Eve slowly exhaled the smoke she had been holding in since Oksana exploded into Bill's office all crazed and frantic and making Eve jump. Still in some form of shock, Eve let the smoke escape from between her lips in a thin plume while keeping her eyes on the woman in front of her.
"Astankova," Bill said remarkably calmly, "Since you've decided to… join us, why don't you have a seat?"
He pulled over a spare chair from beside the filing cabinet. A grey, brittle plastic one, the kind which they normally use in group discussions or activities with the inmates. He placed it beside Oksana, who was rooted to the spot next to his desk, visibly seething, her nostrils flaring dangerously. She immediately shoved the chair roughly away, allowing it to hit the floor with a clatter.
"I don't want a fucking seat, Pargrave!" She raged.
"Oksana!" Eve chastised before she even realised she was about to speak, startled out of her surprise by Oksana's murderous tone. She had heard Oksana get angry before, but until now she hadn't felt this boiling anger rolling off the other woman.
Bill, who had stepped away and raised his hands when Oksana had attacked the chair, lifted his eyebrows at Eve. He seemed less alarmed than her. Perhaps Bill had been privy to this version of Oksana before, Eve reasoned.
"Sit down, Astankova." Bill said more firmly, picking up the chair and placing it once again beside Oksana.
She didn't shove it away this time, but she also did not sit down, she remained hovering tensely between the room's two occupants.
"What the fuck is going on? Why is Eve here?" Oksana demanded.
Somewhere in the back of her mind Eve was aware that Oksana's accent was more Russian than she had ever heard it. Gone were the faint traces of something vaguely other, the over enunciation and odd word choice. This shouting Oksana was very clearly reverting to an earlier, angrier incarnation of her accent. And then her tone switched and Eve struggled to compute its redirection.
"Are you OK, Eve?" Oksana asked, her voice laced with genuine concern.
Bill cleared his throat and tapped the back of the chair he was still offering to Oksana.
"I'm fine." Eve husked in confusion, finally catching up enough to answer Oksana's surprising question.
Oksana sat down, dropping herself heavily into the small plastic chair, but still looking questioningly at Eve.
"So why are you here? Why are you with him?" She urged, injecting the final word with venom and shooting a glare at Bill, who merely looked a bit baffled in return as he took his place back at the other side of the desk.
"Well, I… Uh…" Eve started and then stopped.
What was she meant to say? 'I'm here because my husband thinks I'm fucking Bill because I was late home last night. But actually I was late home because I lost track of time with you, and I would gladly do it again'? No. Obviously not.
Eve took another steadying drag of the cigarette she had momentarily forgotten. She could feel Oksana's eyes on her, as though examining her for some trace of harm.
"You do not look OK. You look rough." Oksana pointed out.
Eve huffed out a laugh at that. She couldn't help herself.
"Thanks." She said sarcastically.
"Um, excuse me," Bill said, waving a hand in front of Oksana's face. A move that Eve thought was particularly daring.
"She is here because we are friends and we're catching up, as friends do. She was an expected visitor." Bill continued.
Oksana narrowed her eyes at him.
"What are you doing here, Astankova?" He asked purposely.
"Nadia said Eve was here." Oksana replied coldly.
"Dr Polastri to you." Bill corrected firmly. "And you think that because she is here, that means you can come barging in shouting and swearing? Why?"
"Can I have one of those?" Oksana asked. She ignored Bill's question entirely, addressing Eve instead and nodding at the packet of cigarettes still on the desk.
"No." Said Bill immediately and at exactly the same time that Eve replied, "You've never smoked."
Oksana leant back forcefully in her chair and sighed.
"I don't want one. You shouldn't smoke." She said petulantly. "It's bad for your skin."
Eve's response was to take another inhale on her cigarette. She watched Oksana frown at her.
"Astankova. I still don't understand why you're here." Bill reiterated.
"Because Nadia told me Eve was here!" Oksana repeated angrily, gesturing at Eve.
"And?" Bill prompted.
