunt,” Arbuzov wrote in his autobiography, “I wanted to go wandering again, but one autumn evening of the 20th year prevented everything - I ended up at the Bolshoi Drama Theater, where Schiller’s Robbers were given ... Returning home after the performance, I I understood that now there is no life outside the theater. I came up with a new ending for The Robbers, I dreamed of my future, and it was - theater, theater, theater ... For four years, the gallery of the fourth tier was my home, my family - everything significant happened here.

Arbuzov took the next step towards the stage by becoming an actor in a traveling theater troupe. He will devote several years to acting in this and other groups and will keep his love for this profession for life, will dedicate his best plays to his favorite artists. At the end of the 1920s, Arbuzov tried his hand at directing - he worked in the "living newspapers" of Leningrad, and led a brigade of an agitation train. In an effort to make the speeches of his propaganda team as topical as possible, Arbuzov began to compose skits and numbers, to make various montages. In November 1930, his first play “Class” appeared, written in a poster style, characteristic of the young dramaturgy of those years and reflecting the class maximalism of the people who won the revolutionary battles and their labor enthusiasm. It is interesting that it was precisely such an ideologically and politically pointed play (it was appreciated and staged by professional theaters) that the writer entered the dramaturgy, who would later be blamed for “excessive intimacy” and advised “to boldly go out into Big world life Soviet man". In fact, the playwright Arbuzov never lost social activity, but serious public problems in his works were solved through the private, personal, family. The continuity of the early and mature works of the playwright is also evidenced by the fact that it is in this first play that the Choir appears, accompanying the action and commenting on the actions of the characters.

This “ancient” element, unusual at first glance for Soviet dramaturgy, introduced publicism and solemnity into the text. In search of his own creative style, Arbuzov repeatedly uses the Choir, including in one of his best plays, Irkutsk History.

In the early 1930s, Arbuzov moved to Moscow, where he became a volunteer at a theater school, and soon headed the literary department of the Proletkult Theater of Small Forms. Together with the troupe of this theater, he travels to construction sites, mines, writes interludes, forms the current repertoire. True, the big play about the miners of Donbass (“Heart”), conceived at that time, the material for which the writer collected while living and working at the mine, was never written.

In Arbuzov's first dramatic experiments, neither Arbuzov's themes nor Arbuzov's style are yet heard. A departure from the schematism and straightforward sociologism of the propaganda theater, a turn towards psychological drama was outlined in two lyrical comedies of these years: “Six Beloved” (1934) - from collective farm life - and “The Long Road” (1935) - about the builders of the Moscow Metro, their difficult characters and relationships, romantic love.

In these plays, the author's close attention to the personal life of the characters, the formation of the character of a young contemporary, which will become decisive in Arbuzov's dramaturgy, is already noticeable. Interest in privacy did not rule out heroism, but with Arbuzov it was the heroism of everyday life, natural and almost imperceptible. “My hero is sweet and dear to me, who becomes positive as a result of the trials that fall to his lot,” wrote Arbuzov. The play "Six Beloved", published in the magazine "Kolkhozny Theatre", was staged in 1934-1935 by many professional theaters. “So, quite by accident,” Arbuzov wrote, “I became a repertoire playwright.”

It was the best of his early plays, Tanya (1938), a chamber drama about love and happiness, that made Arbuzov truly famous. The young heroine is completely dissolved in her love, but finds the strength to give it up after learning about her husband's feelings for another woman. She finds herself in the profession, acquires life experience and appears in the second part of the play as a man who has taken place, an adult, open to new feelings. The play convincingly and talentedly sounded main topic Arbuzov's drama is the theme of a person who finds himself. The play went around almost all the theaters of the country and caused a wave of heated discussions. She received the most striking stage embodiment at the Theater of the Revolution (now the V.V. Mayakovsky Theater) in 1939, staged by A. Lobanov, where leading role performed by Maria Babanova. The actress was characterized by a keen sense of modernity, lyricism, emotionality, depth of character comprehension. The play ran 1,000 times with great success.

In the 1930s, a number of significant meetings for Arbuzov took place, which largely determined his creative destiny. In 1934, he talked with M. Gorky as part of a group of young playwrights, often attended rehearsals of the innovative director V. Meyerhold, which became a school of theatrical art for him. No less important was the rapprochement between Arbuzov and the Moscow creative youth (E. Garin, A. Gladkov, I. Shtok, V. Pluchek, etc.), which led in 1938 to the creation of the Moscow State Theater Studio, popularly called "Arbuzovskaya" . It was he, always looking for new forms and preoccupied, despite his fame and solid literary reputation, with the absence of his own, creatively close theater group, who became the soul of this studio. Together with him, it was headed by the writer A. Gladkov and a student of Meyerhold, theater director V. Pluchek. From this moment begins the period that Arbuzov called best years own life. The task of the studio was to create truly modern performances, in which the image of a contemporary would find a true and deep reflection, an appeal to his generation, a story about himself.

