Trudyaschiesya planety obychno starayutsya poluchit' otpusk v letnee vremya. Ono i ponyatno --- khoroshaya solnechnaya pogoda, prekrasnoe nastroenie, vozmozhnost' zanyat'sya lyubimym delom. Imenno poetomu svoy ocherednoy trudovoy otpusk ya, kak i bol'shinstvo drugikh sotrudnikov nashego NII, reshil oformit' v avguste. Vybor byl bol'shim: mozhno otdokhnut' na more, poekhat' s ekskursiey v dal'nie strany, podrabotat' na stroyke ili esche gde. V den', kogda ya poluchil otpusknye, ya byl priyatno udivlen --- deneg okazalos' nemnogo bol'she, chem ya ozhidal. I togda ya reshil svoy otpusk provesti na kukhne.

     Otpusk nachinalsya v ponedel'nik, i ya reshil subbotu i voskresen'e posvyatit' podgotovitel'nym rabotam. Esche vecherom v pyatnitsu ya pervym delom pereschital stakany i ostalsya dovolen - stakanov bylo dva. "Odin --- zapasnoy", --- naivno podumal ya v tot moment. Na sleduyuschiy den' utrom, podeliv otpusknye na 24 rabochikh dnya, ya otpravilsya po lar'kam. Pervonachal'no ya khotel podgotovit'sya k tol'ko k pervomu dnyu otdykha, no potom reshil, chto ezhednevno khodit' po magazinam budet ne prosto. S takimi myslyami ya priobrel dlya nachala 15 butylochek "Baltiki" i paketik oreshkov. Domoy ya vernulsya v 9 utra. "Kakoy ya provorniy!" --- podumal ya. Ulegsya na divan i predalsya predvkusheniyam poslezavtrashnego nachala otdykha.

     Telefonnye zvonki nachalis' s desyati. Mikhalych nastaival na tom, chto pered otpuskom neobkhodimo postavit'. Primerno v takom zhe dukhe vystupali i drugie tovarischi. YA byl tverd: v letniy otdykh nado vkhodit' s trezvoy golovoy. Seychas mne kazhetsya eto strannym, no po proshestvii polugoda ya prekrasno pomnyu sobytiya etikh dvukh dney --- subboty i voskresenya pered otpuskom. Ne budu utomlyat' chitatelya podrobnostyami --- kogda-nibud' ya napishu ob etom novuyu povest'. V obschem, druzey ya ubedil s trudom. Ves' ostavshiysya den' ya prospal, vstaval tol'ko k uzhinu. V voskresen'e ya vse zhe vyshel na ulitsu, chtoby kupit' khleba i soli --- na sluchay, esli zavtra ne khvatit zakuski. Vse ostal'noe vremya ya prolezhal na divane, obdumyvaya plany na blizhayshee buduschee.

I

     Ponedel'nik pervoy nedeli otpuska nachalsya rano utrom. YA prosnulsya v polovine dvenadtsatogo i, pochuvstvovav strashniy golod, pozavtrakal mannoy kashey. Kogda ona zakonchilas', ya sel na taburetku. Poglazhivaya zhivotik, ya reshil povremenit' s pivom khotya by chas. Bylo uzhe polvtorogo, kogda v dver' privetlivo pozvonil radostniy Mikhalych, zastav menya s otkryvalkoy v rukakh.
     --- Privet nauke! U tebya est' esche stakan? --- sprosil on, sharya v sumke.
     --- Kakoy stakan? CHto u tebya? --- sprosil ya, --- segodnya perviy den' moego otpuska i ya by ne khotel...
     Tut v poluotkrytuyu dver' prosunulas' nebritaya golova.
     --- Polusukhoe! --- laskovo prosheptal s poroga Fomin, --- s samykh Podlipok! Stav' na stol!
     Kak ya ni otnekivalsya, govoril, mol, otpusk sobiralsya provesti kul'turno, u menya plany drugie, potom, stakanov vsego dva...
     --- Nikht problem! --- shutil Mikhalych, dostavaya iz portfelya --- vot oni-oni! Plastmassovye! Odin, pravda, tresnul, zato vtoroy --- tselee ne byvaet!
     --- Ladno, --- ogorchilsya ya, --- po chut'-chut' i svalivayte otsyuda, dayte kul'turno provesti leto, tovarischi, imeyte sovest' i uvazhenie, raz v god otpusk byvaet u cheloveka!