Eve shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Something had got Oksana highly worked up, and whatever it was couldn't be good.
"And I didn't want her in here with you, did I?" Oksana fired back at Bill as though her answer was obvious.
Eve had known from their appointment the previous day that Oksana was harbouring some strange aversion to Bill at the moment. It had struck her as odd then but she hadn't given it any further thought. Partly she had forgotten Oksana's mysterious words the day before and partly she assumed dismissed them as being caused by nothing more than some small disagreement between Oksana and Bill that would probably blow over. Clearly she was wrong. And by the looks of it, Bill was unaware of this supposed rupture between himself and the inmate.
Bill seemed ready to push more questions at Oksana over her statement but Eve intervened.
"Oksana," she said gently, feeling herself slipping into work mode, "Have you got something against Bill? Oh, uh, Mr Pargrave."
Oksana eyed Eve thoughtfully for a moment and Eve fought to hold her gaze.
"Don't you?" Oksana asked at last.
Eve looked taken aback.
"No! Of course, not. Bill is an old friend. We've talked about this." Eve reminded her.
Oksana glowered at Bill across the desk and then returned her eyes to Eve.
"Nadia saw you." She muttered.
"This morning, yes. You've said." Eve replied, feeling altogether lost.
"No!" Oksana said, her voice rising angrily once more. "Last week. You were upset. She was there, outside the door," Oksana gestured over her shoulder.
"Last week?" Eve repeated, casting her mind back, "I wasn't upset last week." At least not at work, she added internally.
"Yes, you were!" Oksana insisted, "He upset you. He had to apologise and say he was unprofessional, and then you left in a hurry."
"What?" Eve asked, entirely bewildered.
A collection of ash dropped from the end of Eve's cigarette and hit the desk below.
Across the desk, Bill groaned, his head sinking into his hands.
"She's right," He sighed, "Remember? We were talking about a certain someone who lacks the ability to knock," he locked eyes with Oksana, "You thought I was questioning your ability." He added guiltily to Eve.
"No," Oksana cut in, "You made her uncomfortable because you're a fucking pervert." She spat, eyes blazing again.
"Oksana!" Eve found herself chastising her for the second time. "That is definitely not the—"
Bill had sat up straight in his chair again.
"You thought I had propositioned her?" Bill asked in disbelief. "That's what you assumed?"
Oksana raised her eyebrows at Bill in a knowing, 'Are you going to tell me I'm wrong?' sort of way.
"For the love of God," Bill let out, exasperated. "Give me those." He said, reaching for the packet of cigarettes before drawing one out and lighting it.
Eve looked disturbed.
"Oksana, that is absolutely not what happened. Jesus, what were you thinking? And what was the plan? Just never let him walk you to or from appointments ever again?" Eve wondered aloud.
"Yes." Oksana nodded far too quickly. "That was my plan exactly." She agreed readily.
Bill considered her sceptically, that plan sounded a little tame for Oksana.
"That's why you thought she had come to quit?" He queried.
Oksana nodded again.
"So what? You came barrelling in here to protect her?" Bill suggested.
Oksana shrugged.
"How chivalrous." Bill intoned.
"That's insane." Eve breathed, allowing the conversation to marinade whilst taking a final drag from her cigarette that was mostly filter at this point. Most of it had burned away untouched.
"I am not insane!" Oksana barked.
"Pretty sure Eve's the one who gets to decide that." Bill muttered, offering Eve a prison mug to use as a makeshift ashtray.
Oksana glared at him fiercely and Eve chuckled despite the absurdity of the situation.
"You're not insane. But that assumption was insane." Eve reasoned.
Oksana seemed to relax somewhat at that.
"Why didn't you just ask me?" Eve asked curiously.
"I didn't want to upset you." Oksana shrugged with an oddly remorseful smile.
Bill scoffed and Oksana's eyes immediately left Eve and alighted on Bill instead.
"But you love upsetting people. And you're so good at it." He teased.
"Shut up." Oksana muttered, scowl back in place.
