“You’re nobody without me.”
Those words still had power over her, even though she hated herself for it.
On Friday, she was ready to give up. A mistake in the blueprint, the manager’s criticism, and the mocking looks from her colleagues—all of it was weighing her down and draining her energy. But Marina stopped her at the door.
“Hey, where are you rushing off to so fast? We have a company event today. Come on in and meet the team.” Anna wanted to say no, but Marina had already pulled her out onto the street, talking about the new place with great cocktails.
“You just haven’t settled in yet,” she said as they pushed through the crowd to a table. “Everyone goes through this.
You know, you have a great sense of space. I saw that sketch for the café. It’s really stylish. With a bit more practice on the programs, you’ll be able to do some incredible things.”
Anna looked up in surprise:
“You saw it? But I didn’t even send it…”
“I just happened to peek,” Marina smiled. “And you know what? It’s really cool. Maybe you should think about working on your own projects?”
The cocktail was really great. Or maybe it was just being with everyone. After a long time, Anna finally felt like she was part of something bigger.
They talked about projects, argued about design decisions, and laughed at inside jokes. And no one saw her just as “Igor’s wife” anymore.
She got home late, her head full of new ideas, and her phone now had several new contacts. On the table were her sketches. Now she saw not just mistakes in them, but endless possibilities.
