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Chapter 1. About us – the couple

Katya

My name is Katy. I am 25 and I am in love. I have a husband Max. He is 25 too. We just moved to a new apartment. And we are in the middle of negotiation. Max wants a dog. I want a cat. And we both work. So we try to figure this out.

I am a psychologist. I just graduated from the university and got a job as an assistant to a very successful psychologist. I made a plan to work for her for 5 years to get some experience and to start my own practice.

We decided to rent a small apartment downtown and enjoy all possibilities and opportunities that a city gives us. What are they? We can hang out till midnight in pubs and cafes, visit theatre performances as long as it goes, order food delivery and enjoy night promenades along beautifully lighted streets.

As of today I have enrolled myself in a new course – How to reach the goal. It is nice to be involved in a community of people who has different goals. It is useful to be surrounded by determined follows. I feel I need some help to overcome laziness and frustration, get support and courage to archive my purpose.

***

Меня зовут Катя. Мне 25 лет и я влюблена. У меня есть муж Макс. Ему тожу 25 лет. Мы только что переехали в новую квартиру. И мы сейчас торгуемся: Макс хочет собаку, а я – кошку. И мы оба работаем. Поэтому мы пытаемся найти решение.

Я психолог. Я только что окончила университет и устроилась ассистентом к очень успешному психологу. Я планирую работать с ней 5 лет и набраться опыта, чтобы начать свою собственную практику.

Мы решили снять небольшую квартиру в центре города и насладиться всеми возможностями и преимуществами жизни в большом городе. Гулять допоздна, ходить в театры и смотреть даже долгие спектакли, заказывать доставку еды и гулятье по освещенным красивым улицам и площадям даже ночью.

С сегодняшнего дня я записался на новый курс "Как достичь цели". Приятно быть вовлеченным в сообщество людей, у которых разные цели. Полезно быть окруженным решительными людьми. Это помогает преодолеть лень и депрессию, получить поддержку и запал, чтобы идти и достичь цели.

Max

Hi. I am Max. I have recently noticed Katya started getting up up earlier. I would face her in the kitchen writing something in a diary. She likes to wright down all she sees and experience. That was strange for me at the beginning but I used to it. I feel now its more than just writing she takes it seriously. So I asked what was it about and she confessed she had joined the course and advised me to listen to some of the lecturies.

I did and had a thought it wasn’t bad. I don't like writing so I record my thought and goals and listen to some lecturies occasionally.

To be honest I still can’t believe we are together even that we are married for a year now. It’s a stronge feeling when you have someone so close and you have to share your life with this person. Besides the only way to be together, like really together, is to be interested in her life too. I know it’s my problem. I am not very sociable butI try to keep up with the time and people. I had a hurting experience in relationship befor I had met Katya. I even had decided not to have relationships for a while. It was funny that the next month I met my wife.

***

Привет. Я Макс. Недавно я заметил, что Катя стала вставать раньше, и сегодня я столкнулся с ней на кухне, когда она что-то писала в дневнике. Ей нравится записывать все, что она видит и переживает. Поначалу это было странно для меня, но я к этому привык. Теперь я чувствую, что это больше, чем просто писать, она относится к этому серьезно. Поэтому я спросил, что она делает, и она призналась, что записалась на курс, и посоветовала мне послушать некоторые лекции.

Я так и сделал и думаю, что это неплохо. Я не люблю писать, поэтому записываю свои мысли и цели на диктофон и время от времени слушаю лекции.

Честно говоря, я до сих пор не могу поверить, что мы вместе, даже несмотря на то, что мы поженились год назад. Это сильное чувство, когда у тебя есть кто-то такой близкий, и ты должен разделить свою жизнь с этим человеком. Кроме того, единственный способ быть вместе, по-настоящему вместе, – это интересоваться ее жизнью, чтобы. Я знаю, что это моя проблема. Я не очень общителен, но работаю над собой, чтобы соответстовать времени и ожиданиям людей. У меня был болезненный опыт в отношениях до того, как я встретил Катю. Я даже решил какое-то время не встречаться с девушками. Забавно, что в следующем месяце я встретил свою жену.

Chapter 2. Negotiation

Max

– Honey, I can't find my sausage.

– Max. I really think we should give up eating this junk food.

I throw myself into the armchair-bag at the kitchen window.

– Honey, can you first talk and then throw out my food?! – I tired not to fight but thought it was better do it now than I swallow it again.

– Let’s talk, – she agreed. – But first let's eat. It is much tastier than looks. Can you open the bottle, by the way?

She handed me out a nice bottle of white wine. While I was opening she finished serving the table. She put nice green cloth napkins on the table and on top of them big white plates that we had bought on our first mutual trip to Sweden.

On the plate there were something green, like mashed broccoli and fresh red and yellow pepper rings.

I opened the bottle and poured the wine into glasses. Katya put baked meat beside vegetable mix on plates.

Meat smelled delicious. I didn't even try to fight. No, she couln't do this… disarm me with appetite aroma.

She kissed me. We cheered and had a sip on the wine. Delicious. The moment I swalled it, I felt the freshness of the wine took away the tension in muscles and thoughts. We started eating.

I thought she got it. That I was defeated, I mean. I saw it the way she held her glass, with her pinky finger picked out. She knew she had the upper hand over me but she didn’t show a sign of it. And in her glance not the slightest hint was visible for the common man. But I saw it. And that gave me the idea at the beginning of our relationship, by the way, that we have a deeper connection than just first sympathy. I knew then we should cared about this feelings when life would confront us or our selfish interests. The deep emotional invisible connection should be kept as a treasure – I had a thought.

We ate for a minute silently.

– I am not perfect, – she started. – I do like a morning sandwich in Mac, you know this, but last week we had those burgers. Then I woke up at night with heavy feeling in my stomach. I knew it was one of the turning point meaning we have to take care about our food habits.

– Let's put it this way, – Katya continued, – we will mount the healthy meals keeping the 'right' for the 'tasty one' too.

I sighed.

– Katya, I can't schedule my food wishes and I don't want to do it. I want to eat what I am up too. You see, when I was a kid my mum often scheduled what to eat because parents had little money and now to plan what to eat really gives me a heart attack. Then all sandwiched was cut off on Sunday for every day of the week. So every school day I had one sandwich to take with me and I really really hate the idea to portion my meals since then. I don't like the fridge to be organized with containers signed for days of a week. And I really don't like plans in general, to be honest.