"Oh come on," Bill laughed, stubbing out his cigarette in the mug, "You have behaved like a total prat, but can't we be friends again now you know I'm not some kind of sexual predator who preys on bushy haired psychologists?"
Eve attempted to flatten her hair down slightly. God, she had barely run a brush through it before leaving the house that morning. Oksana was right, she must look rough.
Oksana raised a dubious eyebrow at Bill. She was waiting for some form of proper telling off or punishment. There had to be one on the way, for sure.
"Besides, I have something for you." Bill carried on, pushing himself backwards on his wheeled office chair and reaching into the drawer of his desk.
"Oh?" Oksana asked intrigued.
"New book." He said simply, and handed a volume over to Oksana who took it readily and examined its cover.
"Moscow To The End of the Line." She read aloud, "I do not know it." she added happily.
"Good, maybe it will keep your mind occupied and away from Nadia's nonsense gossip for five minutes then." Bill remarked.
"Thank-you." Oksana replied, still considering the book in her hands. Then she turned swiftly to Eve, "Do you read Russian literature?" She asked.
"Oh. I… no." Eve confessed.
"You should. It is very good." Oksana replied simply. "Much better than any American shit. I can recommend some for you to start with." She offered.
"Thanks?" Eve replied uncertainly. She couldn't remember the last novel she read. It was all case files and court reports.
Bill cleared his throat.
"Right." He said decisively, "Well, if you're satisfied that I'm not about to corner the good doctor…" he made eye contact with Oksana and then shifted his gaze intentionally to the door behind her.
"Can I stay?" she asked hopefully.
"No." Bill replied.
Oksana turned to Eve, her expression expectant.
"I will see you at our next appointment." Eve stated firmly.
Oksana looked for a moment as though she was going to argue and then seemed to change her mind. She nodded once and stood up.
"Astankova," Bill said before Oksana had a chance to move any further, "Your behaviour this morning, do you have anything to say about it?"
Oksana tensed, her body becoming rigid. Eve readied herself for another outburst.
"It was Nadia's fault. She shouldn't have told me lies." Oksana asserted.
"I'm not asking about Nadia's behaviour." Bill rebuked.
"Well, she is a liar." Oksana maintained.
Bill raised his eyebrows.
"But," Oksana began, and then turned to Eve, "I am sorry for bursting in and scaring you." She said meaningfully.
"I mean, you didn't scare me," Eve mumbled uselessly before trailing off.
"Thank-you Astankova. Off you go now." Bill said pointedly.
"Bye Eve," Oksana said before heading to the door, her book still clutched protectively in her hand.
"See you next week." Eve nodded with a vague wave of her hand.
"Please try to stay out of trouble!" Bill called just before the door closed behind Oksana.
There was silence for a moment after Oksana had left before Bill spoke.
"Are we giving off some kind of vibe or something?" He asked jokingly.
Eve deflated with a humourless chuckle that became a groan.
"I have no idea. But that was insane." She decided.
"Completely fucking nuts." Bill agreed.
"You're the most non-threatening man I know." Eve said with a fond smile.
"I know that's supposed to be a good thing, but I can't help but feel slightly wounded by it. Besides, it's not what your husband thinks." Bill replied twitching his eyebrows and grinning at Eve.
"Oh God, you don't need to remind me. At least he thinks it's consensual. Or… is that better? I don't even know." Eve trailed off.
Bill hummed thoughtfully and a silence stretched between them.
"She clearly has a soft spot for you." He said after a moment.
"What?" Eve asked, suddenly feeling on edge once more.
"Astankova. She cares about you. To get that angry… Usually it only happens if someone brings up her father. One inmate ended up with a broken nose after doing that." Bill stated. "I suppose I should be grateful she's less… violent these days." He mused, rubbing his nose absently.
"Wait." Eve snapped, holding up a hand, "That waswhy Oksana broke that woman's nose? Because she mentioned her father?" Eve demanded.
"Yeah, she called him a coward who had to get others to do his dirty work because—" Bill started to explain.