Alexey Nikolaevich Arbuzov

cruel games

Arbuzov Alexey Nikolaevich

cruel games

Dramatic scenes in two parts, eleven scenes

Then he grew up ... He went for a walk ... and walked between us, giving each a pen, knowing that we would support and teach him the mind, feeling our tenderness and even love ...

Edward Albee. Not afraid of Virginia Woolf

CHARACTERS

Kai Leonidov, 20 years, Nikita Likhachev, 20 years Terenty, 20 years, - school friends.

Nelya, arrived in Moscow, 19 years old.

Mishka Zemtsov, doctor, 30 years old.

Masha Zemtsova, geologist, 39 years old.

Konstantinov, father of Terenty, 50 years old.

Loveiko, a neighbor of the Zemtsovs, 38 years old.

Oleg Pavlovich, Kai's stepfather, 43 years old.

Nely's mother, 44 years old.

Lyubasya, younger sister Nikita, 18 years old.

A girl who looks like an angel, a girl who doesn't look like an angel at all - the author offers these roles to be played by one actress.

The action takes place in the late seventies in Moscow and in the oil fields in the Tyumen region..

PART ONE

PICTURE ONE

End of September.

House on Tverskoy Boulevard, built at the beginning of the century. Spacious three-room apartment on the second floor, somewhat neglected.

In the room that was once his nursery, Kai sits in his usual pose in an armchair. He is twenty years old, he is casually dressed, his hair is short, he was a pretty boy in his childhood. It is beginning to get dark outside, but through the window you can still see the yellowed leaves of the boulevard swayed by the wind. pours heavy rain. On the threshold, peering into the semi-darkness of the room, stands Nelya, a simple-looking girl, not yet a Muscovite in appearance. At her feet is a small suitcase.

Nelya (I saw Kai sitting). Hello. Your staircase door wasn't locked...

Kai. And what?

Nelya (condemning him). Still ... alone in the apartment.

Kai. And what?

Nelya. Thieves can enter.

Kai. They don't come.

Nelya. You would turn on the light. It got dark outside. Why talk in the dark?

Kai (lit the table lamp. Looked at Nel). And where did you come from?

Nelya. Which?

Kai. Wet.

Nelya. And why do you call me "you"? Not good.

Kai. Who do you need?

Nelya. Leonidov.

Kai. Weird. Didn't think anyone needed it.

Nelya (looked around). Not tidied up in your apartment.

Kai. Undoubtedly my charm.

Nelya. Dust is everywhere.

Kai. And it is not excluded, my joy.

Nelya (got indignant). Can you speak seriously?

Kai. Lean, my friend.

Nelya (looked at the easel). Are you an artist?

Kai. Not quite sure.

Nelya (saw an aquarium). And do you like fish?

Kai (chuckled). More than anything in the world. ( After a pause.) Further?

Nelya. Do you remember Ivetochka Gorshkova?

Kai. Not overjoyed with her.

Nelya. She sent me to you.

Kai. What's wrong?

Nelya. Shelter me. ( Quiet.) Shelter.

Kai (after a pause). Are you crazy?

Nelya. I have no one to live with - that's it, Leonidov. I spent two nights at the station.

Kai. We don't need tears. Without them, please.

Nelya. And I'm not going to. She cried out. ( Not right away.) You have a three-room apartment, and you are alone here.

Kai. Logically everything is correct. But get out of here.

Nelya. And you are not rude, I am talking to you as a person. Things are not important for me, you understand, Leonidov? There is no Moscow residence permit, and there is nowhere to go - keep this in mind. I lived with Ivetka for two months - we met in Metelitsa ... Then I was completely out of my mind. She noticed right away. “You,” he says, “funny, live with me.” And in her apartment, you know, baldness, to put it mildly. First those, then these, music plays, doors slam, some stay overnight. Laughter and sadness ... But still a roof over your head. And suddenly a telegram: the parents are returning. She was in tears, and then gave your address. “Go,” he says, “there is something in him.”

Kai. Why did you appear in Moscow?

Nelya. It was necessary to.

