» she wondered.
Well, to be honest, she was not invited at all, Oleg was. But having taken a course in chemistry, she worked with Vlad a lot.
«Ruslan is Lapin’s best friend, maybe I can get more information on him,» thought Lana, because the way that he treated her intrigued both the girl and her father.
They parked and got out, smiling. Oleg took out their present, and the Lapins walked toward them gazing at the huge box with curiosity.
«What is it?» asked Nina.
«It’s a swimming pool,» Lana said, and the hosts gasped.
«You just have to blow up it with a pump,» explained Oleg. «And add the water.»
«I don’t have a pump,» murmured Vlad. «I’ll go buy one.»
«Okay, get one,» Oleg smiled. «I’ll use mine for now. When you’re back, I think the pool will be ready.»
Vlad helped him carry the pool into the backyard, then got in his car, and drove away while the others began readying the pool.
«Wow!» Nina bustled around. «Oh, Lana. Oh, Oleg.» Suddenly she cried. «I’m so thankful.»
«Oh, Nina!» Lana hugged her. «I’m very happy that you like it.»
«Like, Gosh!» Nina gasped. «We dared not dream about it.»
«Mom!» Larisa tugged her mother’s sleeve. «Can I change into my swimming suit?»
«Sure, honey.» The woman nodded. «Need help?»
«No,» Larisa pronounced with a dependable voice. «I’m a big girl.»
Nina followed her with her eyes, then looked at Lana.
«Oh, thank you so, so much. Sorry, I have not seen you since the Christmas party, and, I forgot, what do you study?»
«Psychotherapeutic medical science,» Lana replied.
The smile left Nina’s lips, worry gleamed into her expressive doe eyes, and Lana was surprised by such a reaction.
«What’s the matter?» she asked, but suddenly recalled what Oleg had told her about Russian psychiatrists, and she grinned. «I know that in Russia the government used mental institutions as some kind of jail, didn’t they?»
«Not anymore.» Nina lowered her eyes. «Yes, it was so. But as I remember from «One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and «Terminator 2», in the U.S.A. the mad houses are not the best places for living either.»
«Look, buddy,» Lana said softly. «No hospital can be a good place for living. I don’t want to work in a mental institution, I plan to be a psycho-consultant in family problems.»
«Ahaah…»
«By the way,» continued Lana. «This fall I will begin practice. Do you want to be a volunteer, so I can practice on you? It’s a payment program. Not big money, but anyway.»
«For Gods sake, no!» Nina threw her arms up. «I’m not crazy.»
«I know.» Lana smiled at her. «But it’s fun, and it’s recommended that everybody visit a psychotherapist, if only once every few years. I won’t force you to use any medicine. You can just tell me about your family problems.»