"That little liar!" Eve interrupted. "She just wanted to win her stupid game." She exclaimed, more to herself than Bill.
"What game?" Bill queried, clearly not following Eve's thought process.
"Doesn't matter." Eve replied, still shaking her head, partly annoyed, partly impressed at the audacity of Oksana Astankova.
"Right." Bill dragged out the word, "Anyway, Eve, I know I've told you before but I want to tell you again: be careful. She's obviously got quite attached to you and I am in no way saying that you're unable to do your—"
"Bill, you don't have to worry." Eve interrupted, "She just enjoys having someone's undivided attention every week." Eve promised and as she did so, she heard Oksana's own voice in her head, You're my favourite too. Just… my favourite.
Eve shook her head to rid herself of that little voice.
"She's a narcissist. She thrives on attention." Eve assured, no longer sure who she was trying to convince.
Bill, for one, didn't look convinced by that and Eve couldn't blame him, but fortunately he didn't push any further.
"Anyway," Eve began decisively, "What am I going to do about Niko?"
Bill took the bait and followed Eve's change in conversational direction.
"I have an idea actually." He said with a smile.
"I'm listening…" Eve prompted cautiously.
"You, me, dinner… With Niko." Bill suggested. "We'll just show him how entirely, completely and utterly platonic we are. What do you say… mate?" he finished with a wink.
Oksana's return journey to her cell was far more subdued than her fury fuelled trip to Pargrave's office. Now she felt empty of that original anger, now she felt something entirely less productive. She felt embarrassed. She had made herself look ridiculous in front of Eve. Kind, thoughtful, Eve who hadn't demanded answers from her like Pargrave had. Oksana probably would have been dealt more of a lecture on the evils of listening to gossip and jumping to conclusions if Eve hadn't been there too.
Oksana had barged in like a lunatic. In front of a psychologist. She didn't want Eve to see her like that. Not anymore. She wanted Eve to see her as an equal, someone who doesn't partake in playground games or throw tantrums over nothing.
Oksana cringed inwardly. Eve had just been visiting Pargrave as a friend. The reason for Eve's visit still didn't seem quite clear to Oksana. Why would Eve need to go and see Bill for no reason other than the fact that they're friends? It made no sense. But, Oksana supposed, Eve had been right with one of her guesses in their game the day before; Oksana had never had close friends. Perhaps she simply couldn't relate.
Then again, Eve hadn't looked herself. Oksana hadn't been lying when she told Eve she looked rough. Oksana rolled her eyes in frustration at herself. She shouldn't have said that. Even if it was true. If Pargrave hadn't been there then Oksana would have told Eve that she looked tired, but still beautiful. Not rough. Rough wasn't… kind. Oksana knew that.
It took Oksana the length of a corridor to come to her senses. This wasn't her fault. She had done the right thing. She had been trying to protect Eve from supposed harm. She hadn't simply invented the threat. No, she had been told of it. Nadia had come to Oksana specifically to tell her than Pargrave had been inappropriate and Eve had been upset. Nadia said that. Eve had been upset. She had left in a hurry. Oksana wasn't the one jumping to insane assumptions. Nadia was. This was all Nadia's fault. Stupid, weak, Nadia with nothing to do but come to Oksana with tip-offs and tales in the hope of gaining just a scrap of affection from her.
Oksana scoffed to herself and an inmate who had been walking towards her stepped swiftly over to the side. Nadia was pathetic and she had made Oksana look bad in front of Eve. Well, that wouldn't do.
Part of Oksana was glad to no longer have the burden of having to deal with Pargrave. She had liked him after all; it really would have been a shame to have to kill him. And, really, Oksana took no joy in things like that. Well, at least, she probably wouldn't find any joy in killing someone she once liked… Maybe. Oksana considered that for a moment and could draw no conclusion on the matter. Regardless, Pargrave was safe from Oksana's wrath, be it joyful or not. Nadia, however, was an irritating mosquito that had buzzed in Oksana's ear one too many times. And the thing about mosquitos, is that eventually they tend to get swatted.