Kai. Talk in more detail.

Nelya. So tell you everything.

Kai. Understood. You have a simple story. Which institute did not let you in?

Nelya (not right away). In the medical…

Kai. Missed a lot?

Nelya. I was surprised myself, so much.

Kai. Appeared from afar?

Nelya. The city of Rybinsk exists.

Kai. Go home.

Nelya. Not at home, Leonidov.

Kai. What about parents?

Nelya. I hate them. In general, I feel sorry for the mother. And father. But I still hate it.

Kai (looked at her carefully). What's your name?

Nelya. Nelya.

Kai. A dog's name, if I'm not mistaken.

Nelya. Actually, Lena. Nelya - they came up with it in the class.

Kai. And you got very wet... Helen?

Nelya. Actually, yes. I got frosty somehow ... The end of September, but it's cold.

Kai. The bottle is next to you. Pay attention. And glasses. Spill it, we'll have the Stark.

Nelya. I see. Not little.

Kai. In that case, let's shudder, Helen. And then you'll catch a cold. ( They are drinking.) Everything is fine. How old are you?

Nelya. Turned nineteen on Thursday.

Kai. You look older. You're lying, obviously?

Nelya. Actually, I often lie. You take that into account, Leonidov.

Kai. Pour some more?

Nelya. Only not full, otherwise I'll fall asleep. Do you have something to eat?

Kai. Eat candy. They are in the box.

Nelya. Some childhood.

Kai. In Chicago, they only drink Starka with chocolate. ( drank.) Do you have money?

Nelya (sympathetically). Do you need a lot? Actually, I don't have much.

Kai. Take it. Ten re. ( Hands out the money.) And that's it. Hello old lady.

Nelya. What are you? Are you persecuting me, you wretched fool? It's great for you that I came here.

Kai. Seriously?

Nelya. I did everything around the house at Ivetka's - I went to the store, I made tea, and I cleaned ... I even washed! Bear in mind, Leonidov, you will have the same. Your parents are abroad - you are the only one here. And I don't need a paycheck. I'll get a job, arrange my registration - and leave. ( Tries to smile.) Still remember me.

Alexey Nikolaevich Arbuzov

"Cruel Intentions"

Late 1970s Moscow. House on Tverskoy Boulevard. Kai Leonidov lives in a spacious three-room apartment. His mother and stepfather are abroad, they left for a few years, so he lives alone. One day, the girl Nelya comes to his apartment. She is nineteen years old. She, having arrived from Rybinsk, did not enter the medical institute. She has nowhere to live, and her friends sent her to Kai. She promises if Kai will let her live here, clean and cook. Kai is twenty years old, but he is already tired of life and is indifferent to everything. Parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but Kai left the institute, he draws. Kai allows Nela to stay.

Kai is often visited by his friends Terenty Konstantinov and Nikita Likhachev. They are his age, friends from school. Terenty left his father. Konstantinov Sr. also often comes to Kai, calls his son home, but he hardly talks to him. Terenty lives in a hostel and is not going to return home. Nelya comes up with a nickname for everyone: she calls Kai Boat, Nikita - Bubenchik, Terenty - Firefly. Nikita starts an affair with Nelya. He looks after every girl that appears in his field of vision. Nelya scares him that she will take and give birth to his daughter.

One January evening, Mikhail Zemtsov comes to Kai. This is Kai's cousin. He is thirty years old, he is a doctor in Tyumen. Mikhail is passing through Moscow. Mikhail talks about his work and life in the taiga in general. He is married. He recently had a daughter. Nelya tells him that she also wants to become a doctor, that she worked as a nurse in a hospital. Mikhail says that if they had such a nurse in the hospital, he would make her rich. Leaving, Mikhail tells the guys that they live dimly, do not see life with its joys.

Early March. Western Siberia. The settlement of the oil exploration expedition. In the Zemtsovs' room are Misha and his wife Masha. She is thirty-nine years old, she is a geologist. Just ten weeks ago, their daughter was born, and Masha is already bored. She cannot live without her job, which is why, according to Mikhail, three ex-husbands left her. Masha is burdened that Mikhail can be called to the hospital at any time of the day or night, and she has to sit alone with Lesya. Enter Loveiko, a neighbor of the Zemtsovs. He is thirty-eight years old, he works with Masha. Loveiko says that the area in Tuzhka, where they worked, is called unpromising. Masha wants to prove the opposite to everyone, but she has a child in her arms.

