He said to us: "She’s mine at last!" "You must be joking, pal, you must be joking! Get lost, you punk, You are too drunk, You’re now provoking, pal, you are provoking!" "It matters not for me!" he then exclaimed, "Get in the cab, enough of this car idling! And let the meter tick - it’s all the same - One has to pay when he has finished riding." I won’t feel bad For such a lad. "Get out of harm’s way!" was my only answer. He comes to me, Of her he speaks. "Don’t say a word, don’t say a word, you bastard!" The blood and wine rushed quickly to my head, And so I quietly said to him, while smiling: "it’s all the same, it waits for us ahead - One has to pay when he has finished riding." I’m deaf to tears, I’m deaf to pleas, I’m in the mood, I’m in the mood for malice! And if you want, Or if you don’t, You pay your balance, friend, you pay your balance. Life flashes like a silent film again, But I feel great today, I feel like laughing. The meter ticks and ticks - it’s all the same - One has to pay when he has finished riding.
© Kirill Tolmachev. Translation, 2022