“Of course! And just call me Lera, okay?” Lera picked up her down jacket and purse and gave Kostya a bright smile again.
“Okay” Kostya muttered a little more softly and, with one hand, easily picked up the suitcase that Lera was pushing into the hallway with considerable effort.
Lera flew down the stairs as if on wings. Everything seemed beautiful to her. Kostya was not disgustingly gloomy, but mysteriously stern. It was not beasty cold outside, but Pushkin's creaking frost. And they were not going to get stuck in traffic on their way to the airport, but beginning a magical journey. Overall, Lera felt as though she was barely touching the ground with her stiletto boots.
“Lera, get in. I'll put your suitcase in the boot.”
Lera nodded, so that her red curls flew up and whipped her face. She laughed happily and galloped to Irina Konstantinovna's expensive SUV's passenger door, but hesitated. It was difficult for her to climb such a height without outside help. Kostya was forced to push her up with a light laugh. The SUV drove smoothly, and Lera pressed her nose against the window.
As Kostia promised, they spent a long time suffering in traffic jams stretching far south of Moscow. But it didn't bother Lera at all. The car was incredibly comfortable and the driver finally gave up under a hail of Lera’s questions and joined the conversation.
At the airport, Lera removed her warm jacket with great pleasure and put on a lighter coat. In Rome, it was a pleasant autumn temperature of fifty-four degrees. An ice apocalypse for the aborigines and a trifle for a native Muscovite.
After annoying checks, removal of shoes, numerous metal detector frames, and passport control, the girl was finally allowed onto the plane. Lera had flown a lot for work, in particular to Rome, but she had never done so for her own pleasure before. Admittedly, this greatly brightened the more than five-hour flight and added flavour to the disgusting airline food and no less disgusting tea.
Five hours later, the city finally appeared through the porthole. The small brownish-beige houses arranged in almost regular rows along the valley for some reason reminded Lera of diced fudge sold in a shop near her home. The standard announcement came from the speaker:
"Signori e signori, per favore prendete i vostri posti e allaccate le cinture. Arriviamo all'aeroporto di Fiumicino – Leonardo Da Vinci. Grazie."