At this time, the door opens, Nelya is standing on the threshold. She is very surprised that Misha is married, she did not know this. Misha does not immediately recognize her, but then he sincerely rejoices, because "there is no one to guard his patients." Nelya wants to stay with them until autumn, so that she can again try to go to college.

Moscow. Kai's apartment again. The guys always remember Nelya. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, without leaving an address, without saying where she was going. Kai painted her portrait and considers it his only luck. Nikita thinks that Nelya left because she is expecting a child from him. Unexpectedly, Oleg Pavlovich, Kai's stepfather, arrives for only two days. He brings him gifts and a letter from his mother.

The settlement of the oil exploration expedition, the second half of July, the Zemtsovs' room. Masha and Loveiko are going to leave for Tuzhok. Nelya brings Lesya out of the manger so that they can say goodbye, but Masha does not want this: she "said goodbye yesterday in the manger." Misha is summoned to Baikul. Nelya is left alone with the child.

Mid August. Zemtsov's room. Misha and Nelya are drinking tea. Nelya tells him her story. She ran away from home after her parents forced her to have an abortion. She wanted to run away with her "boy", but he drove her away. Nelya asks Misha to marry her. Misha replies that he loves Masha. He "guesses" Nele on the palm of his hand. He tells her that Nelya loves another: he offended her, so she left. Nelya agrees. Misha says that everything can be fixed if the person is alive. And suddenly reports that Masha left them. Nelya asks him not to believe it.

End of September. Moscow. Evening. Guys are sitting in Kai's room. For the umpteenth time, Konstantinov Sr. comes, and Terenty is just as cold with him. Suddenly a woman comes. This is Nelly's mother. She is in her early forties. She is looking for a daughter. The guys say that Nelya left and did not leave an address. Neli's mother tells that her husband is dying and wants to see her daughter in the end and ask for forgiveness. The kids can't help her. She leaves. Terenty believes that Nikita is to blame for Nely's departure. Kai says that everyone is to blame. They remember their childhood and wonder why they became so inhuman. Even Konstantinov Sr. suddenly opens up. He tells how he drank all his life, and when he came to his senses, he was alone.

October twentieth. Zemtsov's room. Masha came for one day. Nelya tells her how Mikhail died: he flew out to save a man, but because of an accident he drowned in a swamp. Now Nelya spends the night at their house, taking Lesya from the manger - “so that life is warm here”, she says that Misha loved her, Nelya, then she admits that she invented it to forget the other, and that Masha can be envied: such a person loved her! Masha leaves, leaving Lesya to Nelya. In parting, Nelya turns on the tape recorder for Masha, where Misha recorded his song for her.

Moscow. Beginning of December. Kai's room. Nikita and Terenty arrive. Kai says that Nelya has returned with her daughter. The girl caught a cold on the road. Nikita is out of his mind. Wants to leave. Nelya comes out of the next room with a girl in her arms. He says that he will leave when Lesya recovers, at least to his mother - she called after all. Nikita wants to find out who the child's father is, but Nelya won't tell him. He asks if he would like it to be his child? He pushes her away. Nelya is crying. Terenty invites her to marry him.

Last days of December. Kai's room. Lesya sleeps in a new stroller. Nelya bought a big Christmas tree. Kai sorts out toys. Nelya again reminds her that she will leave soon. Kai doesn't want to believe it. Terenty dressed up as Santa Claus. Terenty's father brought Lesya a mechanical toy as a gift. The guys turn off the lights, spin to the music.

Masha suddenly enters. He asks where her daughter is. Nelya says that she took the girl away, since Masha left her, abandoned her. Masha takes her daughter and says that all the games, including her own, are over. Leaves. Kai notices that the room has become empty. Nelya asks everyone for forgiveness. Nikita in a rage drives her away. Nelya is packing her things and wants to leave. Konstantinov Sr. asks Nelya not to leave, not to leave the guys, Nelya is silent. Kai slowly walks over to her, picks up her suitcase. Nikita takes off her jacket, Terenty - a handkerchief. They lit the Christmas tree, turned on the tape recorder. Terenty calls Konstantinov his father for the first time and goes home with him. Kai dresses and goes out: he wants to look from the street at the Christmas tree in the house. Nikita and Nelya are left alone.

Late 1970s Moscow. Kai lives on Tverskoy Boulevard. Mother and stepfather abroad, living space at his disposal. He left the institute, lives for his own pleasure, is engaged in painting.

One day a girl appears on the doorstep. Nelya failed her medical exams, but she does not want to return to Rybinsk. She was told to contact Kai. For a roof over her head, she undertakes to do all the housework.