     Prosnulsya ya bylo esche svetlo. Kosye luchi zakhodyaschego solntsa osveschali ugol pola. Ryadom s nizhnim ukhom lezhala pustaya butylka. "Anapa krepkoe", --- prochel ya, povernuv ee etiketkoy k sebe. "Stranno. Ne byvaet. Ne mozhet takogo byt'! Libo "Anapa krepkaya", libo "Anap krepkiy". V kraynem sluchae, "Anapo". "Pokhozhe, ya nemnogo opyanel, raz prostykh materiy ne soobrazhu v nature", --- gromkim golosom podumal ya i, prisev na pol, oglyanulsya vokrug. Pol byl useyan pivnymi butylkami. "KHrust", --- vdrug negromko skazal stakan, na kotoriy ya nadavil po oshibke. "Ish ty! Plastmassoviy!" --- uvazhitel'no zametil ya. Akkuratno otobrav esche ne povrezhdennuyu taru, ya slozhil ee v sumku. Ostal'noe ya podmel i vynes v musoroprovod. Pered snom ya pytalsya pereschitat' stakany, no na etot raz ne nashel ni odnogo. "ZHal'!" --- udivilsya ya. Poisk zaplanirovannykh na vtornik-sredu desyati "Baltik" k uspekhu takzhe ne privel. YA ogorchenno umylsya, pochistil zuby, postelil postel', razdelsya i zaleg. "Strich'sya mne davno pora", --- podumal ya i vnezapno usnul.

II

     Utro sleduyuschego dnya nachalos' s razdumiy - pokupat' esche pivo i pri etom vykhodit' za ramki byudzheta ili povremenit' s otdykhom do chetverga, chtoby vposledstvii gramotno ulozhit'sya v otpusknye. Dlya nachala ya sdal butylki. Vyruchennykh deneg khvatalo na pyat' novekhon'kikh granenykh stakanov. YA kupil dva, potrativ ostal'nye den'gi na bulochku s makom, kotoruyu tut zhe i s"el na zavtrak.

     S utra pochemu-to nikto ne zvonil, zato blizhe k chetyrem prishlo srazu shestero druzey, kotorye, znaya moy mirolyubiviy kharakter, ne sgovarivayas' prinesli kazhdiy po neskol'ku stakanov. YA popytalsya traditsionno ikh pereschitat', no pochemu-to sbilsya so scheta. Na etot raz rebyata zapaslis' ikh lyubimym "Ochakovskim" i my neplokho proveli vremya. Vecherom ya pereschital otpusknye i vnimatel'no zadumalsya.

III-XXIV

     Vse polozhennye 24 dnya otpuska proleteli v odin mig. Kazhdiy sleduyuschiy den' kak dve kapli vody byl pokhozh na predyduschiy. S utra ya vykhodil pogulyat', sdaval steklotaru i pokupal bulochku, kotoruyu tut zhe i s"edal. Lish' na desyatye sutki ya osoznal, chto sdavat' butylki kazhdiy den' nepraktichno: v ryukzak i dve sumki legko pomeschaetsya vse, chto nakopilos' za tri dnya. Kazhdiy iz dney protekal veselo, regulyarno zakanchivayas' planovym unichtozheniem stakanov. Plastmassovye stakany davili, zazhimaya ikh mezhdu stulom i tulovischem cheloveka. So steklyannymi stakanami raspravlyalis' inache --- kak pravilo, ikh medlenno sdvigali, podtyagivaya za kleenku, poka oni ne posypyatsya na pol. Utselevshie stakany podnimali i ustanavlivali na stol dlya povtornykh ispytaniy. Naibolee prochnye razmashisto davili utyugom pryamo na stole. Oblomki plastikovykh stakanov takzhe traditsionno sdvigalis' na pol. Dlya etogo stul bystrym dvizheniem nogi naklonyali na bok, pozvolyaya oskolkam spolzti bez postoronney pomoschi, zatem vdvoem rukami stavili ego na mesto. Druzya zabotilis' obo mne i, prikhodya kazhdiy raz, prinosili s soboy novye stakany vzamen razbitykh nakanune.

     Po vecheram ya akkuratno podmetal pol, ne spesha skladyval musor po paketam i legkim dvizheniem spuskal ikh s shestogo etazha, plavno sdvigaya cherez otkrytoe okno. Pered snom ya chasten'ko sadilsya na pol i pereschityval chudom sokhranivshiysya tseliy stakan.

     Posledniy den' otpuska byl naibolee nasyschennym. Do takoy stepeni, chto ya dazhe podumyval o tom, ne prodlit' li mne ego esche na denek, chtoby, naprimer, s utra sdat' butylki. Vse zhe ya sumel otognat' proch' eti kramol'nye mysli. S vechera ya ob"yavil druzyam, chto otpusk zakonchilsya. My otmetili eto sobytie massovym unichtozheniem vsey ostavsheysya stekloposudy i posle neprodolzhitel'noy progulki rasstalis' do sleduyuschego leta.