If Lilia has any opinions when she sees Yuri and Mila approaching her, arm in arm -- a protective little pair, though it's hard to tell who is protecting whom -- she keeps her own thoughts to herself as she moves back a step to widen the circle of conversation. 'Mila, Yuri, let me introduce you....'
The two women she had been speaking to are sisters, one of whom is married to a Rostelecom marketing director and the other of whom is a doctor at a Moscow hospital. Both are avid fans of the ballet, and consequently are eager to see Lilia Baranovskaya's choreography on the ice. Even after the interruption for introductions, their conversation quickly falls back into ballet talk...which comes as a strange sort of relief to Yuri. After months of all but living in a dance studio, it's easy enough to discuss turnout and tours en l'air with them, or to listen quietly when Mila talks about her own programs and the extra focus she'd put on center work in the studio in preparation for her jump combinations this season. In this overheated, overcrowded room, it feels good to have something to think about that isn't his own performance, the one he's doing right now or the ones he'll have to do this weekend.
(Until other thoughts start to trickle in, sending his mind in other directions. Did his grandfather go home and do the stretches that he was supposed to do for his back? Did he need to take a painkiller? They don't go down well on an empty stomach, but maybe there was a pirozhok or two left over for him to eat with them. And if he can get a good night's sleep....)
The moment of faint respite doesn't last nearly long enough; conscious of how long the conversation has lasted, the women make as if to excuse themselves. One of them, the Rostelecom director's wife, almost shyly asks for Lilia's autograph, and her sister encourages Yuri and Mila to sign as well. It's better than being chased through Sheremetyevo for a selfie, at least, so Yuri tries to make his signature a little neater than usual when he signs the little notebook that the woman holds out to him.
'Not much longer now,' Lilia says to them, once they've all shaken hands with the women again and parted ways with well wishes and thanks. 'You'll need to stretch before bed.' She glances at Yuri. 'Did Yakov tell you where he would meet us?'
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The two women she had been speaking to are sisters, one of whom is married to a Rostelecom marketing director and the other of whom is a doctor at a Moscow hospital. Both are avid fans of the ballet, and consequently are eager to see Lilia Baranovskaya's choreography on the ice. Even after the interruption for introductions, their conversation quickly falls back into ballet talk...which comes as a strange sort of relief to Yuri. After months of all but living in a dance studio, it's easy enough to discuss turnout and tours en l'air with them, or to listen quietly when Mila talks about her own programs and the extra focus she'd put on center work in the studio in preparation for her jump combinations this season. In this overheated, overcrowded room, it feels good to have something to think about that isn't his own performance, the one he's doing right now or the ones he'll have to do this weekend.
(Until other thoughts start to trickle in, sending his mind in other directions. Did his grandfather go home and do the stretches that he was supposed to do for his back? Did he need to take a painkiller? They don't go down well on an empty stomach, but maybe there was a pirozhok or two left over for him to eat with them. And if he can get a good night's sleep....)
The moment of faint respite doesn't last nearly long enough; conscious of how long the conversation has lasted, the women make as if to excuse themselves. One of them, the Rostelecom director's wife, almost shyly asks for Lilia's autograph, and her sister encourages Yuri and Mila to sign as well. It's better than being chased through Sheremetyevo for a selfie, at least, so Yuri tries to make his signature a little neater than usual when he signs the little notebook that the woman holds out to him.
'Not much longer now,' Lilia says to them, once they've all shaken hands with the women again and parted ways with well wishes and thanks. 'You'll need to stretch before bed.' She glances at Yuri. 'Did Yakov tell you where he would meet us?'