Barbara was taking things out of a box that a friend had sent her. The package was small. The first thing Barbara took out was a long, colorful skirt. She immediately put it aside. Then she took out a pink perfume box. She put down her perfume, too, without even sniffing it. Barbara didn’t like smells. At the bottom of the box were colored notebooks, pens, and stickers. The gift was completed with a postcard in the form of a butterfly. When Barbara opened it, she saw a birthday greeting. It said: «Let everything you dream of come true this year.» The friend wrote her name and put three emoticons next to it.
Barbara was born on September 22, she turned 52 years old. A gift from my friend Simona, who lived in Astana, came on September 19. Simone sent it in advance
Simone and Barbara had been friends since high school. They congratulated each other on the holidays. Simone had more holidays, because she married twice, had children and waited for a grandchild. And Barbara only had a birthday and a New Year. She had never married, had no children, and was single. But she wasn’t sad, because she was a detective. She solved crimes and rejoiced. It was her personal holiday of a lifetime, which she celebrated with herself.
Simone was a homemaker, and Barbara was a detective. They didn’t understand each other very well, but they were still friends. And, probably, they were friends for so long, because they didn’t understand each other well, they were mysterious to each other.
Barbara didn’t think that she would soon turn 52 until she read a congratulatory message from a friend. This was unexpected.
Barbara worked hard and didn’t have time to think about her age. When there is a favorite thing, then age fades into the background, as if you do not notice it.
In the morning, Barbara gets up and goes to work. There she is called Barbara Stanislavovna, sometimes Barba, shortening her name. She likes it sometimes. But if strangers, confusing her name, call her Barbie, then she does not like it, because there is nothing doll-like and feminine about her, she is concrete and dry.
Barbara had always been introverted, and that was fine with her. She wore jeans and sneakers, was thin, and had dyed black hair. She didn’t want to meet any standards.
If you look at her from behind, you might think she’s a teenage girl. But when she turned around, it was clear that she was a very grown woman. There were wrinkles on her face, many of them. She didn’t know why to do anything about it. She was comfortable with her age and thin body. She often walked around with her hands in her pockets and thought only of investigations.
Since childhood, she had the same hairstyle-an elongated square, which she sometimes gathered in a ponytail. Sometimes she cut off her bangs and dyed her hair black every two weeks at the barber shop. And if she did not have time and her hair grew back, then there was a difference: at the roots they were completely gray. She always put red lipstick on her thin lips when she left the house, which made her face look sarcastic, as if she was always unhappy about something, but it was fine with her.
***
Barbara worked for the N5 detective agency. It was a large five-story building on the outskirts of the city. There were all the facilities for detectives: a dining room, a cafe, a swimming pool, billiards and relaxation rooms.
Barbara dreamed of becoming a detective since childhood. She worked hard and fulfilled her dream, although initially she realized that she lacked some qualities. For example, Barbara wasn’t naturally very smart. She needed more time to process and summarize the information than other good detectives. She also had a poor sense of humor, and smiled at other people’s jokes out of politeness. But she closed all her gaps with hard work and constant work on herself.
Still, Barbara felt like an outsider when other detectives talked about their families or friends. She didn’t understand their conversations, and she didn’t know how to joke. But when she solved a crime, she felt absolutely happy, because she was doing her job.
But not only did that make her heart beat faster, but so did Gregory Richardson. She had loved him for almost thirty years, they had gone to the academy together, and he had also worked as a detective for the N5 agency. They didn’t have a relationship, but fifteen years ago they had a brief one-night stand. It was a night Barbara could not and would not forget. She always wanted to be close to him and even got a job at this agency to feel his presence. It filled her with awe, because she knew he was somewhere close.
There were a lot of beautiful women around Gregory, and he was very good-looking: a strong chin, a soft voice, soft eyes, and beautiful, very well-groomed hands. He wasn’t much of a womanizer, but even in his early fifties, he attracted young women. He was paired with Valencia Shakhmatova, who was in her 30s. Barbara was sure that Valencia was in love with him, because it was simply impossible not to fall in love with him. Many of the detectives in their agency worked in pairs, such as Barbara, who worked alone, were few.
