Chapter Ten: The end is near...
In mid-August, Sasha and Maxim had to leave due to a difficult situation with their studies, and about two weeks later, Lida left as well. We were left as a trio and immediately felt a sense of loneliness. Even though we didn't see them often, we were used to feeling like they were our relatives, friends we could drop by at any moment or who could drop by anytime themselves. They were part of something big that we could call "home." Of course, after they left, we didn't stop feeling cozy in this city and this country, but when we drove past their house on the way to Walmart, until the very last day, we would jokingly tease each other with a bit of bitterness: "Well, shall we drop by Phil's? Oh wait, the Vegas are probably at work..."
The guys' departure had another side: we realized that our turn was coming soon. Maybe it's for the best; we started preparing ourselves mentally for it in advance. Plus, Sasha, for some reason, managed to book tickets for early September, afraid of falling behind in her studies. In short, it was getting really sad. On top of that, the tourist season began to wane, and the number of people at our Root Beer place was decreasing every day. And then the day came when Caressa and Lorna, as if apologizing, said that we would have to work separately—meaning one day for me, one day for Kirya. Naturally, our earnings were cut exactly in half. On September 7th, we said goodbye to Sasha. I was very worried. She was alone again. And in NY, she would have to manage for two days somehow... Grandma was openly crying by the bus, repeating over and over, "Oh my little girl...". She grew very fond of us, especially Sasha, because even her own grandchildren living nearby didn't care for her or spend as much time with her as one Russian girl who wanted nothing in return, who just found joy in doing good.
We were left as a duo. It became really sad, and every day we tried to fill ourselves with impressions, like a treasure hunter stuffing his pockets with gold in a dungeon that is about to collapse. We went to different places, spent whole days on bikes, and went to the pier. That day, even the weather was sad and preparing for something. We didn't understand that this paradisiacal nature was preparing for winter. It became noticeably cooler, there was less sun, and a cold wind blew from somewhere... We sat on the pier for a long time, looking through the telescope at the endless coastline, then at the horizon, and reflecting. We scratched our names and the date on the wooden railing, and Kirya, having realized it, tattooed "NORMALNO!" a bit to the right. But that's another story =) We looked at each other and realized: we will all definitely return. ALL OF US!
