Chapter 73 (1/2)
Anna didn't care what happened during the day when she came home.
She had asked anushika to distribute the gifts to Mr. Gorman when she came back, but she would not be able to make it the day after tomorrow, for she would have to take Andrea to the train.
In the evening, the children were sleeping, Anna and Karenin were sitting on the balcony soft chair chatting.
Most of the time Anna was talking.
Karenin was a very good listener. He looked patient and focused.
He didn't usually interrupt Anna, but Anna knew that the former would listen to what she said.
”Andre is a good boy.” Anna snuffled her nose, which was childish and not particularly elegant. At least she wouldn't do it in front of people.
But in this marriage, when a person more and more trust in another person, some not good habits will be gradually relaxed and sometimes unconsciously revealed.
She didn't even know, because Karenin didn't remind her.
It's strange. At the beginning, Karenin thought about whether to remind his wife, but later he felt that it was really cute, so he gradually got used to it.
”I don't remember your habit of wearing broochs.” Karenin asked.
Anna blinked. ”Oh, I don't really like it, but I'm a woman after all. There's always plenty of good-looking things.”
”Then why not choose for yourself?” Karenin continued.
Anna folded her hair and thought that Karenin was really cute at this time, so she couldn't help laughing.
”My dear Alexey, it's pathetic to buy something for yourself.”
The man wrung his eyebrows. He watched his wife pick up the tea and sip it slowly, then nodded slightly.
”You want me to give it to you.”
In fact, Karenin was a frank man in essence, if he was not a political figure.
Anna swallowed the tea, her expression a little angry.
”I didn't mean that at first, but,” she said with a smile as she put down the bone china tea set. ”Sometimes I'm a cheeky man. If a husband doesn't understand romance, I'll always seize every opportunity to let him do something for me once in a while. Woman's vanity, OK?”
When she saw that the man's face was a little embarrassed, even a little embarrassed in his blue eyes, she got up and went to the other side and dropped a kiss at the corner of his mouth.
”Don't mind, Alexis. I don't really like brooches that much.” She said contentedly, then yawned a little sleepy and left.
This is nothing more than the occasional teasing words between husband and wife. Although Karenin does not conform to this, it is not that he does not understand it.
”But she doesn't hate it either.” This sentence appeared in the mind of a husband, as if a wise man were reminding Karenin.
The next day, in the Department, near the end of work, Secretary vorobev knocked on the door of Karenin's office, and he had to tell him that there was a temporary visit. After all, his boss always put his work first.
”That gentleman wants to call on you tonight, my Lord.” Said the secretary.
After he said that, his mind was already ready to arrange the time and restaurant, but his boss frowned and said, ”change the time for me.”
Vorobev was a little surprised. After all, Karenin almost never changed the appointment time.
However, he was a smart man, so soon he said he would change the meeting time for Karenin.
”Shall I arrange the carriage for you?” He asked, with some caution in it, which was not so easy to detect, but just as he knew Karenin, the latter understood him much better than he thought.
”Tell Peter for me.” Karenin said a place.
Vorobev, who knew a lot about the famous shops in Petersburg, soon found a reason. His brown eyes twinkled and then asked, ”do you want me to choose for you?”
Because of Karenin's working relationship, he often needs to choose gifts for the latter, and Karenin has never liked to choose these things by himself.
”No need.” Karenin looked at his secretary. The latter nodded intelligently, then put down his schedule for tomorrow and left.
After the office door was closed again, Karenin looked at vorobev's itinerary, pondered for a moment, tapped his fingers on the mahogany desk, and finally stopped, as if he had given up. He picked up his coat, straightened the hem to make his shirt more comfortable, and then left.
”It's not the best time yet.” Karenin's busy brain simply and calmly flipped this sentence. Although before then, they were still thinking about ”gifts and wives”, but the sword was always a sword, and it would not become something else because it was coated with sugar.
In the manor, Anna has arranged everything for Andre. She looked at the clock again and wondered why Karenin had not come back at this time.”Can we go?” Andre asks. Although he doesn't want to leave so soon, if things are already like this, he tends to accept them as soon as possible, so as not to do something irrational by himself.
”Doesn't it matter?” Anna asked.
The boy shook his head. He didn't like separation, so he didn't ask Charlie to send him.
Anna touched Andrea's arm. ”Well, I think he might have been delayed.”
”I understand. My uncle is a punctual man Said Andrea carelessly, and laid the brooch for his mother with great care. When he looked up, he saw Anna's smiling expression.
He felt a little awkward, as if his aunt knew exactly what he was thinking. He even got angry and wanted to get angry, but when he looked up and saw the other side's expression, he could not say anything mean.
Finally, the boy with a little messy hair could only ask, ”what do you like?”
Anna was a little surprised.
”You've helped me a lot. Next time I come, I'll bring you something you like.” He said, and then he put his arms in his hands, and there was a little blush on his white skin.
”I don't know what women like.”
Anna saw Andre almost choking his neck like a chicken.
”Then bring me a nice painting.”
”Anything.”
”It's a bit of a big range.” Andrea muttered, and then he returned to the pride and reserve of a little boy.
”Well, it's not a hard thing to do.”
As soon as they had finished speaking, kabidonec, the porter, told them that Karenin was back.
Anna saw a joy in Andre's eyes, though it was soon covered up.
She laughed, and then asked the servant to carry Andre's things into the carriage. At the door she saw Karenin, who was wearing a thin dark brown coat, who did not seem to be affected by the heat of the early summer, who was explaining something to the servant who was responsible for taking Andrea back.
When Anna approached them, Karenin told the servant to leave after a few words. He looked at Anna and said, ”do you want to ask why I came back late?”
”Good guess.” Anna took each other's arms, smiling deeply.
”I'll tell you later.” He said.
Anna looked at him, and suddenly her eyes brightened. She couldn't wait to ask, ”is it”
but Karenin used a kiss to make her not say it.
”All right.” Anna thought faintly, ”surprise is worth waiting for.” Although she already knows, she can always pretend not to know.
An hour and a half later, they came out of the train station.
Anna thought they would go straight home, but Karenin told her that he ordered dinner.
”I thought it was, you wanted to give me a brooch or something.” Anna sat in the red soft chair, looked around the store's magnificent decoration, sighed.
She didn't expect it was a dinner date. Obviously, a candlelight dinner. Anna couldn't help laughing when the waiter lit the cute little candles.
”How romantic it is She looked at each other with stars in her eyes. She was so happy that even the young waiter with smooth hair could not help smiling.
”The wine is very good today, ma'am.” The waiter said that the straight back bent slightly in a standard curve.
”My wife, she doesn't drink.” Karenin said calmly.
The waiter was startled, and then realized that he had transgressed.