The lobby of an expensive hotel, the upper halls of which were reflected in gilding. The secretary talked to someone on the phone, hung up and froze in surprise, noticing that an elderly man, very poorly dressed, in old worn shoes and a ridiculous cape, limping towards her from the door. «Dear girl, I want to rent a room from you,» he said. No,» she gasped, finally pulling herself together. «Sorry what?» There are no available rooms,» the girl explained. The man looked at the badge pinned to her blouse and said, «Angela, but I see that there are a lot of empty rooms. There are at least 10 keys hanging in their places,» he said disappointedly. You don’t understand, we don’t have a number for you. This is not a flophouse, but a five-star hotel, and we cannot risk our reputation by letting anyone in here.»
«But, Angela, please, I’ve come a very long way and I’m very tired. I have a headache and I need some rest. Angela waved her hand, and the manager immediately approached her, «Hello, how can I help you?»
«Valery Petrovich, here is a person who wants to move in with us, I explain that we do not have available rooms, but he argues and justifies the opposite. Now he demands Marat Vladislavovich, and in general, I don’t understand where Fyodor Vasilyevich is looking, is he a doorman or who?! «At this time, a young maid came out from somewhere and raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking at Angela. «What kind of beggar is this, it’s okay, you’ll drop all the scum, and I’ll clean up after them
. name? his supervisor asked. Viktor Ivanovich,» said the old man.
«I hope, Viktor Ivanovich, you no longer need to explain why you can’t become our clients.» «You don’t understand,» Viktor Ivanovich began to beg, «I came here from far away, I’m very tired and I don’t feel well, please give me any room, the smallest, the cheapest, I’ll pay. I just don’t have the strength to find another place for a flophouse. It’s so late, it’s almost night, I don’t know the city at all, and I’m very hungry.» The old man wanted to say a few words, but he didn’t have time. Healthy Fedor, twenty years younger than himself, grabbed the poor man by the collar and literally dragged him out of the hotel under Valery’s suspicious remarks and Angela’s laughter.
Wait a minute,» Valery shouted after him, «Where you’re going through the front door, go to the back entrance. Fedor obediently returned and after a few steps found himself in a narrow corridor, where he ran into a young woman. Fedya, Fedya, what are you doing? Let him go, now! she protested. You’re going to hurt him!
«Stay away from it, do you need it the most?! Valery Petrovich ordered me.»
«So let him go, Fyodor, well, be a man! «Then you let him out yourself, and I’ll go to my room. God forbid he should return to the hall! «Elena picked up the almost fallen Victor and, supporting him by the elbow, took him outside.» Thank you, Elena,» Victor breathed out. I didn’t do anything, but why did you come here, because it’s so expensive here?»
«I know, I just don’t have the strength to look for something else, at least for one more night. «The doors opened, and those whose shift ended for today began to leave. They giggled as they looked at Elena and her companion. A middle-aged woman was mocking a young girl. «Why are they doing this?» – asked Viktor Ivanovich. — «What kind of evil people do you have? »
«They are not evil, they are ordinary.» «What do you do for a living?» «Washing dishes. Kostya, my husband, will drive up now, and we will all go to our house together. It’s not far, only 15 minutes. Of course, this is true. We live in a one-room apartment that Kostya was given when he graduated from the orphanage.»»And the man won’t mind? Kostya. He is disabled, he has no leg. Kostya worked in a car service, he was a master from God, he could disassemble cars with his eyes closed, and one day his partner came to work drunk and poorly secured the elevator.» At the same moment, the headlights flashed on. Kostya, a strong, tall guy, really understood Viktor Ivanovich’s misfortune, got to know him and immediately offered him to spend the night.
Even at dinner, looking at their faces, he thought they were happy, no matter what. And he was so lucky that he had at least a drop of human kindness in its purest form. After learning that Victor had no urgent business in the city, Elena and Kostya did not let him go and offered to stay at least for a couple of days. Soon the man asked Kostya to take him to the hotel where Elena worked. Konstantin was surprised, but did not argue, and Victor entered the hotel again, only this time not through the front door, but through the back door. Victor remembered exactly where he was. There were a lot of people in the hall, but Victor immediately recognized Angela, she was standing next to a tall, handsome man of about 30 and coquettishly saying something to him.
It was the hotel manager Marat Vladislavovich, and for six months the girl had been doing everything to attract his attention. When Angela saw Victor, she recognized him and cried out in amazement when she realized that he was heading towards them. «My God, you’ve come here again! she exclaimed. «I’ll call the doorman right now, he’ll throw you out again!»
Marat turned around and looked at the old man in surprise. I’ll explain everything,» the girl began, but Victor interrupted her. «Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything myself» After Victor’s heavy monologue with Marat, everyone was shocked. «, — Marat shouted after him, but his requests were not heard. — Victor shouted the last words in response to Marat and left the hotel. They didn’t know yet how much they would cry and regret what they had done…