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 café.

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.

They began to speak, of course, in French. Catherine thought it was possible to make it an advantage, naively believing that Gustav did not know this language – in fact, she only helped to dig her own grave.

"Well now...... – thought Gustav. – You talk to your daddy and you'll get a little Trojan dog… Dream on. You've found the love of your life… You have no idea what you really deserve for what you've done. I'm sure you won't be thinking about the stiletto on your right shoe… You're so sweet looking, you've blown a lot of people away; it's a pity you can't call them to watch your finale – it would be much more effective… I'd do your father separately, but he's not worth my time. Such a beauty, he probably considers one of his main achievements in life: neither breasts, nor lips, nor anything else operated on – they are real. I would have noticed a fake right away…".

As if she felt a mental demand to hang up the phone and, telling her father that she was in a cafe with a guy she was madly in love with, and with whom she seemed to have already fallen in love, she turned the phone off completely. "It was daddy who called. – The girl spoke in an apologetic tone. – I told him I was with my friends. So he wouldn't ask too many questions right now. He knows my friends, they don't like to wait for someone."

"What kind of woman likes to wait." – replied Gustave, and thought. – "Why are you lying out of your ass? You could have just said you were in a café and busy. How many people think that lying makes the truth more convincing… Just ask about the request, and I'll be done with you for today.

"Yeah. You're right. I guess not at all… What did you say about asking?"

"Ah yes. Thank you for reminding me. That request doesn't like to wait either. She's in the car." – Gustav stood up and extended his hand palm upward to the girl. After a stage pause, Kathryn squeezed his hand in hers, stood up and met his eyes quite closely, no longer smiling. She had never felt so calm and good in her life.

"I deserve this man. – Catherine mentally decided. – All my life, I've had nothing but wusses, and nothing works out. It's all about him. I want him in my life. He'll be mine."

Throwing two large bills of money on the table, Gustav touched the girl's waist with the words "let's go" and directed her towards the exit and himself followed.

A little away from the exit, in the yard, was his huge black Cadillac Escalate. When he got behind the car, he opened the trunk, and there in a small animal bag was a small, dark-as-night Labrador, less than a month old.

"What a miracle! – Catherine whispered emotionally, covering her mouth with her palms.

"Yeah. He's three weeks old. He was the last of the five to come out. You could say he's my youngest grandchild. And, to tell the truth, probably the most favorite… I gave away the others to friends who had been asking for a puppy for a long time, and I decided to keep my favorite one. But now I'm on a business trip, and someone has to look after him. You can take care of him, right? It's only 7 days while I'm away.

"Well I have no words. He's so adorable. Are you kidding me? He's so adorable."