Kai is often visited by friends - Terenty and Nikita. Terenty left home and lives in a hostel. From time to time, the father of a comrade comes to Tverskaya - he calls his son back, but Terenty does not want to know. Nelya gives each of the guys inoffensive nicknames. Nikita, as usual, "hit" the girl. Nele likes a cheerful guy, she also jokes: I will take and bear you a child.

On a winter evening, cousin Mikhail Zemtsov came to Kai. He works as a doctor in Tyumen and has recently become a father. Looking at the indifferent youth of the capital, the Tyumen resident feels sorry for them: they are deprived of real joys. But the guest liked Nelya - they would have such an employee in the hospital!

Siberia, the village of oil workers, the beginning of spring. There is discord in the Zemtsov family - Masha is burdensome to sit with her daughter, she is a geologist and wants to work. Mikhail is annoyed: apparently, three husbands left Masha because of work. A neighbor, a geologist, tells Masha that the deposit in Tuzhka is recognized as unpromising. She wants to prove otherwise, but she has a child in her arms.

Nelya appears, whom Misha, jokingly, called to Siberia. She intends to work at a local hospital until her next exams. In Moscow, the guys reproach themselves for sudden departure girlfriend, without her it became empty. She left, no one knows where, without saying goodbye to anyone. Kai painted a portrait of Nelya, Nikita is sure that the girl is expecting a baby.

Siberia, summer. Masha leaves on an expedition, leaving her daughter to her husband and Nelya. Nelya motherly takes care of the girl. After a while, Mikhail reports: Masha left them, Nelya asks not to believe gossip.

At the end of October, Masha comes to see her family for one day. Nelya reports on tragic death Michael. Now they live together with the baby.

Moscow, December. Kai informs his friends: Nelya has returned with her daughter. The guest is not going to stay in the capital - she will leave as soon as the girl recovers. Nikita is trying to find out paternity, but receives a counter question: would you like the child to be his? The guy pushes Nelya away, she is upset. Terenty offers the girl his hand and heart.

New Year's Eve. Everyone brings gifts to the baby, Terenty dressed up as Santa Claus, the company begins to celebrate. In the midst of the fun enters Masha Zemtsova. She picks up her daughter and informs her that the games are over, including her own. Nelya apologizes for the deceit, intends to leave, but the guys stop the girl. Terenty finally reconciles with his father and returns home. Kai goes out into the yard, Nelya and Nikita are left alone.

The action takes place in the late 70s. our century. Moscow. House on Tverskoy Boulevard. Kai Leonidov lives in a spacious three-room apartment. His mother and stepfather are abroad, they left for a few years, so he lives alone. One day, the girl Nelya comes to his apartment. She is nineteen years old. She, having arrived from Rybinsk, did not enter the medical institute. She has nowhere to live, and her friends sent her to Kai. She promises if Kai will let her live here, clean and cook. Kai is twenty years old, but he is already tired of life and is indifferent to everything. Parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but Kai left the institute, he draws. Kai allows Nela to stay.

Kai is often visited by his friends Terenty Konstantinov and Nikita Likhachev. They are his age, friends from school. Terenty left his father. Konstantinov Sr. also often comes to Kai, calling his son home, but he hardly talks to him. Terenty lives in a hostel and is not going to return home. Nelya comes up with a nickname for everyone: Kai calls Boat, Nikita - Bubenchik, Terenty - Openok. Nikita starts an affair with Nelya. He looks after every girl that appears in his field of vision. Nelya scares him that she will take and give birth to his daughter.

One January evening, Mikhail Zemtsov comes to Kai. This is Kai's cousin. He is thirty years old, he is a doctor in Tyumen. Mikhail is passing through Moscow. Mikhail talks about his work and life in the taiga in general. He is married. He recently had a daughter. Nelya tells him that she also wants to become a doctor, that she worked as a nurse in a hospital. Mikhail says that if they had such a nurse in the hospital, he would make her rich. Leaving, Mikhail tells the guys that they live dimly, do not see life with its joys.

Early March. Western Siberia. The settlement of the oil exploration expedition. Misha and his wife Masha are in the Zemtsovs' room. She is thirty-nine years old, she is a geologist. Just ten weeks ago, their daughter was born, and Masha is already bored. She cannot live without her job, which is why, according to Mikhail, three ex-husbands left her. Masha is burdened that Mikhail can be called to the hospital at any time of the day or night, and she has to sit alone with Lesya. Enter Loveiko, a neighbor of the Zemtsovs. He is thirty-eight years old, he works with Masha. Loveiko says that the area in Tuzhka, where they worked, is called unpromising. Masha wants to prove the opposite to everyone, but she has a child in her arms.

