Post Factum

1

Life gradually returned to normal.

Mort finished restoring his motorcycle and was proud to show it off to his friends. The black monster, shining in the rays of the March sun, looked extremely solid, and as soon as Mort started it up, it growled like a real bear. Dia immediately wanted to ride on it, and Mort gladly granted her wish.

Cord and Force returned to their regular duties. Each tried to quickly forget the failure with the Villain and each new case they took up with unprecedented zeal. However, it was unnecessary: catching hooligans was not tricky business. But such slight tasks helped to improve the relationship between Cord and Crane; it seemed that they even began to find a common language. Force was overjoyed by this.

One thing saddened him, though: he had never made peace with Flaminga. At times he tried to call her, but each time he pulled his hand away from the phone. Force was very scrupulous in matters of guilt and convinced himself that it was she who should take the first step.

As for Cord, after work every day, he returned to his beloved wife, kissed her on the cheek, and stroked her stomach with the words "Hello, little person", which put a smile on Dia's face every time.

On Wednesdays, they held movie nights. On that day, the wife took a break from rehearsals in the theater, yoga for pregnant women, examinations, and other everyday worries. On other days, she and Sky went to the theater or a museum. And sometimes they wandered through the clothes shops, looked at the styles, coquettishly complaining: "Our bellies have grown and nothing seems to fit", which plunged some sellers (mainly young guys) into a panic and caused others (mostly older women) to unleash an endless torrent of verbal diarrhea in the form of advice on "How to be a good mommy".

Cord and Dia's weekends, however, were devoted only to themselves. They made love until lunchtime, lazily prepared themselves something to eat, then went back to bed to lounge around. If the weather was good, they went to the park or to Tsar's country house where they fried meat on coals or simply walked along the paths and enjoyed the peace and nature.

One fine day, Dia decided to teach her husband how to ride. At first, she giggled at how ridiculously Cord's bottom smacked against the saddle during a trot. Soon, however, he got the hang of it, and the walks around the mansion's territory became equestrian.

2

On March 8, Fiddler's birthday, Peace and Sky got married. The wedding was wonderful! The people came, more than you could shake a stick at, and everyone found company to their liking. Mort gathered around him the men led by Peace and told them about motorcycles and biker life. Dia and Sky, along with some other girls, split into separate flocks and were all giggling about different things, periodically casting glances at the men. A little drunk, Fiddler gathered up the courage and invited one of Sky's girlfriends to dance. (Later, they mysteriously disappeared for a while.)

For the young couple, the major surprise was Cord's gift. Unexpectedly to everyone except Dia, he handed Sky a C4 envelope. It was not plump, that is, it did not have money in it. The bride looked curiously at Cord and opened the envelope. She pulled out the contents, and her hands started trembling. Sky sobbed, hugged first Cord, then Dia, gave the envelope to her husband, who did not understand what was going on, and ran to the bathroom. Some of her girlfriends excitedly followed her.

With bewilderment, Peace studied what his wife was so deeply moved and shocked by and then looked at Cord:

"Are you crazy?"

Cord smiled.

"One day, Sky told me the same thing."

Peace shook his head as if trying to shake off a shock, then looked back at the absolutely impossible title of the document.

Agreement on the Donation of an Apartment.

3

At the end of March, Cord and Dia got busy furnishing the nursery. They decided to remodel the former box storeroom, currently serving as Cord's "office".

The parquet floor they decided not to touch, but the walls were threatened with change: they wanted a nice beige color (in a store Dia had spent so long choosing between the shades of "gentle-beige" and "gentler-beige" that the young seller had time to grow up and grow old). For the work, they immediately called a brigade of friends, which was led by skillful Mort. Dia and Sky also wanted to help, but the men unanimously objected: there was no need for pregnant women to breathe paint fumes. So the girls were assigned to more important tasks: cooking dinner and inspiring them to feats of labor from the next room.

Having escorted the laughing girls out, the men looked at the work front. Each downed a shot of vodka for courage and rushed into the assault.

Being an excellent tactician, Mort coordinated the actions of others, and by evening, the walls had fallen. Downing another shot of vodka as a reward, the men, all splattered with paint, made a line in front of the bathroom and then went to the victory feast.

The next weekend, Cord and Dia spent on trips to buy furniture. They waited a week for everything to be brought and then called the team again to put everything together.

Soon the nursery was ready. The friends applauded each other and duly celebrated the completion of the renovation. Mort, being a wretch of sorts, gave Sky and Peace his next masterpiece of carpentry—a crib for the baby, decorated with wooden flowers and monograms. Sky again became emotional, and Peace firmly shook hands with his embarrassed friend.

Their existence was now composed of many similar events. Is it necessary to say how happy they were?