She was the first to arrive. She sat down at the end table and ordered a glass of water. Right now she was most worried about her shoes. All week she had been thinking about what she would wear for this meeting: a long, tight light blue dress with a small neckline and covered shoulders, the silk so thin and tight that the patterns on her bra could be seen from the cleavage, and sheer stockings that made her look stunning. She had done her hair in the morning so that she could look at the curls of her long black hair before she went out. Everything was flawless, but the shoes, turquoise high-heeled shoes, perfect in this case, slightly in need of repair. Catherine rarely wore them because of the very thin stilettos, and the last time she'd walked into a crack in the sidewalk, which had caused her to fall into a crack in her shoes.

the stiletto began to stagger, and when it was destined to fall off one could only guess.

It was too late to change again, so she just went out early, so that she could walk to the car and get to the cafe.

Now, as she waited, the water seemed like some kind of soothing drink. The water moistened her throat, cooled her a little, gave her patience.

Gustav showed up. Tall, handsome. He wore a suit and a red silk shirt that suited him strikingly, with little buttons that looked like magic rubies from foreign fairy tales. He was radiant.

"Hi," Catherine smiled and stood up for some reason. Her chest was tightening, and her heart was already pounding so hard it felt like it was going to come out of her ears.

"Hello, Katherine," Gustav's voice was confident, and his welcoming eyes seemed to be able to calm even a half-stricken, hungry lion that had just defeated a pack of hyenas. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, noticing that the girl was numb.

"Will you sit down?" – Gustav smiled. – Get it right, there's no truth in feet, of course, but I just can't sit down before you."

"Ah, yes," Catherine laughed lightly, immediately sitting down and placing her palms together straight in front of her, holding the edge of the table with her thumbs.

"Been waiting for me long?"

"Well, how long ago… a couple minutes." – Her right hand absentmindedly flicked a lock of hair off her shoulder and down onto the table. Her right foot, which was wearing that same half-broken stiletto, lifted slightly at the heel and after a centimeter to her right went back to the floor.

"You know, I kept worrying I'd be late and make you wait."

"Uh, no. What are you. I almost just got here." – replied the girl, and then involuntarily glanced at the table. On it stood three empty water glasses, smudged a hundred times and on all sides by fingers and with lipstick marks on the edges. "What a fool! – she thought. – Now he'll think that I'm either lying or drinking water like a camel… And then there's that hairpin… I've already beaten off half a spit trying to get it to fit. I can't believe I forgot about that. Lipstick, too. Half of it's still on the glasses. It's so cheap. I must have wiped it off my lips. What am I supposed to do, make up in front of him?!"

"How's your article? Is it all right?" – Gustav asked. His whole appearance showed that everything was fine, and his every word was filled with calmness and confidence.

Catherine smiled, "That's all right… In fact, the editor was thrilled. They've decided to put it in the main section in the next issue… I've never met anyone who could tell me so much about anything in such an interesting way. How do you know so much about dogs?"

Gustav smiled back, squinting his eyes slightly. It looked very beautiful and appealing. It was as if he were sharing sunlight and warmth in a gloomy ice cave with people who had forgotten what joy was.

"Kathryn, it's a long story… But, you know, in a nutshell… A few years ago I was living in Canada, near Montreal. I had a small house right next to a forest, and right next to me a canine center. One night I couldn't sleep. I don't know why. I just couldn't sleep. I thought, well, I'll just go for a walk. Get some fresh air. It's better than just lying in bed… I got dressed, went out. And then I hear some yapping. I see a puppy. It's just a little puppy. It's lying on my fence. A Labrador puppy. It's a little girl, pale-colored. Apparently, ran away from this center… But I could not give him, or rather her, of course… But I had to go to them for advice all the time. And the specialists there turned out to be, you know, what kind. I've been doing it ever since.

The girl listened to him with her mouth open. It was so pleasant to realize that it had happened by happy fate. That it was by chance that a man had become engaged in the work that was really meant for him. And that this chance had finally brought her and him together.

"Where's that dog now?"

"Catherine. With me, of course she is. Where else… Oh, and I have a favor to ask of you…"

The phone rang.

The girl frantically reached for her purse. Halfway through the contents, she finally remembered that her cell phone was in a separate pocket. Talking would be unnecessary, but it was her father.