At this time, the door opens, Nelya is standing on the threshold. She is very surprised that Misha is married, she did not know this. Misha does not immediately recognize her, but then he sincerely rejoices, because "there is no one to guard his patients." Nelya wants to stay with them until autumn, so that she can again try to go to college.

Moscow. Kai's apartment again. The guys always remember Nelya. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, without leaving an address, without saying where she was going. Kai painted her portrait and considers it his only luck. Nikita thinks that Nelya left because she is expecting a child from him. Unexpectedly, Oleg Pavlovich, Kai's stepfather, arrives for only two days. He brings him gifts and a letter from his mother.

The settlement of the oil exploration expedition, the second half of July, the Zemtsovs' room. Masha and Loveiko are going to leave for Tuzhok. Nelya brings Lesya out of the manger so that they can say goodbye, but Masha does not want this: she "said goodbye yesterday in the manger." Misha is summoned to Baikul. Nelya is left alone with the child.

Mid August. Zemtsov's room. Misha and Nelya are drinking tea. Nelya tells him her story. She ran away from home after her parents forced her to have an abortion. She wanted to run away with her "boy", but he drove her away. Nelya asks Misha to marry her. Misha replies that he loves Masha. He "guesses" Nele on the palm of his hand. He tells her that Nelya loves another: he offended her, so she left. Nelya agrees. Misha says that everything can be fixed if the person is alive. And suddenly reports that Masha left them. Nelya asks him not to believe it.

End of September. Moscow. Evening. Guys are sitting in Kai's room. For the umpteenth time, Konstantinov Sr. comes, and Terenty is just as cold with him. Suddenly a woman comes. This is Nelly's mother. She is in her early forties. She is looking for a daughter. The guys say that Nelya left and did not leave an address. Neli's mother tells that her husband is dying and wants to see her daughter in the end and ask for forgiveness. The kids can't help her. She leaves. Terenty believes that Nikita is to blame for Nely's departure. Kai says that everyone is to blame. They remember their childhood and wonder why they became so inhuman. Even Konstantinov Sr. suddenly opens up. He tells how he drank all his life, and when he came to his senses, he was alone.

October twentieth. Zemtsov's room. Masha came for one day. Nelya tells her how Mikhail died: he flew out to save a man, but because of an accident he drowned in a swamp. Now Nelya spends the night at their house, taking Lesya from the manger - “so that life is warm here”, she says that Misha loved her, Nelya, then she admits that she invented it to forget the other, and that Masha can be envied: such a person loved her! Masha leaves, leaving Lesya to Nelya. In parting, Nelya turns on the tape recorder for Masha, where Misha recorded his song for her.

Moscow. Beginning of December. Kai's room. Nikita and Terenty arrive. Kai says that Nelya has returned with her daughter. The girl caught a cold on the road. Nikita is out of his mind. Wants to leave. Nelya comes out of the next room with a girl in her arms. She says that she will leave when Lesya recovers, at least to her mother - she called after all. Nikita wants to find out who the child's father is, but Nelya won't tell him. He asks if he would like it to be his child? He pushes her away. Nelya is crying. Terenty invites her to marry him.

Last days of December. Kai's room. Lesya sleeps in a new stroller. Nelya bought a big Christmas tree. Kai sorts out toys. Nelya again reminds her that she will leave soon. Kai doesn't want to believe it. Terenty dressed up as Santa Claus. Terenty's father brought Lesya a mechanical toy as a gift. The guys turn off the lights, spin to the music.

Masha suddenly enters. He asks where her daughter is. Nelya says that she took the girl away, since Masha left her, abandoned her. Masha takes her daughter and says that all the games, including her own, are over. Leaves. Kai notices that the room has become empty. Nelya asks everyone for forgiveness. Nikita in a rage drives her away. Nelya is packing her things and wants to leave. Konstantinov Sr. asks Nelya not to leave, not to leave the guys, Nelya is silent. Kai slowly walks over to her, picks up her suitcase. Nikita takes off her jacket, Terenty - a handkerchief. They lit the Christmas tree, turned on the tape recorder. Terenty calls Konstantinov his father for the first time and goes home with him. Kai dresses and goes out: he wants to look from the street at the Christmas tree in the house. Nikita and Nelya are left alone.