The phone had caller ID, and Novikov didn’t pick up if the number of Olga was displayed. He didn’t want to lie, but the truth also felt like a lie, so he preferred not to answer the phone at all—to avoid explaining anything. Again and again in his life, there came a moment that reminded him of evacuating passengers from a sinking ship. Only one could be taken aboard—yet two were asking to be brought in: his personal life and his job. And once again, lowering his eyes in the face of tears from his personal life, Novikov reached out his hand to work.